Turkish Translation of The Romance of Antarah
Abdulsattar ElhajhamedAntarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi was a slave knight and poet who lived decades before Islam, gained his freedom, and became famous for his bravery. Sirat Antar ibn Shaddad [The Romance of Antarah] describes his life and adventures and is one of the most prominent Arab folk tales. It differs from other Arab folk tales in that it crossed the borders of the Arab world, moved to other countries through its translation and gained an important place in world literature. The translation of The Romance of Antarah into Turkish is of great importance as the first translation of this story into another language and one of the first literary translations between Turkish and Arabic. It has been translated into Turkish several times, with one of the translations having been made at the order of the Ottoman sultan Mehmet II (completed in 881 AH/1477 AD). The Romance of Antarah gained huge popularity among various groups of Ottoman society with the Turkish version of the text being read both in cafes and in palaces. This research adopts the descriptive research method to identify the translation of The Romance of Antarah into Turkish, the conditions and possible reasons for this translation, and its importance and place among Arabic-Turkish translation activities. The study also talks about the perception of The Romance of Antarah in Ottoman Turkish society and its impact on Turkish literature and culture.
ترجمة سيرة عنترة إلى اللغة التركية
Abdulsattar Elhajhamedعنترة بن شداد العبسي، فارس وشاعر عاش قبل اإلسالم بعشرات السنوات، نال حريته وشهرته بفضل شجاعته. وسيرته الشعبية من أبرز السير الشعبيّة العربيّة، تميزت عن بقية السير الشعبيّة العربيّة بعبورها ً لحدود الوطن العربي وانتقالها إلى بلدان أخرى عبر الترجمة، واحتفاء الشعوب األخرى بها، ونيلها مكانة مهمة في األدب العالمي. والترك من أوائل األمم التي ترجمت هذه السيرة إلى لغتها، وترجمة سيرة عنترة ّها من أوائل ّها الترجمة األولى لهذه السيرة إلى لغات العالم، وألن ً ألن إلى التركية لها أهمية كبيرة، نظرا ُرجمت أكثر من مرة إلى اللغة التركية إحداها بأمر الترجمات األدبيّة بين اللغتين التركيّة والعربيّة، وألنها ت ً على الصعيدين من السلطان العثماني، وكان ذلك في سنة )881 هـ/1477م(. ولقيت سيرة عنترة اهتماما ُرئت في المقاهي كما قرئت في القصور، وقرأها الجنود العثمانيون ونالت إعجابهم الشعبي والرسمي، فق ً له يتناول ترجمة كما يبدو من تعليقاتهم على بعض نسخها. إن هذا البحث الذي اعتمد المنهج الوصفي منهجا سيرة عنترة إلى اللغة التركيّة وظروفها وأسبابها المحتملة لها، كما يبين أهمية هذه الترجمة ومكانتها في حركة الترجمة بين اللغتين العربيّة والتركيّة، ويشير إلى تلقي المجتمع التركي العثماني لسيرة عنترة، واألثر ً واألدب التركي على وجه الخصوص. الذي تركته في الثقافة التركية عموما
Antere Kıssası’nın Türkçe Tercümesi
Abdulsattar Elhajhamedslam’dan onlarca yıl önce yaşamış olan ‘Antere bin Şeddâd el-’Absî, cesareti sayesinde özgürlüğüne kavuşmuş ve meşhur olmuştur. Hayatını ve maceralarını anlatan ‘Antere Kıssası, en önde gelen Arap halk kıssalarından biridir. Arap dünyasının sınırlarını aşarak çeviri yoluyla başka ülkelere taşınması, başka halklar tarafından büyük ilgi görmesi ve dünya edebiyatında önemli bir yer edinmesi ile Arap halk kıssaları arasında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Türk milleti, bu kıssayı kendi dillerine çeviren ilk milletlerden biridir. ‘Antere Kıssasının Türkçeye çevrisi, bu hikâyenin dünya dillerine yapılan ilk çevirisi olması, Türkçe ile Arapça arasındaki ilk edebî çevirilerden biri olması, birden fazla kez Türkçeye tercüme edilmesi ve bu tercümelerden birinin bizzat Osmanlı Padişahının emriyle yapılmış olması nedeniyle büyük önem arz etmektedir. Padişahın emriyle yapılan tercüme (H. 881 / MS 1477) yılında bitmiştir. ‘Antere Kıssası ister resmi düzeyde ister halk düzeyinde ilgi görmüş, saraylarda okunduğu gibi kahvehanelerde de okunmuştur. Ayrıca Osmanlı askerleri tarafından okunmuş ve bazı nüshalara yapılan yorumlardan onların beğenisini de kazandığı anlaşılmaktadır. Tanımlayıcı araştırma metodunu izleyen bu araştırmada Antere Kıssasının Türkçeye tercümesi, bu tercümenin şartları ve olası sebepleri ele alınarak tercümenin önemi ve Arapça-Türkçe tercüme faaliyetlerindeki yeri belirlenmiştir. Antere Kıssasının Osmanlı Türk toplumundaki telakkisi ve genelde Türk kültürü ve özelde Türk edebiyatı üzerinde bıraktığı etkisinden söz edilmiştir.
Antarah ibn Shaddad al-Absi was a pre-Islamic Arab slave knight who fought for his freedom and is considered the first anti-apartheid activist in Arabic literature. His story is one of the most important folk stories in the Arab world. Part of its importance lies in the fact that it crossed the borders of the Arab world and attracted wide interest in both Islamic and nonIslamic countries, to the point of being called an Arabic Iliad. Thus, it has become the focus of attention for students of comparative literature. Turks were one of the first nations to translate The Romance of Antarah into their language as early as the 15th century. Even though the Turkish translators of that period were focused primarily on religious texts, Sirat Antar ibn Shaddad not only was translated into the language of the Empire but also gained surprising popularity. That led to a total of three translations being completed. The first one stems back to the 15th century, with the exact year unknown. Worth mentioning is the fact that the original translator appears not to have been proficient in Arabic which led to numerous mistakes. The second translation was finished in 881 AH/1477 AD at the order of sultan Mehmet II (835 AH/1430 AD-886 AH/1581 AD), during whose reign scientific life - (835 AH/1430 AD-886 AH/1581 AD), during whose reign the scientific life - including the translation movement. It was hugely based on the first version, which was clearly outlined in the introduction. This makes the second Turkish version of The Romance of Antarah not only an improved translation of an Arabic tale but also one of the first translation criticism texts published in the Ottoman Empire. The translator who carried out the second translation was aware of different Sirat Antar ibn Shaddad versions that existed in Arabic. When reviewing the first Turkish translation, he found out that it not only failed to include most of the original stories and poems but also hugely mistranslated parts that did get included. Therefore his work began with translating the omitted parts, correcting what could be fixed and retranslating everything that needed retranslating. He completed his work in two years. This article adopts a descriptive approach and begins by referring to the importance of The Romance of Antarah before introducing its Turkish translation and the circumstances and reasons behind it. It also attempts to find the reason why one of the greatest sultans of the Ottoman Empire had ordered the translation of a popular story of an Arab knight who had lived before Islam. Also, it indicates the content of the story, its urge for good manners, and its role in instilling values and raising the morale of people and soldiers in particular to have been among the possible reasons for the Sultan ordering it to be translated into Turkish. Raising the fighting spirit and urging soldiers to be brave in combat are important activities for a warrior state and a warrior sultan like sultan Mehmet II. This is confirmed by the comments and notes on some manuscript copies indicating that soldiers and military personnel had read this story. The article shows the importance of this translation and its place in the translation movement between Arabic and Turkish. It also discusses how the translation of The Romance of Antarah was received in Ottoman Turkish society after it had been read in palaces, public councils, and cafes. It won the admiration of the Turkish public, which loved the hero and his adventures. This response occurred between the 15th-19th centuries AD, as indicated in the comments and notes on the margins of the different copies of the story. The article also shows the impact that this translation has had on Turkish culture in general, as well as on ancient and modern Turkish literature in particular. The character of Antarah began to infiltrate Turkish epics at an early stage. For example, Saltuknâme, which was compiled in 1480, mentions the name of Antarah and stories related to Antarah. The name Antarah is also mentioned in classical and modern Turkish poetry
