Four Manuscripts of the Daftar-i Čingiz-nāma: London, Paris, Berlin, and Edinburgh

The anonymous Daftar-i Čingiz-nāma / Däftär-i Čingiz-nāmä is a Turkic work composed in the Volga-Ural region in the1680s. It is one of the historical works based on the historical knowledge and rich oral tradition of the steppe world.Previous studies on this work have mainly focused on manuscripts from the former Soviet Union countries; however, thispaper focuses on four manuscripts (London, Paris, Berlin, and Edinburgh), which have not received much attention, andreexamines the historical value of this work. The London manuscript of this work, dating from the first half of the 19thcentury, contains excerpts from Abu’l-Ghāzī’s Šajara-yi Turk and the work of Qādir ‘Alī Bek Jāmi‘ al-Tawārīkḫ. The undatedParis manuscript mentions the legendary conquest of Constantinople by Timur, and the miraculous rescue of Moscowduring Timur’s campaign there. The Berlin manuscript, also undated, contains several original fragments not found inother manuscripts. It mentions Berdibek’s nickname, which comes from the story that, upon ascending the throne, hekilled his sons who threatened to usurp the throne. There is also an interesting story about Toqtamysh where Qongrat‘Alī Biy, one of the powerful beys under Toqtamysh, is mentioned. The Edinburgh University manuscript, written in 1825,is in good condition and contains all six chapters. The four manuscripts discussed in this article contain much interestinginformation about the Chingizids and Jochids that is not found in other surviving manuscripts of this work.