Âşıkî, Manzume 157: 'Acebdür degmeler kim 'ahde turmaz

Manzume 157 — 'Acebdür degmeler kim 'ahde turmaz

Amasya05 Editorial Board • Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk • 01 October 2026 • Updated: 14 October 2026 • 3 min reading

Six couplets on the faithlessness of Karaman, where İshak of Karaman dies with Uzun Hasan, and Pîr Ahmed, once lord, asks for Ilgın and begins to break his pledge.

Original Ottoman Turkish Text

'Acebdür degmeler kim 'ahde turmaz
Şular kim 'ahdi yokdur râhat olmaz

Hakuñ hôd 'ahdi vardur va'deler hem
İnanur mü'min olan dahı tınmaz

Münâfıkdur bozan ol 'ahd ü peymân
Nifâk iden cihanda mü'min olmaz

Diseñ Karaman'a gel 'ahd tutalum
Ya öldürür seni ya ilde komaz

'Âşıkî 'ahd umma Karaman'dan
Ki bunlar 'ahd nedür dahı bilmez

Bu 'Osmânlu Karamanlu degül bil
Dahı sen bil ki Turkut adam olmaz

In English

1. It is a wonder: many a man does not keep his pledge; those who have no pledge find no rest.

2. God has His pledge and His promises too; the believer believes, and yet is unmoved.

3. He who breaks that pledge and covenant is a hypocrite; one who plays the hypocrite is no believer in the world.

4. If you say to Karaman, "Come, let us keep our pledge," he will either kill you or not leave you in the land.

5. Âşıkî, hope for no pledge from Karaman; for they do not know what a pledge is.

6. Know that the Ottoman is not like the Karamanid; and know too that a Turgut never becomes a man.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Wagging the Tail

The strife among the brothers of the house of Karaman runs on through the rest of the hundred and fortieth chapter. Pîr Ahmed has given the fortress of Saykalan and Kayseri to the khan; the khan sends Köse Hamza Beg, governor of Adalya, and the governor of Karahisar with several sancaks to help Pîr Ahmed. They meet İshak at Ermenek and drive him out of the land. İshak takes all his treasure and flees to Uzun Hasan, leaving a son and a wife at Silifke. Pîr Ahmed becomes lord of Karaman and seizes İçil too, all but Silifke. Death reaches İshak and he dies at Uzun Hasan's side; his treasure passes to Uzun Hasan. Meanwhile Pîr Ahmed, in the author's words, "began to wag his tail", that is, set about scheming with fawning. He asks the khan for Ilgın Bazarcığı, the place beside which stands the bath of Tañrıdan, and begins to break his former pledge.

Keeping Faith

The broken pledge is tied to a general judgement. Many a man does not keep his pledge, and he who has no pledge finds no rest. The second couplet recalls God's pledge and promises. The third counts the breaker of a pledge a hypocrite; one who plays the hypocrite is no believer in the world. After the fourth couplet the subject turns to Karaman: if one says to him "come, let us keep our pledge," he either kills or does not leave one in the land. In the fifth the author counsels himself to hope for no pledge from Karaman. The last couplet makes a comparison: the Ottoman is not like the Karamanid. "Turkut" in the second line names the Turgut clan of the Karaman region; the edition's modern Turkish rendering also gives the word as "Turgutoğlu". This is an example of the work's harsh language towards Karaman and the lords who stood with it. That the refrain stays negative throughout (turmaz, olmaz, tınmaz, olmaz, komaz, bilmez, olmaz) suits a poem about faithlessness.