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Book/Printed Material Book of Wisdom.

About this Item

Title

  • Book of Wisdom.

Summary

  • Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi (died 1166) was a philosopher, Sufi mystic, and the earliest known poet to write in a Turkic dialect. He was born in the city of Isfijab (present-day Sayram, in Kazakhstan) but lived most of his life in Turkestan (also in southern Kazakhstan). He was a student of Arslan Baba, a well-known preacher of Islam. At a time when Farsi dominated literature and public life, Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi wrote in his native Old Turkic (Chagatai) language. Iassavi's Dīvān-i Ḥikmet (Book of wisdom) is not just a religious relic of Sufi literature; it is also one of the oldest written works in the Turkic language. Iassavi begins with many elements of the shamanistic songs of Turkic nomads, then endows his poems, like all Sufi poetry, with many-layered meanings from the simple to the esoteric and infuses them with the spirit of Islam. Experts have suggested that the Divan has links to both the Chinese-influenced Karakhanid literary tradition and to the literature of the Kypchaks of the Eurasian steppe. Dīvān-i Ḥikmet was long handed down by word of mouth. The printed edition presented here was published in 1904 by the Lithographic Printing House of the Kazan Imperial University. Kazan University was founded by Tsar Alexander I in 1804 and became the premier center for oriental studies in the Russian Empire.

Names

  • I︠A︡savi, Akhmed, died 1166 Author.

Created / Published

  • Kazan : Kazan Imperial University Publishing House, 1904.

Headings

  • -  Kazakhstan
  • -  1100 to 1166
  • -  Chagatai poetry
  • -  Poetry
  • -  Sufi poetry
  • -  Sufism

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 366 pages.
  • -  Original resource at: National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana.
  • -  Content in Chagatai.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666150

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

I︠A︡Savi, Akhmed, Died 1166 Author. Book of Wisdom. Kazan: Kazan Imperial University Publishing House, 1904. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666150/.

APA citation style:

I︠A︡Savi, A. (1904) Book of Wisdom. Kazan: Kazan Imperial University Publishing House. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666150/.

MLA citation style:

I︠A︡Savi, Akhmed, Died 1166 Author. Book of Wisdom. Kazan: Kazan Imperial University Publishing House, 1904. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666150/>.