Abstract:

There is a relatively extensive literature relating to the biography and the intellectual and political identity of the nineteenth century intellectual adversary Mirza Habib Isfahani, who spent half of his life in Istanbul in exile, where soon after his arrival he became a celebrated figure in intellectual circles. His acclaim was a consequence of his literary scholarship as the author of a number of Persian works on grammar; his authorship of Hatt and Hattatân; his translation of Sergüzeşt-i Hacı Baba-i Isfehani; and his contributions to the newspaper Akhtar, the first and longestrunning Persian newspaper published in the Ottoman capital. This literary scholar was also a civil servant of the Ottoman state. By focusing on Mirza Habib Isfahani's tereke (the bequest of possessions) these articles will attempt to shed light on his biography and intellectual world. Moreover, due to the fact that a significant part of these possessions consisted of books and manuscripts left behind by this important nineteenth-century figure, this examination will provide information related to the literary legacy of Ottoman and Iranian intellectuals of the period.

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