Abstract:

Physiognomy, which means making certain determinations about the character of the human being based on its external appearance, emerged as a branch of firâset in the beginning, and over time, the concepts of physiognomy and firaset have become synonymous in Turkish literature. Many physiognomy books of copyright or translation have been written in Turkish literature about the physiognomy, which is in demand in western and Eastern cultures, especially under the influence of Arabic works. Among the works written in this genre, it can be stated that the translations of Dımaşkî’s Arabic physiognomy book named Kitâbü’l-Âdâb ve’s-Siyâse fî Ǿİlmi’n-Nazar ve’l-Firâse have an important place. Different translations of the work and the copies of these translations show the popularity of Dımaşkî’s work. As far as it can be determined, the work also has a translation of unknown translator in addition to the translations made by Şaban-ı Sivrihisarî, Muhammed bin Iyas and Silistrevî. In this study, the copy of the translation made by Muhammed bin Iyas, which is registered with the inventory number of Tahir Ağa No. 360 in Süleymaniye Library among the seven copies we can identify, has been focused on. The translation date is not recorded in the copy consisting of 46 sheets and generally 15 lines. Considering that the oldest copy (copy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) with a recorded translation date was dated to 1569, it can be estimated that the translation made by Muhammed bin Iyas could be from the 16th century. As a matter of fact, this result emerges from the grammar features of the manuscript as well. The grammar features of the text are in accordance with the general characteristics of Classical Ottoman Turkish. In this study, after focusing on the physiognomy tradition, a copy of the work named Ķıyāfet-nāme by Muhammed bin Iyas, registered in Süleymaniye Library, was introduced and translated into transcription and general grammar features were determined.

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