Ottoman Book Culture : Hasht Bihisht

ادريس بتليسي (İdrîs Bitlîsî, d. 1520)

Ottoman Book Culture

<p style='text-align: justify;'> The second of two volumes of <i>Hasht Bihisht</i> (Eight Paradises), which chronicles the reigns of the fifth through eighth Ottoman sultans to the author's patron, Beyazid II (1447–1512, r. 1481–1512). The author, Idrīs Bitlīsī (d. 1520), served the Ottoman Sultans Beyazid II (1447–1512, r. 1481–1512) and Selim I (1470–1520; r. 1512–20) as an administrator throughout the empire. In the final section, the author relates particularly valuable eyewitness accounts that occurred during Beyazid II's reign. Most notably, his work departs from prior historians who emphasized the Sultans' Turkic heritage, instead recasting them in the tradition of non-Turkic Islamic heroes, especially Alexander the Great. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>This manuscript was completed by Muḥammad Yūsuf Shīrāzī, possibly in Shiraz, on Thursday, the beginning of Ṣafar 1063 AH (beginning of January 1653 CE), and was originally bound together with Persian MS 395.</p>