Legendary biography of the founder of the Bektashi Order, Ḥāǧǧī Bektāş Velī from Khorasan (Eastern Iran/Afghanistan), written in Ottoman Turkish. The manuscript was written by ʿAbdallāh Ibn Aḥmad el-Merzīfōnī and was completed on 20. Ǧumādā II 1165 h. [= 5 May 1752]. It was part of the collection of oriental manuscripts of the Islamic scholar and turkologist Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960), from where it came to the University Library Basel. (wur)

Online Since: 12/14/2017

The Massekhet Purim contained in this manuscript is a Purim parody by the Provençal author and translator Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (Arles 1286- after 1328), who wrote this work in Rome in the early 1320s. The text is about eating, drinking and drunkenness during Purim. The author humorously imitated the text and style of the Talmud. The illustrations include depictions of harlequins, of a street musician and of seven playing cards represented as trompe l'œil, which is rarely found in Hebrew manuscripts. The codex was copied in Amsterdam in 1752, at a time when this work was very popular in the Ashkenazic Jewish community. (red)

Online Since: 12/18/2014