Dürr-i Meknûn
Dürr-i Meknûn ("The Hidden Pearl(s)") is a 15th-century Ottoman Turkish cosmography in prose, traditionally attributed to Ahmed Bican. It is a compilation of highly divergent material, arranged in a time running from the "time before time" to the aftermath of the Apocalypse. Metamorphosis constitutes a dominant theme: against a background of cosmic transformation take place many sorts of changes in shape and content. Importance. The first half of the 15th century had been crucial in the development of the Turkish language. This makes the "Dürr-i Meknûn", with its volume and its varied subject matter , an important source for early Ottoman culture and language. The book was deliberately written by Bican for the common people in the vernacular Turkish and he strongly advocated against the widespread use among the learned elite of Arabic and Persian. Over a hundred surviving manuscript copies (it never appeared in print) testify to its popularity well into the 19th century. Authorship and dating. "Dürr-i Meknûn", an anonymous work, is usually attributed to Ahmed Bican. Linguistic analysis and a comparison to other works known to be from his hand seem to consolidate this tradition. Its autograph is unknown and might  have been lost at some date. The year of writing is unclear. Stéphane Yerasimos, assuming an eschatological mood in the work triggered by the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, dates the book shortly after 1453. The Dutch scholar Laban Kaptein, however, disputes this claim after a minute analysis of the work's End Times contents. Synopsis. Bican has divided the work in 18 chapters, analogous to the 18,000 worlds created by God. Chapter 1: On the heavens, the Throne, the Throne(-heaven), the Tablet and Pen, Heaven and Hell, the Moon, The Sun and the stars, and the cherubs Chapter 2: On  the respective Earths and their marvels, the creatures living thereon, and on the Hell Chapter 3: About the Earth's surface and the creatures thereon Chapter 4: On the science of geodesy (‘handasa’), on climate zones and the days and the hours Chapter 5: On marvelous mountains Chapter 6: On the seas and the islands and their great variety of creatures Chapter 7: On cities, mosques, cloisters and climate zones Chapter 8: On marvelous mosques and cloisters Chapter 9: About Süleyman’s (Solomon's) throne Chapter 10: About the Throne of Bilqis, and her visit to Süleyman Chapter 11: On  the duration of life Chapter 12: On places destroyed by God's wrath Chapter 13: On the properties of plants, fruits and stones according to the Doctores Chapter 14: On figures, statues; some stories on cities Chapter 15: On birds, among them the Simurg Chapter 16: On the occult science of jafr; on what goes on in this World and the Other World; on the secret signs of jafr Chapter 17: On the Signs of Judgement Day Chapter 18: On the End Time; some sermons