FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)

Name: FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)
Author: Kâtib Çelebi (d. 1609/1657 - died 1017/1067)

Title	FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)
Author	Kâtib Çelebi (d. 1609/1657 - died 1017/1067)
Publication Date:	30/07/2022
Subject	Written Literature / Divan Literature - general history book
Type	Book
Language	Arabic
Digital	No
Manuscript	No
Library:	Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works
Record ID	fezleketu-t-tevarih-katib-celebi
Date	?
Notes	Kâtib Çelebi's most important work, which is a source on history. Fezleke is a general history book written in Arabic. Kâtip Çelebi, who read many history books to create this work, created his work with the notes he took, which shows that he has a deep history culture. The full name of the work in Arabic is "Fezleketü Akvâli'l-Ahyâr fî 'İlmi't-Târîh Ve'l-Ahbâr". In the preface of Turkish Fezleke, it is written by the author himself. It is mentioned only as Fezleketü't-Tevârî (Nuruosmaniye Ktp. 3153, vr. 1a). Arabic Fezleke, described as "Sometimes Târîh-i Kebîr" (Şeyhî, I, 264), is the first work written by Kâtib Çelebi. Although the writing of the book, designed as two volumes, was completed in 1052 (1642), the author states that he took it back to 1065 (1654-55), when he wrote the Turkish Fezleke. The subject of the work; It consists of the events that took place in the world, starting from the creation of the universe, Prophet Adam, until the year 1051/1641. Kâtip Çelebi prepared the Turkish version of Fezleke in order for this work, which is a general world history book, to reach a wider audience. In order not to be confused with the Turkish Fezleke and Fezleketü Akvâli'l-Ahyâr fî İmi't-Târîh Ve'l-Ahbâr, the work in question is better known as Fezleke in Arabic (Kâtip Çelebi 2007: 2-69; Lokmacı 2017: 668). Fezleketü't-Tevârîh consists of an introduction, three chapters (main) and an epilogue. In the first chapter of the introduction, which is divided into four chapters, the parts of the work are shown, and in the second chapter, the meaning, subject and benefits of the science of history are discussed. Here, the author quotes the description, parts and benefits of history in Taşköpri-zâde's Miftâhu's-Saʿâde, with his thoughts on whether history is an independent science or not. In the third chapter, the names of 1300 books written on this subject are listed alphabetically. However, this chapter is missing in the only copy of the work that has survived to this day. However, it is possible to complete this list by making use of both the names of the history books scattered throughout the text and the author's bibliographic work titled Keşfü'z-Zunûna (I, 271 ff.), in which he lists the works on history chronologically. In the fourth chapter of the introduction, the conditions that the historian will follow and the rules that he should know are stated. The first part of the book is divided into two parts, and each part is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter of the first part, the beginning of creation is discussed, in the second, the prophets, and in the third, the period of the Caliphs of Rashidun. In the first chapter of the second part, the names of the rulers before Islam are given, in the second part, the names of the rulers after the emergence of Islam are given according to centuries and in the order of their emergence, and in the third part, the names of tyrants, Kharijites and false prophets are given. The first part of the second part, which is divided into two parts, consists of three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the state of the earth and climates, where leagues, miles, etc. measurements were mentioned. The second chapter covers various tribes and Arab tribes; The third chapter covers the rules of name, nickname, imprint, lineage and feyât (necrology). In the second part, the cities given in the first one and the important people living in them are listed in alphabetical order. In addition to this chronological order, there are also the names of people's favorite cities, great men and famous women, apart from the prophets and rulers mentioned in the first chapter. At the beginning of the third chapter, Kâtib Çelebi gives information about time periods such as dehr, karn, century, year, month, week, day and hour, and then Turkî, Kıbti, Rumi, etc. It mentions chronologically the dates, the Persian and Celali calendars, and the events from the beginning of the Hijra to the date of copyright of the work. Among the pages 197a-250b, which are devoted to the history of the Ottoman Empire, the events that took place from the foundation to 1051 (1641) are listed; IV. Until Mehmed (1648-1687), there were sultans, grand viziers, sheikh-ul-islams, kazaskers, Istanbul judges and other viziers, beylerbeyis, etc. The names of high-ranking statesmen are given. In addition, some document copies with poetic dates for important events and some important events have been added as margins to this section. This is followed by "tetimme", which includes useful information, and in the epilogue, information about the signs of the apocalypse and the afterlife is included (Özcan, 1995: 542-544; Çelebi, 2009, URL 1). The main source of Fezleketü't-Tevârîh, as stated by its author, is the book written by Cenâbî Mustafa Efendi. It is Arabicel-ʿAylemü'z-Zâhir. Kâtib Çelebi, who generally summarizes this work and sometimes quotes it verbatim, also annotates the names of other sources he used both in the text and in the margins of the pages. The author departed from Cenâbî, especially in the part related to Ottoman history, but he also referred to him among other sources when necessary. Kâtib Çelebi's work was written by the sultan of the time, IV. It is understood that he did not follow the advice of Sheikh al-Islam Zekeriyyâ-zâde Yahyâ Efendi to have it cleaned to be presented to Mehmed. The only surviving copy of the work, written in the author's calligraphy in 1052 (1642), is in the Beyazıt State Library in draft form (Çelebi, nr. 10318). Fezleketü't-Tevârîh has generally run parallel to the Turkish Fezleke since 1000/1591-92 (Özcan 1995:542-544; Kütükoğlu 1974: 4-5). Although Fezleketü't-Tevârîh is a general history source, it is a very important work in terms of containing the meaning and nature of history, the information that the historian needs to know, and being a detailed bibliography attempt. As a matter of fact, this work, which provides information about auxiliary sciences that a historian should know such as chronology, ethnology, calendar, biography, ansab, historical geography, is an encyclopedic-looking, general outline. The fact that the author wrote his later works on history and historical geography from this perspective is also very important in terms of showing what kind of a source this work is (Özcan 1995: 542-544; Çelebi, nr. 10318). As can be seen, Fezleketü't- Tevârih is one of the source books of the 17th century and is an important work that constitutes a source for today's scientific research. For the biography of the author, see. "Kâtip Çelebi". Turkish Literature Names Dictionary.
ISBN	978-9944-237-87-1
Madde Yazarı	Doç. Dr. FİDAN ÇERİKAN
Alfabesi	Arap
Yapısı	Mensur
Niteliği	Telif
Kaynakça	Aycibin, Zeynep (2007).Kâtib Çelebi Fezleke. Doktora Tezi. İstanbul: Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi. Gökyay, Orhan Şaik (1991).Kâtip Çelebi: Hayatı, Kişiliği ve Eserlerinden Seçmeler.Ankara: TTK Yay. Kâtip Çelebi (2009).Fezleketü Akvali'l-Ahyar fi İlmi't-Tarih ve'l-Ahbar/ Fezleketü't-Tevarih.Ankara:TTK Yay. Kâtib Çelebi.Fezleketü't-Tevârîh.Bayazıt Devlet Ktp. 10318. Kâtib Çelebi.Fezleke. Nuruosmaniye Ktp. 3153. vr. 1a. Komisyon (1987). "Kâtip Çelebi".Büyük Türk Klasikleri.C. 5. İstanbul: Ötüken Yay. 372. Kütükoğlu, Çelebi (1974).Kâtip Çelebi “Fezleke”sinin Kaynakları. İstanbul: Edebiyat Fakültesi Matbaası. 4-5, 11, 12. Lokmacı,Süleyman (2017). "Osmanlı Tarih Yazıcılığında Gazavatnameler ve Ebubekir b. Abdullah’ın Şark Seferleri İsimli Gazavatnamesi".Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi ,21(2): 665-677. Özcan, Abdulkadir (1995). "Fezleketü't-Tevârîh".İslâm Ansiklopedisi. C. 12. İstanbul: TDV Yay. 542-544. (URL 1)https://www.turkedebiyati.org/katip_celebi.html.
Atıf Bilgileri	ÇERİKAN, FİDAN. "FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)".Türk Edebiyatı Eserler Sözlüğü,http://tees.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/fezleketu-t-tevarih-katib-celebi. [Erişim Tarihi: 25 Ağustos 2025].

View in source Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)

Author Kâtib Çelebi (d. 1609/1657 - died 1017/1067)

Publication Date 30/07/2022

Subject Written Literature / Divan Literature - general history book

Type Book

Language Arabic

Digital No

Manuscript No

Library Dictionary of Turkish Literature Works

Record ID fezleketu-t-tevarih-katib-celebi

Date ?

Notes Kâtib Çelebi's most important work, which is a source on history. Fezleke is a general history book written in Arabic. Kâtip Çelebi, who read many history books to create this work, created his work with the notes he took, which shows that he has a deep history culture. The full name of the work in Arabic is "Fezleketü Akvâli'l-Ahyâr fî 'İlmi't-Târîh Ve'l-Ahbâr". In the preface of Turkish Fezleke, it is written by the author himself. It is mentioned only as Fezleketü't-Tevârî (Nuruosmaniye Ktp. 3153, vr. 1a). Arabic Fezleke, described as "Sometimes Târîh-i Kebîr" (Şeyhî, I, 264), is the first work written by Kâtib Çelebi. Although the writing of the book, designed as two volumes, was completed in 1052 (1642), the author states that he took it back to 1065 (1654-55), when he wrote the Turkish Fezleke. The subject of the work; It consists of the events that took place in the world, starting from the creation of the universe, Prophet Adam, until the year 1051/1641. Kâtip Çelebi prepared the Turkish version of Fezleke in order for this work, which is a general world history book, to reach a wider audience. In order not to be confused with the Turkish Fezleke and Fezleketü Akvâli'l-Ahyâr fî İmi't-Târîh Ve'l-Ahbâr, the work in question is better known as Fezleke in Arabic (Kâtip Çelebi 2007: 2-69; Lokmacı 2017: 668). Fezleketü't-Tevârîh consists of an introduction, three chapters (main) and an epilogue. In the first chapter of the introduction, which is divided into four chapters, the parts of the work are shown, and in the second chapter, the meaning, subject and benefits of the science of history are discussed. Here, the author quotes the description, parts and benefits of history in Taşköpri-zâde's Miftâhu's-Saʿâde, with his thoughts on whether history is an independent science or not. In the third chapter, the names of 1300 books written on this subject are listed alphabetically. However, this chapter is missing in the only copy of the work that has survived to this day. However, it is possible to complete this list by making use of both the names of the history books scattered throughout the text and the author's bibliographic work titled Keşfü'z-Zunûna (I, 271 ff.), in which he lists the works on history chronologically. In the fourth chapter of the introduction, the conditions that the historian will follow and the rules that he should know are stated. The first part of the book is divided into two parts, and each part is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter of the first part, the beginning of creation is discussed, in the second, the prophets, and in the third, the period of the Caliphs of Rashidun. In the first chapter of the second part, the names of the rulers before Islam are given, in the second part, the names of the rulers after the emergence of Islam are given according to centuries and in the order of their emergence, and in the third part, the names of tyrants, Kharijites and false prophets are given. The first part of the second part, which is divided into two parts, consists of three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the state of the earth and climates, where leagues, miles, etc. measurements were mentioned. The second chapter covers various tribes and Arab tribes; The third chapter covers the rules of name, nickname, imprint, lineage and feyât (necrology). In the second part, the cities given in the first one and the important people living in them are listed in alphabetical order. In addition to this chronological order, there are also the names of people's favorite cities, great men and famous women, apart from the prophets and rulers mentioned in the first chapter. At the beginning of the third chapter, Kâtib Çelebi gives information about time periods such as dehr, karn, century, year, month, week, day and hour, and then Turkî, Kıbti, Rumi, etc. It mentions chronologically the dates, the Persian and Celali calendars, and the events from the beginning of the Hijra to the date of copyright of the work. Among the pages 197a-250b, which are devoted to the history of the Ottoman Empire, the events that took place from the foundation to 1051 (1641) are listed; IV. Until Mehmed (1648-1687), there were sultans, grand viziers, sheikh-ul-islams, kazaskers, Istanbul judges and other viziers, beylerbeyis, etc. The names of high-ranking statesmen are given. In addition, some document copies with poetic dates for important events and some important events have been added as margins to this section. This is followed by "tetimme", which includes useful information, and in the epilogue, information about the signs of the apocalypse and the afterlife is included (Özcan, 1995: 542-544; Çelebi, 2009, URL 1). The main source of Fezleketü't-Tevârîh, as stated by its author, is the book written by Cenâbî Mustafa Efendi. It is Arabicel-ʿAylemü'z-Zâhir. Kâtib Çelebi, who generally summarizes this work and sometimes quotes it verbatim, also annotates the names of other sources he used both in the text and in the margins of the pages. The author departed from Cenâbî, especially in the part related to Ottoman history, but he also referred to him among other sources when necessary. Kâtib Çelebi's work was written by the sultan of the time, IV. It is understood that he did not follow the advice of Sheikh al-Islam Zekeriyyâ-zâde Yahyâ Efendi to have it cleaned to be presented to Mehmed. The only surviving copy of the work, written in the author's calligraphy in 1052 (1642), is in the Beyazıt State Library in draft form (Çelebi, nr. 10318). Fezleketü't-Tevârîh has generally run parallel to the Turkish Fezleke since 1000/1591-92 (Özcan 1995:542-544; Kütükoğlu 1974: 4-5). Although Fezleketü't-Tevârîh is a general history source, it is a very important work in terms of containing the meaning and nature of history, the information that the historian needs to know, and being a detailed bibliography attempt. As a matter of fact, this work, which provides information about auxiliary sciences that a historian should know such as chronology, ethnology, calendar, biography, ansab, historical geography, is an encyclopedic-looking, general outline. The fact that the author wrote his later works on history and historical geography from this perspective is also very important in terms of showing what kind of a source this work is (Özcan 1995: 542-544; Çelebi, nr. 10318). As can be seen, Fezleketü't- Tevârih is one of the source books of the 17th century and is an important work that constitutes a source for today's scientific research. For the biography of the author, see. "Kâtip Çelebi". Turkish Literature Names Dictionary.

ISBN 978-9944-237-87-1

Madde Yazarı Doç. Dr. FİDAN ÇERİKAN

Alfabesi Arap

Yapısı Mensur

Niteliği Telif

Kaynakça Aycibin, Zeynep (2007).Kâtib Çelebi Fezleke. Doktora Tezi. İstanbul: Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi. Gökyay, Orhan Şaik (1991).Kâtip Çelebi: Hayatı, Kişiliği ve Eserlerinden Seçmeler.Ankara: TTK Yay. Kâtip Çelebi (2009).Fezleketü Akvali'l-Ahyar fi İlmi't-Tarih ve'l-Ahbar/ Fezleketü't-Tevarih.Ankara:TTK Yay. Kâtib Çelebi.Fezleketü't-Tevârîh.Bayazıt Devlet Ktp. 10318. Kâtib Çelebi.Fezleke. Nuruosmaniye Ktp. 3153. vr. 1a. Komisyon (1987). "Kâtip Çelebi".Büyük Türk Klasikleri.C. 5. İstanbul: Ötüken Yay. 372. Kütükoğlu, Çelebi (1974).Kâtip Çelebi “Fezleke”sinin Kaynakları. İstanbul: Edebiyat Fakültesi Matbaası. 4-5, 11, 12. Lokmacı,Süleyman (2017). "Osmanlı Tarih Yazıcılığında Gazavatnameler ve Ebubekir b. Abdullah’ın Şark Seferleri İsimli Gazavatnamesi".Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi ,21(2): 665-677. Özcan, Abdulkadir (1995). "Fezleketü't-Tevârîh".İslâm Ansiklopedisi. C. 12. İstanbul: TDV Yay. 542-544. (URL 1)https://www.turkedebiyati.org/katip_celebi.html.

Atıf Bilgileri ÇERİKAN, FİDAN. "FEZLEKETÜ'T-TEVÂRÎH (KÂTİB ÇELEBİ)".Türk Edebiyatı Eserler Sözlüğü,http://tees.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/fezleketu-t-tevarih-katib-celebi. [Erişim Tarihi: 25 Ağustos 2025].