Original Ottoman Turkish Text
Metre: Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fâ’ilâtün Fa’ilün
Stanza I
Gördî bildi ‘âlem-i fânîde yok aslâ bekâ
Cân gözini açmadı andan yana tâ kim baka
Tuydı pür-havf ü hatardur ser-be-ser râh-ı Hudâ
Saltanat sadrına kılmadı anunçün ittikâ
Gûşına irdi nidâ-yı da‘vet-i Rabbü’s-semâ
Da‘veti kıldı icâbet kıldı mâfât-ı kazâ
İmtisâl eylerdi Hakkun emrine subh u mesâ
Kıldı Hak (اٌٚٛاٌش٠ٕی) mümkin oldukça edâ
Eyledi şaha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklim-i şehâdet yâ‘ni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza II
Hey ne rûz-ı mâtem-i pür-gam idi yâ Rab o dem
Çıkmış idi göklere feryâd u efgânı nedem
Kulları fürkatda kaldı gitdi o şâh-ı kerem
Bunda kaldı cümle-i hayl u haşem tabl u ‘alem
Sâbıkâ bu mâcerâyı yazmasa levhe kalem
Gey perîşân olmaz idi kalbi mânend-i rakam
Her ne denlü kıldılarsa çekdi ol cevr ü sitem
Varlığın terk idüp oldı mâlik-i mülk-i ‘adem
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâ’ni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza III
Kaddi a‘lâ hüsni zîbâ bir güzel mahbûb idi
Cân gibi merğûb idi cânân gibi matlûb idi
Gün gibi mahbûb idi hem gonca-veş mahcûb idi
Pehlevân-ı ‘âlem olanlar âna maglûb idi
Hazret-i Yûsuf gibi hüsniyle ra‘nâ hûb idi
Kulları Ken‘ân-ı fürkât içre san Yâ'kûb idi
Fi’l-mesel derd ü belâlar çekmede Eyyûb idi
Bu kara yazular alnında anun mektûb idi
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâ’ni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza IV
Dönmez ise yiridür şimden girü çarh-ı felek
Toğmasun şems ü kamer n’eyler çeküp bunca emek
Bahr-ı eşk içre yüzüp kan ağlasun her bir semek
Mâlik-i mülk-i melek oldı o kaldı mâmelek
Gün gibi tolındı çünkim ara yirden ol melek
Dûd-ı âh-ı ‘âşıkân oldı semâvâta direk
Çünki takdîründür iş 'âlemde ne itmek gerek
Her kişiye lâzım oldı emr Allâhun dimek
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâ’ni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza V
Yâd idüp bu mâtemi kâfir müselmân ağlasun
Vahş ü tayr ü ins ü cinn ü hûr u gılmân ağlasun
Taş bassun bağrına kân bahr (u) ummân ağlasun
Kulları bir yire cem’ olup firâvân ağlasun
‘Âlem içre kimi peydâ kimi pinhân ağlasun
Her ne kim mevcûddur ‘âlemde yeksân ağlasun
Mihrbân olan anası dem-be-dem kan ağlasun
Saçların çözsün bulutlar gibi her an ağlasun
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza VI
Cümle-i şehzâdelerden akdem ü sâbık idi
Hak budur kim şâh-ı ‘âlem olmağa lâyık idi
Pehlevân-ı ‘âlem idi server-i fâ’ik idi
Lâle-veş bağrı nifâk odı ile yanık idi
Bir tabîb-i çâre-sâz ü müşfik ü hâzık idi
Şâh-ı halk-ı ‘âlem idi bende-i Hâlık idi
Müstakîm olduğına Hak hazreti tanık idi
Pâdişâha oğul idi muhlis ü sâdık idi
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâ’ni Sultân Mustafâ
Stanza VII
İy Müdâmî Hak Taâlâ kabrini nûr eylesün
Hemdemin îmân u Kur’ân hemserin hûr eylesün
Ol yıkılmış kalbini rahmetle mamûr eylesün
Hem-civâr-ı enbiyâ itmekle mesrûr eylesün
Mâderine sabr virsün gussadan dûr eylesün
Gün gibi mahdûmunı rif‘atle meşhûr eylesün
Katline bâ‘is olanı cümle makhûr eylesün
Ol şehîd-i sâdıkı merhûm ü mağfûr eylesün
Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ
Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet yâ’ni Sultân Mustafâ
In English
Stanza I
1. He saw and knew that there is no permanence at all in the transient world; he never opened the eye of his soul to look that way.
2. He sensed that the path of God is full of fear and danger from end to end; for that reason he did not lean upon the throne of sovereignty.
3. The call of the Lord of the heavens reached his ear; he answered the call and made up what he had missed.
4. Morning and evening he obeyed the command of God; he fulfilled, as far as he could, God's [a word written in Arabic script in the source, which cannot be read].
5. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza II
6. O Lord, what a grief-laden day of mourning that moment was; the cries and laments of remorse had risen to the heavens.
7. That shah of generosity is gone, his servants are left in separation; all his horsemen and retinue, his drum and banner, are left here.
8. Had the Pen not written this event beforehand on the Tablet (of destiny), his heart would not be so scattered and distressed, like a line of writing.
9. However much cruelty and injustice they dealt him, he bore it all; he abandoned his being and became master of the realm of non-existence.
10. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza III
11. Tall of stature, adorned with beauty, he was a fair beloved; desired like the soul, sought like a sweetheart.
12. He was loved like the sun and modest like a rosebud; even the champions of the world had been defeated by him.
13. Like Joseph he was graceful and fair in his beauty; his servants, in the Canaan of separation, were each like Jacob.
14. In suffering pain and affliction he was like Job; these black writings had been written on his brow.
15. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza IV
16. It is fitting if the wheel of heaven turns no more from now on; let the sun and moon not rise, what use is all their toil.
17. Let every fish swimming in the sea of tears weep blood; he has become master of the realm of angels, and his worldly goods are left behind.
18. When that angel was eclipsed and withdrew from the earth like the sun, the smoke of the lovers' sighs became a pillar to the heavens.
19. Since in this world the matter is one of destiny (God's decree), what is to be done; it falls to everyone to say "it is God's command".
20. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza V
21. Remembering this mourning, let unbeliever and Muslim weep; let wild beast and bird, man and jinn, houri and youth of paradise weep.
22. Let the mine press a stone to its breast, let the sea and the ocean weep; let his servants gather in one place and weep abundantly.
23. Let some in the world weep openly and some in secret; let everything that exists in the world weep together.
24. Let his loving mother weep blood every moment; let her loosen her hair and weep every moment like the clouds.
25. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza VI
26. He came before and stood ahead of all the princes; in truth, he was worthy to be king of the world.
27. He was the champion of the world, a surpassing leader; like the tulip, his breast was burned by the fire of discord.
28. He was a healer who found remedies, compassionate and skilled; king of the people of the world, servant of the Creator.
29. God himself was witness that he was upright; he was a sincere and loyal son to the sultan.
30. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Stanza VII
31. O Müdâmî, may God Most High fill his grave with light; may He make faith and the Quran his companion and a houri his consort.
32. May He restore that ruined heart with His mercy; may He gladden him by making him a neighbour of the prophets.
33. May He give his mother patience and keep her far from grief; may He make her sun-like son renowned in loftiness.
34. May He crush all who caused his death; may He grant mercy and forgiveness to that loyal martyr.
35. He obeyed the shah and sacrificed his head and life: the shah of the land of martyrdom, that is, Sultan Mustafa.
Literary and Historical Commentary
Structure of the Poem
The poem is an elegy of seven stanzas in the metre "fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fâ’ilâtün fa’ilün". Its heading reads "Mersiyye-i Muaşşer Ez-ân-ı Müdâmî" (Müdâmî's muaşşer elegy), and each stanza has ten lines. Yet the last two lines of every stanza, the couplet "Eyledi şâha itâ‘at kıldı baş ü cân fedâ / Şâh-ı iklîm-i şehâdet ya‘ni Sultân Mustafâ", are repeated unchanged in all the stanzas. Recep Hasar therefore notes that although the poem bears the heading "muaşşer", it is in fact a terci-i bend, which repeats the same couplet at the end of each section. The eight lines of each section rhyme among themselves: in the first stanza the sound "-â", in the second "-em", in the third "-ûb idi" runs to the end of the stanza. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza in the address "İy Müdâmî".
According to Hasar, part of the elegy appears in Mehmed Çavuşoğlu's article of 1981-1982 and the rest in Ayhan Güldaş's "Bilinmeyen Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyeleri", published in 1989; the full text as assembled by Hasar is given here. In the fourth couplet of the first stanza Hasar writes a word in Arabic script in parentheses: "Kıldı Hak (اولوالرینی) mümkin oldukça edâ". We have reproduced the word exactly from an image of the PDF page of the thesis; we could not determine its reading or meaning, and have therefore marked it as illegible in the English rendering.
Meaning and Figures of Speech
The main idea of the poem is gathered in the refrain couplet: the prince obeyed the sultan and sacrificed his head and life. Through this repetition Müdâmî places at the end of every stanza the common defence of the elegies, the idea that the prince did not rebel against his father. The first stanza draws the prince as a dervish who is not attached to the world, does not lean on the throne of sovereignty and answers the call of God. The phrase "kıldı mâfât-ı kazâ" rests on the concept of "kaza", the making up of missed acts of worship, and shows the prince as a believer who will go to the hereafter free of debt. The second stanza mentions the Tablet of destiny (levh-i mahfuz) and the Pen; the idea that everything that happens has been written beforehand is completed in the fourth stanza by the words that there is no recourse but to say "it is God's command".
The third stanza is a chain of allusions to the stories of the prophets. The prince is likened in his beauty to Joseph and in his afflictions to Job; his servants, like Jacob who lost Joseph, are left in the Canaan of separation. The fifth stanza calls all creation to mourning and gives a special place to the prince's mother: she must loosen her hair and weep like the clouds. In the sixth stanza the prince is called the one "who came before all the princes", pointing to his being the sultan's eldest son and hence the prince closest to the throne. In the same stanza the image of the tulip whose "breast is burned by the fire of discord" lets it be sensed, without saying so, that the death was the result of an intrigue. The last stanza is the prayer section; the poet asks God for patience for the prince's mother and for ruin upon those who caused the death.
Semra Güler notes that Müdâmî's poem does not go beyond expressing the poet's feelings. Indeed, the elegy contains no open reproach of either the sultan or the viziers; the accusation remains in nameless words such as "discord" and "those who caused his death". The poem's strength comes from the effect of its repeated refrain, close to the tradition of the lament, and from its plain and familiar images.
Historical Context
Ahdî and Beyânî present the poet with the pen name Müdâmî as a man named Mehmed, of the cavalry corps, known as Kara Memi Çelebi, who died while serving as trustee of the public treasury (beytülmal emini); Âşık Çelebi and Gelibolulu Âlî, however, speak of a judge from Gelibolu with the same nickname. Which of these men wrote the elegy is not discussed in the sources; the details are in the biographical article in this category. The poem reflects the feelings that circulated in the army and the court after the event and wished the prince to be remembered as an obedient martyr. The other elegies are described in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.
Bibliography
Academic studies
- Recep Hasar, Türk Edebiyatı'nda Padişah ve Şehzade Mersiyeleri, MA thesis, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2018, pp. 13-14, 117-118, 121, 487-490. https://hdl.handle.net/11352/2746
- Mehmed Çavuşoğlu, "Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyeleri", İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Enstitüsü Dergisi, 12, 1981-1982, pp. 641-686 (as quoted in Hasar).
- Ayhan Güldaş, "Bilinmeyen Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyeleri", Kubbealtı Akademi Mecmuası, 18(3), 1989, pp. 38-39 (as quoted in Hasar).
- Semra Güler, Şehzade Mustafa'nın Hayatı (1515-1553) ve Türbesi, MA thesis, Uludağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2011, pp. 39-63. https://acikerisim.uludag.edu.tr/server/api/core/bitstreams/9a869e7a-300f-4995-9140-e0fdf233f8db/content
Online sources
