Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilâtün Fe’ilün

Stanza I

Ol mehün şevkıne eflâke atardum külehüm
Şimdi görinmez olupdur kanı iy çarh mehüm
Şeb-i zulmetde yine kaldı benüm âh rehüm
Hasretinden boyadı gökleri dûd-ı siyehüm
Bî-murâd olsam ‘aceb mi yitürüp câh u cehüm
Bâg-ı ‘âlemde bitüp tâze solupdur giyehüm
Çeşmüme nesne görinmez ol idi çün nigehüm
Kanda yüz tutam İlâhî göremem kıblegehüm
Ben kime kul olayım bilimezem n’oldı şehüm
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza II

Intikâmın alayım dimiş iken surh-serün
Kasd idüp cânına kıydun ne revâdur püserün
Bu degül idi garaz kalsa cihânda eserün
Tâc u tahtun kime kalur kime bu mülk ü yirün
Buna kim oldı sebeb yok mı şehâ hîç haberün
Kara toprağa ki düşdi yine şol verd-i terün
Bu firâk odına döyer nice yanmaz cigerün
Bu eger erlik ise ancak ola bu hünerün
Pâdişehsin tutalum yok mı Hudâdan hazerün
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza III

Şol güneş yüz ki dolındı ne içün oldı nihân
Yas tutup geyse karalar yiridür uşbu cihân
Dirilüp bir yire ağlaşsa n’ola pîr ü cuvân
Lâlenün hecr ile bağrı demidür pür ola kan
Açılup gül gibi ol şâh-ı cihân soldı hemân
iy gönül bülbüli gel eyleyelüm âh u fiğân
Yaprağın döksün ağaçlar bu cihân oldı hazân
Ata oğlına kıyar oldı ‘aceb oldı zamân
Öldürün anı didün virmen ana bir dem emân
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza IV

Sen Selîm oğlı olup asl ile ‘Osmân olasın
Yidi iklîme bu gün ‘ilmün ile hân olasın
Hâtem-i emrün ile halka Süleymân olasın
Her işi fehm idici ‘âkil ü ‘irfân olasın
Nûh-veş bin yıl olursan dahı bir ân olasın
Dest-i hasretle çeküp çâk-i girîbân olasın
Gide bu tâc u kabâ bir ten-i ‘uryân olasın
Hây hây itdügüne sonra peşîmân olasın
Acıyup oğluna çok derd ile giryân olasın
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza V

İy şeh-i kân-ı kerem sende ‘adâlet bu mıdur
Şah-ı ‘âlem olasın sende ‘inâyet bu mdur
Pâdişehler ki ezel itdügi ‘âdet bu mıdur
Ehl-i tedbîr olana fehm ü kiyâset bu mıdur
Sen Muhibbî olasın sende mahabbet bu mıdur
Mustafâ gibi ciğer-gûşene şefkat bu mıdur
Al ile kıydun ana kanı hakîkat bu mıdur
Kavl-i düşman sana kâr itdi meveddet bu mıdur
Yok yire kan idesin ya‘nî hilâfet bu mıdur
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza VI

Yine ol servi anup ağladı bu çim ü çemen
Yine bu fürkat ile açmadı ol gonca dehen
Gülşenün bağrını deldi yine hasretle diken
Lâlenün içi kızıl kan ile pür oldı hemen
Bağrını urmağ içün hançerini çekdi sûsen
Kara geydi başına tutdı benefşe şîven
Yoldı sünbül şaçını boynına geçdükçe resen
Kara toprağ ile yeksân nic'olur sîm beden
Rûz-ı mahşerde bula kim ise bu kanı iden
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

Stanza VII

Gün gibi zâhir idi zerre günâhı yoğ idi
İşigünden dahı bir özge penâhı yoğ idi
Sana ol toğrı idi egri nigâhı yoğ idi
Hak ana şâhid idi gayrı güvâhı yoğ idi
Bende idi sana ol bir dahı şâhı yoğ idi
Hak bilür gayrı yire varmaga râhı yoğ idi
Ceng ider geldi disen iki sipâhı yoğ idi
Hançer ursan da anun cismine âhı yoğ idi
Yoğ idi cürmi bu Sâmi dir İlâhî yoğ idi
Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm

In English

Stanza I

1. In joy at that moon (the prince) I used to throw my cap to the skies; O heavens, now my moon can no longer be seen, where is he?

2. Alas, my road is left again in a pitch-dark night; out of longing for him the black smoke of my sighs has dyed the heavens.

3. Is it any wonder if I lose my rank and standing and go without my desire; my grass, sprung up in the garden of the world, has withered while still fresh.

4. Since he was the light of my sight, nothing appears to my eye; O God, where shall I turn my face, I cannot see my qibla.

5. I do not know whom I should serve; what became of my shah? What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza II

6. Though he had said "let me take your revenge on your Qizilbash foe", you set upon him and took his life; is this fitting for your son?

7. Was not the aim that some trace, some line of you should remain in the world; to whom will your crown and throne remain, to whom this realm and land?

8. O shah, have you no knowledge at all of who caused this; your fresh rose has fallen into the black earth.

9. How does your heart endure this fire of separation, how does it not burn; if this is manliness, then let this be your only skill.

10. Granted you are sultan; have you no fear of God at all? What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza III

11. That sun-like face was eclipsed; why has it been hidden? It is fitting that this world should mourn and dress in black.

12. It is fitting that old and young should gather in one place and weep together; it is the very time for the tulip's breast to fill with blood through separation.

13. That king of the world opened like a rose and withered at once; O nightingale of the heart, come, let us sigh and lament.

14. Let the trees shed their leaves, this world has turned to autumn; a father has come to slay his son, what a strange time this has become.

15. You said, "Kill him, give him not a moment's quarter." What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza IV

16. May you be the son of Selim and by descent an Ottoman; may you today be khan of the seven climes through your learning,

17. may you be a Solomon to the people with the seal of your command; may you be wise and discerning, grasping every matter,

18. even if you live a thousand years like Noah, may it be but a moment; may you tear your collar with the hand of longing,

19. may this crown and robe go and may you be a naked body; may you afterwards regret what you have done, crying "alas, alas",

20. may you weep with great pain, pitying your son. What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza V

21. O shah, mine of generosity, is this the justice in you; may you be king of the world, and is this the grace in you?

22. Is this the custom that sultans have followed since the beginning of time; is this the understanding and wit of one who governs with foresight?

23. May you be Muhibbî (the lover; Süleyman's pen name), and is this the love in you; is this the compassion for a darling of your heart like Mustafa?

24. You slew him by a ruse; where is the truth, is this it? The enemy's word worked on you; is this affection?

25. That you should shed blood for nothing; is this what they call the caliphate? What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza VI

26. Again this grass and meadow remembered that cypress and wept; again that rosebud mouth did not open in this separation.

27. Again the thorn pierced the breast of the rose garden with longing; at once the inside of the tulip filled with crimson blood.

28. The iris drew its dagger to strike its breast; the violet put black on its head and raised a lament.

29. As the cord passed around his neck, the hyacinth tore its hair; how can that silver body become one with the black earth?

30. Whoever shed this blood, may he find his due on the day of judgement. What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Stanza VII

31. It was as clear as day, he had not an atom of sin; nor had he any refuge but your threshold.

32. He was straight with you, he had no crooked glance; God was his witness, he had no other witness.

33. He was your servant, he had no other shah; God knows, he had no road to go anywhere else.

34. If you say he came to make war, he had not two soldiers with him; if you struck his body with a dagger, he would not have sighed.

35. This Sâmî says: God knows, he had no crime, he had none. What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan?

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The poem is a muaşşer of seven stanzas in the "fe’ilâtün fe’ilâtün fe’ilâtün fe’ilün" pattern of aruz (quantitative metre). The muaşşer is a stanzaic form in which each stanza has ten lines. In Sâmî's poem the first nine lines of each stanza rhyme among themselves, and the tenth line is repeated in every stanza as the refrain "Mustafâ n’oldı kanı n’eyledün â pâdişehüm" (What became of Mustafa, where is he, what have you done, O my sultan). In the first stanza the rhyme is built on the same sound as this refrain ("külehüm, mehüm, rehüm, pâdişehüm"), so that the first stanza of the poem echoes at the end of each of the following stanzas. Recep Hasar establishes that all the elegies for sultans and princes in muaşşer form were written for Prince Mustafa. The pen name (mahlas) appears in the last stanza in the phrase "bu Sâmî dir" (this Sâmî says).

The text was published in Mehmed Çavuşoğlu's article "Şehzade Mustafa Mersiyeleri" of 1981-1982; it is given here as quoted in Hasar's thesis. We were not able to consult Çavuşoğlu's article directly.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The first stanza tells of the poet's own loss: the prince is his moon, the light of his sight and his qibla; with him gone the road is left in darkness and the poet's grass has withered while still fresh. The words "câh u cehüm" (my rank and standing) suggest that the poet had some service or hope attached to the prince. From the second stanza on, the reproach turns directly to the sultan. The first couplet of the second stanza says that the prince was killed while he wished to take revenge on his father's Qizilbash ("surh-ser", red-headed) enemy; this is an open answer to the rumour that the prince had come to an understanding with Shah Tahmasp. In the same stanza the sultan is asked to whom his line and throne will pass. In the third stanza the line "ata oğlına kıyar oldı" (a father has come to slay his son) points to the same wound as Taşlıcalı Yahya's words "oglına kıya bir server-i Ömer-meşreb". The last couplet of the stanza quotes the sultan as saying "kill him, give him not a moment's quarter".

The fourth stanza is a bitter mixture of blessing and curse built on the redif (refrain word) "olasın" (may you be). In the first couplets the sultan is wished to be the son of Selim, khan of the seven climes and a Solomon through his sealed command; then these wishes turn into their opposite: may a life of a thousand years be but a moment, may crown and robe go, may the sultan be a naked body, regret what he has done and weep for his son. The fifth stanza proceeds through questions with the redif "bu mıdur" (is this it). Here the phrase "Sen Muhibbî olasın" is striking: Muhibbî, meaning "the lover", is the pen name Süleyman the Magnificent used in his poems, and the poet confronts the sultan with the contradiction between his pen name and the lovelessness he showed his son. Hasar quotes the fourth and fifth stanzas as examples of the reproach addressed to the sultan.

The sixth stanza is the mourning of the garden and a series of personifications (teşhis) built on the names of flowers: the grass weeps, the thorn pierces the breast of the rose garden, the iris draws its dagger, the violet dresses in black, the hyacinth tears its hair. Linking the hyacinth's tearing of its hair to the words "boynına geçdükçe resen" (as the cord passed around his neck) refers to the prince's death by strangling. The last stanza proclaims the prince's innocence with the redif "yoğ idi" (he had none). The couplet "if you say he came to make war, he had not two soldiers with him" stresses that the prince entered his father's tent unarmed and with few men; Semra Güler finds Sâmî's elegy as daring as Yahya's in that it aims directly at the sultan.

Historical Context

Mehmed Çavuşoğlu notes that the sultan, who dismissed Rüstem Pasha, did not touch Taşlıcalı Yahya, who had given voice to the feelings of the people, that poets encouraged by this tolerance also wrote elegies, and that Sâmî and Nisâyî openly condemned the sultan. Sâmî's poem answers directly, in the second stanza, the claim that the prince had cooperated with the Shah of Iran and, in the last stanza, the claim that he had come to rebel; in this respect it bears the traces of the rumours circulating in the army after the event. Who the poet was is not certain; the question of identity is discussed in the biographical article in this category, and the other elegies in our article Elegies for Prince Mustafa.

Bibliography

Academic studies

Online sources