In Pursuit of Curiosity, on the Threshold of Admiration and Following the Footsteps of Wisdom: The Poetics of Marvels andWonders in Ahmedî’s İskendernâme

Abstract

This article examines the fantastic narratives within Ahmedî’s İskendernâme by considering some of the fundamental concepts of medieval Islamic thought: namely curiosity, wonder, wisdom, and sagacity. The study positions the figure of Alexander beyond the image of a ruler limited to conquests, treating him as a curious sage-traveller in pursuit of knowledge. The fantastical beings and imaginary spaces in the text are evaluated as being not just fantastic ornamentation but as symbolic indicators which represent the boundaries of knowledge, human curiosity, and metaphysical exploration. By combining the nature of Qazvînî’s Acâ’ib al-Makhlûqât tradition with Nizâmî’s masnavi model, Ahmedî establishes a distinctive narrative aesthetic in Ottoman literature which transports the reader from spectacle to thought and then to contemplation and admiration. Motifs such as the Indian islands, Waqwaq Island, the Valley of Diamonds, Tagargar, the wall of Gog and Magog, and the mirror in Alexandria all represent the visual and interpretive dimensions of curiosity, while the Land of Darkness, the quest for the water of life, and the episode of the talking tree constitute a closure that renders visible the transience of worldly power and human helplessness in the face of death. The article, therefore, interprets İskendernâme by transcending a reading of it as merely an epic, as a deeply profound and wise text that reveals the nexus of knowledge, wonder, curiosity, and discovery within early Ottoman thought.