The evaluation of some recordings in the Sarajevo Golestan copy (713 AH / 1313 AD)

Salemian, Gholamreza; Munir, Munir

doi:10.22054/ltr.2025.80678.3869

The evaluation of some recordings in the Sarajevo Golestan copy (713 AH / 1313 AD)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Gholamreza Salemian ¹
Munir Munir ²

¹ Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

² Professor. Department of Oriental Philology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. Sarajevo. Bosnia and Herzegovina

10.22054/ltr.2025.80678.3869

Abstract

A manuscript of Saadi's Golestan copied in 713 AH [1313 AD] from the Gazi Husrev Beg Library in Sarajevo is the world's third oldest dated copy of this book. However, due to doubts surrounding the authenticity of the two older manuscripts – one attributed to Yaqut Musta'semi (668 AH) and the other kept in the Tajik Academy of Sciences (691 to 726 AH) – the Sarajevo manuscript, with its confirmed authenticity, can be regarded as the oldest Golestan copy in the world. With the aim of evaluating the content features of the present manuscript, this article examines some of its textual variants and compares them with other Golestan manuscripts and critical editions. For this purpose, we have selected examples from earlier editions that were subject to criticism and contrasted them with the content of the Sarajevo manuscript. The analysis shows that, based on the principles of manuscript editing, most of the Sarajevo Golestan textual variants are authentic and reliable. Accordingly, as an old and authentic copy, this manuscript can be used as the basis for future editions of the Golestan.

Keywords