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LETTERS OF KEMALUDDÖVLE (MIRZA FETHALI AHUNDZ)

Title	LETTERS OF KEMALUDDÖVLE (MIRZA FETHALI AHUNDZ)
Author	Mirza Fethali Ahundzade (d. 1812 - d. 10 March 1878)
Publication Date:	02/06/2022
Subject	Turkish Literature in the Modernization Period - other
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	No
Manuscript	No
Library:	Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works
Record ID	kemalluddovle-mektublari-mirza-fethali-ahundzade-tees-1287
Date	1866-1867
Notes	Mirza Fethali Ahundzade's work consisting of eight letters, written in Tiflis in 1283/1866-67. The full name of the work is Three Letters Written by Indian Prince Kemâlüddevle to His True Friend, Iranian Prince Celâlüddevle and Celâlüddevle's Reply to Him. There are nine manuscript copies of the work. Two of them were written in Azerbaijani Turkish, two in Russian and 5 in Persian. The first edition of the work was printed by the "New Elifba Committee" in Baku in 1924. Its first scientific publication was published in 1938. The subject of the work consists of the translation in Turkic language of three letters written in Persian by the Prince of India, Kemalüddevle, to his friend, the Prince of Iran, Celalüddevle, and the reply that Celalüddevle sent to him. The Indian prince Kemalüddevle, who is portrayed as a fictitious character, writes three letters to his friend, the Iranian prince Celalüddevle, and Celalüddevle answers him with a letter. A third person, who received the letters of the two princes, wrote three letters under the title "mülhakât". Another person who copied these seven letters added a short letter at the beginning of each letter. Kemalüdövle Letters is a symbolic work in which religious, political and social issues are discussed by imaginary heroes. The First Letter is the letter written by the Indian prince Kemalüddevle to his friend, the Iranian prince Cemalüddevle. Kemalüdövle said that he was very sorry about the situation in Iran, and that the people had a prosperous life before the Arabs invaded there and Islam came; However, he states that with the arrival of the Arabs and the religion of Islam, the civilization in Iran was completely destroyed and Iran could no longer remain at a prosperous level. The second letter is the letter written by Kemalüddevle to Cemalüddevle. There are many harsh criticisms of the Islamic religion and the clergy in this letter. Kemalüdövle stated that one of the reasons why the Iranian people remain ignorant is the Arabic alphabet because it is difficult to learn, the clergy read sermons in Arabic and therefore no one understands anything, the clergy give nonsense information to the people, and they constantly scare people with hell; He writes that some rules of the Islamic religion do not comply with logic and that people believe in superstitions and superstitions. The Third Letter is the last letter that Kemalüddevle wrote to Cemalüddevle. In this letter, Kemalüdövle also talks about superstitions and the ignorance of the people. The Shahs used the people by exploiting religious beliefs; He stated that Islam made a mistake by allowing polygamy and insulted women, and that "protestantism" was absolutely necessary in Islam. In the reply letter written by Iranian Prince Celalüddevle to Indian Prince Kemalüddevle; Celalüddevle is very angry with the prince of India. He replies that what he says is not true, that he took such absurd ideas from Europe, that, on the contrary of Islam, it eliminated the old bad habits of the Arabs, and that there were many wild practices in India. In the other three letters, the ideas expressed in Kemalüddevle's letters to Cemalüddevle are supported; In Mülhakât, it is stated that one should be open to criticism and that a response to the criticism is expected. In these letters, Akhundzade expressed the East and the things that caused the East to fall behind, according to his materialist ideology. As Sedat Adıgüzel emphasized in his paper titled Mirza Fethali-Ahundov's Thoughts on the Enlightenment and Progress of the East, Iran was used as the symbol of the entire East. In the first letter, Kemalüdövle stated that he had traveled to many places such as the English, Fireng and New World; However, he expresses that he is very sad after what he saw in Iran. Therefore, from the very first sentence, Ahundzade made us feel that the East was falling behind compared to the West. Yavuz Akpınar, in his doctoral thesis titled Mirza Feth-Ali Ahund-zade (In All Its Aspects); He says that this work, known briefly as the Kemalüddevle Letters, reminds us of Voltaire's Philosophical Letters and Letters About the English in Europe and Montesqui's Persian Letters, and that these works are similar to each other in terms of style, subject and idea. Copies of the Kemalüddevle Letters are in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Academy of Sciences, Republic Manuscripts Foundation. Yavuz Akpınar, in his doctoral thesis; It provides information that the copy registered at number 178 was written in Ahundzade's own handwriting and in Azerbaijani Turkish, while the other eight copies were written by calligraphers by Ahundzade and that there are some differences between the copies, that the work was continuously processed and that there were additions to the work. Again, according to Akpınar, the copy numbered 96, which was corrected and written in Azerbaijani Turkish, is considered the most perfect copy. Ahundzade translated this copy into Persian with Mirza Yusuf Han (estimated in 1866) and translated it into Russian with Adolf Petrovich Berje (estimated in 1874). For detailed information about the author's biography, see. "Mirza Fethali Ahund-zâde".Turkish Literature Names Dictionary.
ISBN	978-9944-237-87-1
Madde Yazarı	Araş. Gör. Seher Erenbaş Pehlivan
Alfabesi	Arap
Yapısı	Manzum-Mensur
Niteliği	Telif
Kaynakça	Adıgüzel, Sedat (2008). “Mirza Fethali Ahundov’un Doğunun Aydınlanması ve İlerlemesi Yolundaki Düşünceleri”. [Bildiri] Zeki Dilek, Mustafa Akbulut, Zeki Cemil Arda, Zeynep Bağlan Özer, Reşide Gürses, Banu Karababa Taşkın (Ed.).38. ICANAS (Uluslararası Asya ve Kuzey Afrika Çalışmaları Kongresi), 10 - 15 Eylül 2007 - Ankara/Türkiye: Bildiriler: Edebiyat Bilimi Sorunları ve Çözümleri, (ss. 21-36), Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu Yayınları: 5/1. Akpınar, Yavuz (1980).Mirza Feth-Ali Ahund-zâde (Bütün Yönleriyle). Doktora Tezi. Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi. Kürekçi, Ali İhsan (2015).Mirza Fetali Ahundov’un Eserlerinde Halk Kültürü Unsurları.Yüksek Lisans Tezi.Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi. Məmmədzadə, Həmid (Haz.) (2005).Mirzə Fətəli Axundzadə-Əsərləri.II Cilt. Bakı: Şərq-Gərb. Rustamli, Naila (2016).M. F. Ahundzade’nin Felsefi ve Toplumsal Görüşleri .Yüksek Lisans Tezi. İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi.
Atıf Bilgileri	Erenbaş Pehlivan, Seher. "KEMALLÜDDÖVLE MEKTUBLARI (MİRZA FETHALİ AHUNDZÂDE)".Türk Edebiyatı Eserler Sözlüğü,http://tees.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/kemalluddovle-mektublari-mirza-fethali-ahundzade-tees-1287. [Erişim Tarihi: 25 Ağustos 2025].

View in source Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

LETTERS OF KEMALUDDÖVLE (MIRZA FETHALI AHUNDZ)

Author Mirza Fethali Ahundzade (d. 1812 - d. 10 March 1878)

Publication Date 02/06/2022

Subject Turkish Literature in the Modernization Period - other

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital No

Manuscript No

Library Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

Record ID kemalluddovle-mektublari-mirza-fethali-ahundzade-tees-1287

Date 1866-1867

Notes Mirza Fethali Ahundzade's work consisting of eight letters, written in Tiflis in 1283/1866-67. The full name of the work is Three Letters Written by Indian Prince Kemâlüddevle to His True Friend, Iranian Prince Celâlüddevle and Celâlüddevle's Reply to Him. There are nine manuscript copies of the work. Two of them were written in Azerbaijani Turkish, two in Russian and 5 in Persian. The first edition of the work was printed by the "New Elifba Committee" in Baku in 1924. Its first scientific publication was published in 1938. The subject of the work consists of the translation in Turkic language of three letters written in Persian by the Prince of India, Kemalüddevle, to his friend, the Prince of Iran, Celalüddevle, and the reply that Celalüddevle sent to him. The Indian prince Kemalüddevle, who is portrayed as a fictitious character, writes three letters to his friend, the Iranian prince Celalüddevle, and Celalüddevle answers him with a letter. A third person, who received the letters of the two princes, wrote three letters under the title "mülhakât". Another person who copied these seven letters added a short letter at the beginning of each letter. Kemalüdövle Letters is a symbolic work in which religious, political and social issues are discussed by imaginary heroes. The First Letter is the letter written by the Indian prince Kemalüddevle to his friend, the Iranian prince Cemalüddevle. Kemalüdövle said that he was very sorry about the situation in Iran, and that the people had a prosperous life before the Arabs invaded there and Islam came; However, he states that with the arrival of the Arabs and the religion of Islam, the civilization in Iran was completely destroyed and Iran could no longer remain at a prosperous level. The second letter is the letter written by Kemalüddevle to Cemalüddevle. There are many harsh criticisms of the Islamic religion and the clergy in this letter. Kemalüdövle stated that one of the reasons why the Iranian people remain ignorant is the Arabic alphabet because it is difficult to learn, the clergy read sermons in Arabic and therefore no one understands anything, the clergy give nonsense information to the people, and they constantly scare people with hell; He writes that some rules of the Islamic religion do not comply with logic and that people believe in superstitions and superstitions. The Third Letter is the last letter that Kemalüddevle wrote to Cemalüddevle. In this letter, Kemalüdövle also talks about superstitions and the ignorance of the people. The Shahs used the people by exploiting religious beliefs; He stated that Islam made a mistake by allowing polygamy and insulted women, and that "protestantism" was absolutely necessary in Islam. In the reply letter written by Iranian Prince Celalüddevle to Indian Prince Kemalüddevle; Celalüddevle is very angry with the prince of India. He replies that what he says is not true, that he took such absurd ideas from Europe, that, on the contrary of Islam, it eliminated the old bad habits of the Arabs, and that there were many wild practices in India. In the other three letters, the ideas expressed in Kemalüddevle's letters to Cemalüddevle are supported; In Mülhakât, it is stated that one should be open to criticism and that a response to the criticism is expected. In these letters, Akhundzade expressed the East and the things that caused the East to fall behind, according to his materialist ideology. As Sedat Adıgüzel emphasized in his paper titled Mirza Fethali-Ahundov's Thoughts on the Enlightenment and Progress of the East, Iran was used as the symbol of the entire East. In the first letter, Kemalüdövle stated that he had traveled to many places such as the English, Fireng and New World; However, he expresses that he is very sad after what he saw in Iran. Therefore, from the very first sentence, Ahundzade made us feel that the East was falling behind compared to the West. Yavuz Akpınar, in his doctoral thesis titled Mirza Feth-Ali Ahund-zade (In All Its Aspects); He says that this work, known briefly as the Kemalüddevle Letters, reminds us of Voltaire's Philosophical Letters and Letters About the English in Europe and Montesqui's Persian Letters, and that these works are similar to each other in terms of style, subject and idea. Copies of the Kemalüddevle Letters are in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Academy of Sciences, Republic Manuscripts Foundation. Yavuz Akpınar, in his doctoral thesis; It provides information that the copy registered at number 178 was written in Ahundzade's own handwriting and in Azerbaijani Turkish, while the other eight copies were written by calligraphers by Ahundzade and that there are some differences between the copies, that the work was continuously processed and that there were additions to the work. Again, according to Akpınar, the copy numbered 96, which was corrected and written in Azerbaijani Turkish, is considered the most perfect copy. Ahundzade translated this copy into Persian with Mirza Yusuf Han (estimated in 1866) and translated it into Russian with Adolf Petrovich Berje (estimated in 1874). For detailed information about the author's biography, see. "Mirza Fethali Ahund-zâde".Turkish Literature Names Dictionary.

ISBN 978-9944-237-87-1

Madde Yazarı Araş. Gör. Seher Erenbaş Pehlivan

Alfabesi Arap

Yapısı Manzum-Mensur

Niteliği Telif

Kaynakça Adıgüzel, Sedat (2008). “Mirza Fethali Ahundov’un Doğunun Aydınlanması ve İlerlemesi Yolundaki Düşünceleri”. [Bildiri] Zeki Dilek, Mustafa Akbulut, Zeki Cemil Arda, Zeynep Bağlan Özer, Reşide Gürses, Banu Karababa Taşkın (Ed.).38. ICANAS (Uluslararası Asya ve Kuzey Afrika Çalışmaları Kongresi), 10 - 15 Eylül 2007 - Ankara/Türkiye: Bildiriler: Edebiyat Bilimi Sorunları ve Çözümleri, (ss. 21-36), Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu Yayınları: 5/1. Akpınar, Yavuz (1980).Mirza Feth-Ali Ahund-zâde (Bütün Yönleriyle). Doktora Tezi. Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi. Kürekçi, Ali İhsan (2015).Mirza Fetali Ahundov’un Eserlerinde Halk Kültürü Unsurları.Yüksek Lisans Tezi.Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi. Məmmədzadə, Həmid (Haz.) (2005).Mirzə Fətəli Axundzadə-Əsərləri.II Cilt. Bakı: Şərq-Gərb. Rustamli, Naila (2016).M. F. Ahundzade’nin Felsefi ve Toplumsal Görüşleri .Yüksek Lisans Tezi. İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi.

Atıf Bilgileri Erenbaş Pehlivan, Seher. "KEMALLÜDDÖVLE MEKTUBLARI (MİRZA FETHALİ AHUNDZÂDE)".Türk Edebiyatı Eserler Sözlüğü,http://tees.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/kemalluddovle-mektublari-mirza-fethali-ahundzade-tees-1287. [Erişim Tarihi: 25 Ağustos 2025].