Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mef‘ūlü fā‘ilātü mefā‘īlü fā‘ilün

Mülk-i cihānı ṭutmaġa şāh-ı cihān-ı ṣubḥ
Yetişdi ṣubḥ-dem yine ṣāḥib-ḳırān-ı ṣubḥ
Evvel ḳademde ‘ālemi ṭutdı daḫı henūz
Yüriyiş itmeden şeh-i devr-i zamān-ı ṣubḥ
Kör oldı ise şeb-pere n’ola irişdi çün
Taḫt-ı sa‘ādet üzre bedī‘u’z-zamān-ı ṣubḥ
Gürg-i siyāh-ı şeb dişini ṣırtarur iken
Mecmū‘ı dökdi bir ṭaş ile hep şubān-ı ṣubḥ
Döndise nev‘arūsa n’ola dehr-i pīre-zen
Göründi çün ki ṭal‘at-ı baḫt-ı cüvān-ı ṣubḥ
Dīv-i siyāh-ı şeb nice ṭāḳat getüre kim
Ḥaydar-ṣıfat irişdi yine arslān-ı ṣubḥ
Gerçi ki bī-ḥisāb idi ḫayl-i sipāh-ı şeb
Ṭaġıtdı yetişüp şeh-i gītī-sitān-ı ṣubḥ
Āhū-yı çarḫı bīşe-i ẓulmetden ürküdüp
Ṣayd eyledi revān yine şīr-i jiyān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḳıldı yine kebūter-i eflāki tār u mār
Bāz-ı sefīd ile görünüp āşyān-ı ṣubḥ
Türk-i süvār-ı çarḫ eline aldı tīġini
Oldı kemend-i zīn aña hep rīsmān-ı ṣubḥ
Cām-ı cihān-nümā yetişür her ‘alā’ṣ-ṣabāḥ
Bir gicelik seferde bize armaġān-ı ṣubḥ
Örter ḥarīr-i nūr ile eṭfāl-i encümi
Gehvāre-i felekde şeh-i mihribān-ı ṣubḥ
Ṭūṭī-i sebz-i çarḫ-ı felek ṭu‘mesiyiçün
Ṭoldı nebāt ü ḳand ile şekker-sitān-ı ṣubḥ
Beñzer ki gözgü ṭopı aṣar yine āftāb
K’uruldı ḳubbe-i felege nerd-i bān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḳaldı mı ola diyü küdūrāt-ı şeb daḫı
Görmege çıḳdı çarḫa meger dīde-bān-ı ṣubḥ
Nūrānī pīr olduġıçün şöyle āftāb
Ḫoş yaraşur başında anuñ ṭaylesān-ı ṣubḥ
Türk-i süvār-ı çarḫuñ öñince revān olur
Çignine çarḫuñ uralı bergüstevān-ı ṣubḥ
Kāfūr u isfidāc ki bu deñlü yüklenür
Nerden götürüriki ‘aceb kār-bān-ı ṣubḥ
Ser-çeşme-i ḥayātı sebīl eyledi yine
Ḳaṣr-ı felekden aşaġa şādur-revān-ı ṣubḥ
Çarḫ-ı çehārüm üzre diküp sancaḳ-ı sepīd
Ṭar itdi dün şehine rehi keh-keşān-ı ṣubḥ
İdüp sipihr ḥoḳḳasını ser-nigūn döker
Bunca cevāhiri kef-i gevher-feşān-ı ṣubḥ
Bu şi‘ri dil-küşāya ki ben ibtidā idem
İşitmege hep anı iver şöyle cān-ı ṣubḥ
Ey āftāb-ı ṭal‘atı rūḥ u revān-ı ṣubḥ
V’ey mihr-i ḥüsni dīde-i cān-ı cihān-ı ṣubḥ
Beñzer ki ṭal‘atuñ güneşi vaṣfını ider
K’altun ḳalemle ‘arşa yazılur beyān-ı ṣubḥ
Meddāḥ-ı mihr-i ḥüsnüñ olaldan berü tamām
Altūn-ı ḫāliṣ ile ṭolupdur dehān-ı ṣubḥ
Āhum odıyla yanduġını sīne-i felek
Gün gibi rūşen eyledi dāġ-ı nihān-ı ṣubḥ
Zülf-i ḫamuñla oldı şeb-i tīre tīre-dil
Mihr-i ruḫuñla güldi gül ü gül-sitān-ı ṣubḥ
Bir kez götür niḳābuñı ey serv-i lāle-ruḫ
Görsün ki gül de nerde olur būstān-ı ṣubḥ
Düşdiyise göñül şeb-i hicrān ü fürḳate
Anca daḫı diye dil-i bī-çāre ḳanı ṣubḥ
Ṭoldı ‘aḳīḳ-i eşküm ile yir yüzi tamām
Yāḳūt-ı āftāb ile mānend-i kān-ı ṣubḥ
Bir ẕerre beñzemez yüzüñüñ ayına güneş
Her gün irer buña bilürem imtiḥān-ı ṣubḥ
La‘l-i lebüñ ṣafāsına şöyle ṭolar müdām
Çarḫuñ piyālesine mey-i erġavān-ı ṣubḥ
Mihr-i ruḫuñ ḫayālidür idindügi müdām
Pür-nūr olursa bes ne ‘aceb ḫān u mān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḳıldıysa ḫāk-i pāyüñe īs̱ār varlıġın
Başdan ayaġa aṣṣıdur ol yoḳ ziyān-ı ṣubḥ
Ṭutmadı anı dūd-ı dili ‘āşıḳuñ meger
‘Arş-ı berīnden ilerüdür āsmān-ı ṣubḥ
Çāk eylerem yaḳamı elüñden senüñ varup
Bir gün şu şāha kim odur emn ü emān-ı ṣubḥ
Şeh Bāyezīd ḫān kim anuñ kem ṭufeylidür
Ṭutdısa mülk-i ‘ālemi tīġ ile ḫān-ı ṣubḥ
Ol pādşehdür ol ki bed-endīşinüñ işin
İrgürmeden ḳılıca bitirür sinān-ı ṣubḥ
Taḫt-ı sa‘ādet üzre görüp mihr-i ṭal‘atın
Ḫandān u ḫurrem oldı dil-i şādmān-ı ṣubḥ
Mülk-i cihānı ṭutmaġa fī’l-ḥāl ser-be-ser
Oldı şihāb-ı tīġi anuñ tev’emān-ı ṣubḥ
Düşmenlerinüñ itmek içün ‘ömrini tamām
Meydān-ı çarḫa günde gelür pehlevān-ı ṣubḥ
Gerdise ‘ālem içre resen şöyle cā-be-cā
Devrinde ‘adlinüñ n’ola Nūşīn-revān-ı ṣubḥ
Şāh-ı felek ‘adū-yı şeh üzre yürür meger
Ālāt-ı ḥarb ile yine ṭoldı dükān-ı ṣubḥ
Ey āftāb-ı rūy-ı zemīn nūr-ı rāyüñüñ
Gerdine cehd idüp iremez hem-‘inān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḫınk-ı felek şu deñlü ki feyżüñ yükin çeker
Başladı yir yirin görinür üstüḫᵛān-ı ṣubḥ
Envār-ı rāyüñüñ ḳılıcın urduġı içün
Ṭutdı cemī‘-i ‘ālemi hep dāstān-ı ṣubḥ
Berḳiyle tīġiñuñ düşüp a‘dā bilindi bu
Ġāfiller içün olduġı ḫᵛāb-ı girān-ı ṣubḥ
Gītī-nümādur āyīne dindiyse tīġuña
Rūşen-delīl ü ḥüccet olupdur nişān-ı ṣubḥ
Bir ḳurṣ-ı āftāb ile öykünse mi gerek
Sen şeh ni‘amlarına cihān içre ḫᵛān-ı ṣubḥ
Farḳında bitdi ḫancer ile ḫaṣmuñuñ revān
Ḳahr ile cānın almaġ içün Ḳahramān-ı ṣubḥ
Gözin çıḳarmaġa saña egri deñeyenüñ
Uzatdı her yañaya seḥer-geh benān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḫaṣm u ‘adūñuñ işini bitirmege yine
Meydāna girdi baş açuban orduvān-ı ṣubḥ
Her ṣubḥ-gāh işigüñe yüz sürmegin güneş
Oldı bülend-mertebe bes āstān-ı ṣubḥ
Ol dest-i dür-feşāna şebīh oldı dir idüm
Altun aḳıtsa her yaña zer-nāvdān-ı ṣubḥ
‘Azm-i sefer ḳılur gelüben günde her ṣabāḥ
Baş ḳoyup ayaġuña şeh-i kām-rān-ı ṣubḥ
Mihr-i cemālüñüñ bu ḫū her sā‘at işidür
Güldürmek ise ‘ālemi gül gibi şān-ı ṣubḥ
Şaḫṣ-ı zamāne günde ḫıdmetüñe irmege
Oldısa vāsıṭa n’ola bes tercemān-ı ṣubḥ
Düşmenlerüñe zehr olur ḳurṣ-ı āftāb
Tīz-āb ile sirişte durur ṭut ki nān-ı ṣubḥ
Mülk-i cihāna fer virüben rūşen itmede
Bes tīġ-i āb-dāruñadur imtinān-ı ṣubḥ
Her şaḫṣa cūd u feyżüñ irer şöyle bī-ḥisāb
Her kişiye nite ki zer-i bī-girān-ı ṣubḥ
Vaḳt-i du‘ā yetişdügiçün gördüm ey Münīr
Olmış bu söz benüm gibi virdü’l-lisān-ı ṣubḥ
Gerd-i ẓulemden itmek içün pāk her ṣabāḥ
Çarḫuñ yuduḳça yüzini āb-ı revān-ı ṣubḥ
Gitdükçe zengī-i şeb olup şöyle nā-bedīd
Geldükçe yümn ü ṭal‘at ile mīhmān-ı ṣubḥ
Ḳılsun cihānda devlet ile ‘ömrüñi mezīd
Rezzāḳ-ı ḫalḳ-ı ‘ālem ü Vehhāb-ı cān-ı ṣubḥ

In English

1. To seize the realm of the world, the morning, that king of the world and sahib-kıran, has arrived once more at dawn. (A "sahib-kıran" is a world-conquering ruler born under the conjunction of two auspicious planets; the morning is imagined as a sovereign conquering the land of night.)

2. With its very first step it took the world, and the morning, king of the age, had not yet even begun its assault. ("Yürüyüş" means a military advance; the first light of morning conquers the world without a battle.)

3. If the bat has gone blind, it is no wonder, for the morning, the marvel of the age, has arrived and mounted the throne of felicity. ("Şeb-pere" in the dictionary sense is "night-flier", that is, the bat, which is thought unable to bear the light.)

4. While the black wolf of night was baring its teeth, the shepherd of morning knocked them all out with a single stone. (The darkness of night is likened to a wolf, the morning to the shepherd who guards the flock.)

5. If the old crone that is the world has turned into a new bride, is that any wonder? For the face of morning's young fortune has appeared.

6. How could the black demon of night hold out, when the lion of morning has arrived once more like Haydar? ("Haydar" is an epithet of Ali, remembered as a hero who fought demons.)

7. The horsemen of night's army were beyond counting, yet the world-conquering king of morning arrived and scattered them.

8. The raging lion of morning frightened the gazelle of the sky out of the thicket of darkness and swiftly hunted it down once more.

9. The nest of morning appeared with a white falcon and once again sent the pigeons of the heavens flying in every direction. (The pigeons are the stars; the white falcon is the brightness of morning.)

10. The Turkish horseman of the sky took his sword in hand; the ropes of morning all became the lasso tied to his saddle. (The horseman of the sky is the sun; the lengthening rays of morning are likened to a lasso.)

11. Every early morning the world-revealing cup arrives as the gift of morning brought to us from a journey of one night. ("Cām-ı cihān-nümā" is the world-revealing cup of the legendary king Jamshid; here it is the sun.)

12. The compassionate king of morning covers the children of the stars in the cradle of the sky with a silk of light.

13. To feed the green parrot of the wheeling sky, morning's sugar store has filled with candy and loaf sugar. (The green sky is likened to a parrot and the white, sweet light of morning to sugar; the parrot was thought to feed on sugar.)

14. The sun seems to be hanging up the mirror ball again, for the ladder of morning has been set against the dome of the sky. ("Nerd-i bān" is "nerdübān", ladder, split in two for the metre. "Gözgü topu" in the dictionary sense is a mirror ball, a polished ornamental ball hung up for display; the sun is likened to such a ball hung in the dome.)

15. The watchman of morning must have climbed up to the sky to see whether any of the murk of night is left.

16. Because the sun is a luminous old sage, the shawl of morning suits his head very well. ("Taylasan" in the dictionary sense is the shawl worn over the shoulders or head by scholars; the whiteness of morning is like the cloth of a white-haired elder.)

17. Ever since morning threw the horse-armour over the shoulder of the sky, it has gone before the Turkish horseman of the sky. ("Bergüstüvan" in the dictionary sense is the armoured cover put on a war horse. The couplet can be read in two ways: the sky is a horse and morning its caparison, or morning is an outrider going before the sun.)

18. So much camphor and white lead has been loaded up; where, I wonder, does the caravan of morning bring it from? (Camphor and white lead are known for their whiteness; the brightness of morning is likened to these white loads. The Vienna manuscript reads "götürdügi ‘aceb-i".)

19. The fountain of morning has once again made the spring of life flow freely down from the palace of the sky. (A sebil is water given out free for all to drink; the light of morning is a water of life handed out to everyone.)

20. The Milky Way of morning planted the white banner on the fourth heaven and narrowed the road for the king of night. (The sun was thought to lie in the fourth heaven. "Dün" means night in old Turkish; the line can also be understood as "last night it narrowed the road for its king".)

21. The jewel-scattering palm of morning turns the casket of the sky upside down and pours out all these jewels. (A hokka is a small box for jewels; the jewels poured out are light and dew.)

22. To hear this heart-opening poem that I am about to begin, the soul of morning comes hurrying in this way.

23. O you whose sun-like face is the soul and spirit of morning, O you the sun of whose beauty is the eye of the soul of morning's world.

24. Morning seems to be describing the sun of your face, for the account of morning is written on the highest heaven with a golden pen. (The golden light in the sky is like praise written in golden ink.)

25. Ever since morning became the eulogist of the sun of your beauty, its mouth has been entirely filled with pure gold. (The image is that of a poet whose mouth is filled with gold as a reward for praise; the rising sun is the gold in morning's mouth.)

26. That the breast of the sky has burned with the fire of my sighs, the hidden brand of morning has made as plain as day. (A "dāġ" is a burn scar; the sun is imagined as the burn mark on the breast of the sky.)

27. Through your curling lock the dark night has become dark-hearted; through the sun of your cheek the rose and the rose garden of morning have laughed.

28. O tulip-cheeked cypress, lift your veil just once, so that the garden of morning may see where the true rose is.

29. If the heart has fallen into the night of separation and parting, only then does the poor heart ask, "Where is the morning?" ("Kanı" means "where is" in old Turkish; the same word also calls to mind "kan", blood, so the line can also be heard as "the poor heart's blood is the morning". Couplets 29-31 are missing from the Vatican manuscript.)

30. The face of the earth has filled from end to end with the carnelian of my tears, like the mine of morning filled with the ruby of the sun.

31. The sun does not resemble even a mote of the moon of your face; the trial of morning shows this every day, I know. (Every morning the sun sits this test and loses.)

32. For the delight of your ruby lip, the purple wine of morning constantly fills the goblet of the sky in this way. ("Müdām" means both "constantly" and "wine".)

33. What morning has always taken up is the image of the sun of your cheek; so is it any wonder if morning's house and home is full of light?

34. If morning has scattered its whole being on the dust of your feet, that is profit from head to foot; it is no loss for morning. ("Aṣṣı" means benefit or profit in old Turkish.)

35. The smoke of the lover's heart could not darken the morning, for the sky of morning lies beyond even the highest Throne of heaven.

36. Tearing my collar because of you, I shall one day go and complain to that king who is the safety and refuge of morning.

37. He is Shah Bayezid Han, beside whom the khan of morning is a worthless hanger-on, even if it has taken the realm of the world with its sword. (A "tufeyli" is an uninvited guest who lives off others; the khan of morning, the sun, counts as no more than this beside the sultan.)

38. He is such a padishah that the spearhead of morning finishes off the business of his ill-wisher before it ever comes to the sword.

39. Seeing the sun of his face on the throne of felicity, the glad heart of morning laughed and rejoiced. (The Vatican manuscript reads "māh", moon, in place of "mihr", sun.)

40. To take the realm of the world from end to end in a single moment, the flash of his sword became the twin of morning. ("Şihāb" means a flame or shooting star; the gleam of the sword is reckoned the twin of morning's light.)

41. To end the lives of his enemies, the champion of morning comes every day to the arena of the sky.

42. If the rope goes about everywhere in the world in this way, is it any wonder? In the age of his justice, morning too is a Nushirvan. (Nushirvan is the Sasanian king famed for his justice. "Resen" in the dictionary sense is a rope; the lengthening rays of morning are likened to ropes. Whether the couplet alludes to a rope or chain of justice cannot be settled from the text. The name "Nūşīn-revān" also carries the sense "sweetly flowing".)

43. The king of the sky must be marching against the sultan's enemy; the shop of morning has once again filled with the weapons of war.

44. O sun of the face of the earth, however hard the companion of morning strives, it cannot reach the dust of the light of your counsel. ("Hem-‘inān" is a fellow traveller who rides rein to rein.)

45. The steed of the sky bears the load of your bounty to such a degree that the bones of morning have begun to show here and there. (A horse grown thin under its load shows its bones; the white streaks of dawn are likened to these bones.)

46. Because the lights of your counsel have struck with the sword, the tale of morning has filled the whole world.

47. When the enemies fell by the lightning of your sword, it became clear that the heavy sleep of morning is for the heedless. (The enemies were caught unawares in their morning sleep.)

48. If your sword has been called a world-revealing mirror, the sign of morning has become plain evidence and proof of it.

49. O king, should the table of morning in this world try to rival your bounties with a single disc of sun? ("Kurṣ" means both a round disc and a round loaf of bread.)

50. To take the soul of your foe with wrath, the Kahraman of morning sprang up at once above his head with a dagger. (Kahraman is a hero named in Persian epic tales; his name also plays on the word "kahr", wrath.)

51. To pluck out the eye of anyone who looks askance at you, morning stretched out its fingers in every direction at dawn. (The fingers are the rays of morning.)

52. To finish off the business of your foe and enemy, the army of morning has once more entered the field bareheaded. (The word "orduvān" seems to mean army here; this is not certain.)

53. Because the sun rubs its face on your threshold every morning, the threshold of morning has risen to a high rank.

54. If the golden waterspout of morning were to pour gold in every direction, I would say it had become the likeness of that pearl-scattering hand.

55. Every morning the fortunate king of morning comes, lays its head at your feet and resolves to set out on campaign.

56. This is the habit of the sun of your beauty at every hour; and to make the world laugh like a rose is the glory of morning. (The Vatican manuscript lacks the word "‘ālemi".)

57. If the very person of the age has taken morning as its intermediary and interpreter to reach your service every day, is it any wonder?

58. The disc of the sun becomes poison to your enemies; think of morning's bread as kneaded with aqua fortis. ("Tīz-āb" in the dictionary sense is nitric acid, aqua fortis.)

59. For giving splendour to the realm of the world and lighting it up, morning owes its gratitude to your well-tempered sword.

60. Your generosity and bounty reach every person beyond reckoning, just as the priceless gold of morning reaches everyone.

61. O Münîr, since the hour of prayer has come, I saw that these words have become, as with me, the constant litany on the tongue of morning as well.

62. As long as the flowing water of morning washes the face of the sky every morning to clean it of the dust of darkness,

63. As long as the dark-skinned Zengi of night goes away and vanishes in this way, as long as the guest of morning comes with good fortune and a fair face,

64. May God, provider for the people of the world and giver of morning's soul, lengthen your life in the world together with your fortune.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a Turkish kaside (qasida) of sixty-four couplets and is numbered Kaside 20 in the edition. The kaside is a long verse form in which every couplet keeps the same rhyme, usually written to praise a ruler. The metre is "mef‘ûlü fâ‘ilâtü mefâ‘îlü fâ‘ilün". The redif (refrain word) is "ṣubḥ" (morning); Ersoy mentions this kaside separately, with the refrain "ṣubḥ", among the kaside refrains of the divan. The rhyme rests on the sound "-ān" (cihān, zamān, şubān, cüvān, arslān, sitān); Ersoy cites this kaside among the examples of the rhyme in which a long vowel comes before the final rhyming letter (kafiye-i müreddefe). The kaside is found in the Vatican (VT 38a) and Vienna (VY 19b) manuscripts; couplets 29-31 are missing from the Vatican manuscript. The heading in the edition, "Der-medḥ-i Sulṭān Bāyezīd edāmallāhü mülkehū", means "In praise of Sultan Bayezid; may God make his rule endure". The heading of the Vienna manuscript, although printed in the edition with missing letters, can be read as "der-medḥ-i Sulṭān Bāyezīd ḫullide mülkühū" (may his rule be everlasting). The sources give no information on when or on what occasion the kaside was presented.

The sections of the kaside can be clearly seen in the text. Couplets 1-21 are an opening section describing the coming of morning; in the kaside this kind of opening is called nesib or teşbib. In couplet 22 the poet says he is about to begin "this heart-opening poem" which the soul of morning hurries to hear. Couplet 23 is a new matla‘ (opening couplet) whose two lines both end in "ṣubḥ", and couplets 23-35 address the beloved like a ghazal (gazel) set inside the kaside. Couplet 36 is the girizgâh (transition): the lover says he will tear his collar because of the beloved and go to complain to "the king who is the safety of morning". The name of the person praised appears in couplet 37: "Şeh Bāyezīd ḫān". Couplets 37-60 are the medhiye (praise section). In couplet 61, with the pen name (mahlas) "Münīr", the poet announces that the hour of prayer has come; the last three couplets are a prayer built on the pattern "as long as …".

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The whole imagery of the kaside is bound to the morning of the refrain. In the opening section morning is a world conqueror who takes the land of night: it is a sahib-kıran (1), seizes the world before it has even attacked (2), scatters the army of night (7) and is a horseman girding on his sword (10). Night, for its part, is a black wolf (4), a black demon (6) and, in the end, a dark-skinned Zengi who goes off and vanishes (63). Alongside this battle scene morning is also a compassionate ruler who covers the children of the stars with a silk of light (12), an old sage in a white shawl (16), a caravan carrying white loads (18) and a fountain pouring water from the palace of the sky (19). The similes of the shepherd, lion, falcon and hunter come from the world of the hunt and the flock; names such as Haydar (6), Jamshid's cup (11), Nushirvan (42) and Kahraman (50) are allusions to history and legend.

In this kaside, too, Münîrî is fond of wordplay. "Kanı" both asks "where is" and calls blood to mind (29); "müdām" means both "constantly" and "wine" (32); "kurṣ" is both the disc of the sun and a round loaf (49, 58); in couplet 14 "nerdübān" (ladder) is split as "nerd-i bān" for the sake of the metre. In the ghazal section every sight of morning is tied to the beloved's face: the sun does not resemble even a mote of that face and loses this trial every morning (31); night has become dark-hearted through the beloved's lock and morning has laughed through the cheek (27). In the praise section the same morning enters the sultan's service: it stretches out its fingers of light to pluck out the enemy's eye (51), rubs its face on the threshold (53) and owes its gratitude to the sultan's sword (59). Thus the conquering morning of the opening becomes, in the praise section, no more than a "tufeyli" beside Bayezid, a hanger-on who lives off another's table (37).

When discussing the epithets the poet uses for his own verse, Ersoy cites couplet 22 of this kaside as an example of the word "dil-küşā" (heart-opening). In couplet 25 the mouth of morning is said to have filled with gold ever since it began to praise the beloved's beauty; this link between praise and reward returns at the end of the kaside in couplet 60, which says that the sultan's generosity reaches everyone like the gold of morning. Ersoy gives no information that the kaside was written as a nazire (response poem) to another poet.

Historical Context

According to Ersoy, fourteen of the twenty-nine kasides in the divan are poems of praise written for Bayezid II; according to the headings in the edition, this kaside is one of them. Münîrî had been in Bayezid's circle while Bayezid was governor in Amasya. There is no record showing whether the kaside was written during Bayezid's Amasya years or during his reign.

Bibliography

Online sources