Some Thoughts on Şerifi’s Mesâlik ve’l-Memâlik (Bologna University Ms. 3611)

Abstract

This article introduces the only extant illustrated Turkish copy of Istahri’s Kitāb al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik (Book of Routes and Realms), one of the most widely circulated works of medieval Islamic geographical literature. It is held in the Bologna University Library under the shelfmark Ms. 3611. The Turkish text was translated in 1598 by Şerif bin Seyyid Muhammed (also known as Şerifi) through the mediation of Gazanfer Agha (d. 1603), the chief white eunuch and head of the Privy Chamber. Gazanfer Agha was one the most influential figures of the inner palace, during the reign of III. Mehmed (r. 1595-1603). The translated text was illustrated in the style developed by Nakkaş Hasan Pasha, a painter and courtier who was also a member of Sultan III. Mehmed’s Privy Chamber. Tercüme-i Mesâlik ve’l-Memâlik is a lesser-known example of the collaboration between these three actors, who played a central role in the court’s cultural production. Through a detailed examination of its codicological features and production context, this article aims to demonstrate that the Bologna manuscript comprises two illustrated copies produced simultaneously: one prepared for Sultan Mehmed III and the other for Gazanfer Agha. A close analysis of the images alongside the text reveals an interest in ancient geography, and highlights some of the differences between the two copies. However, a thorough comparison is left to further research due to the limitations of the surviving evidence. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how a comprehensive approach to a single manuscript, considering its visual, physical and content-related characteristics in tandem, can provide valuable insights into the broader considerations regarding the production, use and function of illustrated manuscripts in the sixteenth-century Ottoman court, as well as the intellectual practices of the courtiers.

This article is an expanded version of the paper presented at the “Ottoman Book Arts and Illustrated Manuscripts: New Examples Symposium”, organised by the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Istanbul on 21 November 2024. In this article, the titles of works in Turkish, Arabic, and Persian are written in their original languages, and quotations are rendered using the IJMES transliteration system. For the reader’s convenience, names—including pen names—have not been transliterated (with the exception of ʿayn and hamza).

No artificial intelligence-based tools or applications were used in the preparation of this study. All content has been produced by myself in accordance with scientific research methods and academic ethical principles.

The study does not require ethics committee approval, and the data used were obtained through a literature review / published sources. It is declared that scientific and ethical principles were followed during the preparation of the study and that all referenced works are listed in the bibliography.

arisdergisi@akmb.gov.tr

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC).

The journal is indexed in TR Dizin, ERIH PLUS and J-GATE INDEXING.

There is no potential conflict of interest in this study.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Serpil Bağcı, who organized the symposium “Ottoman Book Arts and Illustrated Manuscripts: New Examples,” at which I presented the first draft of this paper as a presentation, as well as to my other professors and colleagues who shared their comments and ideas with me during this presentation.