Washington and Lee University, University Library Special Collections and Archives
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use
The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for use.
Preferred Citation
Three Ottoman-Turkish Manuscripts Bound Volume (WLU Coll. 0359), Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in March 2025
Biographical Note
From the dealer:
Muḥammad Aq Shams al-Dīn, or Aq Şemseddīn (modern Turkish Akşemseddin), was born in Damascus. His father, Shaykh Ḥamza, was a grandson of Shihāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī (539–632 [1145–1234]). In 799/1396, Aq Shams al-Dīn went with his parents to Anatolia, where they settled in Kavak (Qavaq), today the centre of a sub-district (nāḥiye) near Amasya. After completing theological and medical studies, he obtained a post as müderris (teacher) in Osmancık. Between 851 and 855 [1447 and 1451] he was called to Adrianople, to treat Sülaymān Čelebi, ḳāḍī ʿaskar of Sultan Murād II. He took part in the conquest of Constantinople as a preacher in the army; according to a later legend he discovered the tomb of Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī [q.v.] and worked other miracles of firāsa. He healed a daughter of Meḥmed II and in general gained the favour of the sultan. After the conquest Aḳ Shams al-Dīn returned to Göynük, where he died at the end of Rabīʿ II 863 [1459].
Scope and Contents
This collection includes three manuscripts bound together as one volume. The manuscripts are written in Ottoman-Turkish.
The first manuscript is Makâmât' ül Evliyâ, a prominent work of Akşemseddin, master of the conquerer of Istanbul, Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Makâmât' ül Evliyâ is a work that contains most of Akşemseddin's thoughts about Islamic mysticism (sufism) and is about seventeen ranks (maqam) of Saints.
The second manuscript is Silsilename.
The third manuscript is Risale Akşemseddin copied by Seyyid Ibrahim Şevki January 1, 1857.