Nakhshabi abridgement

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The Indian physician and Sufi mystic Ziya' al-Din Nakhshabi possibly included a heavily abridged version of the Sindbadnama in his Tutinama, a 14th century Persian adaptation of the Sanskrit Śukasaptati. However, the earliest manuscripts we have of the Tutinama date from the 1560s, which saw an explosion of interest in the text under the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who was a great benefactor of the Chishti Sufi order, of which Nakhshabi was a prominent member. Some, but by no means all, of these manuscripts contain an abridged version of the Sindbadnama, but it is impossible to know whether it was included in Nakhshabi's original, or whether the story was inserted because of its later popularity. The manuscripts which do contain the Sindbadnama are also inconsistent, with some containing only the frame narrative and others containing very brief abridgements of some of the inset stories. It is also impossible to be sure that the Samarqandi Sindbadnama was the version which was used: the Tutinama abridgements are far more focused on the Makr al Nisa (wiles of women), whereas Samarqandi's version is significantly more nuanced. Given that the late 9th century polymath al-Yaqubi refers to the Sindbadnama of his day as a Makr al Nisa text, it is perhaps more likely that Nakhshabi was working off an earlier version (likely either the Fanaruzi or Rudaki versions, both now lost or highly fragmentary and difficult to attribute.

Identification & General Information

Title

Nakhshabi abridgement

Author

Ziya' al-Din Nakhshabi

Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition

Book of Sindbad

Adapted from (version)

Persian Sindbadnama

Recorded Secondary Versions

• Persian Sindbadnama
  • Azod Yazdi versification
  • Bakhtiarnama abridgement
  • Nakhshabi abridgement
  • Zahiri al Samarqandi, Sindbadnama

Language & Composition

Language of version

Persian

Regional or specific language of version

Dari (Insha)

Place of composition

Delhi

Date of Composition

14th century (8th century^AH)

Islamic date of composition

8th century

Modern Scholarship & Editions

Modern Editions

Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn. Ṭūṭī-nāma. Edited by Fatḥ-Allāh Mujtabāʼī and Ghulām-ʿAlī Āryā. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Zuvvār, 1372 SH

Notes & Commentary

Note

Notable Tutinama manuscripts containing a Sindbadnama abridgement:

British Library Ṭūṭīnāma, Or. 15665	British Library	Late 16th/early 17th century (commissioned by Akbar the Great for the Mughal court).
Cambridge University Library, MS Add. 3139	Cambridge University Library	19th century
Chester Beatty In 21	Chester Beatty Library	Late 16th/early 17th century (commissioned by Akbar the Great for the Mughal court).