Introducing an old Turkish storytelling scroll

In 1339 Sh. /1960, a book titled Koliyat-e Shahname-ye Hakim Abulqasem Ferdowsi (Collection of Hakim Abulqasem Ferdowsi’s Book of Kings) in Turkish prose, was published in Tabriz. Despite its Persian title, the book is neither a translation nor a rewriting of the Shahname. In fact, it is a scroll of storytelling (naqqali) of which two stories were compiled or written in Persian, 1039 A.H./1726, and translated into Turkish in 1164 A.H./1751. Evidence indicates that the transference and compilation of a portion of the accounts in this book dates back to the Safavid and Afsharid periods. The narrative contents of this scroll comprise Gayumart up to the Arscacid time with two stories from the Sassanian era. Since the scroll has addressed Alexander’s accounts in relatively extensive detail, it is already the most comprehensive scroll ever known. In the text of this Turkish scroll, certain lexical points and narrative matters can be seen. In the present article, the lexical questions of the scroll are examined and its narratory considerations will be dealt with in a separate study.