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Palgrave Macmillan

Mevlevi Manuscripts, 1268–c. 1400

A Study of the Sources

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  • © 2024

Overview

  • A thorough investigation of over 140 manuscripts related to the study of Rumi and the Mevlevis in the medieval period
  • Examines Mevlevi intellectual interests and scribal culture
  • Includes a detailed and updated list of the manuscripts
  • 97 Accesses

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About this book

This book provides a detailed and carefully researched catalogue of over 140 manuscripts related to the Mevlevi Sufis in their formative period during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It also offers an in-depth and rigorous analysis of the manuscript material, which reveals much about the role of manuscripts in early Mevlevi life, the identity of disciples who were scribes and manuscript owners, and the geographical spread of the Sufi group. The Mevlevi Sufis were one of the most important and prominent socio-religious groups to emerge in late medieval Anatolia, following the Mongol conquests of the 1240s. Sometimes known colloquially as the ‘whirling dervishes,’ the Mevlevis became particularly powerful under Ottoman rule in the early modern period, even counting some sultans as their disciples. However, there is still much to learn about their earliest days, following the death of their ‘patron saint’ Jalal al-Din Rumi in 1273. Rumi is of course also notable as the authorof the Masnavi, an extensive work of Sufi poetry written in rhyming couplets that is the core of Mevlevi ritual and learning. Beyond Mevlevi circles, Rumi remains very popular today as a ‘mystic’ poet. This study sheds new light on the intellectual culture of his time.

Keywords

Table of contents (6 chapters)

Reviews

“This important study of Mevlevi manuscripts is an outstanding piece of scholarship, based on a close examination of numerous often neglected manuscript sources. It sheds new light not just on the manuscripts themselves, but also the early Mevlevi community – its artists, artisans, and patrons, and their intellectual interests. It makes a significant contribution both to art historical scholarship and to the growing field of Islamic manuscript studies, and will be required reading for anyone interested in medieval Anatolia or Sufism.”

­­­—Professor A. C. S. Peacock, University of St Andrews, UK

 “Cailah Jackson’s Mevlevi Manuscripts, 1268–ca 1400: A Study of the Sources is an invaluable resource for the study of Rumi and his followers. Many long-held assumptions of academic scholars, and not only general readers, can now be safely debunked on the evidence of this meticulous study of all relevant manuscripts and the profile Jackson has built of the library ofRumi’s followers. The latter is an indispensable resource for understanding their priorities and preferences regarding mysticism, religion and other forms of knowledge.”

—Professor Jawid Mojaddedi, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  • Khalili Research Centre, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Cailah Jackson

About the author

Cailah Jackson is a Research Associate of the Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford and former Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Mevlevi Manuscripts, 1268–c. 1400

  • Book Subtitle: A Study of the Sources

  • Authors: Cailah Jackson

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48367-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-48366-0Published: 03 May 2024

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-48369-1Due: 03 June 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-48367-7Published: 02 May 2024

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 160

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: History of the Middle East, Islam, Cultural Heritage, Archaeology

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