Author, Turcologist (B. November 07, 1917, Petrograd / Russia- D.
January 8, 2009, Strasbourg/ France). Her father is Azeri, and her mother is
Russian. She had two different ethnic identities and she learned Azeri Turkish,
Russian and English. She was taught in Paris where she leaned French; and Greek
and Latin. German and Italian were added later.
She went to Paris Literature Faculty (Sorbonne). She has also attended
Eastern languages National School, departments of Turkish and Persian. She
completed her university education in 1954 with her work Düstûrnâme-yi Enverî . She concentrated on Turkology and
Persian etudes. She took lessons from French Turcologist Jean Denny and from
another Orientalist Cloude Cahen. She attended lessons of Dr. Adnan Adivar at
eastern languages school and improved her Turkish.
She also worked on Russian literature and history, ıranian culture; but
her focal point was Turkology. When her teacher Claud Cahen passed away in
1968; she was appointed as director of Strasbourg Turkish Studies Institute.
This institute was established before, but she turned it into a prominent
center of symposiums. The journal of Turcica
that she started to publish in 1970 can be considered as the first Turkology
journal at international level and in foreign languages; leaving aside the Türkiyat Mecmuası published by Fuad
Köprülü in Istanbul.
She studied on Alawite-Bektashi culture and she wrote several articles
on Ahmet Yesevi, Fazlullah Hurufi and Seyyid Nesimi and she had important work such as Uyur İdik Uyardılar, Hacı Bektaş:
Efsaneden Gerçeğe, Türk Sufizmi’nin
İzinde and Kırklar Sofrası. She
has conducted several scientific meetings and raised numerous academics in
France, Tunisia, Algeria, Iran and Turkey such as Ahmet Yaşar Ocak, Michel
Balivet, Thierry Zarcone, Stephan de Tapia, Refet Yinanç, Erdal Yavuz. She was
the President of Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman Education International Committee
(CIEPO), Turcology Association Presidency, paris Language Association
membership, Ernest Renan Association member. She received many honorary awards
from Iran national Education Ministry (1973), Turkish Historical Institution
Honorary Medal (1982), Mevlana Anniversary Honorary Medal 81982). Honorary
doctorate was given to her from Baku and Selcuk universities.
WORKS:
Le
Destan d'Umur Pacha
(Umur Paşa destanı, 1954), Le Geste de Melik
Danişmend (Danişmendname, 2 Volumes, 1960), Abu Muslim le "Porte-Hache" du Khorasân,
dans la tradition pique Turco-İranienne (Türk-İran epik
geleneğinde Horasan "Teberdar"ı Ebu Müslim, 1962), Kırklar Sofrası, Efsaneden Gerçeğe Hacı
Bektaş, Melik Danişmend, Umur Paşa Destanı, Türk Sufizminin İzinde, Uyur İdik
Uyardılar, Türk Sufiliği ve Destandan Efsaneye, Kırklar Sofrası.
REFERENCE: Büyük Larousse (v. 13, p. 7977, 1986), Türkiye Kültür ve
Sanat 2010 Yıllığı (2010), Türk Kültürünün Büyük Araştırmacısı İrene Melikoff
(turkocakları.com.tr, 23.4.2010), Iréne Melikoff Hakka yürüdü.. (alevi.dk,
23.4.2010), İhsan Işık / Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve
Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (V. 12, 2015).
