DOI: 10.26650/oba.1898054 ISSN: 2458-7982

Continuity and Variation in the Ottoman Ahkâm (Prognostication) Calendar Tradition: Yusuf b. Mehmed b. el-Bakkâl et-Tabîb’s Ahkâm Calendar for 1015–1016 AH (1607–1608 CE)

Dilara Kara Levent
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The ahkâm calendar authored by Yusuf b. Mehmed b. el-Bakkâl et-Tabib, presented to Sultan Ahmed I and covering the period from 22 Dhū al-Qaʿda 1015 to 27 Dhūal-Qaʿda 1016 (1607–1608 CE), provides a valuable case for examining continuity and variation within the Ottoman ahkâm calendar tradition. This study analyzes the calendar in terms of its structural features, content organization, and computational references. In the course of the analysis, the author’s other calendar beginning on16 Ramaḍān 1009 (1601 CE) and his father Mehmed Efendi eş-Şehîr Tabib İbn-i Bakkâl’s calendar beginning on 8 Rabīʿ al-Awwal 992 (1584 CE) were used as theprincipal comparative examples, while other Ottoman ahkām calendars were consulted whenever necessary. The calendar has been examined through its ahkâm text,zâyiçe layout rüʾyetü’l-ehille table, delâlât, tevkîʿât, and ihtiyârât columns, as well as its tabular structure integrating multiple temporal systems. The analysis demonstrates that annual, monthly, and daily temporal layers were brought together within a coherent framework and that the established structure of Ottoman ahkâmcalendars continued into the early seventeenth century. Particular attention has been paid to computational practice. While Bakkalzāde Yusuf referred to the “Rasad-ıOsmanî Murad Hânî” in both his 1009–1010 (1601–1602) and 1015–1016 (1607–1608) calendars, his father Mehmed Efendi eş-Şehîr Tabîb İbn-i Bakkâl based his calendar on the Ulugh Beg Zīj. This contrast indicates that computational references could vary despite the preservation of the established calendrical form. The studyfurther demonstrates that the author’s identity as a physician did not produce a significant difference in the distribution of topics within the calendar. Consequently, theexamined example shows that Ottoman ahkām calendars preserved an established framework while also allowing a degree of flexibility in computational references and astrological interpretations.

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