The Twin Books For Two Ottoman Princesses: An Examination on the Matali’ü-Sa’adet Manuscripts (1582)

The sultanate of Murād III (1574-1595) was an era of artistic advancement in terms of book production. Twin books titled Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Paris BnF Suppl. Turc 242 & New York Morgan M. 788), as a compendium that includes astrology, physiognomy, oneiromancy and prognostication, is one of the products of this period. Alongside the impact of apocalyptic excitements and of social-political dynamics on contemporary literary genres and book arts, this study also considers the commission of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde manuscripts in relation to the image-making process of the sultan Murād III. Twin copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde are dedicated to the daughters of the sultan, whereby both princesses are directly mentioned with their names in these manuscripts. Thus, the attribution of the books to the sultan’s daughters can be explored as a sign of Ottoman royal women’s interests in occult tradition.