Return to the history of ancestors in the ottoman classical age: Hilye-i Hâkânî of Yahyazâde İbrahim

Although the Silsilenames are genealogical texts originating in ancient times, the Ottoman Silsilenames and genealogies, which are the continuation of the Arab and Iranian genealogy tradition, do not contain any information other than the names of the ancestors of the Ottomans. The loss of ancient sources, especially the Oghuzname, may have created an important gap in the literature in the respect. Hasan al-Bayâtî, who stated that he summarized the biographies of the ancestors of the Ottomans from a lost Oghuzname copy, filled an important gap in this field by composing the Câm-ı Cem-Âyîn, thus, shedding light on the subject of ancestors on whom there is very little information. Yahyazâde İbrahim, who knew Osman II's interest in the history of the ancestors, reconstructed the Câm-ı Cem-Âyîn under the name of Hilye-i Hâkanî in the 16th century and brought the tradition to his own time. He also managed to confer Osman II an important position in a world that integrates the past with the present. The first and primary goal of this thesis, which consist of a critical edition of Hilye-i Hâkanî, which is in a sense an addendum to Câm-ı Cem-Âyîn and has interestingly remained in the background until now, is to introduce the work to the literature. Also, it aims to bridge the gap between the ancient ancestral history of Turcs and classical Ottoman history by examining Osman II's perception of the past and specifically of ancestral history, both being themes unexplored until now. Keywords: Hilye-i Hâkânî, Yahyazâde İbrahim, Câm-ı Cem-Âyîn, Osman II, Silsilename, Ancestors history.