Âşıkî, Manzume 74: Gine biñ dürlü defter zâhir oldı

Manzume 74 — Gine biñ dürlü defter zâhir oldı

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

Timur's advance into Anatolia in six couplets headed "Diger, bu da nazm": oppression covering the world, lawful and unlawful mixed, people in flight, gold turned to copper.

Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Gine biñ dürlü defter zâhir oldı
Anuñ takdîri ne yazdı, âhir oldı

Döşendi 'âleme zulm u dalâlet
Muti'ler cümle halka zâhir oldı

Karışdı murdâr u mismil seçilmez
Yimege it Çagatay hâzır oldı

Tokundı taş taşa bu halk kaçarlar
Öküzler yüklemege katur oldı

Aluk bulmaz götüre bir kişi kim
Veger bulsa bir eski hâsır oldı

Temür mel'ûn tekebbürlük idelden
Niçe altun gümiş ad bakır oldı

In English

1. Once again a thousand kinds of register appeared; whatever His decree wrote came to pass in the end.

2. Oppression and error were spread over the world; even the obedient were laid bare before all the people.

3. Carrion and lawfully slaughtered meat were mixed and could not be told apart; dog and Chagatai stood ready to eat.

4. Stone struck stone, these people flee; oxen became mules for loading.

5. No one can find a thing to carry off; if he does, it is an old mat.

6. Since accursed Timur began to swell with pride, many a piece of gold and silver has come to be called copper.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Timur Is Coming

Headed "Diger, bu da nazm", another, this too a verse, the third verse of the sixty-sixth chapter tells of the effect on the people of Timur's turning towards Anatolia. In the prose after this part, Timur's taking of Sivas, his march on Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Baalbek and Damascus, his wintering in Karabagh and the battle of Ankara will be told. The verse sets an apocalyptic tone at the head of these events.

A Picture of Flight

The apocalyptic tone is set in the first two couplets with a general statement: the register of decree has been opened and oppression spread over the world. The third tells of the collapse of a religious order: "murdâr u mismil", carrion and properly slaughtered meat, are mixed and cannot be told apart; the Chagatai soldiery is as ready to eat as a dog. The fourth and fifth couplets paint a picture of people in flight: stone strikes stone, oxen are loaded like mules, and whoever finds something to carry finds only an old mat. The sixth couplet describes Timur's pride through gold and silver losing their value; the collapse of a war economy is given in an image. The refrain "oldı" is kept in all six couplets; the rhyme is built on the words zâhir, âhir, hâzır, katur, hâsır, bakır. Timur is called "mel'ûn", accursed; the work openly counts him a cursed tyrant. For the battle of Ankara and the place of Amasya in this period see the page Timur's Anatolian Campaign and Amasya in the Battle of Ankara.