Full Article: PDF
Scientific Object Identifier: http://s-o-i.org/1.1/TAS-08-148-4
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15863/TAS.2025.08.148.4
Language: English
Citation: Nasirdinova, Yo.A. (2025). “it is not easy to stand in this field…”: the empire of words Alisher Navoi built. ISJ Theoretical & Applied Science, 08 (148), 14-20. Soi: https://s-o-i.org/1.1/TAS-08-148-4 Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.15863/TAS.2025.08.148.4 |
Pages: 14-20
Published: 30.08.2025
Abstract: This article examines Alisher Navoi’s Khamsa through the lens of Marc Toutant’s “Empire of Words” concept and the theory of the literary field. By applying these frameworks, the study highlights how Navoi’s Khamsa functions as a symbolic capital in the Timurid cultural arena, elevating Chagatai literature’s status. The analysis underscores that Navoi’s creative imitation of Nizami’s Persian Khamsa was a deliberate and strategic act of cultural production rather than mere replication. It was an intertextual endeavor that integrated Persian literary models and Sufi (tasawwuf) themes to construct a new Turkic literary canon. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s literary field theory, the research argues that Navoi operated within a literary field where he leveraged established aesthetic forms and mystic motifs to assert cultural power. The Results demonstrate that Navoi’s Khamsa embodied an “empire of words” – a realm in which poetic language and literary patronage reinforced imperial ideology and identity. The Discussion situates these findings in broader literary-historical context, suggesting that Navoi’s work exemplified a conscious use of literature as a tool for cultural legitimation and continuity. The study concludes that integrating Toutant’s conceptualization with literary field theory provides a deeper scholarly understanding of Navoi’s Khamsa as a creative project of empire-building through words. All references and historical sources are preserved to validate the analysis, ensuring a precise and scholarly translation faithful to the original Uzbek text.
Key words: Alisher Navoi; Khamsa; Marc Toutant; Empire of Words; literary field; imitation; intertextuality; tasawwuf (Sufism); literary canon; symbolic capital
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