Ottomans and Mamluks Compared

The Role of Translation in the Development of Western Turkic Literacy: The Ottoman Case and the Mamluk Case Compared

Researcher: Kristof D'hulster

This sub-project explores the role of translation in the formation and early stages of the Ottoman-Turkic literary corpus, by juxtaposing this with its role in the development of the Mamluk-Turkic literary corpus. In a first phase, it zooms in on the latter corpus, taking stock of its translated titles and the various agents involved, and looking into the translation process itself and possible rationales left for translation. In a second phase, it compares these findings with those of the better-researched Anatolian beylicates and the early Ottoman sultanate, hereby mapping the con- and divergences in aforesaid terms. Applying this macro-perspective, this sub-project seeks to bring the pivotal role of translation in the formation of the Mamluk, Anatolian and Ottoman literary fields into sharper focus: to what extent can one recognize translation not only as a form of inter-linguistic transfer but also as a crucial site of Turkic social identity-making?

Whereas TRANSLAPT’s other sub-projects investigate the role of translation within a particular genre of Ottoman Turkish literature, this sub-project focuses on the role of translation within the genesis and early stages of Western Turkic literacy as a whole. While in the former cases, translations are first and foremost considered in function of knowledge transfer from some language into Turkic (often with a fascinating display of “noise”), in the latter case, translation is considered first and foremost in function of Turkic as the target language itself, being framed as something that helped (trans)form Turkic into a literary language.

In its first phase, this sub-project zooms in on the Mamluk Sultanate as a second important hub of early Western Turkic literacy (next to the Golden Horde as a third important one). It explores the role of translation in the small yet important Mamluk-Turkic literary corpus, as this developed within the Mamluk Sultanate from its birth in the mid-13th century up to its demise at the hands of the Ottomans in 1517. More to the point, it takes detailed stock of the translated works that were added to this corpus, it identifies the various actors involved (translators, patrons, commissioners, owners, etc.), it looks into the translation process itself, and it lists all possible rationales that were left for translation.

In its second phase, it zooms out from the Mamluk Sultanate and instead applies the macro-level of Western Turkic literacy as a whole. It compares its findings regarding the  Mamluk Sultanate with those regarding the better-researched Anatolian beylicates and the early Ottoman sultanate, mapping all possible con- and divergences in aforesaid terms: what titles or genres were (not) translated in these three hubs, what actors were (not) involved, what reasons were (not) given, etc.? In doing so, this sub-project aims to bring the pivotal role of translation in the formation of the Mamluk, Anatolian and Ottoman literary fields into sharper focus. To what extent can one recognize translation not only as forms of inter-linguistic transfer but also as a crucial site of Turkic social identity-making? To what extent should one understand translation also as a discursively constructed yet socially constructive process in its own right that helped Turkic as a spoken language earn its place as a written language on a competitive literary market?