Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilün

Gerçi takdîr eylemiş evvelde Sübhânum menüm
Yoh yire döke felek kara yire kanum menüm
Hak bilür kim yoğ idi bir zerre ‘isyânum menüm
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Durmaz oldı şevket ü haşmetle dîvânum menüm
Sag u sola kurılan çetr ile seyrânum menüm
Âh kim yıhdı felek kasr ile eyvânum menüm
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Mihr ü meh-veş kullarum zerrîn kemer üsküf ile
Sag u solda saf tutup el kavuşturup üslûb ile
Gûyiyâ göz degdi kim dağıldı bir âşûb ile
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Hûrî vü rıdvân misâli tonanan kullar hanı
Zîb ü zîbâ ile düzenmiş olan begler hanı
Cennetü’l-Me’vâya nisbet döşenen evler hanı
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Çünki takdîr eylemişdi bana Kassâm-ı Ezel
Çekdi getürdi buraya pâyuma düşdi ecel
Bî-günâh idüm degüldi bana bu ölmek mahal
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İster idüm Rüstem-i destân kimi a‘dâ ile
Kükreyüp arslan kimi ceng eyleyüp hey hây ile
Kan ile doldurayım vâdîleri sahrâ ile
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İsteyüp meydâna girem haykırup mânend-i şîr
Hakk idüp a‘dâ damârın komayam şâh u emîr
Kim bilürdi ansuzın böyle olam hôr u hakîr
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Oglun idüm key ‘azîz idüm katunda muhterem
Hazretünde şâhbâz idüm celîl ü muhteşem
‘Âkıbet oldum zelîl ü hâr u zâr u müttehem
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Reşk iderdi âsumân ehli menüm dîvânuma
Yüz sürerdi mihr ü meh şâm u seher eyvânuma
‘Âkıbet bir kâr ile dâğ urdı devrân cânuma
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Dogrı idüm âsitânunda elif kimi ‘ayân
Egridür dinse bana inanma iy şâh-ı cihân
Gadr kıldı dehr (bana) virmedi bir dem emân
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İstegüm bu idi Hakdan dâyimâ her subh u şâm
Ugurunda düşmenünle çalışup olam müdâm
Hayf oldı bana şimdi yoh yire ölmek tamam
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Dir idüm a‘dâ olursa halk-ı ‘âlem ser-be-ser
Gam degül Sultân Süleymân kimi vardur çün peder
Bilmedüm düşmen söziyle yoh yire bana kıyar
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Gadrdür dehr içre dâyim rûzgârun ‘âdeti
Evveli dev âhiri letdür cihânun devleti
Benden alsunlar ser-â-ser ‘âlem ehli ‘ibreti
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Nice kıydun men kuluna gözgör iy şâh-ı cihân
Hâlümi ‘arz itmege virdürmedün bir dem amân
Ber-güzîde Mustafân degül midüm men bir zamân
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İstegüm budur cihânda dâyim iy sultân sana
Emrüne râm ola cümle gerdiş-i devrân sana
Yoluna yüz bin menüm kimi ola kurbân sana
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İ‘tibâr itme cihânun devlet ü dârâtına
Gırre olma mâl ü mülk ü satvet ü âlâtına
‘İbret al bundan nazar eyle Hakun âyâtına
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Dir idün kim Mustafâdur yirüme kâyim-makâm
Devletünde hoş geçerdi rûzgârı subh u şâm
‘Âkıbet bu kahra bâ‘is n’oldı iy şâh-ı enâm
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Yir yüzin tutar dir idi bana halkun ekseri
Âl-i ‘Osmân milkinün şâh(ı) bu-durur serveri
İhtiyâr itdün neden âhir bana kara yiri
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
Yirde yatdugunca sen ‘âlemde olgıl pâydâr
Devletüne irmesün âsîb-i dehr-i rûzgâr
Yoluna olsun fedâ menüm kimi kul sad hezâr
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm
İster idüm devletünde yir yüzin tutam velî
N’ideyim tahte’s-serâda tutam âhir menzili
Cennetü’l-Me’vâyı buldum cümleden çekdüm eli
N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm

In English

1. True, my Lord ordained it in pre-eternity: that the heavens should spill my blood for nothing on the black earth. God knows I had not an atom of rebellion in me. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

2. My council, held in glory and majesty, sits no more; nor do my outings with parasols raised to right and left. Alas, the heavens have torn down my pavilion and my palace. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

3. My servants, like the sun and moon, with their golden belts and embroidered caps, used to stand in rows to right and left with hands folded in due manner; as if struck by the evil eye they were scattered in turmoil. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

4. Where are the servants arrayed like houris and Rıdvan, the keeper of paradise; where are the beys adorned with finery and beauty; where are the houses furnished like the Garden of Refuge. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

5. The Distributor of pre-eternity (God) had ordained this for me; death drew me and brought me here, it fell at my feet. I was without sin; this death was not fitting for me. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

6. I wished to fight the enemies like Rüstem, the hero of legend, roaring like a lion with shouts and cries, and to fill the valleys and deserts with blood. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

7. I wished to enter the field shouting like a lion and, for God's sake, to leave the enemy neither shah nor emir; who could have known that I would suddenly be so despised and abased. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

8. I was your son, most dear and honoured in your presence; at your court I was a lofty and majestic falcon. In the end I became abased, despised, lamenting and accused. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

9. The dwellers of heaven envied my council; the sun and moon rubbed their faces at my palace morning and evening. In the end time branded my soul through a deed. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

10. At your threshold I was plainly straight like the letter alif; if they call me crooked, do not believe it, O king of the world. Time wronged (me), it gave me not a moment's quarter. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

11. My wish from God every morning and evening was this: to fight your enemy ceaselessly for your sake. Now to die for nothing has become an utter pity for me. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

12. I used to say that even if all the people of the world were enemies, there was no grief, for I had a father like Sultan Süleyman. I did not know that at the enemy's word he would slay me for nothing. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

13. The custom of time in the world is always faithlessness; the fortune of the world begins with "dev" and ends with "let" (a kick). Let all the people of the world take warning from me from end to end. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

14. O king of the world, open your eyes and see how you have slain your servant; you would not grant me a moment's quarter to present my case. Was I not once your chosen Mustafa. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

15. O sultan, my wish for you in the world is ever this: may the turning of the ages always submit to your command; may a hundred thousand like me be sacrificed on your path. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

16. Put no trust in the fortune and pomp of the world; be not deceived by its wealth, possessions, power and instruments. Take warning from this, look upon the signs of God. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

17. You used to say, "Mustafa is my deputy in my place"; in your reign my days passed pleasantly morning and evening. O king of mankind, what became in the end the cause of this wrath. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

18. Most of the people used to say of me, "he will hold the face of the earth"; they used to say, "this is the shah and leader of the realm of the house of Osman". Why in the end did you choose the black earth for me. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

19. As long as I lie in the earth, may you endure in the world; may the calamity of time not touch your fortune. May a hundred thousand servants like me be sacrificed on your path. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

20. In your reign I wished to hold the face of the earth, but what can I do, in the end I shall hold my station beneath the earth. I have found the Garden of Refuge and withdrawn my hand from all. What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a murabba of twenty stanzas in the metre "fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilün"; each stanza has four lines and ends with the refrain "N’eyleyem kıydun bana devletlü sultânum menüm" (What can I do, you have slain me, my fortunate sultan). In the first two stanzas every line ends with the sound "-ânum menüm"; in the following stanzas the first three lines rhyme among themselves. The poem has no pen name. The elegy is on folios 12-14 of manuscript Yozgat 427 of Hayâlî-i Gülşenî's divan in the Süleymaniye Library; Mehmed Çavuşoğlu published it in 1981-1982, and it is given here as quoted in Recep Hasar's thesis. The word "(bana)" added in parentheses by Hasar in the tenth stanza has been kept.

Forms close to Eastern Turkish, to present-day Azerbaijani, stand out in the language of the poem: "menüm" (my) in the refrain, "yoh yire" (for nothing), "yıhdı" (tore down), "hanı" (where is), "kimi" instead of "gibi" (like) and "olgıl" (be). Hayâlî-i Gülşenî was born in Tabriz and spent his early youth there; these forms are probably traces of the poet's mother tongue. This observation is our own.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The elegy is written from beginning to end in the voice of Prince Mustafa: the dead prince addresses his father and explains himself to him. This way of making the dead speak is a known device of the lament tradition and gives the elegy the air of a defence. The prince first counts what he has lost: his majestic council, the parasols raised to his right and left, servants with golden belts, adorned beys. Then he names the enemies he wished to fight; he had wanted to battle the enemy's shah and emirs, roaring like Rüstem, like a lion. These stanzas are an answer to the claim that the prince had come to terms with the enemy.

The most powerful stanzas of the poem are those that express the prince's devotion to his father mingled with reproach. In the tenth stanza the line "Dogrı idüm âsitânunda elif kimi ‘ayân" sets up a contrast between straightness, through the letter alif with its form of a straight line, and slander, through the word "egri" (crooked). In the twelfth stanza the prince says that even if the whole world were his enemy he was not afraid, because he had a father like Sultan Süleyman, but that he did not know his father would slay him at the enemy's word. In the thirteenth stanza the line "Evveli dev âhiri letdür cihânun devleti" is a play on words that splits the word "devlet" (fortune) into the syllables "dev" (giant) and "let" (kick): the fortune of the world begins as big as a giant and ends in a kick. The question in the fourteenth stanza, "Ber-güzîde Mustafân degül midüm men bir zamân" (was I not once your chosen Mustafa), is the passage Recep Hasar quotes as an example of the reproach addressed to the sultan. In the seventeenth stanza the sultan is reminded that he once said "Mustafa is my deputy in my place". In spite of all these reproaches the prince does not cease to pray for the sultan: in the fifteenth and nineteenth stanzas he wishes that a hundred thousand lives be sacrificed on his path.

Historical Context

According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Hayâlî-i Gülşenî's divan contains this elegy for Prince Mustafa and two chronograms on the death of Rüstem Pasha that hint that the pasha suffered torment for his sins. Semra Güler states that a second elegy of unknown authorship, written in the same metre and form, is a nazire (response poem) to this poem. That a great Sufi, sheikh of the Gülşenî lodge in Cairo, should write a poem containing so open a reproach of the sultan is a sign of the reaction that Prince Mustafa's death aroused in every part of society. The poet's life is described in the biographical article in this category, and the other elegies in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.

Bibliography

Academic studies

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