The Tezkere Genre in Islam

Abstract

In contrast with Arabic and Persian literatures, Ottoman literature has been sadly neglected by Western orien- talists. So much so that even the most fundamental materials necessary for the study and appreciation of the literary achievements of the Ottomans are either lacking or not sufficiently well known to be of substantial assistance to actual or potential scholars in this field.1 The omission of the poetic and prose writings of the Ottomans from the long list of subjects which have so far attracted the attention and demanded the serious con- sideration of orientalists may be due, in part, to the fact that they were regarded by Westerners as inferior imitations of similar Persian efforts and therefore not deserving of equal study.2 Whether this notion is correct or not, it must surely suffer from the fact that there has never been a comparative study of the literary productions of the Persian and Ottomans, or of the Ottoman materials that are undoubtedly a prerequisite to such a study.