MANUSCRIPTS OF THE DICTIONARY “KITABU HILYATUL-INSAN VA HALBATUL-LISAN”

Abstract

The article discusses research on the personality of the author of the dictionary
“Kitabu hilatul-insan wa hal-batul-lisan”, which is a very valuable work for our
linguistics, and compares copies. Ibn Muhanna's Dictionary (the short name of the
dictionary), written in the style of Arabic lexicography textbooks, dates back to the
end of the 13th century. The work is written in Arabic and is dedicated to three
languages (Persian, Turkish and Mongolian).
The article is divided into four parts. The introductory part examines versions of
the identity of the author of the dictionary Ibn Muhanna. Since there are only six
copies of this work in the world's libraries, in five of them (European copies) the
title of the work is written in the form “Kitabi Tarjumani Farsi wa Turki wa Mogholi”, and none of them mentions the name of the author. Only after the Istanbul copy was found in 1318 did the scientific world know that the author of this work
was Ibn Muhanna. The article also analyzes the socio-political situation in Maraga,
where Azerbaijani Turks lived at that time. The European Sources section states
that three works are held in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, one in the Berlin State
Library (no. 60), and one in the Paris National Library (Ancien Fonds Turc no. 208
Gaulmin). All copies are reproductions and are not original works. They differ
from each other in composition. When rewritten by scribes, some parts were abbreviated, some were given an independent dictionary, additions were made, etc.
The five European copies differ from the Istanbul manuscript in their overall structure and content. A detailed study of the latest manuscript registered in the library
of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (former name: "Müze-i Humâyûn") with
font number 1202 is reflected in the "Istanbul Copy" section of the article.