Abstract
Type of Literary Works Called Book of Dreams in Turkish Literature and Hâb-nâme by Maanzade Mahmud Nedim on Alexander the Great
Literary works called by various terms such as ‘habname’ (i.e., book of dreams), ‘habiye’, ‘vakıname’, etc. consist of texts narrating dreams that are either personally had or alleged to be had by others and such texts are created for a particular purpose in mind. In Turkish literature, a new habname was added in the 19th century to the literary works of this type as created by such authors as Ömer Fu^adî, Alaşehirli Veysî, Haşmet, and Pertev Paşa. This recently identified work belongs to Maanzade Mahmud Nedim. Titled Hâb-nâme, which the author presented as a gift to the Macedonians, was published in 1333 AH (1914-15 AD) in Istanbul. The work consists of two chapters. In the first chapter, the author provides a narrative of his dream and information on how and when he wrote his work. The second chapter consists of Turkish version of an Arabic narrative by Alexander the Great. The dream of Mahmud Nedim consists of a peculiar text in terms of characters, setting, time, and subject matter. This is due to the fact that a Macedonian king addresses the most famous Arabic scholars and general public in Arabic language in Souk Okaz, the famous seasonal marketplace of Arabs, and complains about Europeans. What he complained about was the fact that Europeans did not protect the legacy of Alexander the Great. In this article, the text of the aforementioned dream narrative as well as a narrative in the form of a public speech by Alexander the Great were discussed.
Keywords
Book of Dreams, Dream, Alexander the Great, Maanzade Mahmud Nedim.