The Salīm-Shāhnāmah (Book of Salīm Shāh), chronicles the reign of the Ottoman ruler Selim I (1470–1520; r. 1512–20). The author, Idrīs Bidlīsī (d. 1520), served Sultans Beyazid II (1447–1512, r. 1481–1512) and Selim I as an administrator throughout the empire. He intended it as a sequel to his Hasht Bihisht (Eight Paradises), which recounts the reigns of the first eight Ottoman rulers prior to his patron. Thematically, he divided the work into two parts: the first features four discourses on Selim’s early years, his religious devotion, ethics, and literary works, while the second recounts events in Selim I's life until his death and succession by his son Sultan Suleiman I (1495–1566, r. 1520–1566).

The text alternates between prose narration of events followed by lines of poetry that recast the same in muqtarib metre, hence a richly nuanced literary style that dramatically departs from works by prior Ottoman historians. The author recounts many events that he witnessed towards the end of Selim I’s reign; however, he died soon after his patron in 1520 and never completed it. After his death, his son Ebülfazl Mehmed Efendi (d. 1574) compiled and edited his father's various surviving drafts to which he added a preface, then in 1566–67 presented the completed work to Sultan Selim II (1524–1574, r. 1566–1574), the subject's grandson and namesake, as an accession gift. Since this lavishly illuminated volume in the Rylands bears a dedication to the same ruler on folio 4a, it must have been completed within a seven-year period after 1567 but before Selim II's death in 1574. Therefore, this manuscript appears to be one of the earliest extant copies of this work, probably copied from the original holograph text.

Physical Location: The John Rylands Library Collection: Persian Manuscripts Classmark: Persian MS 47 Alternative Identifier(s): Bibliotheca Lindesiana Shelf Mark: F/4; Bland 57; de Sacy 325 Title: Salīm-shāhnāmah Alternative Title(s): Salīmshāhnāmah Subject(s): Selim I, Sultan of the Turks, 1470-1520; Turkey--History--Selim I, 1512-1520; Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918 Author(s): İdrîs Bitlîsî, d. 1520Idrīs Bidlīsīادريس بتليسي; Ebülfazl Mehmed Efendi, d. 1574Abū'l-Fażl Muḥammad Efendīابو الفضل محمد افندى Origin Place: Istanbul Language(s): Persian Associated Person(s): Sultan Selim II (b. 1524, r. 1566–1574) Note(s): While this manuscript lacks an explicit title, Michael Kerney correctly identified it as the Salīm-Shāhnāmah in his Handlist, p. 109. However, subsequent electronic records employed another mistaken title, Tārīkh-i Mawlā-yi Mulūk al-‘Arab, derived from the dedication to Sultan Selim II (b. 1524, r. 1566–1574) on folio 4b. For a complete descriptions of the contents, see Rieu, Catalogue Vol. I, pp. 218–219 [British Library Add. 24960] and Markiewicz. Extent: 193 folios (ff. 193 + i) Leaf height: 307 mm, width: 199 mm. Written height: 225 mm, width: 119 mm. Collation: Primarily quinternions throughout. 1VI+1(14)10V(114)1II(118)2V(138)1IV(146)4V(186)1III-1(191). Catchwords throughout. Material: Textblock of two types of straight-grained, cream-coloured handmade paper manufactured in the Islamic world. Folios 3–76 have laid lines ~2 mm apart and infrequently discernible, crooked chain lines, albeit very and at irregular intervals. Folios 77–191 are of comparatively flocked paper ~2 mm between laid lines and no discernible chain lines. Format: Codex Condition: In good condition, with minor historical and modern repairs. A stub remains between folios 191 and 192, apparently what remains of the final conjugate fold. Binding:

Resewn at four unsupported stations, without endbands. Originally covered in full, possibly in two-piece, tight-backed, smooth dark red goatskin leather with fore-edge flap (type II binding per Déroche). Spine later rebacked in dark maroon goatskin leather with a new envelope flap added in the same leather, with remnants remounted. Later Endpapers of orange-tinted European handmade paper, folio 2 (second right flyleaf) watermarked with a crossed orb surmounted by a six-pointed criss-cross star, with ~1 mm between laid lines and ~32 mm between chain lines, whereas folio 192 (second to last flyleaf) watermarked with a cross above a shallow urn on a stand with curved legs, with ~ 1 mm between laid lines and ~28 mm between chain lines.

The exterior features sunken onlays of smooth, dark green leather, with relief areas of the deeply pressure-moulded scalloped mandorlas, attached pendants, and corners embellished and perimeters outlined in gold ink. Interior doublures lined with the same red goatskin leather as the exterior, but with pressure-moulded recessed scalloped mandorlas with gilt grounds. The fore-edge flap bears five cartouches with central knotwork designs, with ruling, all in gold, with the surrounding wide rule ruling stamped with a chain design. The replaced envelope flap exterior bears blind fillet lines around the perimeter and European fleur-de-lis impression by the tip.

Binding height: 306 mm, width: 206 mm, depth: 33 mm. Binding in good condition. Script: Primarily written in nasta‘līq (Ottoman: talīḳ) script in black ink, with subheadings in gold, blue, and red riqā‘ (Ottoman: rıḳā‘) script. Foliation:

Modern foliation in Arabic numerals on the upper-left corners of the a sides, which includes all preliminary and the first final endleaves, so off by 3. Note this record uses the current numbers. Layout: Written in 1–2 columns with 25 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide. Decoration: