Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Nefesdür pâdişâhlardan nişâne
Nefesdür hükm iden handan dîvâna
Nefesdür kim tulû' eder agızdan
Habarlar söyledür hem tercümâna
Nefesdür kim du'â togar agızdan
Kabûl olur murâd virür revâne
Nefesden yazılur dürlü ma'ânî
Nefesden añlanur gelür beyâna
Mübârek nefesi hanuñ ne oldı
Kabûl olur murâd virür revâne
Bozar kal'aları söyler zamâne
Nefes itse Murâd Han-ı zamâne
In English
1. Breath is the sign left by sovereigns; it is breath that rules from khan to council.
2. It is breath that rises from the mouth; it is breath too that makes the interpreter speak the news.
3. It is breath that rises from the mouth as prayer; it is accepted, grants the wish and flows on.
4. All kinds of meanings are written by breath; by breath they are understood and come to be expressed.
5. What became of the khan's blessed breath: it is accepted, grants the wish and flows on.
6. Should Murad Han of the age but breathe, he breaks down fortresses; the age says so.
Literary and Historical Commentary
God-Felled
Murad Han, in the fifty-third chapter, crosses to Rumelia with a great army and comes to Mıgalkara; Evrenez and Lala Şahin take Fire, and Çatalca agrees to pay tribute. In the district of İnceğiz there is a fortress called Polanya; the author says the Turks call it "Tañrı Yıkdugı", God-Felled. The people of the district have fled and taken refuge in it; they fight for a few days but cannot take it, and the army moves off. The khan says, "Perhaps God will pull it down." The army camps at the place called "Devletlü Kabaagaç", the Blessed Oak; Murad sits down with his back against an old oak. A little later men come one after another to report that the fortress has collapsed by God's power. Şahin is sent and brings back much wealth, gold and silver trays; the gazis put on their heads the gold and silver bowls they found, and according to the author "the üsküf came into being at that time". The tree too takes its name from the khan's words; the author adds that in his day the tree still stood, now a stump, with a well beside it.
Word and Breath
In the couplets the miracle is tied to the ruler's breath. Every couplet opens with or carries the word "nefes", breath: breath is the sign left by rulers, it rules the council, makes news be spoken, is accepted as prayer, writes and expresses meanings. The last couplet ties the whole list to Murad: should Murad Han but breathe, he breaks down fortresses. "Nefes" in the Sufi tradition is a concept describing the effect of a saint's prayer and word; here the same power is given to a ruler. The second line of the third and fifth couplets is the same in the edition: "Kabûl olur murâd virür revâne." This repetition may be a deliberate refrain, or it may be an error made in copying; the edition adds no note on it.
Bibliography
- Âşık Paşazade, Osmanoğulları'nın Tarihi, ed. Kemal Yavuz, M. A. Yekta Saraç, Istanbul: K Kitaplığı, 2003, p. 390 (transliterated text, bâb 53).
