al-Matali al-Badriyya fi al-Manazil al-Rumiyya
- Author died
- 984 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Suwaydī lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Matali al-Badriyya fi al-Manazil al-Rumiyya (The Full Moon Rises on the Anatolian Stations) is a 10th-century AH travelogue by the Shafi'i scholar and jurist Badr al-Din al-Ghazzi (904–984 AH / 1499–1577 CE), documenting his journey from Damascus to the Ottoman capital Constantinople in 936 AH (1530 CE) . It is also titled in bibliographical sources as al-Matali al-Badriyya fi al-Rihla al-Rumiyya and al-Rihla al-Ghazziyya .
Background and Journey
Al-Ghazzi undertook his journey to the Ottoman seat of government following the death of his father, the chief scholar of Damascus, when he experienced hardship, betrayal, and estrangement from former associates in the city . He set out from Damascus on the afternoon of Monday, 18 Ramadan 936 AH, accompanied by a group of companions and servants traveling alongside Chief Judge Wali al-Din Ibn al-Furfur .
In his introduction, al-Ghazzi states that he composed the work to record the stopping places (manazil) along his northward route to Anatolia and Constantinople, the capital of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (Sultan Suleiman Khan ibn Uthman) .
Contents and Method
The travelogue records the stages of the route between Damascus and Constantinople, integrating geographical observations with personal recollections and literary compositions . Al-Ghazzi structured the narrative around the notable scholars, dignitaries, state officials, peers, and students he met throughout the journey, alongside biographical notices and appreciations of figures such as the Hanafi imam of Aleppo, Yahya ibn Ali ibn al-Khazindar . Interspersed throughout the text are original poems and prose reflections composed by the author on themes of departure, separation from his family in Damascus, and encounters on the road .
Reception and Manuscripts
Al-Matali al-Badriyya initiated a trend among scholars of the Levant during the early Ottoman era of writing specialized travelogues detailing journeys to Constantinople, preceding similar travel accounts such as Muhammad ibn Ahmad Sukaykir's Zubdat al-Athar . Later biographical and historical works, including Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali's Shadharat al-Dhahab, drew upon its biographical descriptions of contemporary figures .
Surviving manuscript copies of the work are preserved in library collections, including MS 1390 (182 folios) at the Köprülü Library in Istanbul and MS Or. 3621 (70 folios, copied in 1040 AH) at the British Museum .
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