Zubdat at-Tarikh (Essence of History)
Author: Unknown
This manuscript belongs to the genealogical genre of Ottoman literature. Its specific format, with key figures enclosed within small interconnected medallions, is based on early fifteenth-century examples from Timurid Iran, which the Ottomans employed to illustrate their own dynasty’s alleged descent from the prophet Muhammad, in the process including Adam, prophets, the caliphs, and even Genghis Khan and his descendants, all of whose purported relationship to the Ottomans would support their claims to legitimacy and rule. Because the last sultan shown is Ibrahim (r. 1640–48), the manuscript must date from before 1648.