14.04.2025 11:20
Associate Professor Dr. İlyas Kayaokay, who works at Munzur University in Tunceli, discovered 104 new poems belonging to the famous Sufi and poet Sheikh İbrahim Gülşeni, who lived in the 16th century, in a manuscript divan he purchased for 30,000 lira at an auction. This copy, which contains 306 poems, increased the known number of Gülşeni's poems to 1,391.
```html
The founder of the Gülşeniyye branch of Halveti, Sheikh İbrahim Gülşeni, one of the important Sufi poets of the 16th century, has had 104 previously unknown poems come to light. The manuscript divan, purchased for 30 thousand lira at an auction by Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlyas Kayaokay from Munzur University’s Department of Turkish Language and Literature, has made significant contributions to Gülşeni's literary heritage.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kayaokay stated that this manuscript, consisting of 84 folios (168 pages), contains 306 poems attributed to Gülşeni, of which 104 had not appeared in any previous copies. The 2 qasidas, 39 ghazals, 1 rubai, and 62 tuyuğ included in the divan have emerged for the first time with this copy. In his statement regarding the divan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kayaokay emphasized that Gülşeni was one of the important representatives of Sufi culture in the 15th century.
"KANUNI, HE OPENS HIS EYES" Providing information about the manuscript divan, Kayaokay said, "According to some sources, İbrahim Gülşeni Hazretleri, who is said to have been born in the city of Berdea in Azerbaijan and according to others in Diyarbakır, is one of the most important representatives of Sufi culture in the 15th century. It is known that Gülşeni, who has many legends told about him, lost his father at the age of 2, went to Tabriz at the age of 15 for education, and met his master Dede Ömer Ruşeni there. He was appreciated and respected by Uzun Hasan during the Akkoyunlu period, the Mamluk rulers, and the Ottoman sultans Yavuz and his son Kanuni. Although Kanuni wanted him to open his eyes and stay in Istanbul, he went to Egypt and passed away in Cairo in 1534."
"TWO OF GÜLŞENİ'S TURKISH DIVANS ARE IN AUSTRIA, ONE IN VATICAN, AND ONE IN PETERSBURG" Stating that Gülşeni compiled divans in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish and wrote many works in these three languages, Kayaokay used the following expressions:
"To date, two doctoral theses have been written in Turkey and one book study in Azerbaijan on the publication of Gülşeni's Turkish divan. There are 4 copies of Gülşeni's Turkish divan abroad, two in Austria, one in the Vatican, and one in Petersburg. In Turkey, there are 11 known copies, some of which are missing, and each of the 15 copies has a different number of poems. So far, a complete compiled copy has not reached us. They are all selections known as 'müntehabat'. The number of poems known today by Gülşeni is 1,287, of which 5 are tuyuğ."
IT HAS THE TUGHRA OF SULTAN II. ABDÜLHAMID ON IT Kayaokay, who stated that the 84-folio divan manuscript he purchased at the auction contains 306 poems of Gülşeni, spoke as follows:
"It is the 12th copy in Turkey and the 6th largest copy. Through comparisons with other copies, it has been understood that the 104 poems in this copy were previously unknown. Two qasidas, 39 ghazals, 1 rubai, and 62 tuyuğ have emerged for the first time with this copy, which is significant for a poet known to have 1,287 poems. The divan measures 14 by 21 centimeters. In the sun parts, there is a 5-centimeter-sized gilded tughra of Sultan II. Abdülhamid and a 3-centimeter-sized gilded crescent. The manuscript consists of 84 folios, that is, 168 pages. The beginning and end of the work are complete, and it has fine paper with watermarks. It is written in Naskh-Taliq script, and there is no title in the heading section. There is a beautiful, vibrant illumination with red, pink, and green colors depicting a flower garden on the Basmala in gilding. Although no transcription date is seen on the manuscript, the title of the work is stated as 'Müntehabat-ı Divan-ı Hazret-i Gülşeni' in the colophon, and it is noted that the transcriber is a person named 'Şuayb Şerefeddin'. We have announced this important divan manuscript and its poems to the academic world as an article. Let’s hope we can find and bring to light many more valuable works."
```