Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: fā‘ilātün / fā‘ilātün / fā‘ilātün / fā‘ilün

Bende-i dīrīne zār menkūb idi maḥzūn idi
Çün şük(ü)r anları mesrūr itdi Allāhu’n-naṣīr
Bir mübeşşir geldi cevherler ṣaçup tārīḫ didi
Dīde rūşen müjdeler ‘Os̱mān Paşamız vezīr (1244)

In English

1. His old servants were moaning, in misfortune and grief; thank God, God the Helper has made them glad.

2. A bearer of good news came scattering jewels and spoke its chronogram: "Eyes bright, glad tidings: our Osman Paşa (has become) vizier."

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

It is a two-couplet chronogram in the remel pattern "fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilātün fā‘ilün"; the rhyme falls between "naṣīr" and "vezīr". Babaarslan records it as "chronogram for the vizierate of Osman Paşa (1244)"; the year 1244 corresponds to 1828-29. Babaarslan expressly notes that Topal and Özçakmak took this poem to be written for the release of Hakkı Paşa, whereas it belongs to Osman Paşa's vizierate. The same author also notes that before this poem the manuscript contains a five-stanza musammat that has been struck through.

A chronogram (tarih) gives the year of an event through a phrase or line whose letters, added up by their numerical values (the ebced system), yield that year. When the whole of the second line is counted, a very large number, about 2100, results; the chronogram is therefore not the whole line but a part of it. Written as "عثمان پاشامز وزیر", the phrase "‘Os̱mān Paşamız vezīr" gives "‘Os̱mān" 661, "Paşamız" 351 and "vezīr" 223, a total of 1235. If "Paşamız" is spelled "پاشامیز" the total rises to 1245. With the spellings we tried, the edition's 1244 could not be reached exactly. The calculation is ours; the chronogram could not be verified.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The poem is built as a scene of glad tidings. The first couplet tells how Osman Paşa's old servants, those attached to him, were in distress for a time and then rejoiced with God's help. In the second couplet a messenger arrives "scattering jewels", like the gold scattered at weddings and on joyful days. "Dīde rūşen" (eyes bright) is a phrase of congratulation still alive in Turkish. The Hakkı Paşa chronogram that follows immediately in the Dîvânçe begins with the same formula ("menkūb idi maḥzūn idi", was in misfortune and grief); the close resemblance of the two poems also explains how Topal and Özçakmak confused them. This last comment is ours.

Historical Context

Babaarslan does not say who the Osman Paşa of the poem was. The word "Paşamız" (our pasha) suggests someone with ties to Amasya or to the poet's circle. Hüsameddin mentions Canikli Hazînedârzâde Osman Paşa, who in these years also held Amasya under his authority, and writes that he appointed the mütesellim (deputy governor) of the sancak of Amasya in Muharrem 1246. It is possible that the couplet was written for this Osman Paşa's elevation to the vizierate; but we could not verify the date of his vizierate in the sources, and this identification is our guess.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

  • Giyasi Babaarslan, "Amasyalı Vâzıh ve Dîvânçesi", Akademik Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 5(4), 2021, pp. 1922-1984 (text of the poem and note on the struck-through musammat: p. 1982; Mustafa Vâzıh, Dîvânçe, Ankara University, Department of Manuscripts, Mustafa Con A 495/III, fol. 76a). https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/akaded/article/993264
  • Giyasi Babaarslan, "Amasyalı Vâzıh ve Dîvânçesi", Akademik Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 5(4), 2021, pp. 1924-1930 (life and description of the Dîvânçe; chronograms and errors in earlier studies: pp. 1929-1930). https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/akaded/article/993264
  • Fatma Özçakmak, "Mustafa Vâzıh Efendi ve Dîvânçe'si", Kesit Akademi Dergisi, 7(26), 2021, pp. 255-278, p. 275.

Online sources