Acem Diyarından Gelen Şairler ve Osmanlı Edebî Çevrelerinin Onlara Bakışı (XV. ve XVI. Yüzyıl)
Ece CeylanAcem diyarı, sınırları tam olarak bilinmemekle beraber, genel bir tarifle; Osmanlı’nın, kendi doğusunda bulunan, eski İran hâkimiyetindeki toplulukların yaşadığı, devrin önemli ilim ve kültür merkezlerini de barındıran bölgeler için kullandığı coğrafi bir adlandırmadır. Bu bölgelerdeki Farsça ya da doğu Türkçesi şairleri etnik aidiyetlerine bakılmaksızın Acem şairler olarak anılmıştır. Klasik Türk edebiyatının kuruluş dönemlerinde, İstanbul’dan önce kültür merkezi olmuş bölgelerden getirilen ilim ve sanat erbabı ile Osmanlı’nın kültür merkezi olması amaçlanmıştır. 15. yüzyıldan itibaren İstanbul’un gözde kültür merkezi haline gelmeye başlaması, bu bölgelerde bulunan şairlerin tahsil, siyasi sığınma, seyahat gibi sebeplerle İstanbul’a akın etmelerine neden olmuştur. Acem diyarından gelen şairler saray çevresiyle irtibat kurmaya çalışmış, şiir meclislerinde bulunmuş ve Rum (Anadolu) şairleri ile etkileşime geçmişlerdir. Tezkirelerde bazı Osmanlı şairlerinin Acem diyarından gelen şairlere gösterilen rağbetten rahatsız oldukları söylenir. Bu şairlerin yakınmaları, araştırmacıların nezdinde 15. ve 16. yüzyıllarda Osmanlı kültür çevrelerinde ve sarayda Acem diyarından gelen şairlerin haddinden fazla iltifat gördüğüne dair genel bir kanaate yol açmıştır. Bu yazıda Acem diyarı ve Acem şairleri kavramları üzerinde durulmuş, Osmanlı edebİ çevrelerinin Acem diyarından gelen şairlere bakışı ve bu şairlerin gördüğü gerçekçi ya da gerçek dışı rağbet değerlendirilmiştir.
The Ajam Poets and Ottoman Literary Society’s Approach Toward Them (15th-16th Centuries)
Ece CeylanAjam has borders that are not completely identified, Ajam is a geographical term used by the Ottomans to describe the land and communities ruled by the Persian Dynasty that had settled East of the Ottoman Empire. The Safavid Dynasty also held the prominent scientific and cultural centers of the time. Persian and Eastern Turkish poets in this territory, regardless of their ethnic identity, are called ‘Ajam poets. In the early founding period of classical Turkish literature, the Ottoman Empire aimed to be a cultural center by bringing science and art masters from other regions had their own previous cultural centers. Starting in the 15th century when Istanbul became a popular cultural center, Ajampoets began immigrating there for various reasons such as education, travel, political asylum, and embassy work. These poets came from Ajam, tried to connect to the Sultan’s social circles, were found in poetry societies and interacted with Rum (Anatolian) poets.Biographies have mentioned some Turkish to have been discontent with the overrated interest shown toward the Ajam poets, and their complaints resulted in a general belief in Ottoman literary circles and in the Palacabout Ajam poets being overly complimented. This article focuses on Ajam and the idea of Ajam poets and also evaluates the points ofview in Ottoman literary circles toward Ajam poets and whether the interest shown to these poets was realistic or not.
The Ottomans named the geographical regions to their east that were under the rule of the Ancient Iranian state as Ajam.Although this region is synonymous with Iran among the people, it also includes the geography of Turkestan as well as some southeastern Anatolian provinces and the region of central Iran (al-Jibal).The inhabitants of these regions were considered to be from Ajam regardless of their ethnic affiliation. Ajam also included the important scientific and cultural centers of the period where mostly Turkish scholars and artists lived. Poets who wrote Turkish and/or Persian poems in these regions were accepted as masters.
The Ottoman Empire aimed to have Istanbul become a cultural center by bringing art and science experts from the regions that were previous cultural centers during the period when classical Turkish literature was being established. The literary activity that had started in Anatolia in the 13th and 14th centuries, especially with the poets of the Germiyanids, accelerated during the reigns of Mehmed II and Bayezid II, gained a significant acceleration with Sultan Selim I. It experienced its brightest period when Istanbul became a favorite cultural center during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent with artists from many places attempting to show themselves by flocking to the state center.
During these periods, poets and artists from Ajam came to Istanbul for travel, education, trade, political asylum, and embassy work and attended poetry assemblies, thus also interacting with Rumi poets. These poets were generally referred to as being from Persia or from Ajam (Safavid) in the collected biographies of the period. Poets from Shiraz, Khorasan, Darchatzin, Bukhara, Shirvan, Ardabil, Soltaniyeh, Gilan, Samarkand, Bastam, Tabriz, and Hamadan are also described as part of Ajam.
The studies on Ajam and Ajam poets in classical Turkish literature studies are of the opinion that poets coming from these regions were overly popular within the Ottoman bureaucracy. The complaints from poets that were stated in the biographies are said to have played a role in the formation of this judgment. The poet La’ālī from Tokat had introduced himself as a dervish from Ajam in order to gain entry to the palace, and when his lie was revealed, he was removed from the palace. Mesihī thought he hadn’t got the attention he expected because he wasn’t from Ajam. In the biographies of the period describing La’ālī, they deemed what had happened to him to have been because an overrated interest in Ajam had been occurring at that time.
However, when looking more closely at the biographies, respect for a poet was seen to not be related to the poet’s place of origin but to their artistic ability, intelligence, and scientific degree. A poet may have acquired these competences in any science center in Ajam or Rum lands. Indeed, a poet who had proven themself capable of making use of these centers may qualify for high ranks.The study reexamines the terms Ajam and Ajam poets in light of the biographies of the eraand with the help of these biographies, presents short biographies of poetsfromAjam as well as reviews of the biography writers.
The study also summarizes the development of Turkish literature in Anatolia in the face of the dominant Persian Literature.The study also discusses the conflicts poets had with each other within the competitive environment where guardianship was vital for a poet, as well as examples of the noises poets expressed in their debates, regardless of where they were from. The study benefits from biographies and other resources to also examine the compliments that Ajam poets had received during the 15th and 16th centuries compared to Rumi poets.
The study has found classical Turkish literature in Anatolia to have gradually matured in the face of Persian literature with the support of rulers who aimed to develop culture and art. Initially, the admiration the Rum poets had for the great Ajam masters such as Nizāmī and Hāfız transformed into an attitude where they began to consider themselves to be superior to them. When examining the situation and evaluations of 32 poets from Persian lands who’d been included in the biographies of the period in the Ottoman Empire, many examples are encountered that contradict this opinion. Biographies are full of Ajam poets who are described as not getting the respect they deserved; having been expelled from the palace for their mistakes; being sent back to Ajam because they were not worthy, and having plagiarized from master poets just to gain the sultan’s respect. Meanwhile, the in'am records that recorded the tips and gifts poets received the poets who had received the most compliments in the 15th and 16th centuries to have been Rumi poets.Based on the biographies of the Ajam poets, they like all other poets are understood to have been in a tight race to be accepted, to have lost this race from time to time and then returned, and to have been complimented to the extent that their poetry had been appreciated.
Just like the Rumi poets, Ajam poets had also been subjected to certain evaluations by the biography writers in addition to the compliments they’d received from the statesmen. The biographies discussed Ajam poets their conflicts with other poets, as well as their insufficient ability torecite poems in Turkish. The biographies are also seen to given special treatment to these poets. Among the poets from the Ajam land, those who had been more or less successful at reciting Turkish poems found a place for themselves in these biographies, as those who’d tried to recite in Turkish were appreciated.Upon closely examining the biographies some researchers’ claims that the Ottoman bureaucracy and the palace society of the period favored the Ajams are understood to be based on the lines of some poets regarding the spirit of a loss of dignity, not because they had admir ed foreigners.
