{"id":488,"date":"2025-10-16T08:12:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T08:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/?p=488"},"modified":"2025-11-03T14:14:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:14:23","slug":"reading-persian-advice-literature-in-armeno-turkish-some-notes-on-the-pearl-adorned-pendname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/?p=488","title":{"rendered":"Reading Persian Advice Literature in Armeno-Turkish: Some Notes on the \u2018Pearl-Adorned Pendn\u0101me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tobias Sick (University of M\u00fcnster)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reception of Persianate literature in the form of translations in the Ottoman Empire as a field of study has gained more traction in recent years; however, studies pertaining to such translations in the context of Armeno-Turkish have hitherto not featured prominently in the literature.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Yet, there are examples that attest to the transmission of translated Persian literature in Armeno-Turkish already during the eighteenth century, attesting to the reception of such works in Armenian-speaking strata of Ottoman society as well. One case in point is the manuscript held under the shelf-mark Ms. no. 19 in the library of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna, which contains a Turkish translation of the Persian poetic advice treatise Pandn\u0101ma-yi \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em> in the Armenian script, and constitutes the focus of the following passages.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The so-called Pandn\u0101ma-yi \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em> or \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r’s Book of Wise Counsel<\/em> (from here on Pandn\u0101ma<\/em>) forms an important part of the tradition of Persian advice literature as featured in the mas\u0331nav\u012b<\/em> form. While most likely not penned by its eponym, the Persian Sufi figure Far\u012bd al-D\u012bn \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r (d. 618\/1221), this poetic advice treatise was employed as a didactic textbook in a vast space that is largely congruent with the notions of the Persianate world or Shahab Ahmed\u2019s Balkans-to-Bengal complex.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Its reception and transmission was particularly pronounced in the Ottoman Empire, where it was employed mostly in educational contexts throughout the early modern period, namely for the study of Persian (poetics), moral instruction, as well as a more accessible source for the supposed mystical thought of \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r.[4]<\/sup><\/a> Within this continuous reception, the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>was translated into Turkish in numerous instances, with at least one dozen verse translations (terceme<\/em>\/terc\u00fcme<\/em>) and a multitude of commentaries (\u015fer\u1e25<\/em>) attested for the work, featuring various ways of rendering the contents of the source text in Turkish (as well as Arabic) and different formats of visual display in the respective manuscript corpora.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most popular of the verse translations is the Terceme-i Pendn\u0101me-i \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em> penned by the sixteenth-century divan poet Emre,[6]<\/sup><\/a> which is a Turkish rendition of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>that was produced in the year 964\/1556 in a courtly environment, namely on request of Prince (\u015fehz\u0101de<\/em>) B\u0101yez\u012bd during the reign of his father, Sultan S\u00fcleym\u0101n I (r. 926\u2013974\/1520\u20131566).[7]<\/sup><\/a> In the preface to the translation (titled \u201cDer sebeb-i terceme \u015f\u00f6den-i \u012bn n\u0101me<\/em>\u201d, On the Reasons for Translating this Book<\/em>), the translator narrates the request of the prince as follows:[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 1: <\/strong>Excerpt from the translator\u2019s preface of Emre\u2019s translation (verses 41-42).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

41<\/td>\u062f\u06cc\u062f\u06cc \u062a\u0631\u06a9\u06cc \u0627\u06cc\u0644\u0647 \u0628\u0648\u06a9\u0627 \u062c\u0627\u0645\u0647\u0654<\/td>\u0637\u0648\u062a\u0645\u0634 \u0627\u0644\u062f\u0647 \u0627\u0634\u0628\u0648 \u0632\u06cc\u0628\u0627 \u0646\u0627\u0645\u0647\u0654<\/td><\/tr>
42<\/td>\u062c\u0644\u0648\u0647 \u0642\u0644\u0633\u0648\u0646 \u0642\u0648\u0645 \u0631\u0648\u0645\u0647 \u062f\u0645\u0628\u062f\u0645<\/td>\u0631\u0648\u0645\u06cc \u062e\u0644\u0639\u062a\u062f\u0647 \u0628\u0648 \u0645\u062d\u0628\u0648\u0628 \u0639\u062c\u0645<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He held in his hand this beautiful book, \/ said: \u2018make for a Turkish garment\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This beloved of Persia, in a R\u016bm\u012b robe, \/ shall entice the people of R\u016bm perpetually.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking up this request, Emre produced a translation consisting of 65 chapters and 957 verses (distichs), which subsequently came to be the most popular of the many verse translations of this work (judging from the extant manuscript corpora).[9]<\/sup><\/a> This translation also includes, beyond the contents of the Persian source text, a Persian prelude, a translator\u2019s preface, and a concluding chapter (all three of which were produced solely by the translator). In terms of the style of translation, the Turkish (T\u00fcrk\u012b<\/em>) version of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> exhibits several characteristics that are typical for Ottoman translations of Persian mas\u0331nav\u012b<\/em> works at the time: While generally adhering to the structure and contents of the source text, the translation includes large portions of Arabic and, in particular, Persian words and phrases also included in the original,[10]<\/sup><\/a> and, with respect to the contents, occasionally exhibits instances of elaboration, disambiguation, and omission, as well as changes in the chapter structure (some of which might also stem from variants in the manuscripts used for translating).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a fully substitutive translation work, in its manuscript corpus this translation presents only the Turkish rendering of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em>\u2019s contents (in contrast to some of the other translations), and was likely created to be employed in a fashion similar to the Persian original, namely in educational contexts, especially for the instruction of adolescents, as Emre suggests at the end of the work himself:[11]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 2: <\/strong>Excerpt from the concluding chapter of Emre\u2019s translation (verse 953).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

953<\/td>\u0628\u0648\u0646\u06cc \u0627\u0632\u0628\u0631\u0644\u062a\u062f\u0631 \u0627\u06a9\u0627 \u0627\u06cc \u0633\u0639\u06cc\u062f<\/td>\u06af\u0631 \u062f\u0644\u0631\u0633\u0643 \u0627\u0648\u0644\u0647 \u0641\u0631\u0632\u0646\u062f\u0643 \u0641\u0631\u06cc\u062f<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you want your child to <\/em>be one of a kind, make them memorise it, oh happy one<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the translation of Emre has been edited in the Latin script several times and was discussed in several publications and unpublished doctoral dissertations; however, the existence of an Armeno-Turkish rendition of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>and, in particular, the very translation of Emre has not been discussed previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manuscript in question, MS no. 19 held in the library of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna, features 56 folios altogether with the text presenting a consistent 21 lines per page.[12]<\/sup><\/a> According to the title of the manuscript, the contained work is the Pearl-Adorned Pendname  <\/em>(M\u00fccevher Pendname<\/em>, \u0544\u056b\u0582\u0573\u0567\u057e\u0570\u0567\u0580 \u0553\u0567\u0576\u057f\u0576\u0561\u0574\u0567) of \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em>, which is located between fols. 3a and 54a.<\/em>[13]<\/sup><\/a> The codex measures 215×155 millimetres (the text 160×100) and is bound in paper with a leather book spine. The text itself is held mostly in the Notrgir<\/em> script,[14]<\/sup><\/a> rendered in both black and red ink (mainly for headings and the initials opening a distich), and exhibits large decorative and, at times, zoomorphic initials at the beginnings of the individual chapters. On the first page, the copy features a coloured headpiece with a floral pattern but no title, as the title phrase is given below (fig. 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 1:<\/strong> Opening page of the work on f. 3a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing the beginning and final sections of the work, especially the preface, it becomes clear that the present text is not a novel, Armeno-Turkish translation of the Persian Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> but an Armeno-Turkish rendering of the translation of Emre from 964\/1556. Apart from the prelude and translator\u2019s preface, even the final verses of Emre\u2019s translation, which feature the date as well as the nome de plume<\/em> of the translator, were transferred into this rendition (figs. 2 and 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 2:<\/strong> The final verse featuring the date of Emre\u2019s translation on f. 54a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transcript:<\/strong> \u057f\u056b\u057f\u056b\u056c\u0567\u0580 \u0569\u0561\u0580\u056b\u056d\u056b\u057f\u0567 \u0567\u0575 \u0574\u0567\u0580\u057f\u056b\u0584\u0565\u0561\u0580 \/ \u057f\u056b\u057f\u056b\u0574 \u056b\u0577\u057f\u0567 \u0576\u056b\u0582\u0570\u056b \u057d\u0561\u057f \u0577[\u0561]\u057d\u057f\u056b\u0582 \u0579\u056b\u0570\u0561\u0580<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transliteration:<\/strong>Didiler tari\u1e2bide ey merdikyar \/ dedim i\u015fde n\u00fchi sad \u015f<\/em>[a<\/em>]sd\u00fc \u00e7ehar.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translation:<\/strong> They said, \u2018tell [us] the date, oh man of deeds\u2019, \/ thus, I said \u2018nine hundred and sixty and four\u2019 (964\/1556\u20131557).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 3:<\/strong> The ta\u1e2ballu\u1e63<\/em> of Emre on f. 54a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transcript<\/strong>:<\/strong> \u0567\u0575 \u0563\u0561\u0574\u0578\u0582 \u057f\u056b\u0582\u0577\u0574\u056b\u0582\u0577\u056c\u0567\u0580\u0567 \u057d\u0567\u0576 \u057f\u0567\u057d\u0569\u056b\u0580\u0567\u057d \/ \u057a\u0585\u0575\u056b \u0561\u0586\u0586\u0568\u0576 \u0567\u0574\u0580\u0567\u056b \u056f\u056b\u0582\u0574\u0580\u0561\u0570\u0567 \u057a\u0567\u057d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transliteration:<\/strong> Ey \u1e33amu d\u00fc\u015fm\u00fc\u015flere sen destires \/ Boyi aff\u0131n Emre<\/strong>i g\u00fcmrahe bes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translation:<\/strong> Oh, for many fallen ones you reach \/ the fragrance of your forgiveness suffices for erring Emre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manuscript also features a colophon succeeding the final verse of the translation on f. 54a, which consists of a concluding phrase and the date 1224\/1775. Due to the absence of any other information, it is unclear when precisely this new rendition was produced and whether the manuscript at hand is a copy or perhaps its single textual witness. In any case, the colophon attests to the existence of an Armeno-Turkish version of Emre\u2019s terceme<\/em> more than two hundred years after the completion of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of its structure, this new rendition features almost all parts of Emre\u2019s work, including also the translator\u2019s preface and conclusive passage attesting to the completion of the translation in 964\/1556, making clear the relation between the two texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table 3: <\/strong>Contents of the manuscript.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fols.<\/strong><\/td>Section<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
3a\u20134a<\/td>Prelude<\/td><\/tr>
4b\u20136a<\/td>Translator\u2019s preface<\/td><\/tr>
7a\u201354a<\/td>Chapters 1\u201353<\/td><\/tr>
54a<\/td>Conclusion<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, even the Persian prelude created by Emre was rendered into the Armenian script, constituting effectively an Armeno-Persian passage of 21 verses. In doing so, the Armenian alphabet was employed in a fashion similar to the Turkish passages, including the rendering of the Persian i\u017c\u0101fa<\/em> (\u201c\u056b\u201d) also used in Ottoman genitive constructions, an apostrophe-like symbol to signify the letter \u02bfayn<\/em> in the Arabic alphabet (see fig. 4), and the presence of mouill\u00e9 consonants (such as \u201c\u0584\u0565\u0561\u0574 \/ kyam\u201d in the Persian word \u201ck\u0101m-bakhsh<\/em>\u201d).[15]<\/sup><\/a> As becomes clear from the vowels featured in this passage, the Persian was apparently read and, therefore, written in a Turkified pronunciation.[16]<\/sup><\/a> Compare the first four hemistichs of both versions (fig. 5):[17]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 4:<\/strong> Rendering of the Arabic-script letter \u02bfayn<\/em> in the passage cited below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 5: <\/strong>Opening verses of Emre\u2019s prelude in Armeno-Turkish (f. 3a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table: 4:<\/strong> Comparison of a passage from the Persian prelude of Emre\u2019s translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transcript AT<\/strong><\/td>Transliteration AT<\/strong><\/td>Transliteration P<\/strong><\/td>Transcript P<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
\u053b\u057a\u0569\u056b\u057f\u0561 \u0584\u0567\u0580\u057f\u0567\u0574 \u057a\u0567\u0576\u0561\u0574\u056b \u0561\u0576 \u0584\u0567\u0580\u056b\u0574<\/td>ibtida kerdem benami an kerim<\/em><\/em><\/td>ibtid\u0101 kardam bi-n\u0101m-i \u0101n kar\u012bm<\/em><\/em><\/td>\u0627\u0628\u062a\u062f\u0627 \u06a9\u0631\u062f\u0645 \u0628\u0646\u0627\u0645 \u0622\u0646 \u06a9\u0631\u06cc\u0645<\/td><\/tr>
\u0574\u056b\u0582\u057a\u057f\u056b\u056b\u2019 \u0584\u0567\u057e\u0576\u0567\u0575\u0576 \u057d\u0578\u0582\u056c\u0564\u0561\u0576\u056b \u0563\u0561\u057f\u056b\u0574<\/td>m\u00fcbdi\u02bfi kevneyn sul\u1e6dani \u1e33adim<\/em><\/td>mubdi\u02bf-i kawnayn sul\u1e6d\u0101n-i qad\u012bm<\/em><\/td>\u0645\u0628\u062f\u0639 \u06a9\u0648\u0646\u06cc\u0646 \u0633\u0644\u0637\u0627\u0646 \u0642\u062f\u06cc\u0645<\/td><\/tr>
\u0583\u0561\u057f\u056b\u0577\u0561\u0570\u056b \u0574\u056b\u0582\u0570\u0565\u056b\u0565\u056b \u0561\u2019\u0566\u0574\u056b \u0580\u0567\u0574\u056b\u0574<\/td>padi\u015fah-i m\u00fchyiyi \u02bfazmi remim<\/em><\/em><\/td>p\u0101dish\u0101h-i mu\u1e25y\u012b-yi \u02bfa\u1e93m-i ram\u012bm<\/em><\/em><\/td>\u067e\u0627\u062f\u0634\u0627\u0647 \u0645\u062d\u06cc\u06cc \u0639\u0638\u0645 \u0631\u0645\u06cc\u0645<\/td><\/tr>
\u0584\u0565\u0561\u0574\u056b\u0573\u0561\u0576 \u057a\u0561\u056d\u0577\u056b\u0582 \u057f\u056b\u056c\u056b\u0582 \u0573\u0561\u0576\u056b \u0565\u0567\u0569\u056b\u0574<\/td>kyamican ba\u1e2b\u015f\u00fc dil\u00fc cani yetim<\/em><\/td>k\u0101m-bakhsh u k\u0101m-k\u0101r-i har yat\u012bm<\/em><\/td>\u06a9\u0627\u0645 \u0628\u062e\u0634 \u0648 \u06a9\u0627\u0645\u06a9\u0627\u0631 \u0647\u0631 \u06cc\u062a\u06cc\u0645<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this fashion, all verses of the Persian prelude are presented in this copy, in addition to the Turkish translator\u2019s preface, which is also given in full. The following chapters of the translation proper are then introduced via longer titles (which are to my knowledge not present in the extant copies of Emre\u2019s work in the Arabic script), offering a description of their contents as is the case, for instance, in the title of the first chapter (fig. 6):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 6:<\/strong> Title of the first chapter (f. 7a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transcript:<\/strong> \u054a\u056b\u0580\u056b\u0576\u0573\u056b \u054a\u0561\u057a\/ \u054a\u0578\u0582 \u057a\u0561\u0570\u0568\u0580 \u0574\u0578\u0582\u057d\u0561\u0576\u0576\u0568\u0586\u0568\u0576 \u0570\u0561\u0574\u057f\u056b\u0582 \u0577\u056b\u0582\u0584\u0580 \u056b\u0569\u0574\u0567\u0584\u056c\u056b\u0576\u056f\u056b \u057a\u0567\u0565\u0561\u0576\u056b\u0576\u057f\u0567\u057f\u056b\u0582\u0580.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AT transliteration:<\/strong> Birinci bab \/ bu bah\u0131r musann\u0131f\u0131n\u0131n hamd\u00fc \u015f\u00fckr itmeklingi beyaninded\u00fcr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translation:<\/strong> First chapter: This part is on the author\u2019s praise [of God].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the 53 chapters apparently were to carry titles such as the one above, even though some were not inserted in this copy. The main difference in the number of chapters when compared to copies of the Arabic-script version of Emre\u2019s work is due to the combination of several chapters in the Armeno-Turkish version, such as chapter 46, which combines chapters 53 and 54 (in the edition of Bilgin).[18]<\/sup><\/a> Apart from such fusions of chapters, which are present in part of the manuscript corpus of the Arabic-script version as well, the present rendition adheres rather strictly to the contents of Emre\u2019s translation, both with respect to the verse numbers within the individual chapters as well as the precise wording of the verses. Thus, the Armeno-Turkish rendition cannot be considered a proper case of tradaptation, as it faithfully renders the Turkish of the source into Armenian letters.[19]<\/sup><\/a> As an example of the contents of the work, consider the following example from chapter 10:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 7:<\/strong> Beginning of chapter 10 on f. 13b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table: 5:<\/strong> A passage from the Armeno-Turkish version of Emre\u2019s translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transcript AT<\/strong><\/td>Transliteration AT<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
\u0531\u0586\u056b\u0565\u0567\u0569 \u056b\u057d\u0569\u0567\u0580\u057d\u0567\u0576 \u0567\u0575 \u0565\u0561\u0580\u056b \u0561\u2019\u0566\u056b\u0566<\/td>Afiyet istersen ey yari \u02bfaziz,<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
\u0561\u0580\u0561 \u0561\u0576\u056b \u0579\u0561\u0580 \u0579\u056b\u0566 \u056b\u0579\u056b\u0576\u057f\u0567 \u0569\u056b\u0566<\/td>ara \u00e7ar \u00e7iz i\u00e7inde tiz.<\/em><\/em><\/td><\/tr>
\u054a\u056b\u0580\u056b \u0567\u0575\u0574\u0567\u0576\u056c\u056b\u0584 \u057a\u056b\u0580\u056b \u0576\u056b\u2019\u0574\u0567\u0569 \u057f\u056b\u0582\u0580\u056b\u0582\u0580<\/td>biri eymenlik biri ni\u02bfmet d\u00fcr\u00fcr<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
\u057a\u056b\u0580\u056b \u057d\u0568\u0570\u0570\u0561\u0569 \u057a\u056b\u0580\u056b \u0561\u0566\u0561\u057f \u057f\u056b\u0582\u0580\u056b\u0582\u0580<\/td>biri s\u0131hhat biri azad d\u00fcr\u00fcr<\/em><\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If well-being is what you seek, oh dear, look for it in four things, quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is safety, one is happiness; one is bodily health, and another one, freedom.[20]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, there are also some parts of Emre\u2019s translation which were not transferred into the Armeno-Turkish version and constitute a modification or adaptation. While these changes do not pertain to any of the characteristic passages that make possible the identification of Emre\u2019s translation, they concern another set of chapters, namely the second and third chapters of the translation, which contain altogether 17 verses with praise for the Prophet Mu\u1e25ammad, the first four caliphs, and the some of the founding figures of the Sunni religious schools.[21]<\/sup><\/a> Thus, the transfer of the work into Armeno-Turkish entailed the preservation of the largest portion of the work\u2019s admonishing contents, including those parts which ensured the visibility of the original translator, whereas the distinctly Islamic passages of the translation were omitted. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for its production, the manuscript (and, thus, the Armeno-Turkish rendition itself) bears no marks attesting to the specific context of its creation. Concerning its circulation, the manuscript bears \u2013 apart from the stamp attesting to its presence in the current library \u2013 only a small note on f. 2a stating that it was gifted to the Mekhitarist Congregation in Trieste on 1 February 1808 by a certain Philippus Tatarian Arynthiants.[22]<\/sup><\/a> Thus, the copy\u2019s creation and whereabouts before 1808 remain unclear; however, it still serves to evidence yet another layer of transmission of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>in the Ottoman context and, perhaps, one that is not related to settings of Islamic education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the usage of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>in its Armeno-Turkish variety, not many historical accounts can be found. Yet, it is likely that it was produced to be employed in educational contexts, as was the case with the Persian original and Emre\u2019s translation in the Arabic script as well. In terms of authors making mention of the work in contexts pertaining to Armenian or Armeno-Turkish, the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> is referenced, for instance, in the Armeno-Turkish primer to the Ottoman Turkish language and orthography titled Mift\u0101h\u00fc\u2019l-\u02bful\u016bm<\/em> (Key to the Sciences<\/em>) by Hagop Pa\u015fayan (published in 1873). In the preface to the book, the author mentions the \u201cCounsels of \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em>\u201d (Pend-i \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em>) among other famous works of Persian advice literature, such as the Gulist\u0101n<\/em> of Sa\u02bfd\u012b (d. 691\/1292) or Nakhshab\u012b\u2019s (d. 751\/1350) \u1e6c\u016b\u1e6d\u012bn\u0101ma<\/em>, as being employed typically for the teaching of the \u201cOttoman language\u201d.[23]<\/sup><\/a> Given the application of the Persian original and the translation of Emre in such contexts and the awareness of later authors such as Pa\u015fayan on this didactic applicability, the Armeno-Turkish rendition of the work might have been conceptualised for such an application as well. Even though Pa\u015fayan\u2019s book appeared roughly a century after the manuscript at hand was produced, this educational usage of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>in the Ottoman Empire persisted between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries and, thus, appears to have reached another important stratum of Ottoman society in its Armeno-Turkish form. Indeed, perhaps the intrinsic structure of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em>, namely its direct approach in giving advice, its linguistic accessibility, and the absence of passages on distinctly Islamic historical figures outside of the second and third chapters made it seem especially suitable to be rendered into another alphabet to be used in a non-Islamic context of moral or linguistic instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constituting thus an important albeit single witness to the reception of the (translated) Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> within Armenian-speaking strata of Ottoman society during the eighteenth century, the present manuscript further serves to show the invariances and changes that the transfer into the Armeno-Turkish included for such instances of translated Persian literature. Yet, many questions remain in absence of more detailed contextual information, and, likely, further instances of this and other versions can be found, as there are some indications for other copies of the Pandn\u0101ma <\/em>in the Armenian script.[24]<\/sup><\/a> However, after this brief discussion, the blog entry must end, and it does so with the Armeno-Turkish colophon on f. 54a of the manuscript, reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fig. 8: <\/strong>Colophon of the work on f. 54a.
<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0539\u0567\u0574\u0567\u0569\u0569\u056b\u0582\u056c\u0584\u056b\u0569\u0561\u057a \u057a\u056b \u0561\u2019\u057e\u0576\u056b\u056c\u056c\u0561\u0570\u056b\u056c \u0574\u0567\u056c\u056b\u0584\u056b\u0582\u056c \u057e\u0567\u0570\u0570\u0561\u057a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temett\u00fcl kitab bi \u02bfavni\u2019llahil melik\u00fcl vehhab.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completed is the book with the help of God, the ever-bestowing King.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambros, Edith G\u00fcl\u00e7in, H\u00fclya \u00c7elik, and Ani Sargsyan: \u201cIntertwined Literatures: Karamanl\u0131, Armeno-Turkish, and Regular Ottoman Versions of the K\u00f6ro\u011flu Folktale\u201d, in: Evangelia Balta (ed.): Literary and Cultural Crossroads in the Late Ottoman Empire<\/em> (Istanbul: Boyut, 2024), pp. 1\u201354.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilgin, Azmi: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em> (Istanbul: Enderun Kitabevi, 1998).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c7elik, H\u00fclya and Ani Sargsyan: \u201cIntroducing Transcription Standards for Armeno-Turkish Literary Studies\u201d, in: Diy\u00e2r<\/em>, 3\/2 (2022), pp. 161-189.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dashian, Jacobus: Catalog der armenischen Handschriften in der Mechitharisten-Bibliothek zu Wien<\/em> (Wien: Mechitaristenbuchdruckerei, 1895).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emre, Terceme-i Pendn\u0101me-i \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r<\/em>, MS S\u00fcleymaniye Yazma Eser K\u00fct\u00fcphanesi, \u0130zmir 612.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Der Matossian, Bedross: \u201cThe Development of Armeno-Turkish (Hayatar T\u2018rk\u2018er\u0113n) in the 19th Century Ottoman Empire\u201d, in: Intellectual History of the Islamicate World<\/em>, 8\/1 (2020), pp. 67-100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drki\u0107, Munir and Ehsan Reisi: “Dal\u0101yil va \u0101s\u0331\u0101r-i rav\u0101j-i Pand-n\u0101ma-yi mans\u016bb ba \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r dar B\u016bsn\u0101” (The Causes and Effects of the Spread of the Pandnameh of Attar in Bosnia), in: Gawhar-G\u016by\u0101<\/em>,14\/2 (2021), pp. 151-170.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirakosyan, Hasmik: \u201cThe Orthographic Rules of the Eighteenth Century Armeno-Persian Gospels of the Matenadaran\u201d, in: Iranian Studies<\/em>, 53 (2020), pp. 295-330.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirakosyan, Hasmik and Ani Sargsyan: \u201cThe Educational Role of the Late Medieval Persian-Ottoman Turkish Bilingual Dictionaries\u201d, in: Turkic Languages<\/em>, 22\/2 (2018), pp. 167-174.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u015fayan, Hagop: Mift\u0101h\u00fc\u2019l-\u02bful\u016bm<\/em> (Istanbul: Aramyan Matbaas\u0131, 1873).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strauss, Johann: \u201cWhat was (Really) Translated in the Ottoman Empire? Sleuthing Nineteenth-century Ottoman Translated Literature\u201d, in: Marilyn Booth (ed.): Migrating Texts, Circulating Translations around the Ottoman Mediterranean <\/em>(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019), pp. 55-94.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johann Strauss, \u201cWho Read What in the Ottoman Empire (19th\u201320th Centuries)?\u201d, in: Middle Eastern Literatures<\/em>, 6\/1 (2003), pp. 39\u201376.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yazar, Sad\u0131k: Anadolu Sahas\u0131 Kl\u00e2sik T\u00fcrk Edebiyat\u0131nda Terc\u00fcme ve \u015eerh Gelene\u011fi<\/em>, Ph.D. dissertation (Istanbul: \u0130stanbul \u00dcniversitesi, 2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zweng, Kandida: “Pandnama: Kritische Textausgabe und \u00dcbersetzung der Urduinterpretation des klassischen persischen Lehrgedichtes Pandnama”, in: Acta Orientalia<\/em>, 61 (2000), pp. 23-144.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> I want to thank Ani Sargsyan for making me aware of this manuscript and for her help with some of the readings. Moreover, this contribution was made possible through the Andreas Tietze Memorial Fellowship in Turkish Studies of the Department of Near Eastern Studies of the University of Vienna, and I am deeply grateful for the support and research opportunities I received in Vienna during September and October 2024. Furthermore, the research was conducted within the framework of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group TRANSLAPT (uni.ms\/translapt<\/a>). Then, I want to also express my gratitude towards the Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna and especially the librarian, P. Simon Bayan,\u00a0for granting me access to the manuscript at hand. For studies addressing the proliferation and reception of (translated) Armeno-Turkish literature (primarily during the nineteenth century), see Ambros\/\u00c7elik\/Sargsyan: \u201cIntertwined Literatures: Karamanl\u0131, Armeno-Turkish, and Regular Ottoman Versions of the K\u00f6ro\u011flu Folktale\u201d; Strauss: \u201cWhat was (Really) Translated in the Ottoman Empire?\u201d; idem: \u201cWho Read What in the Ottoman Empire?\u201d; Der Matossian: \u201cThe Development of Armeno-Turkish (Hayatar T\u2018rk\u2018er\u0113n<\/em>) in the 19th Century Ottoman Empire\u201d. While not translations in the literary sense, the role of Persian-Turkish dictionaries in educational contexts have been discussed by Kirakosyan\/Sargsyan: \u201cThe Educational Role of the Late Medieval Persian-Ottoman Turkish Bilingual Dictionaries\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> For the entry in the physical catalogue, see Dashian: Catalog der armenischen Handschriften in der Mechitharisten-Bibliothek<\/em>, p. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> On the notion of the Persianate world, see Green: \u201cIntroduction: The Frontiers of the Persianate World\u201d; on the Balkans-to-Bengal complex, see Ahmed: What is Islam?<\/em>, pp. 73-75. For the early modern period, this vast transmission and reception is indeed attested in a space between the Ottoman Balkans and the Indian Subcontinent, as becomes evident from both manuscript sources and printed editions. To give only two examples, for a discussion of the reception and translation of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> in the Balkans, see Drki\u0107\/Reisi: \u201cDal\u0101yil va \u0101s\u0331\u0101r-i rav\u0101j-i Pand-n\u0101ma-yi mans\u016bb ba \u02bfA\u1e6d\u1e6d\u0101r dar B\u016bsn\u0101\u201d; for a discussion of a translation into Urdu, see Zweng: \u201cPandnama: Kritische Textausgabe und \u00dcbersetzung der Urduinterpretation des klassischen persischen Lehrgedichtes Pandnama\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> On different modes of reading for such Persian classics in the Ottoman context, see \u0130nan: \u201cOttomans Reading Persian Classics\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> For overview of the translations and commentaries produced on the basis of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em>, see Yazar: Anadolu Sahas\u0131 Kl\u00e2sik T\u00fcrk Edebiyat\u0131nda Terc\u00fcme ve \u015eerh Gelene\u011fi<\/em>, pp. 376-397.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> On the attribution to this author, see Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i \u2018Att\u00e2r<\/em>, pp. 17-18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> On the date of completion, see ibid, 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> \u200b\u200bCited from MS S\u00fcleymaniye, \u0130zmir 612, f. 2b. For the Latin-script edition, see Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i \u2018Att\u00e2r<\/em>, p. 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a> \u200b\u200bWhile there are certain variations in the manuscript corpus of the work, these are the numbers as given by Azmi Bilgin in her Latin-script edition. For an overview of the chapters, see Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em>, pp. 21-24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a> Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i \u2018Att\u00e2r<\/em>, p. 21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a> Cited from MS S\u00fcleymaniye, \u0130zmir 612, f. 29b. For the Latin-script edition, see Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em>, p. 128.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/sup><\/a> For the catalogue entry of the manuscript, see Dashian: Catalog der armenischen Handschriften in der Mechitharisten-Bibliothek<\/em>, p. 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/sup><\/a> The transliteration scheme employed in this blog entry conforms with the standards outlined in \u00c7elik\/Sargsyan: \u201cIntroducing Transcription Standards for Armeno-Turkish Literary Studies\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/sup><\/a> The titles are rendered in the Bolorgir<\/em> or cursive script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/sup><\/a> On the usage of \u201c\u0565\u201d (y) after consonants in Arabic and Persian words in the Armeno-Turkish script, see \u00c7elik\/Sargsyan: \u201cIntroducing Transcription Standards for Armeno-Turkish Literary Studies\u201d, pp. 175-176 and Ambros\/\u00c7elik\/Sargsyan: \u201cIntertwined Literatures: Karamanl\u0131, Armeno-Turkish, and Regular Ottoman Versions of the K\u00f6ro\u011flu Folktale\u201d, pp. 31-32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/sup><\/a> Cf. the present orthography to the one found in Armeno-Persian works as presented in Kirakosyan: \u201cThe Orthographic Rules of the Eighteenth Century Armeno-Persian Gospels of the Matenadaran\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/sup><\/a> Cited from MS S\u00fcleymaniye, \u0130zmir 612, f. 1b. For the Latin-script edition, see Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em>, p. 29. The second hemistich of the second verse here constitutes a variant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18]<\/sup><\/a> Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em>, p. 103.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19]<\/sup><\/a> On this notion in the context of Armeno-Turkish translations and Chrisitan juvenile literature, see the blog post by H\u00fclya \u00c7elik and Ani Sargsyan titled \u201cChristoph von Schmid in the Ottoman Literary Landscape: Armeno-Turkish Translations and the Shaping of Christian Juvenile Literature\u201d in this blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[20]<\/sup><\/a> In the edition, \u0101z\u0101d\u012b<\/em> instead of \u0101z\u0101d<\/em> is given. See ibid., p. 49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[21]<\/sup><\/a> The chapters are given in Bilgin: Terceme-i Pendn\u00e2me-i ‘Att\u00e2r<\/em>, pp. 37-39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[22]<\/sup><\/a> Dashian: Catalog der armenischen Handschriften in der Mechitharisten-Bibliothek<\/em>, p. 18. The entry in the catalogue also mentioned two small writings (on fols. Ib and 55b) mentioning the name \u201cGiovanni\u201d and \u201cGiovantov\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[23]<\/sup><\/a> Pa\u015fayan: Mift\u0101h\u00fc\u2019l-\u02bful\u016bm<\/em>, p. 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[24]<\/sup><\/a> The study of the present manuscript and a survey of further Armeno-Turkish and Armenian versions of the Pandn\u0101ma<\/em> is ongoing and more insights in this respect are to be published in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tobias Sick (University of M\u00fcnster) The reception of Persianate literature in the form of translations in the Ottoman Empire as a field of study has gained more traction in recent years; however, studies pertaining to such translations in the context of Armeno-Turkish have hitherto not featured prominently in the literature.[1] Yet, there are examples that … Continue reading Reading Persian Advice Literature in Armeno-Turkish: Some Notes on the \u2018Pearl-Adorned Pendn\u0101me\u2019<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4,1],"tags":[58,57],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-armeno-turkish-manuscripts","category-mekhitharist-library","category-uncategorized","tag-pandnama","tag-pandnama-yi-aar"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":520,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions\/520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=488"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atlas.univie.ac.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}