Authors in Anatolia - 1071-1453

In a prior blog post  I said I wanted to read more about Turkish literature. To that end, I just finished reading the Chapter named "Social, cultural and intellectual life, 1071-1453" by Ahmet Yasar Ocak in Cambridge History of Turkey Volume 1.

 

From the long article (runs from p.353-422), it is clear that this is a period when Anatolian Turkish was turning into a literary language during this period. Also, many famous authors who wrote in Arabic or Persian also spent some of their time in Anatolia, where they wrote their famous works.

 

It is interesting that this article mentions many immigrant to the region from Central Asia (especially Turks), but never mentioned any impact of Chagatay Turki on Anatolian Turkish, unlike what was emphasized for example in Browne's Literary History of Persia about a century ago.

 

In this post, I will only include authors where the names of their works were mentioned in the article. For many names / titles, I am afraid I will be doing great injustice in randomly transcribing letters by taking away the diacritical marks.

 

Arabic or Persian:

- Alaeddin Kasani (d. 1191): Badai' al-sanayi (fiqh work)

- Shihab al-din al-Suhrawardi (d. 1196): Pertevname; Usul al-Malahim; Kamil al-Ta'bir; Bayan al-Nujum; Sihhat al-Abdan; Kifayat al-Tibb; Hikmat al-IShraq; al-Talwihat; Hayakil al-Nur

- Kemaleddin Ebubekr (ibn el-Zeki): Ravdat al-Manazir; Rawdat al-Kuttab wa Hadiqat al-Albab

- Hasan b. 'Abd el-Mu'min: Gunyat al-Katib wa Munyat al-Talib

- al-Ravandi: Rahat al-Sudur wa Ayat al-Surur

- Mahmud ibn el-Hatib (13th c.): Fustat al-'Adala fi Qawa'id al-Saltana

- Ahmed b. Sa'd el-Erzincani: Kitab al-Lata'if al-'Ala'iyya

- 'Abdullatif el-Bagdadi (d. 1231): al-Hikmat al-'Ala'iyya; Bulgat al-Hikma

- Shihab al-din Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234): 'Awarif al-Ma'arif

- Muhieddin Ibn Arabi (d.1241): Fusus al-Hikam; al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya; risale (treatises)

- Bahaeddin Veled (Rumi's father): Kitab al-Ma'arif

- Maqalat: collected sayings of Sems-i Tebrizi (Rumi's teacher)

- Sadeddin el-Fergani (master of Necmeddin, follower of Ibn Arabi): Manahij al-'Ibad ila al-Ma'ad; commentary on 'Amr ibn al-Farid's Qaside-i Ta'iyya

- Yusuf b. Said el-Sicistani (d. 1241-2): Munyat al-Mufti; Ghunyat al-Fuqaha (fiqh works)

- Necmeddin(-i Daye) Razi (d. 1256): Mirsad al-'Ibad

- Seyyid Burhaneddin Muhakkik-i Tirmizi (Bahaeddin's halife): Kitab al-Ma'arif

- Mevlana Celaleddin Muhammed Rumi (d. 1273): Mesnevi-i Ma'nevi; Divan-i Kabir; Fihi ma fihi; Ruba'iyyat; Majalis-i Sab'a; Mektubat

- Nasir al-din Tusi (d. 1274): for a time a kadi in Malatya

- Siraceddin el-Urmevi (d. 1283): Matali' al-Anwar (logic)

- Kutbeddin Shirazi (d. 1311): Ihtiyarat-i Muzafferi

- Sadreddin Konevi (disciple of Ibn Arabi): Tabsirat al-Mubtedi wa Tadhkirat al-Muntahi; Nusus; Fukuk; Risalad al-Vujud; Miftah al-Gayb (these two works by Konevi or by those adhering to Ibn Arabi's Sufi doctrines)

- Sultan Veled (Rumi's son): Ibtidaname; Rebabname; Intihaname (the last two works relates to the Sufi school of Rumi, but from the text it wasn't clear if they were works of Sultan Veled); Divan; Ma'arif

- Siraj al-Qulub

- Sipehsalar Ferudun b. Ahmed: Manaqib-i Hadrat-i Khudavandi-gar (or short title Risale-i Sipehsalar; about life of MEvlana's family and circle)

- Ahmed Eflaki: contemporaneous with Rumi's grandson Ulu Arif Celebi; Manakid al-Arifin

- Naseddin-i Sicistani (14th c.): Munis al-Awarif; Daqayiq al-Haqayiq

- Fahreddin-i Iraki (14th c.): Ussakname; Lema'at

- Mahmud b. Ebibekr el-Urmevi: Lata'if al-Hikma; Metali'al-Anwar

- Ibn Bibi: al-'Awamir al-'Ala'iyya (history) 

- Karim al-Din Aqsara'i: Musamarat al-Akhbar (history)

- Aziz b. Ardashir-i Astarabadi: Bazm o Razm (history)

 

Turkish:

- Battalname: anonymous epic romance

- Danismendname: anonymous epic romance

- Saltikname: anonymous epic romance

- Ebumuslimname: anonymous epic romance

- Yunus Emre (d. 1310): Divan; Risaletu'n-Nushiyye (a mesnevi); "has an exceptional place among the poets who wrote in Turkish in this period. His importnce lies in his works whih explained his beliefs ... and his artistic use of Turkish. Yunus Emre played an important role in the establishment of Anatolian Turkish of the period as an independent written language and he even created a Sufi Turkish terminology."

- Asik Pasa (d. 1332): Garibname; Fakrname (and other mesnevis); "fundamentally important poet"

- Elvan Celebi (d. after 1358)

- Dehhani: poet, left few samples

- Gulsehri (14th c.): translated Mantiq al-Tayr of Farid al-din 'Attar; Keramat-i Ahi Evren; other divan-style poems

- Seyyad Hamza: Yusuf u Zeliha, Dasitan-i Sultan Mahmud; Ahval-i Kiyamet

- Ahmed Fakih: Carhname; Kitabu Evsaf-i Mesacidi's-Serife

- Mesud b. Ahmed (Hoca Mesud): Suheyl u Nev-Bahar (a mesnevi)

- Ahmedi: "another of this period's most important poets"; best known for Iskendername (especially Mevlid and Dasitan-i Tevarih-i Muluk-i Al-i Osman sections) "earliest Turkish examples of this type of work before teh composition of the famous Suleyman Celebi" and because "they are the harbinger of the Ottomn history-writing tradition"; Divan; rewrote Cemsid u Hursid of Salman Savaji; "made a considerable contribution both to the development of Turkish and to the establishment of classical Turkish literature"

- Ahmed-i Dai: Divan; (also a Persian Divan); Cengname; Camasbname (extended translation of a work of Nasir al-din Tusi)

- Kadi Burhaneddin (14th c.): Divan; also Persian Anis al-Kulub (mesnevi)

- Seyhi (real name: Yusuf Sinan): (second) Husrev u Sirin; Harname (elegant satire, "forefront of Turkish humour and satirical literature"); Divan ("can be counted among the fundamental works of Turkish literature")

- Vilayetname-i Haci Bektas

(below works in relations to Dehhani)  

- Yaricani (14th c.): Karamanogullan Sahnamesi 

- Omar b. Mezid (15th c.): Mecmu'at el-Neza'ir

- Egridirli Haci Kemaleddin (16th c.): Cami' el-Neza'ir

- Seyhoglu Mustafa: Kenz el-Kubera

 

The most influential group writing in Arabic or Persian seems to be the Sufi circle related to Rumi (all other bolded authors are famous names in Islamic literary history without specific reference to Anatolia).

 

In Turkish, Yunus Emre was influenced by Rumi, and was clearly a founder of literature, together with Asik Pasa; Dehhani was famous in the tradition but did not leave many extant works; Ahmedi and Seyhi were key poets in later pre-Ottoman times.