The books that people used in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth
centuries were different from those used today. Ottoman books, which
are also called manuscripts, were written by hand. In addition to
the text, artists decorated the pages with illustrations. A page
of a book was generally not more than the size of a sheet of notebook paper.
So the details were painted with care and meticulous labor. It is
in these pages that one can get a glimpse of what life was like in the
Ottoman court and how high society interacted with the ruler.
| The Suleyman Nama, a book tracing the geneology of Suleyman, has several illustrations showing life in the court. It was common practice for the Ottoman rulers, as well as those of the Mughal, Safavid, and other Muslim dynasties, to create such works to legitimize their right to rule. In books such as the Suleyman Nama the illustrations show scenes that glorify the ruler to prove that he was the righful leader. |
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