Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Bu dem tāli' ne burcdan tulû' itdi
Ki kâfir tāli'ini gālib itdi
Mu'în oldı Karaman kâfire gör
Yüzi kara özini magbûn itdi
O demde küfrine hükm itdi İslâm
Ki İslâm ilini yıkdı vü gitdi
In English
1. At this moment from what constellation did fortune rise, that it made the infidel's fortune prevail.
2. See, Karaman became a helper to the infidel; he blackened his face and made himself the deceived one.
3. At that moment Islam passed judgement on his unbelief; for he ruined the land of Islam and went.
Literary and Historical Commentary
Kula Şahin's Flight
Kula Şahin's rout in Wallachia after the death of Mezid Beg fills the hundred and fourteenth chapter. Kula Şahin, governor-general of Rumelia, crosses into Wallachia to avenge Mezid Beg; but he is drunk and boasts that "if the enemy sees my cap he will flee". As this is being said the Hungarian army appears; Kula Şahin, before swallowing the morsel in his mouth, mounts his horse and is the first to flee. The lords tell him, "Come, let us face the enemy, at least let our camp not be trampled"; he says, "Bear up tonight, at midnight I will deal with them." By nightfall no fear of the enemy is left; the author says with bitter irony that "he made the enemy a gift of his cap": Kula Şahin is asking, "Is the Danube near?" The army of Islam is routed. Hearing this, the lord of Karaman greatly rejoices that his "uncle", as the author mockingly calls the Hungarian, has broken the army of Islam; he strikes the people who have come to the summer pastures of Emirdağı, has mischief done to the Muslims' women and children, goes to Beypazarı and ruins it as well. The author says that what he did wherever he set foot even an infidel would not do.
Helping the Infidel
The couplets leave Kula Şahin's cowardice aside and turn to the lord of Karaman's conduct. The first couplet asks what constellation made the infidel's fortune prevail. The second says Karaman became the infidel's helper and blackened his face; the play on "kara", black, and "Karaman" is at work here too. The third couplet passes a harsh judgement: in that moment Islam judged the unbelief of the lord of Karaman, who ruined the land of Islam. This, which charges a Muslim lord with unbelief, is one of the heaviest verdicts in the work. The refrain is "itdi", and the rhyme is made with tulû', gālib, magbûn, hükm. "He made the enemy a gift of his cap" is an ironic phrase that describes figuratively the governor-general's loss of honour.
Bibliography
- Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, p. 472 (transliterated text, bâb 114).
