Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Hitit Theology Journal, cilt.23, sa.1, ss.353-370, 2024 (ESCI)
Miniatures depicting people and events in early manuscripts can be very useful in understanding history. Miniature, which were shaped under Iranian influence during the Seljuk period, continued until the last centuries of the Ottoman Empire. Mythological elements, noblesses, battles, cityscapes and many events related to palace life were depicted. The depiction of manuscripts, especially literary ones, through the interpretation of an illuminator became an element that increased the appeal of the manuscript. The book binding, decoration and illustration of manuscripts reached its peak in cities such as Herat, Shiraz and Tabriz. Artists under the patronage of sultans and influential people who showed an interest in the arts depicted many events of early palace and city life from the first person. The works, which were usually done with the miniature technique, are closely related to the subject of music as a historical document. In addition to theoretical works on the science of music, visuals that give an idea about the way music is practiced and the structures of instruments are very important as a complementary element alongside texts. The images, in which the instruments can be identified stylistically, not only provide clear information about what kind of instruments were used in musical assemblies, but also provide information about the musical life of the century and geography in which they are depicted. The manuscript and other copies that is the subject of this study was prepared in the 16th century and depicts the cultural life of the Transoxiana region. The depictions of the Great Seljuk Sultan Sanjar and people such as Abu Said Abu’l Khayr in these miniatures give clues about both the musical culture of the Turks in the early period and the formation phases of religious music. To trace, explain and interpret the process of change in Turkish musical culture, it is important for general music history studies to examine written and visual sources and bring them into the literature. For the music of the Seljuk period, which is much less known than the music of the Ottoman period, every information obtained will make the traces of cultural heritage more evident. In this study, the digital copies of the manuscript of Majalis al-Ushshaq in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) with inventory numbers supplément Persan 776, Persan 1150, Persan 1424 and Persan 1559 were examined and those related to music were identified. Using the scanning method, a table showing the pages containing musical elements and instruments in the images and a second table to show how often instruments and sama assemblies were depicted were drawn up. By making use of these tables, a morphological and semiological approach was used to analyze the venues where music was performed and the preference of instruments according to these venues, the frequency with which instruments were used, the place of music in daily life and the gender factor in the choice of instruments. In line with the information obtained, the depictions of the first examples of the formation of sama assemblies were interpreted, and the appearance and usage areas of the instruments in the early period were explained. It has been observed that the sama assemblies depicted in line with the information obtained are different from today's sama assemblies, which are more organized and performed with a certain order. This study will fill a certain gap when research will be conducted on the emergence of this ritual and its appearance in different geographies. In addition to the descriptions in which it is observed that the instruments are differentiated according to their usage areas in terms of the sounds they produce, it has been observed that only the nay and the daira are used in sama assemblies. The fact that the circle and def (tambourine) accompany instruments such as nay, rabab, oud and misqal, while the chang is usually depicted alone and instruments such as kus, naqqara, nafir and horn nafir are used outdoors shows that instruments were classified according to their sound characteristics at that time.