The Traces of the Oral Culture in the Poetry Parts of a History Book from the XVIIth Century: Shajara-i Tarākima by Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan

• Published in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Vol. 167; no. 1; pp. 91 - 109
• Main Author: Betül Özbay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Harrassowitz Verlag 01-01-2017
• Subjects: Aufsätze; Central Asian literature; Literary history; Narrative poetry; Oral literature; Oral poetry; Poetic meter; Poetry; Turkish literature; Words; Writers
• ISSN: 0341-0137
• DOI: 10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.167.1.0091

In many Central Asian history books, it is common to find poetry, especially in Mongolo-Turkic culture. Shajara-i Tarākima is a history book written in the XVIIth century by Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan in the Chagatai language. The book is about the origin and history of Turkish Tribes in Central Asia and it is divided into several chapters in accordance to the names of different Turkish Lords and people of importance as well as important historical events. Previously, this book was studied as a language material of this period in a philological and historical aspect, but without substantial concern towards the function of the poems. The book consists of approximately 1400 lines; 35 of which constituting as poetry. In total, five poems are attested in the book and serve two main functions: to explain an extraordinary or magnificient situation and to support the occurrence of historical events as historical evidence. In particular, we examined former readings and focused on supplementary details to the poems.