Rahib Baba's Ceziretu'l-Hukema (Analysis-text)

The only known copy of Râhib Baba's work, Cezîretü'l-Hükemâ, is housed in the Konya Koyunoğlu City Museum and Library, registered under Inventory Number 15039. Situated within the tradition of classical Turkish literature, Cezîretü'l-Hükemâ comprises ghazals and kıt'a-ı kebire (qit'a-i kebira), with a thematic focus on alchemy and Islamic Sufi thought. This study aims to contribute to the field of Turkish literature by providing both a transcription and a textual analysis of the manuscript. The thesis is organized into three chapters: "The Life and Work of Râhib Baba", "Textual Analysis of Cezîretü'l-Hükemâ," and "Transcribed Version of Cezîretü'l-Hükemâ". The first chapter offers hypotheses regarding the life and character of Râhib Baba—about whom no biographical information could be found in available sources—based on evidence derived from the manuscript itself. The second chapter analyzes the manuscript in terms of poetic technique, stylistic features, and thematic content. The final chapter includes a description of the manuscript, an overview of its orthographic features, and the fully transcribed text. The study concludes that it is unlikely Râhib Baba lived before the second half of the 17 th century. He was likely a dervish with an interest in alchemy, possibly affiliated with the Babagân branch of the Bektashi order. The transcribed version of Cezîretü'l-Hükemâ has been prepared, and the textual analysis reveals it to be a work comprising poems on alchemy and mysticism, composed in the aruz meter, embellished with the symbols, and presented here for scholarly use.