Shah Tahmasp I
Shahanshah of Persia
Painting of Shah Tahmasp I at Chehel Sotoon palace.
Reign	23 May 1524-25 May 1576
Coronation	2 June 1524
Full name	‘Abu’l Muzaffar ‘Abu’l Fath Sultan Shah Tahmasp bin Shah Ismail al-Safavi al-Husayni al-Musavi[1]
Titles	Shahanshah, Sahib-i-Qiran, Sultan bar Salatin [2]
Born	22 February 1514
Birthplace	Shahabad
Died	May 14, 1576(1576-05-14) (aged 62)
Place of death	Qazvin
Buried	Ardebil
Predecessor	Ismail I
Successor	Ismail II
Royal House	Safavi
Father	Shah Ismail I
Mother	Tajlu Khanum

Tahmasp or Tahmasb I (Persian: شاه تهماسب یکم‎) (February 22, 1514 – May 14, 1576) was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty. He was the son of Ismail I and Shah-Begi Khanum (known under the title Tajlu Khanum) of the Turcoman Mawsillu tribe.^[3][4]

During his childhood he was weak and came under the control of the Qizilbash, Turkic tribesmen who formed the backbone of Safavid power. The Qizilbash leaders fought among themselves for the right to be regents over Tahmasp. Upon adulthood, however, Tahmasp was able to reassert the power of the Shah and control the tribesmen.

His reign was marked by foreign threats, primarily from the Ottomans and the Uzbeks. In 1555, however, he regularized relations with the Empire through the Peace of Amasya. This peace lasted for 30 years, until it was broken in the time of Shah Mohammed Khodabanda.

He is also known for the reception he gave to the fugitive Mughal Emperor Humayun which is depicted in a painting on the walls of the Safavid palace of Chehel Sotoon. Humayun's return from Persia, accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and soldiers, signaled an important change in Mughal court culture, as the Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language and literature.

One of Shah Tahmasp's more lasting achievements was his encouragement of the Persian rug industry on a national scale, possibly a response to the economic effects of the interruption of the Silk Road carrying trade during the Ottoman wars.

Biography[link]

Regency 1524–1533[link]

Tahmasp was just 10 years old when he succeeded his father Shah Isma'il I, the founder of Safavid rule in Iran. Too young to rule in his own right, Tahmasp came under the control of the Qizilbash. Some of the tribes recognised a Qizilbash leader, Div Sultan Rumlu, as regent (atabeg) to the shah, but others dissented and in 1526 a bloody civil war broke out among the differing factions. Div Sultan emerged victorious but his ally, Chuha Sultan Takkalu, turned against him and urged the shah to get rid of him. On 5 July 1527 as Div Sultan arrived for a meeting of the government, Tahmasp shot an arrow at him. When it failed to kill him, the shah's supporters finished him off.

Chuha Sultan now became regent. Iran's enemies, the Uzbeks, had taken advantage of the civil war to invade the north-eastern province of Khorasan. In 1528 Chuha Sultan and the shah marched with their army to reassert control of the region. Although they defeated the Uzbeks in a battle near Jam, Tahmasp was disgusted at the cowardice Chuha Sultan had displayed during the combat. Finally, in 1530/1, a quarrel broke out between members of the Takkalu and Shamlu Qizilbash factions and the Shamlus succeeded in killing Chuha Sultan. The Takkalus regained the advantage and some of them even tried to kidnap the shah. Tahmasp lost patience and ordered a general massacre of the Takkalu tribe. They never regained their influence in Iran.

The leader of the Shamlu faction, Husayn Khan, now assumed the regency but, in 1533, Tahmasp suspected Husayn Khan was plotting to overthrow him and had him put to death. Tahmasp was now old enough and confident enough to rule in his own right.^[5]

Foreign threats 1533–1553[link]

The 16th century Chehel Sotun pavillon in Qazvin. It's the last remain of the palace of Shah Tahmasp. it was heavily restored by the Qajars in the 19th century.

The discord in Iran had allowed its enemies, the Uzbek khans in the east and the Ottoman Empire in the west, to seize territory. The Ottomans were at the height of their power during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. They launched four invasions of Iran between 1533 and 1553. Since the Ottoman army possessed overwhelming numerical superiority, Tahmasp avoided pitched battle with them and resorted to alternative tactics.

In 1534, Suleiman invaded Iran with a force numbering 200,000 men and 300 pieces of artillery. Tahmasp could only field 7,000 men (of dubious loyalty) and a few cannons. The Ottomans seized the Safavid capital Tabriz, crossed Kurdistan and captured Baghdad. Tahmasp avoided direct confrontation with the Ottoman army, preferring to harass it then retreat, leaving scorched earth behind him. This scorched earth policy led to the loss of 30,000 Ottoman troops as they made their way through the Zagros mountains and Suleiman decided to abandon his campaign.^[6]

Next, Suleiman tried to exploit the disloyalty of Tahmasp's brother Alqas Mirza, who was governor of the frontier province of Shirvan. Alqas had rebelled and, fearing his brother's wrath, he had fled to the Ottoman court. He persuaded Suleiman that if he invaded the Iranians would rise up and overthrow Tahmasp. In 1548, Suleiman and Alqas entered Iran with a huge army but Tahmasp had already "scorched the earth" around Tabriz and the Ottomans could find few supplies to sustain themselves. Alqas penetrated further into Iran but the citizens of Isfahan and Shiraz refused to open their gates to him. He was forced to retreat to Baghdad where the Ottomans abandoned him as an embarrassment. Captured by the Iranians, his life was spared but he was condemned to spend the rest of his life in prison in the fortress of Qahqaha.^[7]

During the final Ottoman invasion of Iran in 1553, Tahmasp seized the initiative and defeated Iskandar Pasha near Erzerum. He also captured one of Suleiman's favourites, Sinan Beg. This persuaded the sultan to come to terms at the Peace of Amasya in 1555. The treaty freed Iran from Ottoman attacks for three decades. Nevertheless, Tahmasp took the precaution of transferring his capital from Tabriz to Qazvin, which was further away from the border.^[8]

Between 1540 and 1553, Tahmasp conducted military campaigns in the Caucasus region, capturing many Armenians, Georgians and Circassians. These would become an important new element in Iranian society.^[9]

Royal refugees: Bayezid and Humayun[link]

Shah Tahmasp greets the exiled Humayun.

Shah Tahmasp I and the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Isfahan.

The Mughal Empire was Iran's eastern neighbour. In 1544, the Mughal emperor, Humayun, fled to Tahmasp's court after he had been overthrown by the rebel Sher Shah Suri (Sher Khan). Tahmasp insisted on the Sunni Humayun converting to Shi'ism before he would help him. Humayun reluctantly agreed and also gave Tahmasp the strategically important city of Kandahar in exchange for Iranian military assistance against the heirs of Sher Khan and his own rebellious brothers. By 1555, he had regained his throne.^[10][11]

Humayun was not the only royal figure to seek refuge at Tahmasp's court. A dispute arose in the Ottoman Empire over who was to succeed the aged Suleiman the Magnificent. Suleiman's favourite wife, Roxelana, was eager for her eldest son Selim to become the next sultan. But Selim was an alcoholic and Roxelana's third son, Bayezid, had shown far greater military ability. The two princes quarrelled and eventually Bayezid rebelled against his father. His letter of remorse never reached Suleiman and he was forced to flee abroad to avoid execution. In 1559, Bayezid arrived in Iran where Tahmasp gave him a warm welcome. Suleiman was eager to negotiate his son's return, but Tahmasp rejected his promises and threats until, in 1561, Suleiman offered him land and 400,000 gold pieces. In September of that year, Tahmasp and Bayezid were enjoying a banquet at Tabriz when Tahmasp suddenly pretended he had received news that the Ottoman prince was engaged in a plot against his life. An angry mob gathered and Tahmasp had Bayezid put into custody, alleging it was for his own safety. Tahmasp then handed the prince over to the Ottoman ambassador. Shortly afterwards, Bayezid was killed by agents sent by his own father.^[12]

Final years[link]

In 1574, Tahmasp fell ill and discord broke out among the Qizilbash once more, this time over which prince was to succeed him. The shah's Georgian and Circassian wives had also introduced a new faction into the court. Seven of Tahmasp's surviving sons were by Georgian or Circassian mothers and two by a Turcoman.^[13] Of the latter, Mohammed Khodabanda was regarded as unfit to rule because he was almost blind, and his younger brother, Ismail, had been imprisoned by Tahmasp since 1555. Nevertheless, one court faction supported Ismail, while another backed Haydar Mirza, the son of a Georgian. Tahmasp himself was believed to favour Haydar but he prevented his supporters from killing Ismail.^[14]

Tahmasp died as a result of poison, although it is unclear whether this was by accident or on purpose. On his death, as expected, fighting broke out between the different court factions. Haydar was killed and Ismail emerged triumphant as Shah Ismail II.^[15]

Tahmasp and the arts[link]

Tahmasp was an enthusiastic patron of the arts with a particular interest in the Persian miniature, especially book illustration. He had been trained in drawing himself, and had some talent. The most famous example of such work is the Shāhnāma-yi Shāh Tahmāspī (King's Book of Kings), commissioned for Tahmasp by his father and containing 250 miniatures by the leading court artists of the era.^[16] However in the 1540s he is recorded as losing interest in the arts, and his imperial atelier largely dispersed.

Offspring[link]

He married (first) his maternal first cousin, Kadamali Sultan Begum, née Sultanum Begum daughter of Musa Sultan bin ‘Isa Beg Musullu, of the Aq Quyunlu, m. (second) Sultan Agha Khanum, a Circassian, sister of Shamkhal Kara-Musal Sultan,Governor of Sakki, m. (third), Sultanzada Khanum a Georgian, m. (fourth) Zahra Baji daughter of Prince Ot'ar Shalikashvili of Samtskhe from Shalikashvili family of Georgia, m. (fifth) Khan-Parwar Khanum a Georgian, m. (sixth) Huri-Khan Khanum, a Georgian, m. (seventh) daughter of the Governor of Daghestan, m. (eighth)Aisha Begum, daughter of Sufian Khan, Khan of Khiva, m. (ninth) Zainab Sultan Khanum, m. (tenth) Zahra Baji a Georgian.^[17]

sons

• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan ‘Ali Quli Mirza (b.1528-d.1529)
• Mohammed Khodabanda
• Ismail II
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Murad Mirza (b. 1538-d. September 5, 1545) Governor of Kandahar 1545.
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Soleiman Mirza (b. at Nikhichivan, 1554-k. at Qazvin, November 2, 1576) Governor of Fars 1555–1557, and Mashhad 1576.
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Heidar Mirza (b. 1555-k. at Qazvin, May 14, 1576) having had issue, a daughter, married Hasan Khan Ustajalu. She had issue, 4 sons.
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mostafa Mirza (b. 1557-k. at Qazvin, November 2, 1576) having had issue, 2 daughters, Princess Mahd-e-Olia married Abbas I and a daughter who married Zulfikhar Khan Karamanlu and had issue, 2 sons.
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Mahmud Mirza (b. 1559-k. at Qazvin, February 24, 1577) Governor Shirvan 1566–1567, and of Lahijan 1567–1571, having had issue, a son, Prince Mohammad Baqer Mirza (b.1575 -k. February 24, 1577)
• Prince Shahzadeh Imam Qoli Mirza (b. 1562- k. at Qazvin, February 24, 1577), without issue .
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan ‘Ali Mirza (b. at Qazvin, 1563- d. at Isfahan, January 31, 1642) Governor of Ganja 1570–1577. He was blinded and imprisoned by Shah Abbas I at Alamut. m. Kabuli Begum, having had issue, one son, Prince Shahzada Soltan Mustafa Mirza.
• Prince Shahzadeh Soltan Ahmad Mirza (b. at Qazvin, 1564-k. at Qazvin, February 24, 1577)
• Prince Shahzadeh Zeinal Abedin Mirza (d. before 1576)
• Prince Shahzadeh Musa Mirza (d. before 1576)

daughters

• Princess Shahzadeh Alamiyan Gowhar Soltan Beygom (b. 1540- d. May 19, 1577) married Prince ‘Abu’l Fath Soltan Ibrahim Mirza (b. 1543- k. February 24, 1577) son of paternal uncle, Shahzada ‘Abu’l Fath Muiz ud-din Bahram Mirza son of Ismail I, having had issue, one daughter, Princess Gowhar Shad Begum (b. 1561-d. ?)
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Pari-Khan Khanum (b.1548-k. February 17, 1578) unmarried and without issue.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Khadija Sultan Begum, m. (first) her cousin, Jamshid Khan Gilani (b. 1557- k. 1580) son of Soltan Mahmud Mirza Gilani, governor of Fuman. m. (second) as his third wife, Mir Nimatu’llah Yazdi Zu’l-Nurain, eldest son of Amir Ghiyas ed-din Muhammad Yazdi Mir-i-Miran, having had issue, two sons, by her first husband.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Zainab Beygom (b. 1550-d. at Isfahan, May 14, 1641) unmarried and without issue
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Mariam Soltan Beygom (b. 1551-d. at Isfahan, 1608), m. (first) Khan Ahmad Khan governor of Gilan, m. (second) as his second wife, Mir Nematu’llah Yazdi Zu’l-Nurain, eldest son of Amir Ghiyas ed-din Muhammad Yazdi Mir-i-Miran, having had issue one daughter and one son, by her first husband.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Beygom Khanoum, m. Musib Beyg Khan, son of Muhammad Khan Takahi.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Khanish Begom. (b. after 1562-d. at Isfahan, 1590) m. as his first wife, Mir Nimatu’llah Yazdi Zu’l-Nurain, eldest son of Amir Ghiyas ed-din Muhammad Yazdi Mir-i-Miran, having had issue, two sons.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Fatemeh Soltan Beygom, m. Amir Khan Musallu (k. at Qahqaha, 1584) son of Muhsmmad Beyg Mosalla.
• Princess Shahzadi Alamiyan Shahbanu Khanum, m. his first wife, her cousin, Amir Salman Khan Ustajalu son of Shah ‘Ali Quli Mirza Ustajalu.^[18]

See also[link]

• Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Roger Savory Iran under the Safavids (Cambridge University Press, 2007 reissue) pp. 96–100
• H. Nahavandi, Y. Bomati, Shah Abbas, empereur de Perse (1587–1629) (Perrin, Paris, 1998) pp. 222–226

Although some contemporary Georgian sources refer to him as David XI (Ge: დავით XI), King of Kartli, Daud Khan (died ca. 1579), a convert to Islam, was actually a puppet ruler (khan) of Kartli for the Persian shah Tahmasp I from 1562 (effectively from 1569) to 1578.

David was a brother of the Kartlian king Simon I, who led a long-lasting liberation war against the Safavid Persian and Ottoman empires. David submitted in 1562 to Tahmasp at Kazvin, renounced Christianity and was named Daud Khan. The shah appointed him ruler in Kartli and sent with a Persian army to claim the power. Relying on the Persian occupation forces and a few loyal nobles, he was invested with the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the province of Lower Kartli, while the rest of the kingdom remained faithful to Simon. The rival brothers met on battlefield on several occasions. The hostilities took place mainly around Tbilisi, which was blockaded by Simon’s forces from 1567 to 1569. Although the king won the battles at Dighomi (1567) and Samadlo (1569), the Persians eventually prevailed and took Simon captive at the Battle of Partskhisi, 1569. He was sent in chains to the fortress of Alamut, and Daud Khan assumed full control of Kartli. As previously, he relied on the Persians and paid an annual tribute to the Shah. A patriotic alliance of nobles led by Prince Sachino Baratashvili continued, however, resistance to the renegade Georgian ruler. In 1578, a peace between the Safavids and the Ottomans collapsed. The Turkish army commanded by Lala Mustafa Pasha overran much of Georgia and dislodged Daud Khan, who had burnt the citadel of Tbilisi and taken shelter at Lorri. The Shah presently freed Simon to fight against the Ottomans and reinstated him as king of Kartli. In retaliation, Daud Khan handed the control over Lorri to the Turks and fled to Istanbul, where he was welcomed and granted a lordship over two sanjaks. His sons, Bagrat and Khosro, took shelter in Persia. During his stay in Turkey, Daud Khan compiled two Ottoman-era medical treatises (qarabadin) and translated it into Georgian, sending a copy to his motherland.

He was married to a princess of Tarki, who bore him three children:

• Bagrat VII of Kartli
• Rostom of Kartli
• A daughter who married a certain Georgian prince Teimuraz.

External links[link]

• Biography of Simon I (In Georgian)
• (English) Kings of Kartli at Royal Ark website

Erkan Oğur
Erkan Oğur holding a kopuz lute in April 2007, giving a workshop in Rotterdam.
Background information
Born	1954 (age 57–58) Elazığ, Turkey
Genres	Turkish folk
Occupations	composer, score composer, musician
Instruments	Fretless guitar, kopuz, bağlama, oud, cümbüş, yaylı tanbur, tambur, violin, kemenche, erhu, bouzouki, bendir, tubular bell, Oğur sazı
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Feuer und Eis, Kalan
Associated acts	Telvin
Notable instruments
Fretless classical guitar, fretless electric guitar, kopuz lute

Erkan Oğur (pronounced [ˈeɾkan ˈoɰuɾ]), or Erkan Ogur in the West, (born 1954) is a Turkish musician. A pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.^[1][2] A composer, he has influenced many musicians with his compositions combining the sounds of Turkish folk music, classical music with the ancient traditional music. He has played many concerts all over the world. He is regarded as a master of the kopuz and bağlama lutes.

Biography[link]

Erkan Oğur was born in 1954, in Ankara, Turkey. He spent his childhood in Elazığ, eastern Turkey,^[1] where he became interested in violin and the Turkish bağlama lute, and started to practice them frequently. He graduated from high school in Elazığ, then moved to study physics at the Ankara University Faculty of Science from 1970 to 1973.^[1] As a result of encouragement to be a scientist by his father, he started to study chemical engineering and in 1974 continued his education in The Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany, for three years. He was introduced to guitar education in 1973. Instead of being a scientist, he chose to be a musician. Since he needed detailed sounds from a guitar in order to obtain Turkish melodies, he modified his guitar and invented the fretless classical guitar in 1976.^[1][2]

In 1980, he returned to Turkey, and started to study at the State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University.^[1] After his military service, he worked as an oud lute teacher. He had live performances with Fikret Kızılok and Bülent Ortaçgil where he contributed to scene with fretless guitar. He released his first album in Germany called Arayışlar ("Searches"). In 1989, he went to the U.S. to work with numerous local blues artists. He introduced fretless guitar into blues.^[1] A year later, he released his first album in Turkey, Bir Ömürlük Misafir ("A Lifetime Guest"), which was ranked 4th in European lists. He still performs concerts through the world and in Turkey. He works with Kemal Eroglu on technical improvements on bağlama lute; and continues his performances with Fahir Atakoglu and Bülent Ortaçgil. In 2004, he played on Yansımalar's album Pervane ("Moth"). He is a member of the Telvin trio, which mainly performs Turkish folk music in improvised jazz style, with İlkin Deniz and Turgut Alp Bekoglu,^[1] and has released an album called Telvin in 2006.

His soundtrack for the 2004 movie Yazı Tura by Uğur Yücel won two awards: the 2004 Golden Orange for Best Music at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, and the 2005 award for Best Music at the Ankara International Film Festival.

Discography[link]

Chronologically, subsections by the date of their first item:

Early works and collaborations

• 1982 - Istanbul'da Bir Amerikalı
• 1983 - Perdesiz Gitarda Arayışlar - small-distribution cassette

Soundtrack albums and collaborations (by film date)

• 1989 - Sis OST - Zülfü Livaneli film soundtrack
• 1996 - Eşkiya OST (The Bandit) - with Aşkın Arsunan, Yavuz Turgul film Eşkıya soundtrack (Kalan, released 2000)
• 2003 - Yazı Tura OST - Uğur Yücel film soundtrack, (Kalan, released 2005)
• 2009 - Mommo (Kız Kardeşim) - Atalay Tasdiken film soundtrack

Solo and collaboration albums

• 1993 - Fretless (Feuer und Eis)
• 1996 - Bir Ömürlük Misafir - reworked reissue of Fretless (Kalan)
• 1998 - Gülün Kokusu Vardı - with İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu (Kalan)
• 1999 - Hiç ("Nothing") - with Okan Murat Öztürk (Kalan)
• 2000 - Anadolu Beşik - with İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu (Kalan)
• 2001 - Fuad - with Djivan Gasparyan
• 2006 - Telvin - in Telvin trio
• 2007 - The Istanbul Connection
• 2012 - Dönmez Yol

Featured on albums

• 1989 - Mideast/Midwest - recording of live performance with Robert 'One-Man' Johnson
• 1995 - The Other Side of Turkey - compilation, includes Oğur (Feuer und Eis)
• 2004 - Pervane ("Moth") by Yansımalar - studio album, Oğur on four tracks (Kalan)

References[link]

Sources consulted

• Martinelli, Francesco (October 2001). ""Erkan Oğur" (minibio and interview)". RootsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20070106065310/http://www.rootsworld.com/interview/ogur.html. 
• Unfretted (December 2005 version). "History of the Fretless Guitar". Unfretted.net. Archived from the original on 2005-12-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20051231002733/http://www.unfretted.net/loader.php?LINK=history. 

Endnotes

External links[link]

Official sites

• Discography of Erkan Oğur at label Kalan.com – with MP3 samples
• Discography of Telvin at label Kalan.com – with MP3 samples

Other sites

• Erkan Oğur at Allmusic – some inaccuracies in dates and spellings
• Erkan Oğur at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

Pir Sultan Abdal (ca. 1480–1550) was a legendary Turkish Alevi poet, whose direct and clear language as well as the richness of his imagination and the beauty of his verses led him to become loved among the Turkish people. Pir Sultan Abdal reflected the social, cultural and religious life of the people; he was a humanist, and wrote about resistance, love, peace, death and God. He was also rebellious against authoritarian rule which led him into problems with the Ottoman establishment.

Origins[link]

Pir Sultan Abdal's ethnic origin is Turkish, his poetry was in the Turkish language and he originated from Sivas, which is mostly populated by ethnic Turks. Although Some researchers believe "Pir Sultan" wasn't just the one in Sivas, who has rebelled against the state and hanged for his religious convictions by Hızır Paşa's orders. Most of the information about him and his era we find in his verses, which reveal him as cultivated well educated and intellectual. Pir Sultan Abdal, was an Alevi, his early work is dedicated to lyrical and pastoral themes and to the gnostic approach he had adopted. He criticized some Ottoman governors, Hizir Pasha in particular who ruled the region and his unjust officers.

His verses and calls for the rights and freedoms of the peasant folk soon attracted a lot of support among the masses who supported these ideals. As a result he was hung by Hizir Pasha.

But the tradition of his poetry and his struggle have remained alive till this day. His poetry was sung accompanied by the baglama, or saz, throughout the ages by folk singers. Today in modern Turkey the Baglama is one of the most loved instruments of the people and is extremely popular and widely used.

Many poets acquired his name to keep 'Pir Sultan's voice' alive. According to literary historians, there were at least six other poets bearing the same name.

Poetry[link]

Dostun en güzeli bahçesine bir hoyrat girmiş
Korudur hey benli dilber korudur
Gülünü dererken dalını kırmış
Kurudur hey benli dilber kurudur

Şu meydanda serilidir postumuz
Çok şükür Mevlâ'ya gördük dostumuz
Bir gün kara toprak bürür üstümüz
Çürütür hey benli dilber çürütür

Kendisi okur da kendisi yazar
Hak hilâl kaşına eylemiş nazar
Senin akranların cennette gezer
Hürüdür hey benli dilber hürüdür

Hangi dinde isen ona tapayım
Yarın mahşer günü bile kopayım
Eğil bir yol ak gerdandan öpeyim
Beri dur hey benli dilber beri dur

Pîr Sultan Abdal'ım başından başlar
İyisini yer de kemini taşlar
Bin çiçekten bir kovana bal işler
Arıdır hey benli dilber arıdır

Koyun beni hak aşkına yanayım
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan
Yolumdan dönüp mahrum mu kalayım
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan

Benim pirim gayet ulu kişidir
Yediler ulusu, kırklar eşidir
Oniki imamın server başıdır
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan

Kadılar, Müftüler fetva yazarsa
İşte kemend, işte boynum asarsa
İşte hançer, işte kellem keserse
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan

Ulu mahşer günü olur divan kurulur
Suçlu, suçsuz gelir anda derilir
Piri olmayanlar anda bilinir
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan

Pir Sultan’ım arşa çıkar ünümüz
O da bizim ulumuzdur pirimiz
Hakka teslim olsun garip canımız
Dönen dönsün ben dönmezem yolumdan

Translation[link]

To the garden of my love there came an evil louder
The shrubs now lie there, my fair one, shrubs lie
While gathering the roses, he broke their stems to moulder
They are all dry, my fair one, they are all dry.

We've spread our prayer hide all over this place
We saw our dearest one to Holy God in grace
One day, all of us will come into the earth's embrace
We'll putrefy, my fair one, we'll putrefy.

God Himself reads the fate, Himself he scribes
He closed the crescent lashes of her beautiful eyes
Your peers are walking now with you in Paradise
houris they are, my fair one, houris, fair my.

Whatever your creed be, I will adore it and pray
To be awaken together with you on Judgement Day
Rise up once more to kiss your white throat that I may
Don't pass for one more trice, my fair, don't pass by.

I am Pir Sultan Abdal, the first of the firsts,
I feed my soul with the best and remedy the worst
I'll pool honey from thousand blooms to one comb till it bursts
I am the bee, my fair one, the bee am I.

Source: http://www.turkishclass.com/poem_204

Legacy[link]

Pir Sultan followed the traditional style of folk literature. The outstanding characteristic of his poems, the use of vernacular language, keen and clear style still prevail in folkloric poetry. He also had a great influence on the poets of modern Turkey in the republican era and is today a beloved figure.

See also[link]

• Ashik

v t e Sufism and Tariqa Ideas Qutb Wali Abdal Fakir Dervish Tazkiah Baqaa Fanaa Haal Keramat Haqiqa Ihsan Irfan Kashf Lataif Manzil Marifa Nafs Noor Sufi cosmology Sufi metaphysics Sufi philosophy Sufi poetry Sufi psychology Sulook Yaqeen Silsila Practices Anasheed Dhikr Haḍra Muraqaba Qawwali Sama Whirling Ziyarat Sufi orders Azeemia Akbarī Alians Ba 'Alawī Bayramī Bektashī Chishtī Galibī Gulshanī Ḥurūfī Idrīsī Jelvetī Jerrahī Khalwatī Kubrāwī Madarī Malāmatī Mawlāwī Mourīdī Naqshbandī Naqshbandi Uwaisī Khalidiyya Nasuhī Ni'matullāhī Nuqtawī Qadirī Qalāndārī Rifa'ī Safāvī Shadhilī Suhrawardī Sunbulī Tijanī Ussakī Uwaisī Zahedī Notable early Sufi saints and mystics Abdul-Qadir Gilanī Abul-Khayr Ahmad Ghazālī Ahmed Yasāvī Al-Ghazālī Al-Hallaj al-Misrī Al-Qāsim al-Qunawī Amīr Kulal Ardabilī Ata Allah Attar Balım Sultan Baha ūd-Dīn Naqshband Bande Nawāz Baqī Billah Bastamī Bhita'ī Bulleh Shah Shah Waliullah Dehlāvī Farīd ūd-Dīn Fozail Gālib Gharīb Nawāz Ghujdawanī Ghulam Farīd Sheik Edebali Gül Baba Hajji Bayram Hajji Bektash Hazrat Mai Safoora Qadiriyya Haddad Hamadānī Hansvī Harabatī Baba Hasan Basri Mahmud Hudayī Hujwirī ibn ʿArabī Jābir ibn Hayyān Jahangasht Jamī Jan-e-Jānāān Jazoulī Junayd Baġdādī Kākī Kaliyarī Karkhī Kharaqanī Kubrā Nāimī Najib al-Suhrawardī Nasīmī Mansur Al-Hallaj Ni'matullāh Nizām ūd-Dīn Nurī Otman Baba Pir Sultan Qutb ūd-Dīn Haydār Rabbānī Rabia Basri Razī Rifa'ī Rukn-e-Alam Rūmī Ibrahim ibn Adham Saadī Salman al-Farisī Sanai Mevlana Halid-i Bagdadi Sarı Saltuk Semnanī Shadhilī Shahāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī Shams Tabrizī Shiblī Shirazī Sultan Walad Surkh Bukhari Taj al-Dīn Gilanī Umar al-Suhrawardī Uwais al-Qarni Yunus Emre Magtymguly Pyragy Zakariya Zarruq Notable modern Sufi saints Auliya Azeemi Nagpuri Meher Ali Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Sirajuddin Qadeer Piya Muhammad Maliki Gohar Shahi Tahir ul-Qadri Tahir Allauddin Taqi Usmani Abdal Hakim Murad Nazim Al-Haqqani Hisham Kabbani Nuh Keller Nooruddeen Durkee Abdalqadir as-Sufi Zaheen Ghulam Mustafa Reshad Feild Ahmad al-Alawi Ashraf Ali Thanvi Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri Omar Shah Haeri Raza Khan Syed Shujaat Pir Zulfiqar Abdullah Naqshbandi Sufi Barkat Ali Hafiz Qamaruddin Saheb Qibla Fultali Feisal Abdul Rauf Osman Nuri Topbaş Sufi studies Aguéli Almqvist Burckhardt Chittick Corbin Ernst Frager Guénon Hixon Lindbom Lings Nasr Schimmel Sells Shah Schuon Topics in Sufism Art Fiction History Music Poetry Shrines Texts Portal