The study of evolution of illustrations of ascension in Ottoman miniature, 15-17 A.D

Ascension is one of the most religious occurrences. Ascension is illustrated in the history of Islamic art based on different historical and cultural approaches. Ottoman Turks spread Islam in all aspects of their lives after its embracing. The life of prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h.) and his ascension were the topics considered by Ottomans commonly in the illustration of literary and religious expressions. .Eskandarnameh which was written in 1416 in Amasya, contains a scene of prophet ascension. Over time, the Ottoman sultans had more attention and support for the illustrative versions of literary, religious and historical expressions within the painting house of the Ottoman palace. The peak of support was in the time of Sultan Mehmet and his son Bayazid II. Other books between 15 to 16th centuries have been illustrated and have a scene of the ascension of the Prophet. Ascension images can be found in: 1. Ahmadi Eskandarnameh of 1440-1450. This version was illustrated in the Ottoman Palace by Timurid and Turkmen artists for the Ottoman court in Edirne that is now kept at the Library of Venice. There is two scenes of prophet ascension illustrated in this book. 2. Zubdat al- Tawarikh 1450-1440. This was written by Seyyid Lokman Ashuri. This version depicted the story of 42 prophets for sultan Morad III. This version is kept at the Islamic and Turkish art museum in Istanbul. It has two scenes of prophet ascension. Unlike to Eskandarnameh, the face of prophet Mohammad is covered in this script. 3. Siyar-I Nabi of 1596-1595. This script is kept in the Topkapi Sarayi in Istanbul. It contains 612 pictures. Mustafa Darier wrote that. It illustrated prophet Mohammad’s life. This version has only one scene of prophet. This paper uses descriptive and analytical methods. The data collection was library-based method. This paper presents the evolution of illustration of the prophet ascension in Ottoman art and studies the books with prophet ascension images. This article introduces the ascension of Mohammad in three versions and analyzes paintings of ascension in these three Ottoman versions. We have studied visual cues in the ascension of Prophet Mohammad. Although these scripts (Ahmadi Eskandarnameh, Zubdat al- Tawarikh, Siyar-I Nabi) are historical verions but they have illustrated the religious topics. The results show that ascension scene are illustrated not only in the religion but also in the literary and historical versions. The Ottoman miniatures have common elements in all ascension painting. Some of these common elements include prophet, Buraq, gerbil, angels, night sky and haloes around angels and prophet. However, in these paintings, certain visual elements and signs are depicted in each individual piece. These certain visual and elements are sometimes taken from the Hadith and Quran. These elements are sometimes taken from traditional religious illustrations from the neighboring Islamic countries such as Iran. Ottomans developed Islam in all their life, with the support of the kings after acceptance of Islam, with a peak of brightness at 15 to 16th centuries.