Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: mefā‘īlün mefā‘īlün fe‘ūlün

Meger vaḳt-i seḥerde bir gün ey dil
Süvār oldı şeh-i devrān-ı pür-dil
Şeh-i çābük-süvār ol mis̱l-i Ḥayder
Ki her işde aña virmişdi Ḥay der
Cihān-gīr ü küşāde-rūy u ḫandān
Sebük-rūḥ u girān-ḍarb u cihān-bān
Anuñla faḫr ider tāc u sa‘ādet
Anuñ ḳulı olana zī sa‘ādet
Kemān alsa keyānī pençesine
Delinürdi felek Türkinde sīne
Ḳılıcı tīġini urduġıçün gün
Şeh-i encüm yüregi oldı dögün
Zamāne şehlerinüñ ḫānı oldur
Cihānuñ nūr-ı çeşm ü cānı oldur
N’ola yoġ ise vaṣfında nihāyet
Her işe yitişür devrinde ġāyet
Cihāna dād-ı Ḥaḳdur nūr-ı Aḥmed
Şeh-i devrān u ḫān-ı ‘ālem Aḥmed
Bu gün sırr-ı ‘Alīdür şöyle muṭlaḳ
Veliyyullāhdur ol dirsem sözüm ḥaḳ
Süleymān-rütbet ü ‘Īsī-nefesdür
Ḫıżır gibi revān feryād-resdür
Elā ey Rüstem-i devrān-ı ‘ālem
Cihānuñ cānısın vallāhü a‘lem
Dü ‘ālem varlıġı hem-nām-ı ẕātuñ
Ṣıfātullāhdan urur dem ṣıfātuñ
Cihānı ḳul idüpdür ḥüsn ü ḫulḳuñ
Gözinüñ nūrısın mecmū‘-ı ḫalḳuñ
Ṣadā-yı heybetüñden şīr-i gerdūn
Zebūnuñdur ḳo çeñsün şöyle gerdūn
Ṣabā dem perçem-i nīzeñden urur
Anuñçün ‘ālemi fetḥ itdi yürür
Hezārān Ḳayṣer ü Faġfūr u Ḫāḳān
Yarar kim işigüñde ola der-bān
Elüñe cām-ı zerrīn aldıġuñ dem
Hezārān Cem gibi bezmüñde hem-dem
Düzer çengini ṭurmaz şöyle Zühre
Velī yoḳ bezmüñe irmege zehre
Aṣıl maḳṣūda gelsün di Münīrī
N’ider görelüm ol bedr-i münīri
Rikābınca revān ṣaḥrāya çıḳduḳ
Ṣafā vü ‘ayş hep bir yire çıḳduḳ
Belürdi vararaḳ kūh u beleñler
Ki vaḥşīler üninden at belüñler
Aḳar her yañadan bir ḫūb çeşme
Ki virür her birisi nūr çeşme
Zümürrüd ferşe dönmiş murġ-zārı
‘Aceb mi anda ḳılsa murġ zārı
Didüm k’ey dil bu mıdur yoḫsa cennet
Didi işüñ soñın gör ḳılma cinnet
Bunı ben söyleşürken kendüm ile
Belürdi ṣanki cennet gendüm ile
Göründi bir güzel yir k’adı Lādiḳ
Behişt-i ‘adn anuñ ‘ışḳında sādıḳ
Ser-ā-ser cümle-i eṭrāf gül-zār
Bes ider ‘andelībin şevḳ-i gül zār
Yetişmiş tāze güller deste deste
Her elden yetişür bir deste deste
Belābiller olup sār ile dem-sāz
Çalınur cümle-i bezm içre her sāz
Zümürrüd ḳaṣrdur gerçi mes̱elde
Kimesne görmedi mis̱lin mis̱ilde
İrem gül-zārıdur şöyle meger bu
Ki ṭutmış her yañadan anı ḫoş-bū
Yetişür gāh u bī-geh ebr-i nīsān
Ḳılur gül gibi anı şöyle ḫandān
İrer her yañadan ṣavt-ı ‘anādil
Görür mi böyle yirde bes ‘anā dil
Bu vech ile maḳām-ı dil-küşāda
Olur her kişinüñ göñli küşāde
Ṣabā seyrān-geh idinüpdür anı
Gelür şād itmege rūḥ u revānı
Döşenmiş aṭlas-ı sebz ile ṣaḥrā
Zihī ṣāni‘ kim itmiş bunı peydā
Bu vech ile ki var āb u hevāsı
Behişte n’ola kār itse hevāsı
Geh eydür baña göñlüm ki bu düş mi
Geh aña ben direm kim yoḫsa ṭuş mı
Güzeller ḫūb-rūlar seyr iderler
Görinüp ehl-i ‘ışḳa ḫayr iderler
Hemān her birisi reşk-i melekdür
Yetişmez anlara dökse melek dür
Gelür bū almaġ içün güllerinden
Ḥaẕer ḳılur ṣabā sünbüllerinden
Mu‘anber ṣaçlarına irmege dil
Hezār ender-hezārān ola müşkil
Müferriḥ lebleri yāḳūt-ı cāndur
Göñüle ḳuvvet ü yā ḳūt-ı cāndur
Ṭolaşmış billerin zerrīn kemerler
Bu sırra yetişemezler kem erler
Cemāli güllerinüñ ‘andelībi
Hezār ola benüm gibi ġarībi
Revişde her birisi şāḫ-ı güldür
Dilā bes ġoncalardur aġla güldür
Sehī serv-i revāndur her birisi
Velī ‘āşıḳlarınuñ az dirisi
Yetiş feryādumuza ey şeh-i dād
Elinden her birinüñ dād u feryād
Ṣafā vü ‘ayşa ḫalḳı cümle hem-dem
Mecāli yoḳ kim ura bunda hem dem
Bunuñ gibi maḳām içinde her gün
Olur şeh devletinde bize dügün
Süvāra ḳanda ‘azm iderse ol şāh
Yürürüz sünbül ü üc gül de her gāh ?
Hezārān şükr ü minnet luṭf-ı Bārī
Ki gösterdi bize rūy-ı nigārı
Meger kim yine bir gün devlet ile
Yetişdi bir yire biñ ḥaşmet ile
Kenār-ı baḥre yetişdüñ ṣanasın
Kişi hīc añmaz anda ev ṣanasın
Revān zevraḳlar ile ḫūb keştī
Kim itmişdür cihānda böyle geşti
Nice gül gül-şen-i nīlūfer oldur
Hemān Mıṣr-ı dile Nīl ü fer oldur
İder ṭa‘ne ṣuyı ‘aẕb-i Fürāta
Ṣafālar virür insān ü fer ata
Ser-ā-ser varlıġı baḥrüñ var anda
Budur fażla ṣusuz ḳalmaz varanda
Felek baḥrine beñzer encüm ile
Bu nīlūfer ki vardur encüm ile
Anuñ seyrinde olan vaṣf ey dil
Dinilmez biñde biri olsa biñ dil
Bu ṣaḥrā kim vücūh ile añuldı
Tamām evṣāfı ṣanma kim dinildi
Belī her kūşesi künc-i cināndur
Delīl aña ne ḥācet kim ‘ayāndur
Kenārı cümle hep kūh u kemerdür
Ṣafāsın sürmeyen kişi kem erdür
Biri Aḳṭāġdur çarḫ ile hem-ser
Görenler dir anı Allāhü ekber
Anuñ farḳında olan ‘ayn-ı kevs̱er
Felekde çeşme-i ḫurşīde beñzer
Yürür āhūlar ile gürg der-hem
Zihī ḫoş-vaḳt ü ḫoş-sā‘at zihī dem
Ḳomayup heybet-i şeh şīre zehre
Ġazāl ü berreden ummāz behre
Diyüp vaḥşī kebūterler me dū dū
Çaġırur fāḫte ṣavt ile kū kū
Semā‘ u raḳṣa girdükce ṣanavber
Çenār aṣl üzre ṭurmaz aya ḳarṣar
Baş açup ṭaġlar anı Ḥaḳdan ister
Diyüp her dem ḳudūm-ı şāhı göster
Bu vaṣf itdügümüz maḥbūb yirler
Ki her birine cennet-mis̱l dirler
Şeh-i devrān ile zīnet bulupdur
Cihānuñ ḫalḳı anı hep bilüpdür
Naẓar ḳılursa bir ḫāk-i siyāha
Yetişür devletinde mihr ü māha
İzi tozıdur iksīr-i sa‘ādet
Felekler ḳılsa ṭañ mı tāc-ı devlet
Şeh-i devrāndur ol ḫān-ı mu‘aẓẓam
Şehenşāh-ı zamān ḫāḳān-ı a‘ẓam
Kemālāt ile ekmeldür vücūdı
Ḥesāba gelmez anuñ feyż ü cūdı
Dinilmez ḥaşre dek bir vaṣfı anuñ
Münīrī ger hezār olsa zebānuñ
Ṭufeylidür anuñ bu rub‘-ı meskūn
İlāhī devlet-i ‘ömrin ḳıl efzūn
Yidi iḳlīme şehdür şeş cihetden
Ḫudāyā bekle anı çeşm-i bedden
Du‘ā-gūyendesidür ḫalḳ-ı ‘ālem
Sözi ḫatm eyledüñ vallāhü a‘lem

In English

1. O heart, it so happened that one day at dawn the stout-hearted king of the age mounted his horse. ("Pür-dil" in its dictionary sense means stout-hearted, brave; the "dil" at the end of the line plays on "ey dil", "O heart", in the first line.)

2. That nimble horseman of a king is like Haydar, that is, Ali; God the Ever-Living (Hayy) had opened a door for him in every undertaking. (There is a pun (cinas) between "Ḥayder" and "Ḥay der": "Ḥay" is the name of God as the Ever-Living, and "der" in Persian means "door" in its dictionary sense. The line can also be understood as "the Ever-Living had helped him in every undertaking".)

3. He is a world-conqueror, open of countenance and smiling; light of spirit, heavy of blow, the guardian of the world. ("Sebük-rūḥ" and "girān-ḍarb", light of spirit and heavy of blow, form a contrast.)

4. Crown and felicity take pride in him; happy is the one who is his servant. (The word "sa‘ādet" at the end of both lines means felicity and good fortune in the first, and in the second is part of the phrase "zī sa‘ādet", "how happy".)

5. Were he to take a bow in his Kayanid grip, that is, a hand as strong as those of the ancient kings of Iran, the breast of the Turk of the sky would be pierced. ("Felek Türki" in its dictionary sense is the Turk of the sky, that is, the warrior in heaven; in divan poetry the phrase is mostly used for the planet Mars.)

6. Because the edge of his sword struck the sun, the heart of the sun, king of the stars, was left bruised and wounded. ("Dögün" means beaten, bruised. The line can also be understood to mean that the sun, trying to rival that sword in brightness, ran against its edge. This couplet is missing in the Vatican manuscript.)

7. He is the khan of the kings of the age; he is the light of the world's eye and its soul.

8. What wonder if there is no end to his praise; in his reign every undertaking reaches its furthest goal.

9. The light of Ahmed is God's gift to the world; Ahmed is the king of the age and the khan of the universe. ("Nūr-ı Aḥmed" is a phrase for the light of the Prophet; Ahmed is one of the Prophet's names. By joining it to the prince's name the poet says both things at once.)

10. Today he is, beyond doubt, the secret of Ali; if I say "He is the friend of God", my word is true. ("Veliyyullāh" in its dictionary sense means the friend of God.)

11. He has the rank of Solomon and the breath of Jesus; like Khidr he hastens at once to the aid of those who cry for help. (The breath of Jesus is the breath that gives life to the dead; Khidr is known as the one who comes to the aid of those in distress.)

12. O Rustam of the world's age, you are the soul of the world; God knows best. (Rustam is the invincible hero of the Iranian epics. "Vallāhü a‘lem" here closes the praise and strengthens it like an oath.)

13. The cause of the existence of both worlds shares the name of your person; your attributes boast of a share in the attributes of God. ("Dü ‘ālem varlıġı" is the Prophet, held to be the reason both worlds exist. Since one of the Prophet's names is Ahmed, the prince is his namesake.)

14. Your beauty and your character have made the world your servant; you are the light of the eye of all the people. ("Ḫulḳ", character, and "ḫalḳ", people, are two words written the same way.)

15. At the sound of your majesty the lion of the sky has grown feeble before you; let the heavens too bow down in this way. ("Şīr-i gerdūn", the lion of the sky, is the sign of Leo. The exact sense of the second line is not clear; with "ḳo" (let) it seems to ask that the heavens too bend and bow before him.)

16. The morning breeze (saba) boasts of the tassel of your lance; that is why it has conquered the world and goes on its way. ("Perçem" is the fringed ornament fixed to the head of a lance. The breeze's travels round the whole world are explained by a power it draws from fluttering the lance's tassel.)

17. Thousands of Caesars, Faghfurs and Khakans are fit to be doorkeepers at your threshold. (Kayser, Fağfur and Hakan are the titles of the rulers of Rum, China and the Turks.)

18. The moment you take the golden cup in your hand, thousands of rulers like Jamshid become your companions in your gathering. (Cem, Jamshid, is the ancient king of Iran whose cup became legendary. "Dem", moment, and "hem-dem", companion, make a play on sound.)

19. Venus keeps tuning her harp without pause; but she has not the courage to reach your gathering. (Zühre is Venus, regarded as the musician of the sky. "Zühre" and "zehre", courage, form a pun.)

20. O Münîrî, speak, and let us come to the real purpose; let us see what that shining full moon does. (The pen name (mahlas) "Münīrī" and "bedr-i münīr", the shining full moon, come from the same root; the full moon is the prince.)

21. Beside his stirrup we rode out at once into the open country; amid joy and pleasure we all set out together.

22. As we went on, mountains and ridges came into view; such places that the horses shy at the cries of the wild beasts. ("Beleñ" is a mountain ridge or pass; "belüñlemek" means to shy, to take fright. The two words form a pun.)

23. On every side a fine spring flows; each of them gives light to the eye. ("Çeşme" is a spring; the "çeşme" of the second line is the Persian "çeşm", eye, with the Turkish dative ending.)

24. Its meadows have become a carpet of emerald; what wonder if a bird laments there. ("Murġ-zār" is a meadow, a stretch of grass; "murġ zār" is the lament of a bird. The pun lies between these two phrases.)

25. I said, "O heart, is this it, or is it paradise?" It said, "Look to the end of your affair, do not lose your mind." ("Cennet", paradise, and "cinnet", madness, form a pun.)

26. While I was talking this over with myself, a paradise appeared as if with fields of wheat. ("Kendüm", myself, and the Persian "gendüm", wheat, form a pun.)

27. A beautiful place came into view whose name is Lâdik; even the Garden of Eden is faithful in its love for it.

28. All around, from end to end, it is a rose garden; longing for the rose makes the nightingale lament greatly. ("Gül-zār", rose garden, and "gül zār", lamenting for the rose, form a pun.)

29. Fresh roses have grown in bunches; from every hand a bunch reaches another hand. ("Deste" is a bunch; "dest-e" is the Persian "dest", hand, with the Turkish dative ending, "to the hand".)

30. The nightingales sing in harmony with the starlings; every kind of instrument is played throughout the gathering. ("Sār" is the starling.)

31. This is truly the emerald pavilion of the proverb; no one has seen its equal among its like.

32. So this, it seems, is the rose garden of Iram; fragrance has filled it on every side. (Iram is a legendary paradise garden. "Bu" at the end of the first line and "bū", fragrance, in the second make a play on sound.)

33. The April cloud comes in season and out of season; it makes the place laugh, that is, bloom, like a rose.

34. On every side the voices of the nightingales are heard; does the heart ever know distress in such a place? ("‘Anādil", nightingales, and "‘anā dil", distress of heart, form a pun.)

35. In so heart-opening a place everyone's heart is opened.

36. The morning breeze has made it its promenade; it comes to gladden the spirit and the soul.

37. The open country is carpeted with green satin; how great an artist is the Creator who brought it into being. ("Ṣāni‘" in its dictionary sense means maker, artist, and is one of the names of God.)

38. With water and air like this, what wonder if the longing for this place touches even paradise. (The "hevā" of the first line means air, that of the second desire, longing.)

39. Sometimes my heart says to me, "Is this a dream?"; sometimes I say to it, "Or is it truly before us?" ("Ṭuş" in its dictionary sense means facing, encounter.)

40. Beauties, fair-faced ones, stroll about; by showing themselves they do a kindness to the lovers.

41. Each of them is a beauty the angels envy; even if an angel scattered pearls it could not equal them. ("Melekdür", is an angel, and "melek dür", angel pearl, form a pun.)

42. The morning breeze comes to take the scent of their roses; but it keeps away from their hyacinths. (The rose is the cheek, the hyacinth the hair; the breeze fears falling into the snare of the locks.)

43. For the heart to reach their ambergris-scented hair is a thousand thousand times hard.

44. Their gladdening lips are the ruby of the soul; they are strength to the heart, or the soul's food. ("Yāḳūt", ruby, and "yā ḳūt", or food, form a pun.)

45. Golden belts are wound round their waists; base men cannot attain this secret. ("Kemerler", belts, and "kem erler", worthless men, form a pun.)

46. They have a thousand strangers like me who have become nightingales to the roses of their faces. ("Hezār" in Persian means in its dictionary sense both "a thousand" and "nightingale"; the couplet keeps both meanings in view.)

47. In their gait each of them is a branch of roses; O heart, they are rosebuds, so weep and make them laugh. ("Güldür" is read both as "gül-dür", it is a rose, and as "güldür", make it laugh. The opening of the bud is its laughter; the lover's tears become its rain.)

48. Each of them is a straight, swaying cypress; but very few of their lovers are still alive.

49. O king of justice, come to our cry; from the hand of each of them, mercy and lament. ("Dād" means justice in the first line, and in the phrase "dād u feryād" of the second, outcry, complaint.)

50. All the people share in pleasure and delight; no one here has the strength to speak of anything else. ("Hem-dem", companion, and "hem dem", "and also breath", make a play on sound.)

51. In such a place, thanks to the king's fortune, every day is a festive wedding for us.

52. The first line is understood as "Wherever that king rides out to go". (The second line appears to say "at all times hyacinth and three roses too, we walk", but Ersoy marks the couplet with "?" as one he could not make sense of; its meaning has been left open.)

53. A thousand thanks and gratitude for the grace of the Creator, who showed us the face of the beloved.

54. And so one day again the king, with fortune and a thousand splendours, came to a certain place.

55. You would think you had reached the shore of the sea; there one never thinks of home. (The place is Lake Lâdik.)

56. With gliding skiffs and fine boats, who in the world has ever made such an outing? ("Keştī", boat, and "geşt", outing, make a play on sound.)

57. It is the rose garden of the water lilies, where many a rose blooms; it is the Nile and the splendour of the Egypt of the heart. ("Nīlūfer", water lily, and "Nīl ü fer", the Nile and splendour, form a pun.)

58. Its water reproaches the sweet water of the Euphrates; it gives delights to people and strength and lustre to the horse. (The Euphrates is famed for the sweetness of its water; the lake is held superior to it. "Fer ata" plays on "Fürāta"; the line can also be read as "it gives delights and lustre to people and horse".)

59. All the riches of the sea are there from end to end; its superiority is this, that whoever comes there does not go thirsty. ("Var anda", it is there, and "varanda", on arriving, form a pun. Unlike the salt sea, the lake is drinkable water.)

60. With the water lilies upon it, this lake resembles the sea of the sky with its stars. (The lilies are likened to stars on the face of the water.)

61. O heart, of the beauty seen in watching it, not one in a thousand could be told even if you had a thousand tongues. (The "dil" of the first line means heart, that of the second tongue.)

62. Do not suppose, because this open country has been praised in many respects, that all its qualities have been told.

63. Yes, every corner of it is a corner of paradise; what need of proof, it is plain to see.

64. Its edges are mountains and steep slopes from end to end; whoever does not enjoy its pleasures is a lesser man. ("Kemer" in its dictionary sense means a mountain shoulder, a steep slope; "kemerdür" and "kem erdür", is a lesser man, form a pun.)

65. One of them is Akdağ, equal in height to the heavens; those who see it say "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest).

66. The spring of Kawsar on its summit resembles the fountain of the sun in the sky. ("‘Ayn" means both spring and eye; "farḳ" is the crown of the head. Kevser, Kawsar, is the river of paradise.)

67. The wolf walks side by side with the gazelles; how pleasant a time, how pleasant an hour, how fine a moment it is.

68. Because the king's majesty has left the lion no courage, the lion looks for no share of gazelle or lamb. (That is, the lion does not attack them.)

69. The wild pigeons say "me dû dû", and the turtle dove calls out with its voice "kû kû". ("Fāḫte" is the turtle dove. "Kū" in its dictionary sense means "where?" in Persian; the bird's call is also heard as a search.)

70. Whenever the stone pine falls into the dervish dance (sema), the plane tree cannot keep still and claps its hands. ("Ṣanavber" is the stone pine. "Aya ḳarsar" means it claps its palms; the palm-like shape of the plane leaf supports the image.)

71. The mountains, baring their heads, ask God for him at every moment, saying "Show us the coming of the king". (Baring the head is done in prayer.)

72. Each of these lovely places we have described is called the likeness of paradise.

73. They have gained their adornment from the king of the age; the people of the world have always known it.

74. Should the king look upon a patch of black earth, that earth would reach the sun and the moon in his fortune.

75. The dust of his footprint is the elixir of felicity; what wonder if the heavens make it a crown of fortune for themselves.

76. That exalted khan is the king of the age; the emperor of the time, the greatest khakan.

77. His being is the most perfect in its perfections; his bounty and generosity are beyond reckoning.

78. O Münîrî, even if you had a thousand tongues, not one of his qualities could be fully told before the Day of Judgement.

79. This inhabited quarter of the earth is a dependant that exists through him; O God, increase the fortune of his life. ("Rub‘-ı meskūn" in its dictionary sense is the inhabited quarter of the earth; in the old geography the part of the world where people live was called so.)

80. From the six directions he is king of the seven climes; O God, guard him from the evil eye.

81. The people of the world pray for him; you have brought your words to an end, and God knows best.

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a mesnevi of eighty-one couplets and is numbered Mesnevi 2 in the edition. The mesnevi is the verse form in which each couplet rhymes within itself, which makes it suited to long narratives. The metre is "mefâ‘îlün mefâ‘îlün fe‘ûlün"; the other mesnevi in the divan, Mesnevi 1 on the unity of God, is written in the same pattern. In describing the type of rhyme Münîrî uses most, Ersoy cites couplets 3, 7, 17, 28, 30, 33, 49 and 79 of this mesnevi as examples; he gives couplets 5 and 6 as examples of "bronze rhyme" (tunç kafiye), in which one rhyme word is contained in the other (pençesine/sīne, gün/dögün). The poem is found in the Vatican (VT 50b) and Vienna (VY 163b) manuscripts; couplet 6 is missing in the Vatican manuscript. The heading in the edition, "Der-ta‘rīf-i şehr-i Lādiḳ ve medḥ-i Sulṭān Aḥmed", means "On the description of the town of Lâdik and the praise of Sultan Ahmed". The poet uses his pen name (mahlas) in the form "Münīrī" in couplets 20 and 78.

As Avni Erdemir has shown, the first nineteen and the last nine couplets of the mesnevi praise Prince Ahmed, and couplet 20 is the transition (girizgâh) that leads into the account of Lâdik. The narrative proper begins in couplet 21. The journey, which opens with the prince mounting his horse at dawn, passes through mountains, ridges and springs; in couplet 27 Lâdik is named. This is followed by the description of rose gardens, nightingales and meadows, and then by the praise of the town's beauties. In couplet 54 a second outing begins with the words "again one day", and the poet comes down to the lakeshore; after couplet 62 he turns to the surrounding mountains, especially Akdağ, and the animals there. From couplet 73 the poem turns back to the prince and ends with a prayer. Both couplet 12 and the last couplet of the mesnevi close with the words "vallāhü a‘lem".

Meaning and Figures of Speech

In describing the mesnevi, Ersoy summarises the prince and his retinue mounting their horses and passing through wooded country and difficult passes to reach Lâdik with its fine air and water, and notes that the poem contains many couplets with puns. Münîrî's fondness for the pun (cinas) is indeed seen here in full. Some of the examples listed by Erdemir are: Ḥayder and Ḥay der (2), murġ-zār and murġ zār (24), kendüm and gendüm (26), gül-zār and gül zār (28), deste and dest-e (29), melekdür and melek dür (41), kemerler and kem erler (45), var anda and varanda (59), kemerdür and kem erdür (64). To these may be added cennet and cinnet (25), ‘anādil and ‘anā dil (34), yāḳūt and yā ḳūt (44), nīlūfer and Nīl ü fer (57). Since in the mesnevi form each couplet rhymes within itself, the poet often chooses for the rhyme position two words written or pronounced alike but different in meaning; the music of the poem rests largely on this play. Now and then the pun strains the sense; in couplets 15 and 58 it is not certain exactly what the second line says, and couplet 52 is marked by Ersoy among the couplets he could not make sense of.

In the sections of praise the prince is compared with the well-known great names of divan poetry: Haydar, Solomon, Jesus, Khidr, Rustam, Jamshid. In couplets 9 and 13 the play on names is marked: since the prince's name, Ahmed, is one of the Prophet's names, the phrase "nūr-ı Aḥmed" describes both the light of the Prophet and the radiance of the prince. In couplet 20 the poet chooses his pen name from the same root as "bedr-i münīr", the shining full moon, the epithet given to the prince.

In the descriptive section the poet portrays the places he saw with images handed down by tradition: the meadows are an emerald carpet, the open country is green satin, the lake resembles the sky and the water lilies the stars. As Erdemir notes, Münîrî uses the words "‘andelīb", "belābil" and "‘anādil" instead of the ordinary word for nightingale. Erdemir also finds that, compared with the other eulogies written for Lâdik, animal names occur most often in this mesnevi: horses, gazelles, wolf, lamb, lion, wild pigeon and turtle dove. In his view the reason is that Münîrî describes the road to the town as well as the town itself. The scene in couplets 67-70 is notable in this respect: the wolf walks beside the gazelle, the lion does not touch the lamb for fear of the king's majesty, the stone pine falls into the dance and the plane tree claps its hands. Trees and mountains behave like people; in couplet 71 the mountains bare their heads and ask God for the king's coming. These personifications tie praise and description together, saying that nature too takes part in the prince's arrival.

Historical Context

The subject of the mesnevi is clear from the heading and from the words "k'adı Lādiḳ" (whose name is Lâdik) in couplet 27. According to Erdemir, Münîrî wrote this poem on the occasion of an outing to Lâdik that he made together with Prince Ahmed. Lâdik is today a district of Samsun; until the Republican period it was a small district centre attached to Amasya. Erdemir relates that the princes and statesmen in Amasya spent the summer days in this cool town at the foot of Akdağ, and that Evliya Çelebi mentions a palace in Lâdik where Bayezid II stayed six months of the year. Münîrî's mesnevi, however, mentions no palace. The places named in the poem are Lâdik itself, Akdağ in couplet 65, and Lake Lâdik, called "baḥr", the sea, in couplets 55-61.

Two other poets of the same circle wrote poems for Lâdik: Mihrî Hatun composed a murabba of twenty-five stanzas each ending with the line "Ne hoş yaylak imiş bu şehr-i Lâdik" (What a lovely summer pasture this town of Lâdik is), and Mûsâ Medhî of Lâdik composed two kasides. Erdemir draws attention to the fact that three of the four eulogies, Münîrî's among them, are written in the same metre. The exact date of the mesnevi is unknown. On the basis of the references to Prince Ahmed in the eulogies, Erdemir says that all of them were written between 1481 and 1511, the years the prince spent in Amasya. Neither Münîrî nor Medhî mentions the New Bath (Yeni Hamam), which Mihrî praises and which was built in 1509 by Bülbül Hatun, Prince Ahmed's mother; Erdemir takes this silence as pointing to a date before 1509 only for Medhî's kaside. No such date can be drawn for Münîrî's poem. The article "Münîrî-i Amâsî: Edebî Kişiliği, Eserleri ve Şiirleri" on this site also gives selected couplets from this mesnevi.

Bibliography

Online sources