Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Mefā‘ilün Fe‘ilātün Mefā‘ilün Fe‘ilün

Müyesser oldı yine iltifāt-ı sulṭānī
Zihī nihāyet-i ās̱ār-ı luṭf-ı Yezdānī
Ṭulū‘ idüp şeref evcinde kevkeb-i iḳbāl
Cihān-ı cānı cinān gibi ḳıldı nūrānī
Açıldı gülşen-i devletde ġonce-i maḳṣūd
Müzeyyen eyledi gül gibi ravża-i cānı
Uyandı dīde-i iḳbāl baḫt-ı ḫᵛāb-ālūd
Yüzine āb ṣaçup keff-i cūd-ı Raḥmānī
Uyandı lem‘a-i iḳbāl ile çerāġ-ı ümīd
Münevver oldı yine baḫtumuñ şeb-istānı
Sipihr-i defter-i devletde ḳıldı nāmumı s̱ebt
Ki buldı nāme-i baḫtum anuñla ‘ünvānı
Zihī kemāl-i şeref zī nihāyet-i iḳbāl
Müyesser oldı şehüñ intisāb-ı dīvānı
Ne şehdür ol ki aña şevket ü ṣalābetle
Sikender olmaya s̱ānı meger ola s̱ānī
Emīr-i arş-ı serīr u ḫıdīv-i mihr-i żamīr
K’anuñ durur şeref-i şemsi ḳadr-i keyvānı
‘Alī-seḫā vü Muḥammed-ḫiṣāl u ‘Os̱mān-şerm
Ki ‘adlidür ‘Ömerī Bū [Bekir’dür] īmānı
Netīce-i şeref-i Ḥażret-i Süleymān’ı
Nebīre-i neseb-i ḫüsrevān-ı ‘Os̱mānī
Güzīn ü ekber-i şeh-zādegān-ı şāh-ı cihān
K’odur mebānī-i ‘adle zemānede bānī
Cihānı bāni-i inṣāfı eyledi ma‘mūr
Anuñla buldı fer inṣāf bu cihān-bānı
Sirāc-ı millet ü dīn Şāh Muṣṭafā ā‘nī
Nihāl-i bār dur[ur] būstān-ı sulṭānī
‘Inān-ı ‘adli anuñ virdi destine çü Ḫudā
Semend-i devleti sürsin ki aldı meydānı
Ser-i ‘adū n’ola ġalṭān olursa kūy-ṣıfat
Çü dest-i mihrine tevfīḳ ṣundı çevgānı
Alursa destine tīġ-ı şecā‘ati bir dem
Hirās u ḫavf ile düşmen revān ider cānı
Oḳ alsa destine ehl-i ḳubūr dirler hep
Kemānuñ oḳına ā‘dā hemīşe ḳurbānı
Çü rezme ‘azm ide iḳbāl ile ḫalāṣ içün
Hezār Rüstem ider ḥaḳḳa fetḥ-i destānı
Çü ḳaṣd-ı bezm ide sāḳī-i zer-piyāle-i mihr
Şarābla pür ider cām māh-ı tābānı
Degül mi devlete dāll iy kerīm kim bir bir
Gelür işigüñe dünyānuñ ehl-i ‘irfānı
Teveccühi fużalānuñ cenāb-ı ḳadrüñedür
Ḫarīmsin çü maḳādīr-i nev‘-i insānı
Bahā-yı cevheri ṣarrāf-ı cevherī añlar
Güher nedür ne bilür bile dür-fürūş ānı
Ma‘ārif ehline ḳıl her-dem iltifātı ziyād
K’odur zekāvet ü ‘aḳluñ delīl ü bürhānı
Çü ‘aḳl u fehm ola sulṭāna yār lā-büd olur
Seḫā vü ‘adl ile mi‘mār-ı milk-i iḥsānı
Çü milke adl ola memlūke luṭf mūcib olur
Ḳabūl-i ‘ālemiyān u rıżā-yı Sübḥānī
Çü şehden ola Ḫudā rāżı vü cihān şākir
Ḥaḳīḳaten olur ol ṣūretā cihān-bānı
Fütāde Fażlī egerçi ki bī-fażīletdür
Çü fażla bestesi vardur revā idi anı
Müşerref eylemek envā‘-ı iltifātuñla
Niteki eyledüñ iy şāh ẓıll-ı Yezdān’ı
Faḳīr ise n’ola vardur kemāle dest-resi
Kemāl ehline ḳılsañ revādur iḥsānı
Zihī kemāl ki ḥüsn-i kelām ile oldı
Senüñ gibi ulu şeh-zādenüñ s̱enā-ḫvānı
Kemāl ü devlet ile çün ṭapuñ durur ḫāḳān
Ḳuluñ da ḥüsn-i kelām ile oldı ḫāḳānī
Selāset-i süḫanum ger işitse nāṭıḳ ide
Maḳāl-i sellemehu’llāh lisān-ı Selmānī
Hemīşe maẓhar-ı luṭf olduġınca şāhlara
Kelām-ı pāk u kemāl ehli iy kerem kānı
Kemāl-i pīr olup devlet ile ol kāmil
Kemāl-i ḳudretüñ olmaya hīç noḳṣānı
Kemāli ile ola yār u yāverüñ her-dem
‘İnāyet-i Hemedānī vü luṭf-ı Rabbānī
O tāze ġonce k’açıldı riyāż-ı devletde
Müdām ola ter ü tāze çü naḫl-i büstānī

In English

1. The sultan's favour has once again been granted; how fine, the furthest point reached by the works of God's grace.

2. The star of good fortune has risen at the summit of honour and made the world of the soul radiant like the gardens of paradise.

3. In the rose garden of fortune the bud of desire has opened and adorned the garden of the soul like a rose.

4. When the generous palm of the Merciful sprinkled water on its face, the eye of fortune of my drowsy luck awoke.

5. The lamp of hope has been kindled anew by the gleam of good fortune; the night chamber of my luck is lit up once again.

6. He has entered my name in the heaven of the register of state; through it the letter of my fortune has found its heading.

7. What perfect honour, what lofty fortune: it has been granted to me to be attached to the prince's council.

8. What a shah he is: in majesty and firmness Alexander could not be his equal, at most he could be second. ("S̱ānī" means both equal and second.)

9. He is an emir whose throne is the Throne of God, a sovereign with a heart like the sun; the honour of the sun and the eminence of Saturn are his.

10. His generosity is like Ali's, his character like Muhammad's, his modesty like Osman's; his justice is Omar's, his faith the faith of Abu Bakr.

11. He is the fruit of the honour of His Majesty Süleyman, the grandson of the line of the Ottoman sovereigns.

12. He is the choicest and the eldest of the princes of the shah of the world; it is he who in his time founds the buildings of justice.

13. (He,) the founder of fairness, has made the world prosperous; and fairness, which governs this world, has found its splendour through him.

14. He is the lamp of the community and the faith, that is, Shah Mustafa; he is the fruit-bearing sapling of the garden of sovereignty.

15. Since God has put the reins of justice into his hand, let him ride the steed of fortune, for he has won the field.

16. Since God has offered the polo stick of success to his loving hand, is it any wonder if the enemy's head rolls like a ball. (The çevgân is the stick used to strike the ball from horseback.)

17. If for a moment he takes the sword of valour in his hand, the enemy gives up his life in fear and terror.

18. If he takes an arrow in his hand, the people of the graves all say: the enemies are ever a sacrifice to the arrow of his bow.

19. When he resolves on battle with good fortune for the sake of deliverance, a thousand Rüstems truly open an epic in his name.

20. When he wishes to hold a banquet, the cupbearer of the sun with the golden goblet fills the cup of the shining moon with wine.

21. O generous one, is it not a sign of your fortune that the men of learning of the world come one by one to your threshold.

22. The men of merit turn towards your exalted presence; for the worth of humankind is guarded in your presence. (The word "ḫarīm" in the line is taken in the sense of a protected sanctuary.)

23. The worth of a jewel is understood by the jeweller; even the pearl-seller does not know what a gem is.

24. Increase your favour to the men of learning at every moment; for it is the sign and proof of intelligence and reason.

25. When reason and understanding are the sultan's friends, he surely becomes the architect of the land of bounty through generosity and justice.

26. When there is justice in the land and kindness to the subjects, it brings about the acceptance of the world and the good pleasure of God.

27. When God is pleased with the shah and the world is grateful to him, he becomes the guardian of the world both in truth and in appearance.

28. Though the fallen Fazlî is without merit, since he is bound to grace it would be fitting to honour him. (The pen name is played on with the words "fażīlet", merit, and "fażl", grace.)

29. O shah, (it would be fitting) to honour him with favours of every kind, as indeed you have done, O Shadow of God. (How the phrase "ẓıll-ı Yezdān'ı" at the end of the line is joined to the sentence is not entirely clear.)

30. What if he is poor, his hand reaches perfection; it is fitting if you bestow bounty on the people of perfection.

31. What perfection it is that with fine speech he has become the praiser of a great prince like you.

32. Since your threshold is a khan in perfection and fortune, your servant too has become a Hakani with fine speech. (Hakani is a Persian kaside poet; the name is played on with the word "hakan", khan.)

33. If the tongue of Selman heard the fluency of my speech, it would say "May God keep him safe". (There is a play on sound between "sellemehu'llāh" and the name of the Persian kaside poet Selman.)

34. O mine of generosity, as long as those of pure speech and perfection receive the favour of shahs,

35. may that perfect one (the prince) reach perfection and old age with fortune, and may the perfection of his power never suffer any loss.

36. May the favour of the All-Knowing and the grace of the Lord, in all their perfection, be your friend and helper at every moment. (If the word "Hemedānī" is linked to the Persian "hemedān", all-knowing, God is meant.)

37. May that fresh bud which has opened in the gardens of fortune remain ever fresh and green like a garden sapling.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a kaside (qasida) of praise of thirty-seven couplets (beyit). The metre is the "mefā‘ilün fe‘ilātün mefā‘ilün fe‘ilün" pattern of the müctes family. The rhyme is the sound "-ānī" (sulṭānī, Yezdānī, nūrānī, cānı, Raḥmānī...); there is no redif (refrain word). Its title is "Ḳaṣīde-i Fażlī Çelebi". Prince Mustafa is named in couplet 14 as "Şāh Muṣṭafā", and the pen name (mahlas) appears in couplet 28. The kaside has no opening section (nesib); the first seven couplets describe the dawning of the poet's own good fortune, from couplet 8 the poem turns to the praise of the prince, in couplets 24-27 the prince is given advice, couplets 28-33 describe the poet's own situation and poetry, and the last four couplets are a prayer.

The text is found only in miscellany no. 314 of the Âşir Efendi collection of the Süleymaniye Library (fol. 106b). The word "Bekir'dür" in couplet 10 appears in the manuscript as "ḳaçaġa"; Özkat corrected it because it did not suit the sense and gives it in square brackets. "dur[ur]" in couplet 14 is also a completion made in the edition.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first couplets of the kaside speak the language of good news. The star of fortune rises, the bud of desire opens, the eye of drowsy luck awakes with water sprinkled from the palm of the Merciful, and the lamp of hope is kindled anew. The reason for this joy is given in couplets 6 and 7: the poet's name has been entered in the register of state, and it has been granted to him to be attached to the prince's council. Özkat cites these two couplets as evidence that the kaside was written on the poet's appointment as secretary of the council (divan kâtibi) to Prince Mustafa. The words "defter" (register), "nāme" (letter) and "‘ünvān" (heading) in couplet 6 form a congruence of images (tenasüp) suited to the profession of a secretary. The idiom "ateşi uyandırmak" (to rekindle a fire) in couplet 5 is among the idioms collected by Özkat.

In the section of praise Mustafa is called the fruit of the honour of His Majesty Süleyman, the grandson of the Ottoman line, and "the choicest and the eldest" of the princes of the shah of the world (couplets 11-12); in couplet 14 he is also the fruit-bearing sapling of the garden of sovereignty. In couplet 10 his generosity is likened to Ali's, his character to the Prophet Muhammad's, his modesty to Osman's, his justice to Omar's and his faith to Abu Bakr's; in this way the prince is presented as a candidate for rule who unites in himself the virtues of the four caliphs. Images of war and the hunt are used in couplets 15-19, and the image of the banquet in couplet 20: the sun becomes a cupbearer with a golden goblet and fills the cup of the moon.

After couplet 21 the kaside turns to a section of advice on how important it is for a ruler to show favour to the men of learning. The saying in couplet 23, "the worth of a jewel is understood by the jeweller", is one of the proverbs Özkat found in Fazlî's poems; it is the poetic counterpart of the proverb "altının kıymetini sarraf bilir" (the worth of gold is known by the money-changer). With this advice the poet passes to his own situation: in couplet 28, playing on his pen name with the words "fażīlet" and "fażl", he says that he is without merit but bound to grace. In couplet 32 he says that since the prince's threshold is a "khan" he himself has become a "Hakani", and in couplet 33 that even the tongue of Selman would praise his speech if it heard it. Hakani and Selman are great names of the kaside in Persian literature; the poet's comparison of himself to them follows the tradition of self-praise (fahriye) often found in kasides. The last couplet of the kaside is the wish that the fresh bud opened in the garden of fortune may stay ever fresh.

Historical Context

Kara Fazlî was first the secretary of the council of Prince Mehmed, governor of Manisa. When Mehmed died young on 6 November 1543, Fazlî was appointed secretary of the council to Prince Mustafa, who was then governor of the province of Amasya, and he remained in Amasya until 1553, the year Mustafa was killed. According to Özkat, this kaside was written on Fazlî's appointment as Mustafa's secretary of the council; if so, the kaside must have been written in Amasya shortly after 1543. Hüseyin Hüsameddin too, describing Mustafa's gathering in Amasya, says "kâtib-i dîvânı Fazlî Çelebi şu'arâdan idi" (his secretary of the council, Fazlî Çelebi, was among the poets). According to Özkat, all of Fazlî's kasides up to the twenty-seventh were written for Mustafa, and this kaside may be counted the first link in that series.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Online sources