Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Gazâlar itdi gitdi Gāzi Hünkâr
Mukābil olmadı zincâr [?] u mekkâr
Gazâvatda bil ol sâhib-kırândur
Zafer bulmaz anuñ kadrine gaddâr
Ne tutdı Hak aña nusret viripdür
Mu'înîdür anuñ bil Ganî Gaffâr
Günâhı magfiretde gark olupdur
Komadı 'aybın anuñ Ganî Settâr

In English

1. The Gazi Hünkâr waged gazâs and went on; the tricky and the cunning could not stand against him.

2. Know that in gazâs he is the lord of the conjunction; the tyrant finds no victory over his worth.

3. Whatever he undertook, God gave him victory; know that the Rich and Forgiving is his helper.

4. His sin is drowned in forgiveness; the Rich and the Concealer left no fault of his (uncovered).

Literary and Historical Commentary

After a Date

In the edition a short sentence giving the date follows the previous verse: "The conquest of this gazâ took place in the year eight hundred and fifty-two of the Hijra, at Kosovo, at the hands of Sultan Murad Han, who is son of Sultan Muhammed Han-ı Gazi." Then these four couplets come under the heading "Nazım". So the Kosovo narrative closes with two verses: one praising the dynasty and the author's line, the other praising Murad directly.

Lord of the Conjunction and Concealer

"Gāzi Hünkâr" in the first line is the axis of the four couplets: Murad II's identity as a gazi comes to the fore. "Sâhib-kırân", lord of the conjunction, means a ruler born at the conjunction of two auspicious stars, created to rule the world, and was also a title used for Timur; here Âşıkpaşazâde gives the title to Murad. The third and fourth couplets name three attributes of God: Ganî, Gaffâr and Settâr, the Rich, the Forgiving and the Concealer. The fourth couplet says that Murad's sin is drowned in forgiveness and that God has covered his fault; this may be read together with the scene, in the chapter on Murad's death, where he repents at the warning of a disciple of Emir Seyyid. The word in the first couplet is given in the edition as "zincâr [?]", with a question mark; the reading is uncertain, and here it has been taken as a word close in meaning to "tricky". The couplets rhyme on "-âr": Hünkâr, mekkâr, gaddâr, Gaffâr, Settâr.

Bibliography

  • Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, pp. 480-481 (transliterated text, bâb 119).