Translation of the Yavuz Selim's Persian verses

In this article we have transcribed Sheikh Vasfi’s book Barika in the Latin script which contained selected verses and couplets from Yavuz Sultan Selim’s Persian Divan. Except Turkish translation of Yavuz Sultan Selim’s Persian Divan published by Ali Nihad Tarlan in Istanbul in 1946, none of the studies has been made before on this issue. Working under this article one more translation of the Barika has been published. However, it is not a scientific study but it is popular study. The primary aim of this article is to publish Yavuz Sultan Selim’s verses and couplets from Barika in Turkish letters. Sheikh Vasfi translated Yavuz Sultan Selim’s selected verses and couplets published them in the Arabic scripted book Barika in Istanbul in 1307/1889. Sixty-seven paged book includes sixty-six hundred couplets and twelve verses. In the preface to Barika Sheikh Vasfi made comments about Yavuz Sultan Selim’s poetry and mentioned that Yavuz Sultan Selim was superior to many Persian poets. In Barika Sheikh Vasfi did not choose the verses and couplets according to his own taste but aiming to show Yavuz Sultan Selim’s personality as a poet. Yavuz Sultan Selim was the ninth Ottoman sultan. He was a poet as well as a sultan and he had a Persian Divan and some Turkish poems. The reason why Yavuz Sultan Selim wrote poetry in Persian instead of Turkish was a competition with Shah Ismail, a sultan of Safavid state, who had a Turkish Divan and wrote under the penname Khatai. Actually this competition was either political or literary. A large part of Yavuz Sultan Selim’s life passed on horseback in the wars. Jihad was a main aim of his political fight as a sultan and he did a lot to achieve this aim. He believed that Allah had given him the task to rule the Sultanate. In his poems there is evidence that he was a humble servant connected wholeheartedly to Allah and who did not do anything outside of Allah’s will. Yavuz Sultan Selim gave a lot of consideration to the poets, artists and scientists. He often invited them and had long private talks about poetry and purpose of life. Many poets considered him as a master poet and wrote in his peculiar style. Yavuz Sultan Selim was known for his hard and adamant character as a sultan but in his poems he represents as a different person – an emotional passionate human being and committed Muslim. The main purpose of this article is to introduce the readers to the emotional and artistic personality of Yavuz Sultan Selim. It is necessary to indicate that he had a mystical style of writing. Relying on his poems we have collected the special information about his personality. On the one hand, he was a humble and abstinent Sufi person. He believed that possession of the universe is worthless, life is short and this world is temporary. He represents as a strong believer depending wholeheartedly on Allah’s will and acting on Prophet Mohammed’s admonitions. He totally confined on and surrendered to Allah in his poems. He wrote that he was ruling sultanate in accordance with Allah’s orders and requests and could do nothing without Allah’s will. In addition, he emphasized that the prophets were simple servants but the prophetic mission that Allah gave them made them exceptional. As well as himself he considered as Allah’s obedient servant, but Allah also made him superior entrusting sultanate. On the other hand, he tasted human

Keywords

Yavuz Sultan Selim, Selimî, Shah Ismail, Khataî, Yavuz Sultan Selim’s Persian Divan, Sheikh Vasfi, B