Textual Study of Diwans of Khorezm Prince Poets of the 19

-20

Centuries

S. Z. Umarova

Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords:

Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz, Khorezm Literary Environment, Diwanism, Diwan, Manuscript,Source,

Complex, Prince, Poet, Sultan, Saadi, Ghazal, Muhammas.

Abstract: This article investigates the Khorezm literary environment, a specific manifestation of the Diwan tradition of

Khiva, formed by Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz of Khiva in the late 19th- early 20th centuries. It also

explores the prince poets who composed diwans in such works as Laffasi's Tazkirai Shuaro, Bayani's Haft

Shuaro, Tabibi's Majmuat Ush-shuaroi Feruzshohiy, and Babajan Tarrakh's Xorazm Navozandalari.

Approximately ten poets included in Majmuat Ush-shuaroi Feruzshohiy are princes from the royal family,

their ghazals are featured predominantly in the Tazkira. This article delineates the manuscripts of prince poets

who lived and created in Khorezm. These include Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz's grandson, Sayyid

Muhammad Nasir Tura Sultani's Devoniy Sultoniy, and the last khan, Sayyid Abdullakhan's (khan of Khiva

during 1918-1920) son, Saadulla Tura Saadi's Devoni Sa’diy. These manuscripts are held in the Manuscript

Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies, named after Abu Rayhan Biruni, in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The

year of copying, the scribe, the preservation status of the sources, the genres of the poems presented in the

diwans, and their position are all discussed. The article also conducts a textual study of poetry works, ghazals,

mustahzod, and muhammas to continue the classical traditions of Sayyid Muhammad Nasir Tura Sultani and

Saadulla Tura Saadi.

1 INTRODUCTION

In Khorezm, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the

20th century, a significant literary and cultural

environment emerged, drawing in many poets. The

ruler of Khiva, Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz,

assembled them in the palace. Due to the Khan's

encouragement and significant attention towards

literature and art, numerous works were translated,

tezkires were created reflecting the literary

environment of the era, poems of poets composed

majmua and bayaz (types of collections of poems),

and diwans that included examples of works in

classical genres were arranged. As noted in historical

sources, poetic gatherings were organised under the

auspices of Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz – the

Khan and poet, which did not merely involve poetry,

but also the provision of feedback and opinions after

the reading of poems. In particular, each couplet, its

content, artistry and metres written and voiced by

members of the Khan family, received special

Corresponding author

attention from the attendees. In such circumstances,

Feruz’s feedback was prominent, and he showed

interest in the work of his close ones even outside

these gatherings, appointing mentors for the nurturing

and education of poets, guiding the poets in choosing

a pseudonym, bringing their poems to diwan form and

copying them. Plenty of information about this is

given in such works as Laffasi’s Tazkirai shuaro,

Bayani’s Haft shuaro, Tabibi’s Majmuat ush-shuaroi

Feruzshohiy, Babajan Tarrakh’s Xorazm

navozandalari, etc. Approximately ten of the poets

included in Majmuat ush-shuaroi Feruzshohiy are

princes of the royal family, whose ghazals are

presented in the main part of Tazkira. On the

instruction of Feruz, majmuas were also compiled

from the poems of prince poets, one of which is called

Haft shuaro. Haft shuaro was organised by Bayani by

order of the Khan, and Muradi, Sultani, Saadi, Akil,

Farrukh, Sadiq, and Bayani included samples of their

work in it. "In the Khorezm literary environment of

the 20th century, Haft shuaro occupies a special

468

Umarova, S.

Textual Study of Diwans of Khorezm Prince Poets of the 19th-20th Centuries.

DOI: 10.5220/0012490700003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 468-471

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

place. It was created on the assignment and leadership

of the art-loving Khan Feruz due to the need to spread

cultural uplift, enlightenment and expand reading at

that time, and it encompasses the poems of the prince

poets. It is a source that, unlike traditional bayaz and

collections, is structured according to a dynastic

principle and embodies mainly majmua and partly

tezkire features" (Jasurbek Mahmudov.).

The poetic majmua with the inventory number PN

909-V, which includes diwans like Devoni Sultoniy,

Devoni Sa’diy, Devoni Sodiq, Devoni G‘oziy, and

Devoni Asad, is preserved in the Manuscript Fund of

the Institute of Oriental Studies, named after Abu

Rayhan Biruni, of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It does

not have a name like Haft shuaro. In the first Terma

devon of the majmua, Sultani's poems open in a

classical Diwan tradition with Hamd ghazal, which

praises Allah with the words "Zihi qodirki sun’idin

qilib arzu samo paydo...", followed by Na’at ghazal

that praises the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) with the

words "Ahli olam faxri – sensan ey, habibi

kibriyo....". Within the diwan, Hamd and Na’at

ghazals are found several times. In Sultani's Terma

devon, along with ghazal, mustahzod, muhammas,

poems of such genres as murabba’, mathnawi, ruba’i,

muammo, ta’rih, qit’a, and qasida are also included.

On page 172 of the majmua, the colophon says: "Zihi

Subhonholifatur-rahmon boisi amnul-amon ya’ni

Sayyid Muhammad Rahim Bahodirhoni doma davlati

huva shavkata huning farmoni vojib iz’onlari bila

ushbu Devoni Sultoniy bir ming uch yuz dog‘i

yigirma beshinchi. Domulla Bobojon Tarro ibn

Abdulaziz maxdum marhumiyning qo‘lida itmomi

sarhadig‘a yetdi". In the majmua, Devoni Sa’diy,

Devoni Sodiq, Devoni G‘oziy, and Devoni Asad also

cover poetic works of the poets. In general, the Terma

devon of the majmua serves as a crucial source in

comparing its text with other manuscript copies,

studying, and preparing for the publication of the

work of prince poets.

Babajan Tarrakh's work, Xorazm navozandalari,

remarks about Sultani: “The poet Nasir Tura

graduated from the old school, but did not receive

madrasa teachings. He was beloved by Muhammad

Rahim Khan. Therefore, they held weekly feasts with

scholars, including the first scholar Yusuf Haji

Akhun, the second scholar Siddik Akhun, the third

scholar Yusufbek Bayani, and learned poetry from

them. In particular, he chose Yusufbek Bayani as a

mentor and became a poet” (Grandfather Tarroh,

1994). This information reveals two circumstances:

firstly, Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz was fond of

his grandson Sayyid Muhammad Nasir and paid him

extra attention; secondly, Khan encouraged his

grandson to take lessons in literature and write poetry.

As Khan elevated the attitude towards literature to the

level of public policy, he foremost wanted to involve

his loved ones in this process. Again, in our opinion,

in an extremely challenging social and economic

situation of that time, Khan aimed to clear the

consciousness of the princes through literature,

distracting them from various political games, and

preserving traditions. This is why he directed the

prince poets towards poetic creativity. Among them,

Sultani’s work was most frequently compiled into

books.

2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

After examining the text of Devoni Sultoniy with the

AR-7095 inventory number, housed in the

Manuscript Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies

named after Abu Rayhan Biruni of the Republic of

Uzbekistan, it was discovered that the number and

genres of poems in the manuscript are as follows:

ghazals - 368, mustahzod - 1, murabba’ - 1,

muhammas - 29, musaddas - 3, musabba’ - 1,

musamman - 1, tarji-band - 1, mathnawi - 1, ruba’i -

1, muammo - 2, qasida - 4 (Erkinov A., Polvonov

N.,).

Most of Sultani’s ghazals in the diwan are penned on

the theme of romance. The images in the poet’s love

ghazals are traditional, such as valentine, beloved

woman, and rival, with their interpretation reflecting

the poet’s creative potential. In particular:

Generally, Uzbek poems in Sultani’s diwan are

written in a simple, smooth style characteristic of

Turkish tradition. Page 90 of the diwan presents two

muammo of the poet. The first is as follows:

Yorim ismin so‘rasang, ey ozurda jon,

Loladin birni olib qo‘y boshig‘a, bo‘lg‘ay ayon.

The second one reads:

Boshimg‘a keldi g‘amdin hajringda behad afvoj,

“Ey sho‘x, sandin o‘lmish hadsiz madadg‘a muhtoj”,

Sultani’s muammo texts, written in the names of

“Allah” and “Muhammad” (s.a.w.) and their

solutions, are included in Feruz Gulshani. The diwan

also contains several Persian poems by the poet. In

Sultani’s poems, complex phrases, word games, or

fugitives are seldom seen. Moreover, there might be

uniformity, rhyme or metre errors, and shortcomings

in the use of artistic pictorial means in his poems.

Textual Study of Diwans of Khorezm Prince Poets of the 19th-20th Centuries

469

However, despite these shortcomings, the poems in

the prince poet’s diwan, reflecting the literary

environment and diwan poetry of the era, are

valuable. Discussing Saadulla Tura Saadi and his

Devoniy Sa’diy, one of the diwans arranged by the

prince poets, he was the son of Khiva’s last Khan,

Sayyid Abdullah Khan (Khiva Khan of 1918-1920),

and grew up in the palace of his grandfather

Muhammad Rahim Khan II Feruz. He developed an

interest in literature from an early age and read the

works of classical Eastern poets. A disciple of the

renowned historian and poet Bayani, he started

practising poetry from the age of 20 and was well-

versed in Arabic and Persian. Babajan Tarrakh writes

about him: “Saadulla Tura came from the royal

family. He was a man of a sharp mind. He would

remember what he saw at once, whether Arabic or

Persian.”(Grandfather Tarroh, 1994)

The first information about Saadulla Tura Saadi and

his work is found in tezkire, majmua, memuar, and

bayaz. His lyric poems were collected and compiled

into a diwan. Besides his diwan, his other works are

also known. Influenced by Persian literature, Saadi

emphasises the role of upbringing in human life, the

glorification of human behaviour, and human

qualities in his Turkish work Mufarrixi Qulub. It was

written in metre, consisting of ten chapters, each with

its own name. The stories and adventures in the work

served to clearly state the author’s opinion and

considerations. The manuscript copies of this work

have been studied by our textualists.

Upon studying the text of Devoni Sa’diy with the

inventory number AR-7092, held in the Manuscript

Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies named after

Abu Rayhan Biruni of the Republic of Uzbekistan, it

is found that the number and genres of poems in the

manuscript are as follows:

ghazals - 175, mustahzod - 2, murabba’ - 1,

muhammas - 14 (in the main text), musaddas - 5,

musabba’ - 2, mathnawi - 2, qasida - 3(Khajieva I.A.

(2008).).

The manuscript comprises 106 pages and 53 sheets,

bound in dark blue hard paper, with the initial sheet

remaining blank. It was written in black ink in a

Nastaliq style on a relatively coarse Kokand fabric

paper. Some sections of the work, primarily titles and

numbers, are distinguished by red ink. Some sheets of

the manuscript were folded and examined. The

scribe's writing is clear, and the lines have been set

down neatly.

The majority of Saadi’s poems center around the

theme of love, adhering closely to traditional classical

lyrics. In alignment with the Eastern Diwan tradition,

Devoni Sa’diy opens with three Hamd ghazals

followed by a Na’at ghazal. Evidently, the ghazals in

Sultani’s diwan are composed more frequently in

ramal, hajaz, and rajaz meters.

It is well-known that the creation of a work in Oriental

classical literature—often influenced by the poetry of

another poet and preserving the meter, rhyme, and

radif within it—represented a common form of

literary communication and interaction. It was seen as

a tradition associated with creatively competing with

either predecessors or contemporary poets in a

specific way. Devoni Sa’diy compiles poems from

eight distinct genres, with the literary influence of

traditions clearly visible in its more poetic sections.

Specifically, the poet’s muhammas were written

based on the ghazals of Alisher Navoi, Fuzuli, Ogahi,

and Feruz. These can be interpreted as a creative

approach to following the guidance of mentors and

teachers. This becomes clear when examining the text

of the 9th muhammas—beginning with “Zihi sariri

risolat uzra erursan shoh”—on pages 80-81 of the

manuscript:

Saadi’s muhammas can be traced back to Alisher

Navoi's Na’at ghazal in G‘aroyib us-sig‘ar, which

commences with “Yuzu ko‘zungda muayyan kamoli

sun’i Iloh”. For nearly ten centuries, poets have

depicted the Prophet (s.a.w.) as the most remarkable

and perfect individual of humankind in their Na’at

ghazals. Not merely content with the straightforward

praise of the Prophet (s.a.w.), these ghazals often

preached ideas of high morality. Alongside the

blessed image, the divine image was revered, and

people were encouraged to emulate him (Jasurbek

Mahmudov., 3). Saadi’s muhammas are also defining

symbols of our Prophet (s.a.w.), extolling that

Muhammad s.a.w. was honored by Allah, and that for

all Muslim people, prophetic behavior serves as the

primary criterion.

It is worth noting that some words in Navoi’s ghazal

were altered in Saadi’s muhammas. Specifically, in

verse 4 of Paragraph 2 of the mukhammas, the word

“ko‘zgusi” (mirror) from Navoi Gazali is replaced

with the word “surasi”. For example, Alisher Navoi’s

ghazal reads “Jamoling oyina va-sh-shamsi ko‘zgusi

nozil”(Alisher Navoi, 1988, 403), while in the

manuscript, it is written as “Jamoling oyinai va-sh-

shamsi surasi nozil”(Khajieva I.A., 2008, 80).

Similarly, in verse 5 of Paragraph 5 of the

PAMIR 2023 - The First Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies- | PAMIR

470

muhammas, the word “hasratingdin” from Navoi is

replaced with the word “furqatingdin”. Navoi writes

“Emaski charx chekar kecha hasratingdin

oh”(Alisher Navoi, 1988, 403), whereas in the

manuscript, it is written as “Emaski charx chekar

furqatingdin o‘ylaki oh”(Khajieva I.A., 2008). This is

how the final paragraph of the muhammas concludes.

3 CONCLUSION

In Devoni Sa’diy, Saadi's muhammas hold a

relatively large portion following his ghazals. Saadi's

poems are typically straightforward and smoothly

completed, embodying the Turkish style. The prince,

who lived and worked in Khorezm, serves as a crucial

resource in identifying poets and their position in the

literary landscape of the era, as well as understanding

diwan poetry.

A copy of Devoni Sa’diy with the number 909/II 7022

is also known to exist as part of the "Muhammad

Rahim Khan II Feruz library fehristi". Moreover,

Saadi's poems are included in tezkires, majmuas, and

bayazes as previously mentioned. Particularly, in the

Manuscript Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies

named after Abu Rayhan Biruni of the Republic of

Uzbekistan, a poetic majmua with the inventory

number PN 909-V is preserved. This collection

includes diwans such as Devoni Sultoniy, Devoni

Sa’diy, Devoni Sodiq, Devoni G‘oziy, and Devoni

Asad. This collection is not identified as Haft shuaro.

The text is penned in black ink, Nastaliq style, on

smooth Kokand fabric paper. "Saadulla Tura Saadi"

(Saifullah S., 2010) is indicated as the second diwan

author, and his poems are presented.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some

progress was made in literary studies, literary source

studies, and textual studies on the examination of the

life and the literary works of such representatives as

Munis, Ogahi, Feruz, Bayani, Avaz Utar, Tabibi,

Roji, Rogib, Komyob, Mutrib [9], and Muhammad

Rasul Mirzo. However, the diwan manuscripts of

princely poets, like Sultani, Ghazi, Asad, Muradi,

Sadiq, Farrukh, who lived in the same period and

worked in the same literary environment, have not yet

been explored [10]. Nowadays, the diwans of these

princely poets are preserved in the Manuscript Fund

of the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Abu

Rayhan Biruni of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the

Khorezm Ichan Fortress Manuscript Fund, and the

Oriental Studies Fund of the Russian Academy of

Sciences in St. Petersburg. Studying the Diwan

traditions of Khorezm, executing cross-textual-

comparative research, and analyzing Diwan

manuscripts compiled by princely poets will enrich

the history of Uzbek literature and become a

significant resource for research studying the

historical, cultural, and literary environment of this

period [11].

REFERENCES

Alisher Navoi. (1988). An amazing cigar. A perfect

collection of works. 3 volumes. - T.: "Science",

Grandfather Tarroh. (1994)Musicians of Khorezm. - T.:

Gafur Ghulam Publishing House of Literature and Art,.

Saifullah S. (2010) The essence of na't ghazals. Alisher

Navoi. Na't ghazals from "Khazayin ul-Maoni". - T.:

"Publishing book",.

Khajieva I.A. (2008).The role of the "Haft Shuaro" complex

in the literary environment of Khorezm. Philol.f.f.n.

il.dar. Abstract. - Tashkent, - P. 12.

Erkinov A., Polvonov N., Aminov H. (2000). Muhammad

Rahimkhan II - cataloger of the Feruz library. - T.:

"New century generation",

Madrimova Sokhiba Makhmudovna. Text edition issue of

Mutrib poems. https://saarj.com/wp-

content/uploads/ACADEMICIA-MAY-2020-FULL-

JOURNAL.pdf

Jasurbek Mahmudov. Pahlavon Mahmud and Generosity.

https://ijmmu.com/index.php/ijmmu/article/view/2569

Sohiba Zakirovna Umarova. Diwanism in the Literary

Environment of Khiva in the XIX-Early XX centuries.

https://ijssrr.com/journal/article/view/548

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