Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet and its illustrated copies

The subject of this study is the illustrated copies of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet, which was written in verse by the 13th century poets Şeyyad İsa or Şeyyad Hamza, prepared at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. Prepared in a context related to the expectation of the apocalypse, which was believed to have begun in the Ottoman court and society in the year 1000 AH (1591-2), Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet has survived in four illustrated copies, two complete and two in scattered leaves. These are, respectively, Istanbul Süleymaniye Library Hafid Efendi 139, Berlin Staatsbibliothek Ms. or. Oct. 1596, Rare Book Department (Ms. O. Tu 4-Tu 7)- Harvard University Art Museum (1956.196) and Dallas Museum of Art, Keir Collection (IV, 9-21) at Philadelphia Free Library. In the illustrated copies of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet, the depictions are collected in three stages: portents before the apocalypse, the realization of the apocalypse and life after the apocalypse. In this thesis, the connection of the depictions with the text is examined, the images are analyzed and described by transferring the portrayed parts from the text. The manuscripts were compared in terms of painting subjects and painting programs, and it was observed that there were differences between them. It has been determined that the text or the connections between copies are not the only source of the illustrations of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet. It has been determined that Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet paintings exemplify the process of Ottoman muralists producing original visual interpretations for original narratives. It has been determined to which group the copies of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet belong in terms of style within Ottoman painting. Although similar to some of the depictions of the apocalypse that we encounter in the illustrated copies of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet are found in other works of Islamic painting, all depictions of the apocalypse are included in the illustrated manuscripts of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet. The copies of Ahvâl-i Kıyâmet are unique in this respect and have a unique place in Ottoman painting with their unprecedented compositions. It has been determined that the pictures in the copies, which are especially about the life of judgment and the hereafter, are not among the examples of Ottoman book painting. Keywords 16-17th century Ottoman Painting, Doomsday in Ottoman painting, Portents of the apocalypse, Post-apocalyptic life.