The Twin Books For Two Ottoman Princesses An Examination on the Matali ü Sa adet Manuscripts 1582 — Özge Nur Yıldırım

The sultanate of Murād III 1574 1595 was an era of artistic advancement in terms of book production Twin books titled Maṭāliʻü s saʻāde Paris BnF Suppl Turc 242 New York Morgan M 788 as a compendium that includes astrology physiognomy oneiromancy and prognostication is one of the products of this period Alongside the impact of apocalyptic excitements and of social political dynamics on contemporary literary genres and book arts this study also considers the commission of the Maṭāliʻü s saʻāde manuscripts in relation to the image making process of the sultan Murād III Twin copies of the Maṭāliʻü s saʻāde are dedicated to the daughters of the sultan whereby both princesses are directly mentioned with their names in these manuscripts Thus the attribution of the books to the sultan s daughters can be explored as a sign of Ottoman royal women s interests in occult tradition