TURKISH LITERATURE.
Turkish literature is a term which at present implies the literature of the Western or Ottoman Turkish language. It may he regarded as fall ing into three periods: (1) The early period. when writers were from the region of Central Asia, and when tire Persian was the model and often the instrument of their highest expression. (2) The middle period, beginning about the mid dle of the sixteenth century and extending well into the nineteenth, when Arabic dominated the Turkish literary world. having replaced Persian as model except in poetry. (3) The modern period, dating from about the time of the Crimean War (1853-56). to it the tendency of Turkish writers is to copy French, rather than either Persian or Arabian models, and to bring back into the language half-forgotten Turkish expressions.
The earliest literary remains of Turkish writ ers are the inscriptions mentioned ahove, de ciphered by Thomsen, collected by Badloff, and their relation to the Chinese pointed out by Hirth. One of the earliest books of the early period. celebrated for its pure Turkish, is a genealogical history of the Tatars by Abul Ghazi of Kliwarezni, dating from the twelfth century. The judge Burhaneddin of Sivas, a descendant of Genghis Khan. an adventurer, ruling over two provinces, who lost. his life in trying to conquer another in 1398, has left some poems written in good Turkish, although after the Persian school. Another of the early poets was Suleiman Effendi (died 1410), chaplain to Sultan Bajazet, whom Tamerlane carried off. He wrote a poem in honor of the birth of the Prophet Mohammed which has been read throughout Turkey on public occasions in each year during nearly 500 years, and still retains its power to move its hearers. Another of the poets of the early period was Amudeddin, who wrote under the name Nesimi. Like the others of these early poets, he was under the influence of Sufiism (q.v.), and so incensed the more orthodox Mussulmans that lie was flayed alive at Aleppo in 1417. Sheikhi, whose real name was Sinan (died 1420), was a doctor as well as a poet. His fame rests mainly upon his poem, the Khar-name, or Donkey Book, in which he classifies his enemies according to the different types of asses found in the East.
Nevayi, whose real name was Ali Shir (died 1500), is the great representative of Turkish poetry in this period. lie was Prime Minister for a time to Sultan Hussein of Herat, but re tired early that he might write. He was a master in both Turkish and Persian. The thor oughly human quality of his writings appeared from the fact that one main source of our knowl edge of the old Eastern Turkish language is a dictionary written by a Persian in order that Persians might profit by Nevayi's writings. The
greatest prose writer of this period was Bailer, great-grandson of Tamerlane. and 'Mogul' con queror of India in 1525-26. Ilis annals of his campaigns are written in plain Turkish, Arabic and Persian words being used to eke out his vocabulary.
Of the middle period of Turkish literature Saadeddin (died 1599) offers a type. The was a warrior of great renown, and afterwards Chief .Justice of the Turkish Empire (Sheikh ul-Istam) under Sultan Mohammed Ill. The work on which his literary fame rests is a history of the Ottoman Empire. called Tatel-Trrarikh. The style is of the most ornate Persian order and there is hardly any Turkish in the book except those auxiliaries essential to the binding of the sentences. Saadeddin followed the principle, which ruled literature throughout the middle period, that Arabic words must be brought into Turkish with all their grammatical rules and appurtenances. The effect is to make the finest Turkish literature of this period a mere mass of macaronies quite unintelligible to those who have not enough knowledge of Arabic and Persian to use dictionaries of those languages. Baki (died 1599), rated by Turkish critics as the 'king of the poets of Osmanli Turkish,' was a contem porary of Saadeddin. He was the son of a mosque servant who became one of the Cazi askers, or judges of the Supreme Court, under Sultan Selim 11. His poetry was strongly Per sian in flavor, but without slavish imitation. Another great poet of this time was Fuzuli (died 1563), whose real name was Mehmed, of Bagdad. To a foreign taste he offers more of originality than Baki. His poems are warm with the peculiar fire of Sufiism, and in both poetry and prose he loved the strong virile Turkish words. The list of Turkish poets is long, but those mentioned are still the greatest names. To them we may add at some Nedim (died 1725), who was buffoon to Sultan Achmet 111. The name of Kiani, whose real name was Abu Bekr (died 1791), too, should have a place in the list of notable poets of this period. The sim plicity and transparent beauty of his lines are such that had it not been for his inveterate wag gishness he would hold very high rank the Turkish poets. Another of the great of this period was Nabi (died 1712), whose Ghazels are accounted among the finest. His real name was Yusuf of Urfa. One of his longer poems, the Khairiye, has been translated into French by Pavet de Courteille. We may also mention the poetess Sherif Hanum, who died in 1809, leaving a Divan of some merit.