Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Veger Hak'dan ola fazl u 'inâyet
Olur her maksûduñ makbûl gāyet
Neye sunsañ saña âsân gelür ol
Senüñ yardumcuñ olur cümle millet
'İnâyet buldı Hak'dan Âl-i 'Osmân
Zebûndur, kim ide, buña 'adâvet
Baras tekür zebûn Orhan elinde
Yaraşur teküre kim çeke zillet
Elin al Âl-i 'Osmân'uñ İlâhî
Ki devletleri kala tâ kıyâmet
Muzaffer mansûr olsun leşker-i han
Ki bu âldür olan ehl-i meveddet

In English

1. If there is grace and favour from God, every aim of yours becomes wholly acceptable.

2. Whatever you reach for comes easily to you; all the people become your helpers.

3. The House of Osman found favour from God; whoever shows them enmity, whoever he be, is powerless.

4. The tekfur of Bursa is powerless in Orhan's hand; it befits the tekfur to suffer humiliation.

5. O God, take the hand of the House of Osman, that their dominion may last until the Day of Judgement.

6. May the khan's army be victorious and triumphant; for this house is a people of love.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Saroz's Answer

As soon as the tekfur leaves the fortress the gates fill and Muslims pour in from every side; Ahı Hasan climbs the tower. The tekfur is sent to Gemlik and from there to Constantinople. The people remaining in the fortress are given safety; "they let no one take so much as a straw of anyone's". The tekfur's treasure is shared among the gazis and no one goes without. The tekfur's vizier, named Saroz, does not leave; it was he who brought about the surrender, and he too brings his own wealth and gives it away. Orhan asks him, "Why were you so hard pressed that you gave up this fortress?" Saroz lists the reasons: the Ottomans' fortune grew day by day while theirs turned the other way; Osman's siege tower had taken their villages, and the villagers submitted to the Ottomans and found ease; the tekfur had hoarded wealth but it was of no use; when a ruler is powerless his land is soon ruined; they had followed a wicked man, the tekfur of Kite; and the world never ceases to change. He adds that most of the dead had died of hunger.

From Praise to Prayer

Saroz's long explanation finds no place in the poem; the couplets tie the whole event to divine favour. The first two couplets are a general statement, the third is applied to the House of Osman, the fourth names the tekfur of Bursa. The last two are a prayer: "Elin al Âl-i 'Osmân'uñ İlâhî", O God, take the hand of the House of Osman. This formula of prayer recurs in many chapters of the work, especially after great conquests. After the verse the chapter gives the date: the year 726 of the Hijra (1326), at the hands of Orhan Gazi. The rhyme lines up words of Arabic origin ending in "-et" ('inâyet, millet, 'adâvet, zillet, kıyâmet, meveddet); no refrain is used.

Bibliography

  • Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, pp. 353-354 (transliterated text, bâb 23).