Berlin State Library, Manuscript Collection, Ms. or. oct. 3744

The Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) holds the Ms. or. oct. 3744 manuscript collection within its Prussian Cultural Heritage Collection, a significant manuscript work for classical Turkish literary studies. The collection stands out for containing poems by various poets, diverse treatises, and some works preserved only in this single copy.

The collection consists of 236 folios. It was copied in hasty naskh script on lined paper. The texts are generally arranged in single columns, with only 10^b pages formatted in two columns. The line arrangement follows a nine-line pattern. The binding is made of brown leather, with ebru patterns adorning the front and back covers. Gold ink is used for titles and tables, while black and red ink are preferred for the main text. The beginning of the manuscript is illuminated and decorated with the miniature of Kansu Gavrî. This miniature depicts the ruler seated on the throne, accompanied by attendants.

^{Kansu Gavrî Miniature, folio 2a of Ms. Or. Oct 3744 (}Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin⁾

The collection is predominantly composed of poetic works, though it also includes prose treatises. Its contents can be summarized as follows:

• Kansu Gavrî’s Turkish Divan: The most important work in the collection and the only known copy. The Divan includes numerous nazire poems along with the original poems upon which they were composed.
• Selected poems: Qasidas, ghazals, and terkib-bends by 14th and 15th century poets such as Ahmed Paşa, Ahmedî, Adnî, and Kadı Burhaneddin.
• Treatises:
• • Ahmedî’s metrical Risāletun fi’l-ʿArūż,
  • Mutahhar b. Ebî Tâlib’s incomplete Ravzatu’l-Evzân,
  • Kadı Abdullah’s Bahrî treatise on aruz (a single copy),
  • A musical treatise attributed to Kadı Abdullah.
• Muammâs: Three anonymous muammâs.
• New poem by Ahmedî: A ghazal with the refrain “elden gider,” not found in any published edition of Ahmedî’s Divan, is preserved in this collection.

This content renders the collection a compilation that brings together both the nazire tradition and diverse literary genres.

The manuscript is evaluated in three main sections based on content and arrangement:

1. Kansu Gavrî Divan: Includes poems by poets associated with the Mamluk court alongside their nazire compositions.
2. Treatises: Treatises on aruz and music are arranged in a mixed prose-poetry format.
3. Selected poems: Qasidas, ghazals, and terkib-bends by poets who served in the court environment.

Through these features, the manuscript belongs both to the category of collections that gather works on a single subject and to the group of compilations that bring together the poetry of poets from the same social circle.

The Ms. or. oct. 3744 manuscript is significant for Turkish literary history in the following respects:

• Unique manuscripts: It preserves works otherwise unattested elsewhere, including Kansu Gavrî’s Divan, Kadı Abdullah’s Bahrî treatise, and his musical treatise.
• Discovery of new poems: The ghazal with the refrain “elden gider” by Ahmedî, previously unknown from published editions of his Divan, has been identified in this collection.
• Nazire tradition: The large number of nazire poems in the Divan reveals the literary interactions among poets of the period.
• Court-centered literature: It serves as a valuable source reflecting the literary environment that developed around the Mamluk court.

Various sections of the manuscript have been the subject of scholarly studies:

• Kansu Gavrî Divan: Published by Mehmet Yalçın (1993, 2002) and Orhan Yavuz (2002).
• Treatises: Mutahhar b. Ebî Tâlib’s Ravzatu’l-Evzân and Kadı Abdullah’s Bahrî treatise were edited by Üzeyir Aslan (2021).
• Selected poems (folios 192b–236a): Analyzed, transcribed, and translated in a master’s thesis (2022).
• MESTAP: An article on the manuscript was published under the Systematic Classification of Manuscript Collections Project (MESTAP) (2025).