al-Shaqaiq al-Numaniyya fi Ulama al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya
- Author died
- 968 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kitāb al-‘Arabī
al-Shaqaiq al-Numaniyya fi Ulama al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya (The Anemones on the Scholars of the Ottoman State) is a biographical dictionary by the Ottoman scholar Tashkubri Zada (d. 968 AH / 1561 CE), dedicated to the lives of religious scholars and Sufi masters in the Ottoman lands from the rise of the dynasty until the mid-reign of Sultan Suleyman I .
Purpose and Composition
Tashkubri Zada observed that while past chroniclers had documented the scholars of other regions, the scholars and spiritual masters of the Ottoman realm had been largely neglected, leaving their legacy at risk of obscurity . Prompted by an esteemed peer—reportedly identified as Mawla Fudayl ibn Ali al-Jamali, who urged him to compile the work after Tashkubri Zada had lost his eyesight—he authored the biographical dictionary in Arabic, completing it in the month of Ramadan 965 AH (1558 CE) .
Structure and Scope
Because the author lacked exact death dates for many biographees, he structured the work chronologically according to the reigns of ten Ottoman sultans, dividing it into ten successive generational classes (tabaqat) :
- The first class opens with the scholars of Sultan Osman I .
- The tenth class concludes with the scholars active during the reign of Sultan Suleyman I .
The book contains entries for 521 men, comprising 371 jurists and scholars of religious sciences (ulama) and 150 Sufi masters (mashayikh) . Within each reign, the author documents both those who attained high official positions (such as professorships in major madrasas and judgeships) and those who did not, detailing their lineage, teachers, career paths, writings, and spiritual affiliations . Tashkubri Zada appended his own autobiography to the conclusion of the text .
Translations, Continuations, and Editions
The work became the foundational reference for Ottoman scholarly prosopography, generating multiple Ottoman Turkish translations, alphabetical reorganizations, and continuations (dhayl):
- Translations: Muhammad Khaki (known as Ibn al-Muhtasib al-Belgradi) produced an early Ottoman Turkish translation titled Hada'iq al-Rayhan during Tashkubri Zada's lifetime in Rajab 968 AH . It was also translated by Muhammad ibn Ali, known as 'Ashiq Chelebi (d. 979 AH) , and translated into Turkish under the title Hada'iq al-Shaqa'iq by the military judge and poet Majdi Efendi (Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Edirnevi) .
- Continuations and Revisions: Muhammad ibn Mustafa (known as Lutfi Beyzadeh, d. 995 AH) rearranged the biographies alphabetically, though it remained in draft form . Notable Arabic and Turkish continuations include al-Iqd al-Manzum fi Dhikr Afadil al-Rum by Ali ibn Bali (known as Manq, d. 992 AH) , a continuation by 'Ashiq Chelebi extending into the reign of Selim II , a continuation by Husayn al-Ishtibi (known as Sadri, d. 993 AH) covering up to 990 AH , works by Abd al-Qadir ibn Amir Gaysudar (known as Yilanciq, d. 1000 AH) and Qarahjah Ahmad al-Humaydi (d. 1024 AH) , and the Ottoman Turkish sequel Hada'iq al-Haqa'iq fi Takmilat al-Shaqa'iq by Nawa'i Zadah 'Ata'i (Ataullah ibn Yahya) .
- Print Editions: The original Arabic work was published in Cairo in the margins of Ibn Khallikan's Wafayat al-Ayan in 1299 AH (1882 CE) and 1310 AH (1892 CE) , and printed in Beirut in 1395 AH (1975 CE) accompanied by Ali ibn Bali's continuation al-Iqd al-Manzum .
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