Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Robert D. Burrowes, Historical Dic-

tionary of Yemen (Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1995); 

Werner Daum, ed., Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and 

Civilization (Innsbruck and Frankfurt am Main: Pin-

guin-Verlag, 1988); Paul Dresch, A History of Modern 

Yemen (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000); 

Brinkley M. Messick, The Calligraphic State (Berkeley: 

University of California Press, 1993).

K  716  

Yemen

---

Yunus Emre

 

(late 13th to early 14th 

centuries)  Turkish mystical poet

Yunus Emre is perhaps the most well-known 

Turkish poet, not only because he was the first 

major representative of Anatolian Turkish poetry, 

but also because of the sheer beauty and sincerity 

of his poems, and the continuing relevance they 

have today.

Little historical information exists on the life 

of Yunus Emre, though a note on a manuscript 

collection of his poetry suggests that he died in 

1320 or 1321. This places him during the turbu-

lent period after Mongol invasions had weakened 

the Seljuk Empire and Turkish principalities were 

vying for control over various parts of Anato-

lia. Several places in t

Urkey

 claim to have been 

the birthplace of Yunus, and even more claim 

to bear his grave; it is likely that this is due to 

his immense popularity and to the existence of 

other poets going by the name Yunus and writing 

in his style, which also complicates attributing 

specific poems to him. Bektashis consider him to 

have been a Bektashi, but he is also respected by 

most other 

dervish

 orders in Turkey. His poetry 

includes references to Tapduk Emre as his spiri-

tual master.

Yunus Emre’s poems have been collected in a 

Divan, though the various manuscripts show dis-

crepancies in their content. He is also the author 

of a poetic work entitled Risalat al-nushiyya,

which is dated to 1307–08. The language of his 

poems is generally simple and close to that of the 

common people. Motifs are drawn from nature 

and from classical Sufi poetry, and themes include 

the poet’s relationship with God (the Friend), the 

transitoriness of life, and especially mystical love. 

Most of his poems, because of their form and 

mystical content, are considered ilahis (mystical 

hymns), and many have been sung in the ceremo-

nies of dervish orders. A well-known example of 

Yunus’s poetry is translated here in part by Talat 

Halman:

I am not at this place to dwell, 

I arrived here just to depart. 

I’m a well-stocked peddler, I sell 

To all those who’ll buy from my mart.

I am not here on earth for strife, 

Love is the mission of my life. 

Hearts are the home of the loved one; 

I came here to build each true heart.

My madness is love for the Friend, 

Lovers know what my hopes portend; 

For me duality must end: 

God and I must not live apart.

As the first major Turkish poet, Yunus Emre 

influenced later poets writing in that language, and 

he laid the foundation for the development of Turk-

ish mystical poetry. He continues to inspire modern 

Turkish poets today, and his hymns continue to be 

read and recited and to be sung in the ceremonies 

of almost all dervish orders in Turkey. Yunus has 

served as the subject of films, plays, and an orato-

rio, and he is commemorated annually in festivals.

See also  b

ektashi

  s

UFi

  o

rder

; 

mUsic

;  s

elJUk

dynasty

; t

Urkish

 

langUage

 

and

 

literatUre

.

Mark Soileau