Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Bu dem kim şâh ogulları sünnet itdi
Fâzıllar 'izzet-ile geldi gitdi
Yinildi dürlü ni'met lezzet-ile
Gıdâ-yı rûhanîler 'akla gitdi
O demde Âşıkî çok şekker aldı
Niçe kādı şeker hammâlı oldı
In English
1. At this time, when the shah's sons were circumcised, men of excellence came and went with honour.
2. All kinds of dishes were eaten with delight; spiritual nourishment went to the mind.
3. At that time Âşıkî took much sugar; many a kadı became a porter of sugar.
Literary and Historical Commentary
From Amasya to Edirne
The circumcision feast of the Conqueror's sons Bayezid and Mustafa, in the hundred and twenty-seventh chapter, begins with the princes being fetched from their sancaks: "Sultan Bayezid was in Amasya; he brought him too. And Mustafa Çelebi was in Manisa; he brought him too." Prince Bayezid, the later Bayezid II, is at this time governor of the sancak of Amasya. The feast is held at Edirne, on the Ada between the arms of the Maritsa; the sovereign's tents are pitched there. Inviters are sent round about, all the provincial governors and the notables of every town come, and the surroundings of Edirne fill for several days' journey with those coming to the feast. On the first day the scholars are invited; learned conversations take place before the sovereign, singers recite eulogies and ghazals, tables are laid, the Quran is recited. Then a tray of sugar is set before each scholar; the scholars' servants fill their cloths with sugar. The author adds: "The poor writer too filled a cloth and gave it to my servant." The sovereign gives these dear men gifts and robes of honour.
Judges Turned Sugar Porters
The first day of the feast is told with a little humour. Men of excellence came and went with honour, all kinds of dishes were eaten, and spiritual nourishment went to the mind; that is, the learned conversations were a feast for reason. In the last couplet the author includes himself: Âşıkî took much sugar, and many a kadı became a "porter of sugar". This phrase is a playful comparison turning respected scholars into porters carrying sugar. This chapter is a lively scene showing the prince in Amasya in his relation to the court. That Âşıkpaşazâde attended these Edirne festivities of 1457 and received gifts from the Conqueror is also noted in the TDV article. The line-endings itdi, gitdi and oldı carry the refrain.
Bibliography
- Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, p. 496 (transliterated text, bâb 127).
