Tarih-i Feth-i Eğri, The Conquest of Egri by Ta'liqi-zâde Suhbī Chelebi, Turkey, first half 17th century

Ottoman Turkish manuscript with 10 miniatures in gouache heightened with gold, 27 leaves, 15 lines to the page in 2 columns of neat naskhi script written in black ink, catchwords and subheadings in various colours, in a gilt-stamped ebru paper binding

ex-Collection François Barillet-Lequenne.

In overall good condition, opening leaf in need of repair around the text box, other small tears to leaves, some pages with repairs to leaf margins, some minor patches of waterstaining, colophon is missing, otherwise ink and colours strong, as viewed.
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This manuscript is a rare copy of The Conquest of Eğri, by Ta'liqi-zade Suhbi Chelebi (d.1599) bearing the personal seals of (most probably) Sultan Suleyman II (r.1687-1692) and Mahmud I (r.1730-1754). According to the note on f.1a, the manuscript was owned by Grand-vizier Ibrahim Pasha who acquired it in A.H. 1097/A.D. 1685.

The Conquest of Eğri, also known as Shahnâma-i Mehmed Khân, is the third of three shahnâmas written in Turkish, under the reign of Sultan Mehmed III (r.1595-1603). This work is written by Ta'liqi-zade Suhbi Chelebi who replaced Loqman as the court historian and who in this case worked under the pseudonym Nisari. The manuscript explains the reasons for the campaign of Eğri (Erlau), in which the Sultan personally took part, and gives details of its siege, the assault, and the victorious return of the Sultan to Istanbul. The manuscript also recounts the defeat of the armies of the Habsburg Archduke Maximilian at the battle of Haçova (26 October 1596). The text is written entirely in verse with some passages in prose for headings, and was composed in the first half of the seventeenth century. The story is preceded by a Persian poem (f.2) from the Timurnama with the Turkish translation (f.3).

The absence of a colophon does not allow us to know the name of the copyist, the date of composition or the name of the addressee. However, it is believed that this manuscript was executed in Istanbul, in the workshops of the Imperial Palace of Topkapi, at the end of the sixteenth century or early seventeenth century. Similarly, whilst we do not know the name of the miniaturist, it is possible that it is Nakkas Hasan Pasha, artist and author of twelve miniatures made for the Shah-name-i Sultan Mehmed III preserved at the Library of Topkapı Palace (see F.E. Karatay, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi, Türkçe Yazmalar Katalogu, Istanbul, 1961, n° 2030 ; Zeren Tanındı, « Nakkas Hasan Pasa », Sanat, n° 6 (juin 1977), p.114). The illuminated frontispiece (f.4) is rendered with inks of different colours (orange, purple, red, indigo and blue) whilst the ten miniatures, typical of the Turkish school, are most attractive although curiously two of them are unfinished (f.34-35).

The texts and seals of the first page (f.1) allow us to trace the history of this manuscript. The seal at the top is that of Sultan Süleyman II (r.1687-1692), and is placed alongside text stating that the manuscript comes from the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha (who inherited the highest office of the Ottoman Empire after his predecessor Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed following the defeat of Ottoman troops at the Battle of Vienna in 1683). Thereafter, the manuscript came into possession of Sultan Mahmud I (r.1730-1754), who recorded it in his library as evidenced by the seal of its foundation (vakfi) placed at the centre of the page, and the words just below, Harem-i Humayun (Imperial Harem). The small seal at the bottom of the page bears the name of a certain Alim Mustafa. Given that his seal is dated A.H. 1215/A.D. 1800, it can be assumed this manuscript was acquired by the private library of Sultan Mahmud I at some point in the mid to late eighteenth century.

Mehmed III, who was educated outside the capital, in the small Anatolian town of Manisa, ascended the Ottoman throne on 27 January 1595. Upon arrival in Istanbul, the grand vizier and all the dignitaries of the empire came to pay tribute to him kissing the hand, the end of his sleeves, and bowing before his throne. Shortly after the funeral of his father, Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), Mehmed III put to death his seventeen brothers. Three days after his arrival, Mehmed III distributed to the army one hundred thirty scholarships and ten thousand ducats each, for this use. This event can be seen in the first of the manuscript miniatures.

Miniature 1 (f.30-31): We read in the clouds: "His Majesty the Sultan Mehmed ascended the throne of Félicité / Important was the sound of tymbales / Soldiers kissed his hand, and donations are released / the khans of Crimea were assembled "

On 21 June 1596, Mehmed III, preceded by bombers and musketeers on foot, lancers on horseback, and the janissaries of Istanbul. The army came to camp in the plain of Egri (21^st September) and were refused entry to the city by its inhabitants. The Sultan thus ordered the attack on the fortress that was taken on October 12^th. Thirteen days later, the Ottoman and Habsburg armies prepared to do battle, with the Turkish Sultan taking up position with the sacred banner in the middle of the Ottoman troops. On the front, as illustrated in the miniature, artillery at the bottom right is linked by channels and forms a formidable line of defence. The right wing is commanded by the governors (beylerbey) of Anatolia, Karaman, and of Halepa Marach; the left wing by those of Roumelia and Temechvar, and Governor Diyarbekir leads the vanguard under the command of the renegade Genoese Cigala. A church near the ford of a marsh is occupied by janissaries and also provides a few guns. At around noon, the Hungarian and German forces invaded part of the army where the sultan stood. With the danger approaching, the sultan withdrew behind the luggage in the tent of the chief müteferrika. The battle had essentially already been won by the Hungarians and Germans, as they had captured 109 guns, and the day ended when the soldiers, despite the orders of Archduke Maximilian, being cast on the Sultan's tent where all the people of the imperial house defended as best they could with sticks, knives, and pins (see the scene shown in the bottom of the miniature).

Taking advantage of this disorder, Cigala came suddenly with the cavalry of the avant-garde and fell on their backs. In less than half an hour the enemy troops were turned back in the marshes. More than fifty thousand men perished in the swamps and ten thousand gold ducats and ninety-five of the most beautifully made German guns fell into the hands of the victors. The Ottoman victory at Haçova, 26 October 1596, remarkably illustrated through these two miniatures, is regarded by historians as one of the greatest victories.

Miniature 2 (f.34-35): "Having done all their duty, God exhaucé their prayers / Drawing the sword he made his prayer shield / [so] that the enemy was in a dirty situation "

At the announcement of the return of Mehmed III, his mother, Safiye Sultan Valide Sultana, went to wait in the palace of Pasha Davud suburb with all the other women in the harem.

Miniature 3 (f. 40-41): "When the king arrived at the esplanade Davud Pacha, heralds paved the way / With widely distributed gold crowns removed from the shackles of his horse shoes"

The Sultan spent a night at Pacha Davud, and the next day made a triumphal entry into the capital, with the Vizier, clerics and mufti as part of his imperial escort, distinguished by the banner of the Prophet. All the streets which Mehmed III passed through were strewn with rich fabrics and sheets of different colours. Precious textiles were laid upon the ground to be crushed by the imperial courier.

Miniature 4 (f. 44-45): "They are dispersed at the sight of the Sultan, brought ten trays of jewellery / The jewels covered the soil of many fairy tales (peri) found was a wealth of jewels"

Miniature 5 (f. 48-49): "The sovereign of the world went happily to the flag / which is honoured by the crown and the throne / The moon with the Pleiades are the veil, put an end with a greeting to the Book".

The author
Subhi Çelebi Mehmed bin Mehmed el-Fenari (d.1599), better known under the name Ta'lîkî-zade spent over forty years of his life to serving the Ottoman government (Bursalı Mehmed Tahir, Osmanlı Mü'ellifleri, Istanbul, 1342/1923, III, p.34). His career can be divided into three stages: from 1562 to 1574, when he held the post of secretary (Katib) in the Anatolian city of Manisa in the house of Prince Murad. From 1574 (the date of accession to the throne of Murad III) to around 1590, Ta'lîkî-zade occupied the position of scribe in the Imperial Divan (Divan-i Humayun), the Council of the Grand Vizier. Henceforth he accompanied the Ottoman armies on the battlefield as a scribe which included involvement in campaigns against the Safavids of Persia during the years 1578-1590. From 1590 until his death in 1599, he took the post of official historiographer (sehnâmeci) to the court. In this capacity he participated in the Hungarian campaigns of 1593-1594 and the 1596 conflict against the Habsburgs. He disappeared in 1599 and it appears likely that he was killed on the battlefield.

The literary works of Ta'lîkî-zade
Ta'lîkî-zade is the author of six works of literature. With the exception of one, they only exist as a single copy:
Firasetnâme, Physiognomical Treaty in prose and verse, dedicated to Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), 62 leaves, 4 miniatures, kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Manuscrit Oriental Turkish Supplement No.1055.

Gürcistan Seferi, The campaign in Georgia in 1584, 33 leaves, 1 miniature, in the Topkapi Palace Library, Revan 1300.

Murad-name veya Tebrîzîye, The campaign of Osman Pasha and the taking of Tabriz on Safavid Persia, 59 leaves, in the Topkapi Palace Library, Revan 1299.

After his appointment as official historian, Ta'lîkî-zade produced the following three works:

Semâ'ilnâme-Al-i 'Osman, Presentation of the Ottoman dynasty, 125 leaves, 12 miniatures, in the Topkapi Palace Library, Ahmed III 3592. There is also an incomplete version, probably a draft, held in Vienna.

Sehnâme-i Humayun, A History of Ottoman campaigns in Hungary Murad III (1593-1594), 123 leaves, 3 miniatures, composed in early 1596, in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul.

Egri Fethi Ta'rîhi, The campaign of Egri, Hungary by Mehmed III in 1596, 74 leaves, 4 miniatures, in the Topkapi Palace Library, Hazine 1609.

Unlike all those listed above, the present manuscript of Ta'lîkî-Zade is written entirely in verse (with some prose for the headings). To the best of our knowledge, it is also the only Egri manuscript in existence to include an illustration of Mehmed III's coronation.