Süleymanname - سليماننامه

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or 16036
  • Dates of Creation
    • 17th century
  • Language of Material
    • Turkish
  • Physical Description
    • 1 text 286 ff Materials : Off-white European laid paper. Foliation : European, 286 ff. Dimensions : 197 mm x 148 mm. Script : Nesih. Ink : Primarily black ink, with verse dividers and some section headings in red. Binding : Relatively modern boards covered with maroon cloth; brown leather spine.

Scope and Content

A lengthy folk narrative, in prose with interspersed passages in verse, by Firdevs-i Rum (857/1453 - ca. 918 AH/1512 CE). The contents of this Süleyman-nāmẹ include stories of the prophet Solomon and of other pre-Islamic Prophets, along with elements of the epic history of pre-Islamic Iran (as found in the Persian Şāhnāmẹ and miscellaneous lore relating to philosophy, cosmology, astronomy, and natural history. The section included in the present manuscript is largely concerned with the exploits of the Iranian hero Sam. On the first folio, the Divine Name, calligraphed in bold black lettering; the h of Allah is missing owing to damage to the page. There is also an illustration in ink (f 59v), probably by a child, of the head and one hand of a man with a lengthy horizontal moustache. The manuscript is undated, but was likely copied in the 11th century AH (17th century CE).

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from C. S. Mundy.

Related Material

Other selections of texts from the same underlying narrative can be found at Or 16121, and Or 16147. On the author and his works, see Orhan F. Köprul, 'Firdevsi, Uzun', TDVİA XIII, pp. 127-9; M. F. Köprülü, Firdevs. Firdavsi-i Rum yahud Firdavsi-i Tavīl', İA IV, p. 649. Authorities differ as to how many parts (cüz') the full text comprises, the number varying between 330 and 380.