2022, vol. 10, no. 2. Kozintcev M.A.

2022, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 426-436

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2022-10-2.426-436

   ANONYMOUS MANUSCRIPT “HISTORY OF CRIMEA” (B 747)
KEPT AT THE INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL MANUSCRIPTS
OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES:
ATTRIBUTION OF THE SOURCE

M.A. Kozintcev
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
HSE University
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
m.kozintcev@mail.ru

Abstract: Research objectives: Attribution and description of the anonymous manuscript, conventionally named “History of Crimea”, from the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Research materials: Anonymous manuscript “History of Crimea”, kept in the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the signature B 747.
Results and novelty of research: The manuscript is a miscellany of various information about the Crimean Khanate, as well international relations, mainly between Russia and Turkey. In 1881, its Ottoman-Turkish text in Arabic script was published by the famous Russian researcher Vasiliy D. Smirnov (1846–1922), on the basis of the St. Petersburg copy, with corrections made according to the copy kept in Paris. V.D. Smirnov made several assumptions on who was the author of the text. The analysis showed the correctness of one of his assumptions, namely that the author – compiler of the text was Kesbî, the Turkish official from the second half of the eighteenth century. The identification of the author became possible due to the appearance of studies on the written heritage of Kesbi in recent decades, primarily the works of A. Ogreten. The comparison of B 747 with the text of “İbretnüma-yı devlet” (“Instruction to the State”, 1213 AH (1798–99 CE)) published by Ahmet Öğreten in 2002, leaves no doubt that the “History of Crimea” is the St. Petersburg copy of the aforesaid manuscript. In recent years, new hypotheses also appeared concerning the author, disputing the opinion of A. Öğreten and aiming to show that the miscellany was compiled not by Mustafa Kesbî, but by another Ottoman official, who wrote under the pseudonym Kesbî, Mehmed Haşim. At the same time, the text of the St. Petersburg copy of “İbretnüma-yı devlet” published by V.D. Smirnov 140 years ago, as well as the copy of the manuscript kept in Paris, still remains out of sight of Turkish specialists engaged in the study of this written text.

Keywords: Mustafa Kesbi, Crimean Khanate, Ottoman historiography, Ottoman manuscripts, Russian-Turkish wars

For citation: Kozintcev M.A. Anonymous Manuscript “History of Crimea” (B 747) kept at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Attribution of the Source. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2022, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 426–436. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2022-10-2.426-436 (In Russian)

Acknowledgements: The author thanks Professor of Istanbul University Dr. Mehmet Ölmez for his help in obtaining the necessary literature.

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About the author: Mark A. Kozintcev – Postgraduate student, Junior Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (18, Dvortsovaya emb., St. Petersburg 191186, Russian Federation); Tutor of the Department of Asian and African Studies, National Research University – Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg (123, Kanal Griboyedova emb., St. Petersburg 190068, Russian Federation). E-mail: m.kozintcev@mail.ru

Received March 8, 2022   Accepted for publication  May 27, 2022
Published Online  June 29, 2022