MS. Marsh 633 (Bodleian Library, Oxford University)
Oriental Manuscripts
Marsh
Contents
Language(s): Ottoman Turkish with some Persian
A complete copy of 's Yūsuf ü Züleyḫā, modeled on the Yūsuf va-Zulaykhā of Jāmī and completed in 897 AH (between 4 November 1491 and 22 October 1492 CE). The colophon on folio 215a is in Arabic.
References
This section contains six poems of differing lengths titled مداد midād, قلم ḳalem, (left blank), ابریق خاك ibrīḳ-ı ḫāk, اب و اتش āb ü āteş, and کیسو نقود kīs ü nuḳūd. Most title appear in their own boxes in red ink, however the first has been added in black ink on the border of the textbox, seemingly as an afterthought. The last poem has the word پاچه pāçe written in the gap between the two columns before the final bayt, suggesting that this may constitute a separate poem or separate section of the larger work.
References
A single bayt in Persian, apparently in a different hand to the rest of the manuscript, with a strange title that could read Lughazgar لغزگر "The Riddler" or Lughazak لغزك "A Little Riddle".
References
بحمد الله که اسلام یافت قوّت
فرنکرا خان ماند صار هدمًا
سلیمان زمانك قوّتیٕلَه
روطوس فتح اولدی تاری تَمَّ فَتْحًا - ۹۲۹
The last two words in this item constitute a chronogram for the year fo the conquest of Rhodes (929 AH), which has been clarified in red ink by a different hand immediately thereafter.
References
Two calendrical tables.
References
Physical Description
Layout
Single column of 15 lines per page on folios 1a-216b.
Hand(s)
(hand 1, folios 1a-216b, possibly 217a-b and 222a-b ) Scribe: Possible the same as the person who penned and dated the colophon, i.e. Şa‘bān bin Ḳāsım (Sha‘bān bin Qāsim) شعبان بن قاسم, though it should be said that the style and language are different to the main text. Script: Mostly nesta‘līḳ in black ink with red ink for ruling, titles, headings, and alternate cells in tables.
(hand 2, folios 219a-221b) Scribe: unknown. Script: Fine but well-executed dīvānī, morphing into nesta‘līḳ for the final poem, all in black ink.
Several notes appear on folio 1a:
- At the top of the page is a note in Greek by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh which reads πανταχή τὴν ἀλήθειαν.
- The title of the first work is given as کِتَابِ یُوسُفُ زَلِیْخَايِ حَمْدِيْ.
- A note in hastily written Arabic appears to indicate that the manuscript was once for sale in Aleppo and gives the price as غروش ۳۲ و اقچه ۱۵.
Folio 225a-b also displays some hastily written notes in Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and perhaps Arabic.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
The Library of Archbishop Narcissus Marsh, d. 1713.
The Marsh bequest entered the Bodleian Library in 1714.
Record Sources
Availability
Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures contact Bodleian Admissions). Contact specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript
Funding of Cataloguing
JISC
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