TRADITIONS OF CHAGHATAY MANUSCRIPTS: A STUDY OF CODICOLOGICAL FEATURES

Codicology is the field of science that assigns itself the responsibility to interpret the parameters of the original workpiece. This study enables us to reveal when, where, how and why the manuscript was written. Chaghatay language, as the communication tool applied between the nations of Central Asia, plays a crucial role in history, where written heritages in Chaghatay offer valuable insights into the lives of past societies. We have to admit that there is a lack of research made specifically on the codicology of this ancient Turkic language’s manuscripts. Codicology is considered as important as the essential meaning of books. The style, aesthetics, and illustration used in writing manuscripts in that historical context, give us valuable messages in their own unique way. The purpose of our work is to study the aesthetic, physical dimensions and provide analysis in the sphere of Chaghatay manuscript’s codicology. To obtain findings, this study has primarily relied on the publications of western scholars to conduct a comparative analysis. The findings highlight distinctive features of cover decoration in manuscript production, as found in Central Asian bookbinding traditions, handwriting styles, illustrative elements that are characteristic of Chaghatay manuscripts. We provided Turkish and original versions of specific terminology applied to identify key elements within the data science framework used in manuscript studies. To demonstrate examples in the discussion of physical characteristics, we have employed the digitized versions of the Chaghatay manuscripts from the Berlin State Library, the Süleymaniye Library and hard copies from the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Library.