Kitab-i Tezkiretü'l-evliya-yi telif el-merhum el-mağfur Murteza Efendi el-şehir bi-Nazmizade - كتاب تذكرة الاولياء تأليف المرحوم المغفور مرتضى افندى الشهير بنظم زاده

This volume contains notices of holy men who lie buried in Baghdad and its vicinity. The author, Nazmizade Murteza says in the preface, after mentioning Sultan Mehmet IV as the reigning sovereign, that one of his Vezirs, İbrahim Paşa, being governor of Baghdad in 1077 AH (1666-67 CE), was anxious to visit the tombs of the Prophets, the Ashab of the Prophet Muhammad صلعم, ulema, and şuyuh buried there, and asked him for some account of their lives. Having looked in vain for such a work, Murteza decided to write one for himself. He compiled it from the following sources: Jāmī's two works Shavāhid al-nubuvvah (شواهد النوبة) and Nafḥāt al-anīs (نفحات الانيس); the Ṭabaqāt of Shaykh ᶜabd al-raḥmān al-Shaᶜrānī; Bahjah (likely the Bahjat al-asrār); a commentary upon the Khamriyah; Ibn Khalikān; Ṣawāᶜiq [al-Muḥriqah](صواعق المحرقة) by Ibn Ḥajar al-Haythamī; and Rawẓat al-ṣafā (روضة الصفا). To this compilation he gave the title Cami'u'l-envar fi menakıbu'l-ebrar. It had, however, been written hastily, and required additions. When, therefore, in Cemaziülahir 1092 AH (June-July 1681 CE), another İbrahim Paşa entered Baghdad, the seat of his government, and enquired for that work, the author took that opportunity to supplement it from the same and other sources, and gave it its present shape. The first of the aforementioned İbrahim Paşas, Uzun İbrahim Paşa, was governor of Baghdad 1075-77 AH (1664-67 CE); while the second, who had been Ağa of the Janissaries and governor of Erzurum, held the same post in 1092-95 AH (1681-86 CE). The notices for each of the individuals, most of which hardly exceed a page, are about 170 in number. They begin with the two prophets Yūshaᶜ and Dhul-Kafl, and two Imams, ᶜali and Ḥusayn. These are followed by several of the Ashab, but in the sequel the chronological order is not strictly followed. A tabulated index of the lives occupies three pages at the start of the text. Miscellaneous notes and extracts are found throughout the work (ff 1, 2, 85-91). This manuscript was copied and completed on 15 Muharrem 1150 AH (15 May 1737 CE).

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Acquired by the British Museum from Sir Claudius Rich.

See Rieu, Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum, pp. 75-76.

Another copy of this text can be found at Or 12107. For more on the author, see Rieu, Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum, p. 40. For more information on the sources used in this work, see Haj. Khal. II, p. 71; IV, p. 110. Nazmizade Murteza is also the author of the Gülşenü'l-hulefa, which can be found at Add MS 7864, Add MS 7865, Add MS 23588, and Add MS 23589.