Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Maṭla‘ından ‘âleme ‘arż ideli ḫurşîd tâb
Ḳalmadı ḳaṭ‘â cihân rûyında ẓulmetden seḥâb
Nûr virmezdi bu âfâḳ içre hergiz mâh anuñ
Gün cemâli enverinden itmese ger iktisâb
Ditreden ḫurşîdi tîġı ḫavfıdur her ṣubḥ-dem
Bî-sebeb ṣanmañ ki bu eflâke dâ’im inḳılâb
Maṭla‘ından şems lerzân çıḳduġı her dem budur
Gün cemâline muḳâbil olmaġa eyler ḥicâb
Yalıñuz bir meh degüldür ḳapusı üftâdesi
Biñ ṣafâ ile gelür baş üzre her ṣubḥ âfitâb
Dergehinde pâs-bân olalı Keyvân ol mehüñ
Gelmedi devrinde bir seyyârenüñ çeşmine ḫâb
Mezra‘-ı ḫânında ḫırmen olsa ṭañ mıdur cihân
Oldı çün luṭfı hevâsıyla felekler âsiyâb
Ebr-i luṭfı tâze ter ḳılsa n'ola cân gülşenin
Mihr ü mehdür külegi çarḫ aña olmışdur dolâb
İltmese gülzâra ḥüsni gülşeninden bû nesîm
Virmez idi ḫalḳa ḳaṭ‘â bûy reyḥân gül gülâb
Şîr-veş bindükçe devlet atına ol Müşterî
Çarḫ çeker her dem ‘inânını felek ṭutar rikâb
Ol cihân-gîr-i zamânuñ görse tîġı lem‘asın
Ḳorḳusından kendüzini bilmeye Efrâsiyâb
Vireli ‘adlüñ eliyle ‘âleme luṭfuñ ma‘âş
Şiddetinden rûzgâruñ kimse çekmez ıżṭırâb
Ol hümânuñ göreli sî-murġ ‘âlî-himmetin
Devleti ḫânında geldi oldı ol dem bir ẕübâb
Himmeti deryâsı içre bir gemidür bu cihân
Luṭfınuñ baḥrinde anuñ oldı ‘ummân bir ḥabâb
Ol şehüñ şol resmedür ‘adli cihân rûyında kim
Kim niẓâm-ı ‘âlem olur aña her dem intisâb
Mekteb-i re’yinde ebced ṭıflıdur bil şübhesiz
Görmese ḥüsni kitâbından ulü'l-ebṣâr bâb
Ol muṭavvel luṭfınuñ olmaz ma‘ânîsi beyân
Arasañ cümle kitâbı faṣl faṣl u bâb bâb
Buldı iḳbâl-i sa‘âdet oldı her dem baḫtiyâr
Her ki ḳıldı ḫıdmetin cân ile dilden irtikâb
Āfitâb-ı ‘âlem-ârâ heft-kişver bî-naẓîr
Pâdişâh-ı ‘aṣr a‘lem kâm-rân rif‘at-me’âb
Kimdür ol ḫâḳân-ı a‘ẓam ya‘ni Sulṭân Bâyezîd
Ḥaşre dek bulsun cihân rûyında ‘ömr-i bî-ḥisâb
Ey şeh-i devrân cihân rûyında ‘izzet isteyen
Āsitânında bulur sen pâdişâhuñ fetḥ-i bâb
Buldı luṭfuñ şemmesinden bu cihânuñ bâġı râġ
Oldı la‘lüñ çeşmesinden âb-ı ḥayvân u cülâb
Zinde olur ḥaşre dek bulur ḥayâtı teşne-dil
Ḫıżr-veş her mürdeye virseñ şehâ luṭfuñla âb
Salṭanat taḫtında her dem saña ey kân-ı kerem
‘Adl ḫıl‘at tâc devlet ‘âdet olmışdur ṣavâb
Aġladur her dem şehâ bî-çâre Mihrî'yi felek
Dâmen-i raḥmuñ ile sil yaşını ey kâm-yâb
N'ola ey kimyâ-naẓar luṭfuñla olsañ dest-gîr
Pây-mâl olup Amâsiyye'de olmışdur türâb
Dehr elinden ḫâne-i ġamda yiyüben içmege
Eşk-i çeşmim âb olmışdur yüregüm hem kebâb
Ḳıl ‘imâret luṭf idüp bu dil-ḫarâbın ḫusrevâ
Her cihetden leşker-i ġam eylemiş durur ḫarâb
Ḳılsañ ey Yûsuf naẓar luṭfuñla ben bî-çâreye
İ‘tiḳâdum bu durur bulam Zelîḫâ-veş şebâb
Salṭanat taḫtında şâhâ devlet ile her nefes
Müstedâm ol ḥaşre dek görme dü-‘âlemde ‘aẕâb
‘İzzet ile ol semâ olduḳça dâ’im pây-dâr
Devlet ile ṭur cihân ṭurduḳça ey ‘âlî-cenâb
Fażluñ ile ḳıl ‘inâyet luṭfuñ ile it ḳabûl
Ben ġarîb üftâdenüñ yâ Rab du‘âsın müstecâb

In English

1. Since the sun first showed its light to the world from its place of rising, not a cloud of darkness has remained on the face of the earth. (The sun is the praised ruler. "Matla" means both the place where the sun rises and the opening couplet of a kaside; the couplet can carry both meanings at once.)

2. Had the moon not taken its light from his sun-bright face, it would never have given light on these horizons.

3. What makes the sun tremble every morning is fear of his sword. Do not think it without cause that these heavens turn and change without rest.

4. This is why the sun trembles each time it rises from its place of rising: it is ashamed to appear before his sun-like face.

5. It is not only the moon that has fallen at his gate; the sun too comes every morning with great joy, carried upon the head. (That is, both great lights of the sky are servants at his gate.)

6. Since Saturn (Keyvân) became the doorkeeper at the gate of that moon-faced one, no planet's eye has known sleep in his age. (Because the highest planet keeps watch, the others stay awake too; in the ruler's order no one falls into negligence.)

7. Is it surprising if the whole world is a heap of threshed grain in the field of his table? For the heavens have become mills turned by the wind of his grace. (The heavens turn like a mill, and his generosity is the wind that drives it. The word "hevâ" means both wind and desire.)

8. Is it surprising if the cloud of his grace makes the garden of the soul fresh and green? The sun and moon are his buckets, and the sky has become his waterwheel. (The buckets of the wheel that waters the garden are the sun and moon; the turning heaven is the wheel itself.)

9. Had the breeze not carried fragrance from the garden of his beauty to the rose garden, basil, rose and rose water would never have given their scent to people.

10. Each time that Jupiter (Müşterî, the star of good fortune) mounts the horse of fortune like a lion, the wheel of heaven draws his reins and the sky holds his stirrup. (Holding the reins and stirrup when a ruler mounts is a servant's task; here the heavens perform it.)

11. If Afrâsiyâb (the legendary king of Turan in the Shahnameh) saw the gleam of the sword of that world-conqueror of the age, he would lose himself in fear.

12. Since your grace, by the hand of justice, gave the world its livelihood, no one suffers distress from the harshness of the times.

13. Since the Simurgh (the giant bird of the tales) saw the lofty aspiration of that huma, it came to the table of his state and became a mere fly. (The huma is a legendary bird that brings good fortune to whoever's head its shadow falls on; even the greatest bird remains as small as a fly at his table.)

14. This world is a ship on the sea of his aspiration; even the ocean has become a bubble in the sea of his grace.

15. The justice of that sultan on the face of the earth is such an order that the order of the world is at every moment tied to it and draws strength from it.

16. Those with insight who have not seen a chapter from the book of his beauty are, without doubt, children just beginning the alphabet in the school of his judgement and foresight. (In some copies "those with reason" is read in place of "those with insight". The second line can also be understood as "unless they see a gate of the book of his beauty"; the meaning does not change.)

17. Even if you search all books section by section and chapter by chapter, you cannot expound the meanings of his long and broad grace. (The couplet plays with terms from the books of rhetoric; they are explained below.)

18. Everyone who has entered his service with soul and heart has found happiness and good fortune, and has been blessed at every moment.

19. He is the sun that adorns the world, without equal in the seven climes, the sultan of the age, the most learned, one who has attained his wish and holds an exalted rank.

20. Who is that greatest khan? It is Sultan Bayezid. May he find countless years of life in the world until the Day of Resurrection.

21. O sultan of the age, whoever seeks standing in the world finds on your threshold, you who are the sultan, a gate opened for him.

22. The garden of this world became a meadow from a single scent of your grace; from the spring of your lips flowed the water of life and sherbet.

23. My sultan, if, like Khidr, you gave water by your grace to every dead man, the thirsty-hearted would come alive and find life until the Day of Resurrection. (Khidr is known as the one who drank the water of life that grants immortality.)

24. O mine of generosity, on the throne of sovereignty it has always been your custom to wear justice as a robe of honour and fortune as a crown, and this is as it should be.

25. My sultan, the heavens make poor Mihrî weep without ceasing. O you who have attained your wish, wipe her tears with the hem of your mercy.

26. O you whose glance is alchemy, what harm if you took her hand with your grace? Trodden underfoot, she has become dust in Amasya. (Alchemy turns earth into gold; the sultan's glance too could make the poet, now turned to dust, precious.)

27. At the hands of time, in the house of sorrow, to have something to eat and drink, the tears of my eyes have become water and my heart a kebab. (In the house of sorrow there is nothing else to eat or drink; the poet drinks her own tears and eats her burning heart.)

28. O ruler, in your grace rebuild this ruined heart; the army of sorrow has laid it waste from every side.

29. O Joseph, if you looked once with grace on this helpless servant, my belief is that I would find my youth again, like Zulaykha. (According to the story, Zulaykha, who had grown old and blind, became young again through Joseph's prayer.)

30. My sultan, on the throne of sovereignty, at every moment may you endure in fortune until the Day of Resurrection; may you see no torment in either world.

31. O noble-minded one, as long as that sky stands, may you stand always in honour; as long as the world stands, may you stand in fortune.

32. Show care out of your excellence and accept out of your grace. O Lord, accept the prayer of this strange and fallen servant of yours.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a kaside of thirty-two couplets. In divan poetry the kaside is a long verse form written to praise a great person, generally consisting of an introduction, a transition in which the name of the praised person is given, the praise itself, a section in which the poet describes her own condition, and a closing prayer. As in the ghazal, the two lines of the first couplet and the second lines of the following couplets rhyme with one another. The rhyme of this kaside is the sound "-âb" (tâb, seḥâb, iktisâb, inḳılâb, ḥicâb); there is no redif. The metre is the aruz pattern "Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün", a long and stately measure that suits praise poetry. Its heading in the edition is "Ḳaṣîde-i Sulṭân Bâyezîd Edâmallâhu ‘Ömrehû", that is, "Kaside of Sultan Bayezid, may God lengthen his life".

The sections of the kaside are clearly distinguished. The first nineteen couplets praise a ruler who is not yet named by likening him to the sun; there is no separate description of nature or discussion of a beloved, and the praise begins directly with the first couplet. The twentieth couplet, with the question "Kimdür ol ḫâḳân-ı a‘ẓam", gives the name of the person praised; in the kaside this is called the girizgâh. In couplets 21 to 24 the poet addresses the ruler directly as "you". Couplets 25 to 29 are the section in which the poet describes her own trouble and asks the sultan for protection; the pen name appears in the 25th couplet. The last three couplets are a prayer.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The whole first half of the kaside is built on a single comparison: the sultan is the sun. The moon takes its light from his face, the sun rises trembling each morning for fear of his sword, Saturn is the doorkeeper at his gate, and Jupiter rides a horse as he does. In divan poetry placing the ruler at the centre of the sky is a common way of praise; Mihrî extends it by listing the names of stars and planets, using words from the same field together in the manner called tenasüp. If one recalls that the word "mihr" means both sun and affection, and that the poet's pen name is made from this word, it is notable that a kaside built entirely on the image of the sun bears the signature "Mihrî"; but there is no statement that the poet intended this as a deliberate pun.

The third and fourth couplets contain hüsn-i talil, the art of giving a poetic cause in place of the real one: the turning of the heavens, and the sun's seeming to tremble on the horizon in the morning, are tied to fear of the sultan's sword and shame before his face. The seventh and eighth couplets are woven from images of farming and the waterwheel: the heavens are a mill, the sultan's grace is the wind that turns them, the sun and moon are the buckets of the wheel, and the sky is the wheel itself. The idea of the sky as a turning wheel binds these images together.

The sixteenth and seventeenth couplets carry the most learned word play of the kaside. The words school, child learning the alphabet, book, section and chapter draw a picture of education. In the seventeenth couplet the words "muṭavvel", "ma‘ânî" and "beyân" at first sight mean "long", "meanings" and "to explain"; but a listener who has studied in a madrasa hears in them the names of the science of rhetoric as well. Meânî and beyân are the two main branches of rhetoric, and al-Muṭavvel is the name of the commentary on rhetoric that Taftazani wrote on the Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ, which was taught in the madrasas. So when the couplet says "the sultan's grace is so long that no book can explain its meaning", it also recalls the thickest rhetoric book read in the schools. The phrase "ulü'l-ebṣâr" in the sixteenth couplet recalls the Qur'anic address "O you who have insight"; the "ulü'l-elbâb" of some copies is likewise a Qur'anic expression.

The eleventh couplet names Afrâsiyâb, the king of Turan in the Shahnameh, the thirteenth the legendary huma and simurgh birds, and the twenty-third Khidr, who found the water of immortality; these are names that divan poetry often draws on in praise of rulers. Hyperbole runs throughout the kaside: the world is a ship on the sea of the sultan's aspiration, and the ocean a bubble in the sea of his grace.

The section in which the poet turns to her own condition is the most personal part of the kaside. The heavens make Mihrî weep, she has become dust trodden underfoot in Amasya, her tears are her drink and her heart her food. The link in the twenty-sixth couplet between "kimyâ-naẓar" (one whose glance is alchemy) and "türâb" (dust) rests on the belief in alchemy that turns earth to gold. In the twenty-eighth couplet there is a contrast between "‘imâret" (making flourishing) and "ḫarâb" (ruined). In the twenty-ninth, Mihrî likens herself to Zulaykha and the sultan to Joseph. In literary retellings Zulaykha, grown old and blind, regains her youth through Joseph's prayer. This comparison, which puts the poet in the place of the heroine of the story, is one of the passages in the divan where the voice of a woman poet is plainly heard. In a genre in which male poets usually take the role of lover or servant before the ruler, Mihrî voices her old age and need of protection through Zulaykha.

Historical Context

The kaside was written for Bayezid II, as the heading and the twentieth couplet make clear. That Bayezid is addressed as "pâdişâh" and "ḫâḳân-ı a‘ẓam", and that the poet says she was left behind in Amasya, show that the poem was written after Bayezid took the throne in 1481 and left Amasya, to be sent from Amasya to Istanbul. Mihrî Hatun had come to know Bayezid in the last years of his princehood in Amasya and had at that time entered the literary circle that formed around the sanjak palace; she also kept her place in the assembly of Prince Ahmed, who came to Amasya in Bayezid's stead.

The gratuity register (in‘âmât defteri) of the reign of Bayezid II records that Mihrî Hatun received gifts for her poems in 1505, 1510, 1511 and 1512, and that in 1508 she sent her divan and received 3,000 akçe; the entries of 1511 and 1512 were explicitly for a kaside. Which of these presentations this kaside belongs to is not known. It is notable that it is found in all four manuscripts in the edition. Of these, the copy Süleymaniye Library Ayasofya 3974 bears at its end the seal of Bayezid II in the form of a tughra, and this copy has a single kaside for Bayezid. It is accepted that this is very probably the copy sent to the sultan. Since the other Bayezid kaside of the divan is found only in the Ankara National Library copy, this is the only Bayezid kaside in the sealed copy. It is therefore very likely that the poem was in the divan presented to the sultan in 1508, but there is not enough documentation to take this as a certain date.

In the Istanbul University copy the heading of the kaside reads "Velehu Fî Medḥihi Ṭâbe S̱erâhu". "Ṭâbe s̱erâhu" (may his earth be sweet) is a prayer used for someone who has died; it shows that this copy was written down after the death of Bayezid. The prayer "Edâmallâhu ‘ömrehû" (may God lengthen his life) in the other copies keeps the heading as it was when the poem was written, while the sultan was alive.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

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