Abstract
Zulaykha’s Palace: On the Origin of the Seven- Room Palace in the Yusuf and Zulaykha Mathnawis
The palace built by Zulaykhâ in Yûsuf and Zulaykhâ
mathnawis written within the scope of classical Ottoman
literature is an important turning point in terms of the
change of the characters and the course of the story. This
palace has not been examined in detail in the studies
carried out so far, briefly, it has been focused on what the
poets likened this palace to. In this article, how Zulaykhâ’s
palace was depicted by the poets in Yûsuf and Zulaykhâ
mathnawis written between the thirteenth and eighteenth
centuries was examined in detail and the mythological
origins of the motifs included in connection with the palace
were investigated. In what way the palace undergo a
change in mathnawis over the centuries, the factors that
contributed to this change were examined and the reasons
for the poets to include these motifs were questioned. In the
mathnawi written in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, it is seen that the poets mainly focused on the
idea of heaven and the cosmic tree in the palace, which has
mythological features. However, the depiction of the palace
has changed after the fifteenth century and is handled
through the concept of skies. However, in addition to this
imagination, similar motifs that are common to all
mathnawis continue to be used. In this change, Yûsuf’s
identity, which was wrapped in mythological features and
resembled plant and sun gods, is an important factor. In
addition, Zulaykhâ’s identity must be related to the
woman named Asenath, who dates back to the Torah
narrative and is said to be Yûsuf’s wife. The narratives of
Asenath, which varied in the apocryphal Jewish texts, and the tower of Asenath in these narratives were probably
effective in diversifying the details of Zulaykhâ’s palace.
Keywords
Yûsuf, Zulaykha, Zulaykha’s Palace, Cosmic Tree, Torah, Mythology