Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Siyâc-ı dîn-i İslâm Âl-i 'Osmân
Bularuñ meddâhıdur cümle sultân
Bu âlüñ dîn kılıcı var elinde
Gazâ bu âle virdi Ganî Sübhân
Bu âlüñ ihsânı tutdı cihânı
'Atâsı bahrında katredür 'ummân
Bu âlüñdür fazîlet 'âlem içre
Mücâhidün didi âyât-ı Kur'ân
Âşıkî Yahyâ Selmân 'Âşık'a var
Ki Muhlis İlyâs u hem vire bürhân

In English

1. The House of Osman is the fence of the faith of Islam; all sultans are their eulogists.

2. The sword of the faith is in this house's hand; the Rich and Glorious (God) gave gazâ to this house.

3. The bounty of this house filled the world; in the sea of its giving the ocean is a drop.

4. Excellence in the world belongs to this house; the verses of the Quran called (them) "those who strive".

5. Âşıkî, go to Yahya, Selman and Âşık; and let Muhlis and İlyas give (you) proof.

Literary and Historical Commentary

The Second Kosovo

The Hungarian army comes to Kosovo and meets Murad in the hundred and nineteenth chapter. In the Hungarian army are the ban of Lih, the ban of Çih, Lökbanoğlu, the ban of Sökület and Yanko Hunyadi; the lord of Karaman has also sent the horse thieves of the Turgut clan. Battle begins near Kurşunlu Kilise on a Friday; it goes on through the night, and on Saturday there is again a great battle. Many lords fall as martyrs; many of the infidel bans die and some are captured. Yanko and the Lök ban flee, the Sökület ban falls with his son, the ban of Lih is captured but does not reveal who he is. At this point the author speaks of himself: "The poor writer too slew an infidel there. The khan gave the poor writer a good horse, and gave one to the dervish Akbıyık too." The ban of Çih is taken captive and brought to the khan; the khan asks him why they came. The chapter closes with a prayer for those who read and hear the legend, and records that this gazâ was called "the greatest gazâ" and that Murad's son Mehmed was also present in the battle. The date is 852 (1448).

A Chain of Descent

For four couplets the Ottoman house is praised: the fence of Islam, the bearer of the sword of the faith, whose bounty filled the world, a line the Quran called "those who strive". But the last couplet turns to the author himself and sends him to his own line: "Âşıkî, go to Yahya, Selman and Âşık; and let Muhlis and İlyas give proof." This couplet repeats in verse the chain of descent from the introduction of the work: that Derviş Ahmed Âşıkî descended from Şeyh Yahya, Şeyh Selman, Âşık Paşa, Muhlis Paşa and Baba İlyas. This chain coming right after the praise of the dynasty shows that the author set his loyalty to the Ottomans side by side with loyalty to his own spiritual line. For Baba İlyas's connection with the district of Amasya, see his page on the site. That the author took part in some of Murad II's campaigns is noted in the TDV article too; but it is in this chapter that he says he took up arms in battle himself.

Bibliography

  • Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, pp. 479-480 (transliterated text, bâb 119).
  • Abdülkadir Özcan, "Âşıkpaşazâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 4, Istanbul 1991, pp. 6-7. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/asikpasazade

Online sources