Abstract:
In this study, fifty-six manuscripts, which are kept in the Slileymaniye Library, illustrated with miniature paintings and bound altogether in fifty-four volumes, have been catalogued under the three headings of Turkish, Persian and Arabic manuscripts. These are, further, classified into eight groups according to their content J and each group is subdivided into separate sections in accordance with their subject matter and the particularities of the style they exhibit. Fourteen different styles have been detected in the miniature drawings of the manuscripts studied. Literary works written in Persian constitute a group which contains the largest number of miniatures displaying the greatest variety of style. The study of four Turkish manuscripts, and certain other literary works, such as mathnavis, divan poetry and khamsas, reveals the existence of a close connection between the miniatures and the texts they are designed to illustrate. Apart from clarifying and complementing the text, these paintings also serve function of reflecting the social and cultural life of the age during which they were produced.
