Millennium of Turkish Literature : a concise History

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Halman, Talât Sait.
A millennium of Turkish literature : a concise history / Talat S. Halman ; 
edited by Jayne L. Warner. — Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8156-0958-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Turkish literature—History and criticism. I. Warner, Jayne L. II. Title. 
PL205.H345 
2010
894'.35—dc22 
2010038681
Manufactured in the United States of America

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 c o n t e n t s
f o r e w o r d
A Time-Honored Literature
vii
n o t e o n t u r k i sh spe l l i n g a n d n a m e s
xi
 The Dawn in Asia
1
 Selçuk Sufism
11
 Ottoman Glories
25
 Timeless Tales
55
 Occidental Orientation
63
 Republic and Renascence
81
a f t erwor d
The Future of Turkish Literature
133
s u g g e s t e d r e a di n g
139
i n d e x
155
bio g r a ph i c a l n o t e s
169

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vii
f or e wor d
A Time-Honored Literature
Ta l at S. H a l m a n
r o m O r h o n i n s c r i p t i o n s t o O r h a n Pa m u k : that could 
serve as a defi nition of the life story of Turkish literature from the eighth 
century a.d. to the present day. A geographic span from Outer Mongolia and 
the environs of China through Inner Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East 
and North Africa, the Balkans and Europe all the way to North America. An 
amalgam of cultural and literary orientations that has embraced such tradi-
tions and infl uences as Chinese, Indian, Turkic, Mongolian, Uyghur, Rus-
sian, Arabo-Persian, Islamic, Sufi , Judaeo-Christian, Greek, Mesopotamian, 
Roman, Byzantine, European and Mediterranean, Scandinavian, Germanic 
and British, French and Spanish, North American, and Latin American.
Always receptive to the nurturing values, aesthetic tastes, and literary 
penchants from diverse civilizations, Turkish culture succeeded in evolv-
ing a sui generis personality. It clung to its own established traits, yet it was 
fl exible enough to welcome innovations—or even revolutionary change.
Among living literatures that preceded Turkish literature, one can cite 
the Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, Arabic, Persian, German, Indian, Irish, Span-
ish, and perhaps two or three others.
Literature, the premier genre of Turkish culture, had its dawn in Mon-
golia’s Orhon Valley, where in the 720s and 730s the Köktürks erected ste-
lae featuring their historical narratives. Th
ese inscriptions still stand in 
situ. Th
ey relate the Köktürk experiences of confl ict, defeat, and regained 
sovereignty. In moving terms, they emphasize the importance of cultural 
authenticity and of a quasi-national consciousness.
Turkic poetry made its debut in the Uyghur dialect presumably in the 
sixth century, although it is diffi
cult to ascertain the exact date. By the 
tenth century, it had become a living tradition.

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viii
Foreword
Th
e 
Dede Korkut
tales 
(Th
e Book of Dede Korkut),
oft en characterized 
as “the Turkish national epic,” probably had their origins in the tenth cen-
tury, although the epic took about another fi ve centuries to make its transi-
tion from the oral tradition to its fi rst written version.
It was in the second half of the eleventh century that two early major 
literary works,