نامه فرهنگستان
سال نوزدهم شماره 1 (پاییز و زمستان 1399)

Shoj’atname is a work written in Turkish verse at the end of the 16th century by an Ottoman statesman, military person, and poet of the tenth century named Dal Mohammad Chelebi known as Asefi. With the invasion of the Ottomans to the Iranian territory in the Caucasus (986 AH/ 1578 AD), Asefi served as scribe at the Ottoman commander–in-chief of the army, Lala Mostafa Pasha. During the Ottoman-Iranian war which lasted from 986 to 993 AH, he was captured by Qizilbash troops and taken to Ardabil, Qazvin and Isfahan. After taking about six months of captivity in Isfahan, he escaped from the city and went to the Persian Gulf coast and then left for Basra and then joined to the forces of Osman Pasha who were preparing for attacking on Tabriz in 1585 AD/ 993 AH. After the end of the battle and return to Istanbul, Asefi wrote a chronicle describing the battles of the Safavids and the Ottomans in the Caucasus and Tabriz called Shoj’atname. He tried to create a work in the style of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. The book is of great importance in the history of the Safavid and Ottoman wars. Especially from the point of view that the book contains 77 beautiful, colorful miniatures. Each miniature contains visual, political, cultural and military information. A numbers of miniatures are as the illustrated history of the Iran-Ottoman wars in the Caucasus. The other miniatures are an illustrated narrative of the history of the Safavids. In this work, the faces of the elders of Safavid, such as Shah Mohammad Khodabandeh, Hamze Mirza, Imam Quli Khan and dozens of other characters are beautifully depicted. There are also numerous miniatures related to the battle scene of the two troops, the geographical location, the type of military weapons and various other issues which reflects the value and importance of the book. In the present article, a selection of Shoj’atname’s miniatures has been introduced and aspects of their value and importance have been described.

One of the most important literary genres in the history of literature is ShahAngiz or Shahr Ashob (The city’s misfortune), and throughout history, many works have often appeared in this type of literature in a poetic way. One of the important features of this type of literature is that in addition to Persian, it also exists in Arabic, Turkish and Urdu, and has even led to claims of ShahAngiz antiquity in one language compared to other languages, especially by Turkish scholars. Regardless of this issue, Shahr Ashob, or in their own words Shahr Angiz, is much more serious in Turkish than in other languages, and much research has been done on this type of literature. Turkish-speaking scholars claim that this type of literature belongs to the Turkish language and that Persian-speaking Iranians inherited it from the Turks. What is relevant to the subject of this article is the existence of Persian ShahAngiz in Asia Minor, among several Turkish Shahr Angiz. In this article, the authors first briefly review composing ShahAngiz in Turkish literature based on the research of Turkish scholars, then introduce ShahAngiz in Istanbul composed by Sâfi, which is the only known Persian ShahAngiz and the complete version of which is kept in one of the libraries of Turkey.

The lands of Khorasan-Transoxiana (Central Asia) and Anatolia are two powerful and interconnected civilizations that have undergone continuous migrations in different historical periods, including the Seljuk period, as well as the era of the rise and glory of the state of the Ottomans were one of the main factors in the formation of this bond. In addition to the masses of the people, the migration of well-known scientists, poets and mystics of the time to Anatolia has also been of great importance in the cultural developments of Anatolia. His surviving works confirm the great cultural, scientific and artistic commonality between these two civilizations; The eulogies and parables of Anatolian poets in Persian and Turkish have often been influenced by the poems of immigrant poets, and annotations, and translations of the works of scientists and scholars have also influenced the development of the scientific movement. In this article, first, the phenomenon of migration to Anatolia in the seventh and tenth centuries AH is investigated, which is mostly due to the occurrence of political unrest, wars, religious conflicts, the desire for jihad, the spread of the Sufi Tariqa, scientific tours, gaining respect and fame, as well as economic issues. Then, the mystical and literary views of poets who migrated to Anatolia, including Amir Bukhari, are examined. He migrated to Anatolia from Bukhara in the 10th century AH and, in addition to spreading the sect of which he was one of the caliphs, wrote several works and composed poems. Especially in the Divans of the Ottoman poets who were attributed to a sect with Amir Bukhari, the reflection of such a prominent and influential mystic can be seen.

The word "Moloud" refers to the event of birth as well as its time and place. In addition, in a more specific sense, it is related to the birth of religious figures, led by the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Moloud also refers to a celebration held on the occasion of the birth of the Prophet (PBUH). Also, great celebrations that were held on auspicious and happy occasions have always been accompanied by the remembrance of the birth of the Prophet (PBUH) and the reading of works about the events of his birth and life. In this article, Moloud is discussed in words and terms and "Moloudnegari" as a literary type. Also, the works of this type of literature have been studied in terms of history, content and style in Turkish, Persian and Arabic literature. Moloud in the sense of literary order or prose has been more common in Asia Minor than any other gift. Molouds written in Asia Minor have had a profound effect on later works with this content.

The superiority of the Ottoman army in using strong artillery and familiarity with castle-making techniques was one of their important advantages in the war with Safavids, because before Shah Abbas I, the Safavid Ghezelbash Corps lacked strong artillery and was familiar with castle-making techniques. This factor played an important role in the advance of the Ottoman army in Safavid territory, and the Safavid government inevitably took advantage of the scorched earth policy, which led to the destruction of Iran's border areas and the displacement of its inhabitants. From the time of Shah Abbas I, the situation changed a lot and his new army was equipped with strong artillery and achieved remarkable successes against the Ottoman army. In addition, Shah Abbas abandoned the policy of destroying castles and fences and started building castles and fences on the border with the Ottomans. In the present study, the role of castles and fences in the Ottoman and Safavid wars and the effect of this factor on the balance of power between the two rivals are evaluated. Findings show that the defensive fortifications of western Iran seldom resisted the Ottoman cannons and even to some extent to the detriment of Iran. Thus, until the reign of Shah Abbas I, the Safavid government preferred to destroy the castles in the western and northwestern regions so as not to become a base for the Ottomans.

In Islam, depiction of the human face is forbidden, which in Islamic art is interpreted as "iconoclasm"; This strictness is more about not depicting holy people such as prophets and infallible Imams. For this reason, in Muslim works of art, except for a few examples of miniatures without documents and authenticity, there was no need and courage to draw the blessed face of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). For this reason, in Islamic art, verbal description has flourished more than visual description. The descriptions given to him by his close and reliable companions have been mentioned in authentic Sunni and Shiite hadith and narration sources and, over time, have been used by Muslim artists, writers and poets. This description of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in the art of Ottoman calligraphy is shown in the form of "Haliye-ye Sharife", many examples of which were created by Turkish calligraphers during this period. This kind of calligraphy was first invented by Hafiz Uthman, and then it was written in the same way among the Turkish calligraphers, and the great masters of calligraphy showed their respect and love for the Prophet in the form of the calligraphy. The calligraphy was first written in very small dimensions for carrying in a pocket or hanging around the neck, but later, due to the belief in the properties that were enumerated for them, they were written in larger sizes and with different lines and created a special form in calligraphy that has survived. It has also lasted.

Diwani symbols are considered as valid documents in recognizing governments, which in addition to historical information, are a reflection of the culture and art of the people of that time. Among the best examples from the history of Central Asia and Asia Minor, we can mention the pattern depicted in the administrative signs of the Safavid and Ottoman states of the tenth and eleventh centuries AH, which was formed by the best masters and artistic elites and expresses artistic power and socio-political insight of that time. Since the Safavid and Ottoman governments have common intellectual-cultural commonalities and political boundaries and have established a common calendar in historical events, a comparative study of their government symbols in the two general categories of seals and coins as valid documents can be a new window in identification. Culture and art open two regions. The question is: what quality do the thematic and visual features of the administrative signs of the Safavid and Ottoman states show? The results of the research show that the Safavids included religious symbols in their seals and coins and used a variety of visual elements in the arrangement of the signs. In contrast, the Ottomans, with minimal regard for religious beliefs, created their bureaucratic symbols with political symbols in a fixed format and minimal diversity of visual elements. This research is fundamental in terms of purpose and its method is analytical-comparative.