In the February 9, 2022 issue of "Yanyi Uzbekiston" newspaper, the article "Facsimile edition of Alisher Navoi's "Ghazaliyot Devan"" by Professor Bahrom Abduhalimov, Vice-President of UzRFA, Doctor of History, was published.
It is no coincidence that in the decision of the President of October 19, 2020 "On the wide celebration of the 580th anniversary of the birth of the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi", special emphasis was placed on the issue of facsimile editions of Alisher Navoi's works. After all, it cannot be said that all editions of Navoi's works were carried out at the level of demand. Due to mistakes in the spelling of some words, there are cases of deviation from the original meaning of the great thinker or free interpretation. In this sense, there is a constant need to research the manuscripts of Navoi's works and present their originals (in facsimile form) to scholars and the people.
It can be said that the facsimile of Alisher Navoi's "Ghazalyot Divan" recently published by the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Abu Rayhan Beruni of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan was one of the practical results of the implementation of this decision. This book is a facsimile edition of Alisher Navoi's rare manuscript entitled "Ghazaliyot Divani" in the institute's fund. It is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of our independence and the 580th anniversary of Navoi.
During Navoi's lifetime - in 1492-1493, the manuscript was copied with high taste in a beautiful nastaq letter by Sultanali Mashhadi (1432-1520), known as the "Sultan of Calligraphers". 335 ghazals of the author were taken from Devon.
It is known that Sultanali Mashhadi worked in the Timurid palace for a long time. The best years of this calligrapher's creative activity correspond to the reign of Husayn Boykara (1469-1506) and the period of Navoi's creation. The manuscript is considered one of the best examples of the 15th century Herat literary art. The text of the poems is copied into a two-column table on each page, decorated around. At the beginning, an elegant frontispiece was made with golden water.
An introduction to this published book was written by Professor A. Erkinov and Ph. D. O. Madaliyeva in Uzbek, English, and Russian languages, as well as two appendices based on the nature of the book. According to the authors of the study, this manuscript may be the proto-devon of the complex of "Khazoyin Ulmaoni" devons compiled during the years 14921498.
The word "proto" (proto) means "first", "initial", "initial" and means the initial, final stage of something. According to the authors of the study, the fact that "Ghazalyot Divan" was copied in 898/1492, that is, at the time of the beginning of the ordering process of "Khazayin Ulmaani" and, of course, the composition of the manuscript is a proto-divan compared to this complex of divans.
Professor Hamid Sulaymanov (1910-1979) noted that some of the pages of this manuscript were torn and that a hundred ghazals may have fallen out. The results of the research showed that there are some outages in some places, but they are not that many.
Another important aspect of the "Ghazalyot Divan" manuscript is that it was kept for some time in the library of Koqan Khan Amir Umar Khan (1809-1822). Two different seals of Umar Khan placed on some pages of the copy confirm this opinion.
This original copy of the work, while preserving the scientific and creative heritage of the great thinker, also incorporates several types of art such as books, miniatures, calligraphy, and cover art of his copied period. For this reason, this facsimile publication will introduce our art-loving people to the original text of Navoi's works, and let them enjoy the unique art of that time.
This type of publication is done with the goal of extending the life of a unique manuscript and making it possible for experts around the world to use the original text. At the same time, the new facsimile edition of Alisher Navoi's "Ghazalyot Divan" manuscript was a worthy gift to Navoi experts and our people.
