Comparison of two types of copies of İdrîs-i Bidlîsî’s Hasht Behesht

Abstract

Hasht Behesht (Eight Heavens) was written in Persian by İdrîs-i Bidlîsî (1457-1520) as a history book worthy of the Ottoman Empire, with the instruction of Bayezid II (1447-1512), and it represents a significant work in terms of Ottoman historical sources. Since this work, which consists of one introduction, eight inscriptions, and one epilogue, has not been appreciated as much as it deserves, it has not been published as a whole and translated into Turkish. This study, which categorizes two copies as the A-type and B-type, compares the fifth and sixth inscriptions of Esed Efendi 2199, which is acknowledged as an example of the A-type copy draft, and the Nuruosmaniye 3209, the B-type engrossed copy. It is seen that the A-type copies were subjected to heavy criticism by the chroniclers in the palace. The primary criticisms towards Bidlisî include that he used complex language and covered unnecessary details. As it can be understood from the comparison between the B-type copy presented to Bayezid II and the A-type copy presented to Selim I, Bidlisî took these criticisms into account and made changes in both volume and content in the engrossed copy. It has been found that Bidlisî has quoted other poets, whether Iranian or Arabic, in most of the verse parts of the work, without mentioning names and sources. It has been seen that Bidlisî frequently refers to verses from Quran and hadiths in order to strengthen his work in terms of meaning and influence.