On the Copy of Mîr Haydar Tilbe’s Masnavî Mahzenü’l-Esrâr written by Ali Şah Bahşi in Uigur Characters
(55th Meeting, 2012)
Mîr Haydar is one of the leading poets of Chagatai Turkish in 15th century. His name is referred to in forms of Haydar, Haydarî, Haydar-ı sâhib-hüner in his works, Mevlânâ Haydar, Mîr Haydar-ı Meczûb, Mevlânâ Haydar-ı Türkî-gûy, Haydar Harezmî, Mevlânâ Haydar Harezmî-i Türkî-gûy, Haydar Tilbe in references.
We know two poetic works of Mîr Haydar with one eulogy comprising 30 verses and one masnavî named Mahzenü’l-esrâr comprising 620 verses both written in Uigur characters.
The eulogy of 30 verses was published by Turhan Genceî and Ayşegül Sertkaya. (Tourkhan Gandjei, “Note on an unknown poem of Haidar in Uighur chcracters“, A Locust’s Leg. Studies in Honor of. S. T. Taqizadeh, London, p.1962, 64-69; Ayşegül Sertkaya, “Opinions on the sources of an eulogy with verbal symmetry written in Eastern Turkish, İlmî Araştırmalar [Scientific Researches], 7, Istanbul, 1999, p. 177-190.)
His masnavî with 620 verses is an original work written with the inspiration of the masnavî with the same name by Nizamî-i Gencevî. Mir Haydar emphasizes that he got inspired by the masnavî of Nizamî-i Gencevî with the same name written in Persian for his own masnavî in his following verses:
men ki bişürdüm bu lezîz aşnı / şeyh nizâmîdin alıp çaşnî
şeyh nizâmî demidin cân tapıp / ma‘nîsidin yarlıg u fermân tapıp.
We know three manuscripts of Mahzenü’l-esrâr written in Uigur characters two of which are complete and one comprises selected verses from the masnavî and about 14 manuscripts of it written in Arabic characters.
My student Ayet Abdülaziz Goca performed his doctorate study on the manus- cript copied by Şeyhzâde Abdürrezzak Bahşı with Uigur characters in Istanbul in 1480s under my consultancy. (Ayet Abdülaziz Goca, Mir Haydar’s Mahzenü’l-Esrar (Transcription, Translation, Remarks and Index), Istanbul, 2000, XXXVII+242 p.)
A compilation of selected works comprising manuscripts in Arabic characters was published by A. Gotwalt in Kazan in 1858. Furthermore, a text prepared by Alimcan Corayev using manuscripts in Arabic characters was published in Tashkent in 1990. (Âlimcân Corayev, Alişer Navâiyning Epik Poeziyadagi Türkigoy Salafi, Tashkent, 1990). In addition, an edition critic made by Avni Gözütok in Erzurum in 2008 with the comparison of five of the manuscripts in Arabic characters. (Avni Gözütok, Haydar Tilbe. Mahzenü’l-esrâr (Grammar-Text-Index-Facsimile),Erzurum, 2008, p.186 + Facsimile)
The declaration will focus on the grammar, linguistic characteristics and content of the manuscript in Uigur characters which was copied in Uigur characters and written to be lost up to now and so the manuscript will be introduced to the scientific world.