The first instance of a "Bāhnāme" in Ottoman medicine: The bāhnāme translation of Musa B. Mesud and its assessment in light of modern urology

Coined by combining the Arabic word "bāh" (sexual desire, lust) and the Persian word "nāme" (booklet), "bāhnāme" is a historical term used to refer to the monographies that dealt generally with sexuality, sexual life, disorders of sexual desire and function, and the related preventive, supportive, and therapeutic practices. Bahnames make up an important part of the medical corpus within the Islamic cultural circle. It can also be suggested, from a social perspective, that the main aim of bahnames was to inform about healthy sexual behavior and practice and thus help attain happiness and satisfaction in marriage. The first works written in Turkish in Anatolia that can be characterized as a "bahname" date back to the 14th century and are translations of earlier bahnames composed in the Arabic and Persian languages. The first known example is the translation performed for Saruhanoğlu Yakub b. Devlet, from the Persian "Bahname-i Padişahi" attributed to Nasirüddin-i Tūsī. The translation of the same work by Musa b. Mesud for Murad II is the first known bahname during the Ottoman period (15th c.). Subsequently there also appeared original, authored works. While initially containing scientific and medical information, bahnames became erotic and occasionally pornographic books from the 16th century onward. Although constituting an important part of the medical corpus within the Turkish–Islamic cultural heritage and thus their multitude in Ottoman medicine, bahnames have so far not been investigated adequately in studies of medical history conducted in our country. The studies are limited to providing general information about bahnames and text transcription with linguistic simplification, and there has been no further attempt to assess and analyze any bahname text in the light of the current knowledge of medicine, sexology, and urology/andrology. Accordingly, this dissertation examined the translation performed by Musa b. Mesud for Murad II, which is known today as the first bahname during the Ottoman period, by using the manuscript copy at the Library of the Department of Medical History and Ethics, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University. First, the section General Description presents a compilation of the existing information concerning the bahname concept, history of bahnames, and bahnames written in the Ottoman Empire with Musa b. Mesud's translation in particular. The following section Results presents a transcription of the original manuscript in Ottoman Turkish. Lastly the section Discussion contains an analysis and interpretation of the information and advices given along the text in the light of today's knowledge of sexology, urology and andrology. A glossary composed to elucidate the terms used throughout the text and a reproduction of the original handwritten copy for the use of readers knowledgeable about the subject matter were also appended finally.