Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Neler gördi cihânda miskîn insân
Neyi kim kısmet itmiş aña Sübhân
Çekegeldi cihândan dürlü mihnet
Belâyı müşkil itdi aña nisyân
Velîkin pâdişâhlar mihneti çok
Çekerler sanki bu gurbetde mihmân
Adı beg kendüsi müflis olupdur
'Abesdür gördügi 'askeri dîvân
Şuña degmez tutalar baglayalar
İderler 'ömrinüñ varını noksân
In English
1. What did poor man not see in the world; whatever the Glorious (God) allotted him.
2. He kept suffering all kinds of hardship from the world; forgetfulness made calamity hard for him.
3. But the hardships of sovereigns are many; they suffer as though guests in this exile.
4. His name is lord, but he himself has become bankrupt; the army and council he sees are in vain.
5. It is not worth seizing and binding him; they only diminish the substance of his life.
Literary and Historical Commentary
The Lord in the Sack
The princes of Menteşe lie in prison in Tokat castle for two years. The author tells their escape as a detailed story. In prison the princes have dry straw brought in to make a bed; they tell the man who brings it, "this is too little, bring another sack." The man brings a sack of rotten straw; they reject it and give it back. When the gatekeeper asks why the man is taking the straw back, Veys Beg says, "it is old straw, it stinks; he is taking it back to its owner." The man brings another sack and empties the straw; meanwhile Ahmed Beg gets into the sack himself and straw is stuffed round him. The man shoulders the sack and comes grumbling to the gate: "I am sick to death of them; I cannot please them with any purchase. What does the son of Osman keep them for? Let him have them killed." So Ahmed Beg is carried out of the fortress; he mounts horses waiting ready and flees. When the gate is opened in the morning, only Veys Beg is found. Ahmed Beg goes first to Karaöylük, then to Egypt, then back to his own land, and finally to Persia.
The Hardships of Sovereigns
After the lively story of escape the couplets grow sober: what poor man suffers in the world. The third couplet makes a sharp observation: the hardships of sovereigns, that is of those of ruling blood, are many; they suffer in this world like a guest in exile. The fourth describes the state of a lord who has lost his throne: his name is lord, but he is bankrupt, and the army and council he sees are in vain. The fifth couplet speaks of the pointlessness of imprisoning princes: it is not worth seizing and binding them; it only diminishes their lives. That couplet can be read as a veiled criticism of the Ottoman policy of imprisoning rival dynasties. The rhyme turns on "-ân": insân, Sübhân, nisyân, mihmân, dîvân, noksân.
Bibliography
- Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, p. 449 (transliterated text, bâb 96).
