The Manuscripts of Ogahiy’s Work Titled “Zubdatu-t-tavarikh” and its Value in the Capacity of a Literary Source

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the book “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” by a bright representative of classical Uzbek literature Muhammad Rizo Ogahiy. As result of a comparative analysis of five copies of “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” kept at Saint-Petersburg department of Oriental studies institute of Academy of Sciencies of Russia, State library named after S. Shedrin, Oriental studies institute named after Abu Rayhan Beruniy of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, it was found out that the copy number 821 kept at the treasury of Oriental studies institute named after Abu Rayhan Beruniy of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan is the best among all aforementioned copies of the manuscript.The article covers the history of the creation of “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” . On the basis of comparative analyzing this book with “Tarihi Turkiston” (History of Turkistan) it was proven that “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” is a reliable source on the history of Khiva khanate. The analysis of the samples of verses from the book was used to ground that “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” was a literary source. For example it contains such samples of poetic genres as qasida (odes) (6), masnaviys (70), ghazels (4), rubayis (7), qit’as (10), ta’rix (4), fard (6). Totally the book consists of 1176 verses (2352 lines) of poetic text. Most significant of them were analyzed. Poetic skills of the author of “Zubdatu-t-tavorih” was demonstrated through the analysis of qasidas and ta’rix. The analysis of the samples of the abovementioned genres, their poetics and rhythmic properties were relied on theoretical ideas put forward in “Funun-ul-balogha“ by Shekh Ahmad Tarozi. At the conclusion part of the article, the author was able to prove that this book is a source of rare information on such sciences as history, etnography, toponomy, and others.