American Journal Of Philological Sciences
363
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
PAGE NO.
363-365
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue05-97
Turkic Manuscripts in Berlin Libraries
Orasta Omonova
PhD Candidate at Faculty of Uzbek Philology at Department of Classical Literature History at Samarkand State University named after
Sharof Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Received:
31 March 2025;
Accepted:
29 April 2025;
Published:
31 May 2025
Abstract:
This article explores Eastern manuscripts, particularly the Turfan fragments and Old Uzbek sources, that
were brought to Germany as a result of diplomatic relations between Prussia and the Ottoman Empire in the
18th
–
19th centuries. It analyzes the origins, thematic composition, and the significance of these written relics
preserved in Berlin libraries in the context of Central Asian cultural heritage. The study highlights the historical
processes that introduced the works of scholars such as Babur and Alisher Navoi to European academia.
Keywords:
Turfan fragments, Old Uzbek language, Prussian-Ottoman diplomacy, Berlin library, Turkic
manuscripts, Babur, Alisher Navoi, Eastern sources, history of literary language.
Introduction:
At the end of the 18th century and
throughout the 19th century, representatives of the
Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen) established
active diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire
(Büyük Porte). Within the framework of these relations,
Eastern manuscripts, which are now preserved in the
Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin), were
transferred to the Prussian side and considered one of
the essential conditions of diplomatic agreements.
Today, the Berlin State Library and the Berlin-
Brandenburg Academy of Sciences house more than
forty thousand valuable "Turfan fragments" and
collections known as "Chagatai manuscripts," which are
considered rare findings for the peoples of Central Asia.
The Chagatai language (Chagatai Turkic) is one of the
two major literary languages of the Muslim Turkic
world that formed during the medieval period,
influenced by the literary traditions of the Kok Turk,
ancient Uyghur, and Karakhanid periods, as well as the
written heritage of the Golden Horde. "Chagatai Ulus"
refers to the Turkic state in Central and Middle Asia,
while "Chagatai Turkic" denotes the Turkic language
that developed over centuries into a written literary
language.
The term "Chagatai Turkic" was used during the 13th
–
16th centuries, but it would be inaccurate to consider
it merely another name for the Old Uzbek literary
language. Unfortunately, some Russian and Western
scholars have used "Chagatai" interchangeably with
Old Uzbek. The Old Uzbek language developed as a
literary language during the Timurid era in Central Asia.
Great scholars such as Lutfiy, Alisher Navoi, and
Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur elevated Old Uzbek to
new heights through their works, defining its path of
development.
Babur demonstrated the artistic power of the Turkic
language in his poetry. His ghazals and rubaiyat vividly
reflect the linguistic richness, phonetic simplicity,
morphological convenience, and melodic lexical depth
of the Turkic language. By incorporating numerous
Persian words and expressions, he expanded the
stylistic capabilities of Chagatai. Babur viewed the
Turkic language not merely as a literary tool specific to
a single people or region, but as a broad medium
representing the shared cultural heritage of the Turkic
world. Notably, during his years in India, he remained
loyal to the Turkic language and continued to write in
it, as exemplified by his work Baburnama. This
demonstrates his deep attachment to his mother
tongue and his desire to express his inner world
through it.
METHODS
Although the Turkic-language manuscripts preserved in
the Berlin State Library originate from the same
geographic region, they belong to different historical
periods. Currently, there are more than 190 Turkic-
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
364
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
language manuscripts in the Berlin library. In terms of
volume, they are smaller in number compared to the
Arabic-language manuscripts in the same library. In
addition, such manuscripts are also preserved in the
collections of major libraries around the world. Besides
Germany, similar sources can be found in universities
and museums in Saint Petersburg, London, Lund, Paris,
Vienna, Istanbul, and other countries.
The study of Turkic manuscript sources stored in
different parts of the world has led to the formation of
several specific research directions. Research on Turkic
texts reveals that in Europe, these studies are relatively
limited due to the scarcity of available data. It is
therefore important to discuss in detail how rare
samples of classical Turkic literature reached the
Oriental manuscript collections of German libraries.
German indologist, tibetologist, and ethnologist Albert
Grünwedel (1856
–
1935), archaeologist Albert von Le
Coq (1860
–
1930), and sailor, museum technician, and
conservator Theodor Bartus (1858
–
1941) jointly
undertook scientific expeditions to the Chinese city of
Xinjiang, known as the "Turfan Expeditions." As a result
of four expeditions, they discovered and studied
thousands of materials, including fragments excavated
from the soil and pieces related to Buddhist culture.
The collection of rare books by ambassadors, scholars,
booksellers, and antiquarians began as early as 1817. In
particular, Heinrich Friedrich von Diez, Julius Heinrich
Petermann, Aloys Sprenger, and Martin Hartmann
played leading roles in this endeavor. According to A.
Mirsultan, head of the Oriental Manuscripts
Department at the Berlin State Library, the “Hartmann
Collection,” acquired in 1905, consisted of 131
manuscripts. Hartmann compiled his collection during
his time in Kashgar and Yarkand and also brought
manuscripts from other regions, including Tashkent
and Baku. The collection was fully formed by 1904 and
is now preserved as part of the library's rare archives.
Johannes Avetaranian and Georg Huth also worked
specifically on collecting Turkic-language sources. In
this way, a large-scale library collection was formed at
the beginning of the 19th century.
RESULTS
There are rare examples of Uzbek classical literature
that, although written after the introduction of Islam,
are in the Turkic language and use the old Uyghur
script. Copies of such works are preserved in some of
the world’s most renowned libraries —
for instance,
Bahtiyarnama (Oxford), Mi'rojnama (Paris), and
Tazkirat al-Awliya (Paris and Istanbul). Interestingly,
these works reflect a synthesis of ancient script and
new religious beliefs. It should be noted that the
manuscripts preserved in library collections are not
always original versions but rather copies made by
manuscript collectors or scribes. Therefore, it cannot
be definitively stated that all of these works were
created in Central Asia; they were not necessarily
produced in local contexts. Based on the available data,
it is more accurate to say that many sources emerged
in cities like Constantinople and Herat.
Regarding the physical condition and form of the
manuscripts, some are made from cloth, goatskin, or
cardboard. Others feature leather bindings, simple
seals, Persian-style decorative stamps, and are written
on ordinary cloth or paper. In terms of content, the
manuscripts in the collection can be categorized into
the following genres: classical literature, hagiographic
texts (describing the lives and virtues of saints and
sheikhs), religious works, didactic writings, medical
texts, and dictionaries.
The manuscripts preserved in the Berlin State Library
include the following, with corresponding titles and
catalog numbers (Note: Ms. = manuscript, or. = oriental
(language), oct. = octavo, referring to size and format):
1.
Classical literature samples
—
Works in
Chagatai Turkic by poets such as Ferdowsi, Alisher
Navoi, Babur, and Lutfiy are preserved in the collection.
2.
Hagiographic
texts
—
These
include
biographies and stories of saints, Sufi scholars, and Sufi
schools, such as Qisas al-Anbiya (Stories of the
Prophets) and Tazkirat al-Awliya (Biographies of
Saints).
3.
Religious sources
—
This group includes
Chagatai
translations
of
the
Qur'an,
tafsirs
(commentaries), hadiths, and fiqh texts (Islamic
jurisprudence).
4.
Didactic texts
—
This category includes
treatises in the risala genre on moral-spiritual
education, political advice, etiquette, family matters,
and social conduct.
5.
Medical works
—
Treatises on Eastern
medicine, pharmacology, nature, and anatomy written
in Chagatai Turkic fall into this category.
6.
Dictionaries and grammars
—
These works
reflect the lexicon, grammatical structure, and
comparative features of Chagatai Turkic with other
languages.
Some of the manuscripts are anthologies or excerpts
from historical works that include references to Babur.
Others contain poems by Babur’s contemporaries or
modern commentaries. These sources are important
not only for the study of Chagatai literature and
language but also for understanding how the history of
the Mughal Empire was received in Europe. German
scholars such as Annemarie Schimmel and Josef
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
365
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
Horovitz, through their analysis of these texts, played a
crucial role in introducing Babur's literary and cultural
significance to Western academic circles.
DISCUSSION
These written sources are not only of historical or
literary value but also serve as unique tools for
uncovering the linguistic, cultural, and religious history
of Turkic peoples. In particular, the works related to
Babur and his era
—
including ghazals, rubaiyat, and
historical memoirs
—
demonstrate the artistic
capabilities of the Turkic language. Babur’s
commitment to writing in the Turkic language reflects
his deep loyalty to his mother tongue and his desire to
express a shared pan-Turkic identity. Furthermore, the
misinterpretation of Chagatai as merely an "Old Uzbek
language" continues to spark scholarly debate among
Western researchers. In this context, a clear
classification and an approach based on historical
linguistics are necessary to accurately understand the
evolution and identity of the language.
CONCLUSION
The Turfan fragments and Turkic manuscripts
preserved in Berlin libraries hold exceptional
significance for studying the development of Turkic
world culture and language. These sources, brought to
Europe within the framework of diplomatic relations
between the Prussian and Ottoman Empires, have
retained their scholarly and cultural value to this day.
Their preservation, digitization, and study not only
represent historical justice but also serve as a scientific
legacy for future generations.
Through these manuscripts, we can delve deeply into
the works of authors like Alisher Navoi and Babur, while
also gaining a broader understanding of ancient Turkic
writing culture, religious thought, philosophical views,
and social systems. This scholarly research contributes
to the analysis of Turkic written heritage and provides
a deeper understanding of the origins, content, and
significance of Eastern manuscripts preserved
specifically in Berlin
—
one of Europe's major library
centers.
REFERENCES
Bellér-Hann, I. (2014). Chronicling the Turfan
expeditions: the German archaeologist Albert von Le
Coq in Xinjiang. Studies in Travel Writing, 18(4), 332-
344.
Knüppel, M., & van Tongerloo, A. (2011). Theodor
Bartus und die Turfan-Forschung. IAZ, 15, 70-82.
Mirsultan, A. (2019). Martin Hartmann und seine
Handschriftensammlung in der Staatsbibliothek zu
Berlin. Unter dem Bodhi-Baum, 225-234.
Mirsultan, A. (2019). Martin Hartmann und seine
Handschriftensammlung in der Staatsbibliothek zu
Berlin. Unter dem Bodhi-Baum, 225-234.
Тоджиходжаев М. Ўзбек адабиёти намуналари.
Мартин Хартманн таржимаси ва талқинида. –
Тошкент: Баёз, 2016. –
180 б.
Sodiqov, Q. (2009). Turkiy til tarixi. Toshkent: TDShI,
368.
Xoliqulova, G. (2024, October). Boburiylar davri
madaniyatlararo muloqotida turkiy tilning mavqeyi. In
Conference Proceedings: Fostering Your Research Spirit
(pp. 353-356).
Vohidov, R.
, & Eshonqulov, H. (2006). O ‘zbek mumtoz
adabiyoti tarixi. О’quv qo’llanma. Т.: O’zbekiston
Yozuvchilar
uyushmasi
Adabiyot
jamg’armasi
nashrivoti, 528.
Abdunazarova, N. (2024). ESKI O ‘ZBEK YOZUVIDA
FOYDALANILGAN YOZMA YODGORLIKLAR. ACUMEN:
International journal of multidisciplinary research, 1(4),
382-387.
