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Early Mystics in Turkish Literature

By Mehmed Fuad Koprulu

Foreword by Devin DeWeese

Translated by Gary Leiser, Robert Dankoff

Published March 30th 2006 by Routledge – 496 pages

Series: Routledge Sufi Series

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Description

This book is a translation of one of the most important Turkish scholarly works of the twentieth century. It was the masterpiece of M.F. Koprulu, one of Turkey’s leading, and most prolific, intellectuals and scholars. Using a wide variety of Arabic, and especially Turkish and Persian sources, this book sheds light on the early development of Turkish literature and attempts to show the continuity in this development between the Turks and that of Anatolia. Early Mystics in Turkish Literature addresses this topic within the context of other subjects, including Sufism, Islam and the genesis of Turkish culture in the Muslim world.

This is a major contribution to the study of Turkish literature and is essential reading for scholars of Turkish literature, Islam, Sufism and Turkish history.

Reviews

The Muslim World Book Review

Islamic Spirituality- Shiraz Sheikh

Early Mystics in Turkish Literature

After a short discussion on Turkish literature before Ahmad Yasawi, the first part of the book proceeds with an account on the life and times of this great sufi personality. Relying primarily on hagiographical works (velayet-name, manaqib), such as the Jawahir al-Abrar of Hazini.]-[The second part which deals with Yunus Emre, follows a similar format to the one on Yasawi's in almost equal treatment, except now the focus has shifted from Central Asia to Anatolia. In this regard, before embanking on an account of the life of Yunus Emre, Koprulu begins by giving an overview of the first appearances of Turkish "national" literature in Anatolia. It is also in this section that Koprulu deals with the question of the flourishing and spread of Islmic mysticism in Anatolia, with special attention to the life and influence of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi.

Contents

Part 1: Admad Yasawi and His Influence on Turkish Literature 1. Turkish Literature before Admad Yasawi 2. The Legendary Life of Admad Yasawi 3. The Historical Life of Admad Yasawi 4. The Khalifas and Baroqa of Admad Yasawi 5. The Work of Admad Yasawi 6. Admad Yasawi’s Literary Influence Part 2: Yunus Emre and His Influence on Turkish Literature 7. Turkish Literature in Anatolia before Yunus Emre 8. The Life of Yunus Emre 9. The Work of Yunus Emre 10. Yunus Emre’s Influence on Turkish Literature and his Imitators

Author Bio

Gary Leiser is the Director of the Travis Air Museum at Travis AFB, California. He received a doctorate in Middle Eastern history from the university of Pennsylvania in 1976. He has been engaged in a long term project of translating into English the major historical works of M.F. Koprulu.

Robert Dankoff is Professor of Turkish and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. His most publications include Mahmud al-Kashgari, Compendium of the Turkic Dialects (Diwan Lugat at-Turk), edited and translated with introduction and indices by Robert Dankoff, in collaboration with James Kelly. Cambridge, Mass. and Yusuf Khass Hajib, Wisdom of Royal Glory (Kutadgu Bilig): A Turko-Islamic Mirror for Princes, translated, with an introduction and notes, by Robert Dankoff. University of Chicago Press, 1983.