“Jami al-tawarikh” by Kadyr Ali-bek: raising the question of authorship

Abstract

Research objectives: This article raises the question of the authorship of the work “Jami al-tawarikh”, written in Kasimov at the beginning of the 17th century. The author of this work is Kadyr Ali-bek, an associate of the Kasimov Khan Uraz-Muhammad. Research materials: The main source behind this study is the Kazan and St. Petersburg lists of “Jami al-tawarikh”, as well as a study dedicated to this work and the personality of Kadyr Ali-bek. Results and novelty of the research: An analysis of the text, “Jami al-tawarikh”, and scientific works about Uraz-Muhammad Khan, the Kasimov Khan, has led to the idea that the work’s author may not be Kadyr Ali-bek. This assumption is based on a different rea­ding of the text in places where authorship is mentioned. In addition, the present version arose from the insertion of text in the work’s various parts. The language is heterogeneous, parts of the composition differ in terms of the presence of borrowings, and we see different levels of the Tatar language. As well, considering the personality of Kadyr Ali-bek, and his role under the Kasimov Khan, it can be assumed that the author of “Jami al-tawarikh” was another person, and Kadyr Ali-bek was a copyist.