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16th-17th Century Manuscripts and Letter-Writing Manuals in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

By Ercan Akyol

During my postdoctoral research fellowship at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, I had the privilege of working in the Oriental Department from September 1st to October 1st. The primary purpose of my trip to Berlin was to advance my research for my forthcoming book, which builds upon and extends my PhD thesis1, as well as to study Ottoman letter-writing manuals. The objective of my research is to contextualize Ottoman literary culture of the late 16th and early 17th centuries within its historical framework, with a particular focus on the functions of literature in Ottoman society, especially among the scholarly elite. Ottoman epistolary guides/manuscripts were a significant focus of my research, as they constitute an essential component of the book and relate to my broader study of letter-writing practices in the early modern period. My residency at the Berlin State Library provided invaluable resources and made a substantial contribution to my research at this critical stage of the project.

Objective of my Project

In my doctoral dissertation, I had examined the literary-intellectual milieu of the period in its historical context, utilizing as broad a range of materials as possible. Letters, archival documents, chronicles, travelogues, medical treatises, biographies (teẕkire), and various literary works served as the primary sources for my research. The Oriental Department at the Berlin State Library became a crucial resource for advancing this project, particularly with its extensive manuscript collection. 

Although I had already consulted some manuscripts available in the library’s digital collection during my research, many others required direct examination. During my stay in Berlin, I delved into the library’s collection, exploring—like an avid reader—the texts the Ottomans wrote, copied, and read in the 16thand 17th centuries. This experience significantly enriched my research, allowing me to return to Vienna with a wealth of valuable material. 

During my stay at the Oriental Department, by using Qalamos I found and personally examined 155 manuscripts spanning a wide range of content and material qualities. These included manuals of correspondence, literary works, chronicles, texts on agriculture, books on legal codes, fetvā & ṣakk collections, personal compilations, works on physiognomy, fortune-telling guides, works on sexual health, religious treatises, dictionaries, and story collections.

The benefits of my study extended beyond the manuscript contents, which alone constituted an invaluable resource. The opportunity to closely examine the manuscripts themselves allowed me to gain deeper insights into their material and codicological features.

In this regard, I was also fortunate to participate in a five-day intensive workshop titled Material Aspects of Manuscripts of the Islamicate World, with a Special Focus on Bookbinding, organized by the Corpus Coranicum at the BBAW, the Berlin State Library, and the Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation.2 This comprehensive event was as enriching as my direct work with the manuscripts in the library, offering both theoretical and practical instruction from experts on Islamic binding, as well as paper and ink techniques, from around the world.

Letter-Writing Manuals

Returning to my research in Berlin, the second most critical aspect of the Berlin State Library’s Oriental collection for my project was, as previously mentioned, the epistolary manuals. I believe I have thoroughly examined nearly all the relevant material available in the library. Covering manuscripts from the 16th century through to the late 19th century, I analyzed many examples.

Ill. 1: A theoretical text on letter writing from the late 16th century. İnşā, Hs. Or. Oct. 917, 6b-7a, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

Notably, the Berlin collection includes personal letter collections and mixed-content manuscripts that belonged to many individuals who served in the Ottoman scribal service, particularly from the 18th century onward. This material holds enormous potential for future research.(( The potential of epistolary manuscripts for Ottoman studies has been previously mentioned by many researchers, see Matuz 1969; Riedlmayer 2008; Woodhead 2007.)) Although my primary focus lies in earlier centuries, I intentionally explored manuscripts from later periods as well with the objective to gain a broader perspective on the development of letter-writing manuals over time. This approach allowed me to obtain significant insights into the evolution of these manuals across temporal, spatial, and social contexts, and to trace their transformation through various manuscripts.

In this regard, I have identified previously unknown or unpublished letters by Fāʾiżī, Nevʿī-zāde ʿAṭāʾī, Nergisī, Veysī, Ġanī-zāde Nādirī, ʿAzmī-zāde Ḥāletī, Zekeriyā-zāde Yaḥyā, and many others. Additionally, I have uncovered information within these manuscripts that will contribute to establishing the historical context of previously published letters by prominent prose-writers such as Nergisī and Veysī, whose addressees, purposes, locations, and other contextual details have thus far remained obscure.

Analyzing these letter compilations collectively, spanning various centuries, diverse contents, and material characteristics, and authored by individuals from different social strata, offers a valuable macro perspective. Thus I was able to explore their forms and purposes, methods of drafting, calligraphic preferences, evolving contents, material features, vocabulary, patterns of ownership, and their broader circulation—far beyond what is discussed in the existing literature.

Ill. 2: Veysī’s letters. Mükātebāt-i Veysī. Ms. or. oct. 1613 – 5, f. 200b-201a, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

Functions of Letter-Writing Guides

In essence, these manuals functioned as “tools” designed to meet the professional and intellectual communication needs of the scholarly and scribal classes, as well as other letter-writers from different walks of life. The standardization provided by these manuals facilitated effective communication within a highly mobile and dynamic bureaucratic environment characterized by frequent dismissals and an intense cycle of correspondence. For individuals who often worked with unfamiliar colleagues or navigated roles that changed every one or two years, these manuals offered guidance on how to communicate properly and elegantly with superiors, peers, subordinates, and even adversaries.       

In this context, letter manuals provided a repository of refined language and pre-formulated phrases for those composing new correspondence. Rather than crafting an elegant sentence from scratch each time, scribes could expedite the writing process by drawing upon these ready-made expressions.

Both the content and the calligraphy of letter collections were influenced by the position of the individuals composing or using them. Members of the scholarly class often employed taʿlīḳ or nestaʿlīḳ scripts, while those from the scribal class predominantly favored dīvānī style. My research in Berlin provided valuable insights into how these conventions were established, thanks to the extensive collection of letter manuscripts housed there. The practice of copying original letters and transcribing them into letter guides also served as an opportunity for early-career candidates to refine their calligraphic skills.

At this point, one might wonder why so many letter-writing manuals ended up in Berlin. The explanation is straightforward: they were collected to facilitate the understanding of official Ottoman correspondence. Before concluding, I would like to express my gratitude to those who made my stay in Berlin both productive and memorable. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Christoph Rauch, the head of the Oriental Department at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, for his invaluable insights into the formation of the collection and for his constant support. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to Nicolé Fürtig, whose friendliness, professionalism, and kindness made accessing the requested manuscripts a very nice experience throughout the week. Lastly, I wish to thank Susanne Henschel for her assistance with navigating bureaucratic processes and for organizing a wonderful tour of the library.

Bibliography

Manuscripts:

Anonymous: İnşa. Hs. or. 917. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

Veysī: Mükatebāt-ı Veysī. Ms. or. oct. 1613 – 5. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

Books and Articles:

Akyol, Ercan (2023):  Literary Culture in the Early 17th Century: An Attempt to Contextualise Ottoman Literary History. PhD Thesis, University of Vienna.

Björkman, Walther (1956): “Die Anfänge der türkischen Briefsammlungen”, in: Orientalia Suceana 5, pp 20-29.

Gültekin, Hasan (2015): Türk Edebiyatında İnşa. Ankara: Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Yayınları.

Matuz, Josef. (1969): “Über die Epistolographie und Inşā’-Literatur der Osmanen”, in: XVII. Deutscher Orientalistentag 1968, ZDMG Supplementa I, ii, pp. 574–594.

Riedlmayer, András J. (2008): “Ottoman Copybooks of Correspondence and Miscellanies as a Source for Political and Cultural History”, in: Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 61, no. 1/2, pp. 201–14.

Walsh, J. R. (1960): “The Esālibü‘l-Mekātib (Münşeʾāt) of Meḥmed Nergisī Efendi”, in: Archivum
Ottomanicum
, vol. X, pp. 233-302

Woodhead, Christine (2007): “Circles of Correspondence: Ottoman letter-writing in the early seventeenth century”, in: Journal of Turkish Literature, Vol. 4 (2007), 53-68.

__ (2013): “Writing to a Grand Vezir: ʿAzmī-zāde Ḥāletī Efendi’s Letters to Nasuh Paşa, 1611- 1614”, in: M. İpşirli, F. M. Emecen, I. Keskin, & A. Ahmetbeyoğlu (Eds.): Osmanlı’nın İzinde – Prof. Dr. Mehmed İpşirli Armağanı, Cilt II.  İstanbul: Timaş Yayınları, pp. 485-492.

__ (2023): “The Ottoman Art of Word-Painting. Rhyme and Reason in Seventeenth-Century Turkish Literary Letters”, in: The Seventeenth Century 38, no. 5, pp. 885–903.

Yazar, Sadık (2020): “Okçuzade Mehmed Şahi’nin (1562-1630) Kanuni Devri Nişancısı Celalzade Mustafa Çelebi’nin (ö. 1567) İnsasına Yönelik Tenkitleri”, in: M. Fatih Çalışır et al. (eds.): Kanuni Sultan Süleyman ve Dönemi – Yeni Kaynaklar, Yeni Yaklaşımlar. İstanbul: İbn Haldun Üniversitesi Yayınları, 215-245.

  1. Akyol 2023 []
  2. https://al-furqan.com/events/cfa2024/ []

OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Ercan Akyol (13. Dezember 2024). 16th-17th Century Manuscripts and Letter-Writing Manuals in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Alte Kataloge in neuem Gewand. Abgerufen am 10. Mai 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/12wyx


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