Tazkirah, from the Arabic tadhkira meaning memorandum or admonition, is a genre of biographical or anthological literary work in Persian, Ottoman and South Asian literature, frequently used as part of a work's own title to signal its nature as an authoritative collection or summary. The genre typically compiles the lives of notable figures such as Sufi saints, hadith scholars, poets or rulers, serving a commemorative and instructional purpose as both a historical record and a work of spiritual or intellectual documentation across Islamic and Ottoman cultures. While its subjects can range across astronomy, medicine, jurisprudence and poetry, a tazkirah retains its core identity as an authoritative, summary-based biographical collection.
Facts
Notable ExampleHeşt Behişt (Eight Springs) by Sehi Bey of Edirne, completed 1538, the first Ottoman tezkire 1 Defining TraitEntries give birthplace, family, teachers, profession, anecdotes, character comments, place and date of death, and quotations from poetry 1 Sources
1. Tezkire - Wikipedia
Section Ottoman poetry tezkires, first paragraph
The bibliographical notices mention birthplace, family, teachers, profession, personal anecdotes, comments on personality or character, place and date of death, and quotations from poetry.
Section Ottoman poetry tezkires, second paragraph
It narrated the work and life of 241 poets and was very well received and supported by the Ottoman high social circles.
In Group: Biographical Compendia, Lead section
Tezkire (Arabic: تذکرة), from Arabic tadhkirah meaning "something that causes one to remember" or "memorandum", is a form of bibliographical dictionary or bibliographical compendium which flourished in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire.
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