Or 16392

This volume contains a mythical account by Şems-i Haki of the martial exploits of Imam Ali, Imam Hasan, Imam Husayn, and others. The work is also known by the titles Yedi Cenk or Sekiz Cenk (‘Seven Battles’ or ‘Eight Battles’). Little is known of the author, and manuscripts of the work are rare. The British Library also holds the lithograph edition of this work.

The text is extremely incomplete at the beginning. A detailed handwritten description of the manuscript by C.S. Mundy, on a single detached folio, has been attached to it. Mundy writes: ‘This is the popular book sometimes known as the Sekiz Cenk or Yedi Cenk, which is to be found in the margin of the lithographed editions of the Bill–r-i ‘Azam [sic]. This copy is very defective. The first heading to occur is on 2b, Hayber Ka'lesi [sic], but what follows does not seem to belong to this tale. The real continuous narrative begins with the next heading, on 8a, Gazevât-i Imâm Hasan. This corresponds to p. 215 of the lithograph, & the text is the same. In the lithograph Hayber Ka'lesi [sic] is the first episode & Imâm Hasan is the seventh. It looks as if this book now contains only the concluding portion of the original MS with a few leaves preserved from the beginning. ... This copy is important for its early date: not many popular texts survive in MSS of the mid 16th century. The language is very interesting, especially from the viewpoint of the syntax of narrative style.’

Begins:

Gelmeyince ben alım sana uydurmezim Zira ben iman getirdim Eğer siz de (sic) imana gelirseniz hoş Ve eğer gelmezseniz şöyle bilin ol iş-kim Haybar’a oldu size dahi olur

Ends:

el-kıssa cümle geldiler Emir ül-Mü’minin Ali Bu kıssa dahi bunda tamam oldu, Bu kıssa tercüman eden el-fakirü’l-muhtac ila rahmet’illah te‘ala el-hareke Şems-i Haki-i za‘ifdir Her kim bu kitap açıp okuya hayr dua ide Haki’ye

There are descriptive notes by C.S. Mundy (see above) on the inside front cover. The copy is dated mid-Şaban 966 AH/mid-May 1559 CE.