“Bi-wādī ad-dumū？ al-？andamiyya bi-wādī ad-diyār ar-rūmiyya” by Mu？ibb ad-Dīn al-Hamawī: A Study

This article deals with the ri？la (travelogue) ？Bi-wādī ad-dumū？ al-？andamiyya bi-wādī ad-diyār ar-rūmiyya” by the Ottoman qā？ī Mu？ibb ad-Dīn al-Hamawī. The qā？ī wrote his ri？la in the Ottoman capital, where he travelled to submit a complaint after being ousted from his post in the Syrian city of al-Qadmūs. The book consists of the descriptions of his journey, as well as the poems and letters he composed while traveling to Istanbul. It is considered to be one of the first examples of a travelogue in the Ottoman era. After presenting the initial information about the author and the ri？la literature at the beginning of the 16th century, the study concentrates on the book itself. Its content and importance are explained, as well as the circumstances in which it was written. ？Bi-wādī ad-dumū？…” presents a picture of the judicial system in the Ottoman Empire, as well as the Mu？ibb ad-Dīn al-Hamawī’s observations on the important events of his time such as death of the ？ay？ al-Islām Abī as-Sa？ūd Effendi and the sultan Salīm II, and the enthronement of the later’s successor. The poems written by Mu？ibb ad-Dīn al-？amawī, some of them dedicated to the greatest Ottoman statesmen and some others describing historical events, occupy an important place in the ri？la