The poetry of Suleiman the Magnificent

SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICIENT 'S POETRY. THE WORK OF A PERFECT RULER.

Suleiman the Magnificient (Kanuni - the Lawgiver) provided a new spirit for the poets, scientists and authors. This ruler poet of the XVI century sponsored an army of artists, religious thinkers and philosophers that outshone the most educated courts of Europe. Suleiman himself actively participated in the development of Ottoman poetry by writing poems under the name Muhibbi (the lover, true friend) and his love poetry is among the best in Islam. Suleiman 's poems are highly ritualized and belong to Divan poetry.[1: Clot, André. "Preface." In Suleiman the Magnificent: the man, his life, his epoch. London: Saqi, 1992. 4-5.]

From the Persian poetry that largely inspired it, Divan poetry mingles the mystical Sufi thought with profane and erotic elements. It also inherited a wealth of symbols whose meanings and interrelationships are prescribed. The nightingale, for instance opposes the rose, and the world opposes the rose garden. The pairing of "the nightingale" and "the rose" suggests two different relationships: between the fervent lover ("the nightingale") and the inconstant beloved ("the rose") and between the individual Sufi practitioner (a lover) and God (the ultimate source and object of love). Similarly, "the world" refers simultaneously to the physical world considered as the abode of sorrow and impermanence, while "the rose garden" refers literally to a garden and to the garden of Paradise. [2: Renard, John. "Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi.." The Journal of the American Oriental Society, January 1, 1997.]

However, human physicality belonging to the physical world is never desecrated. It is rather praised, just like in the European tradition of courtly love. The best example is Roxelana. The romance between Suleiman and a golden-haired Ukrainian slave girl sent to the harem is the subject of a hundred novels and poems. Roxelana became Suleiman 's favorite, replacing the mother of Mustafa, Suleiman 's son and heir. She was one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history and a prominent figure during the era known as the Sultanate of Women. The beauty of Roxelana 's body is well expressed in one of Suleiman 's poems, which resembles the Old Testament Song of Solomon:

My wealth, my love, my moonlight...

the most beautiful among the beautiful,

my springtime, my merry-faced love, my daytime,

my sweetheart, laughing leaf...

my woman of the beautiful hair,

my love of the slanted brow,

my love of eyes full of mischief...

I 'll sing of your praises forever-

I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi,

of the tear-filled eyes,

I am happy.[3: "POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020." POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020. http://www.poetryrepairs.com/v13/020.html (accessed June 11, 2014).]

Love in the Divan poetry is a mandatory emotion and the poet should put himself in the lover position. The superiority in the lyrical poems of Divan is, not surprisingly, the dominance of the loved one above his lover, with all their beauty and caprice. The loved one is always in the sultan, master or owner role while the lover is the servant or the slave:

Dear Lord! For the sake of Mustafa, your Messenger Grant us your bountiful paradise Dear Lord! At the day of Judgement Keep Muhibbi, the slave on your side.[4: "Archive for 2010." Mind Body Soul RSS. http://www.yursil.com/blog/2010/page/11/ (accessed June 11, 2014).]

As the position my change, sometimes the lover becomes the patient because of his love and the loved one is the doctor who has the cure:

Dear Lord! Shower me with your grace Whether there is any remedy other than You I do not know. Help me, forgive my sins, Please, help me, forgive my sins.[5: Ibid.]

It is also possible for the lover to define himself as the victim of the loved one 's tortures. The loved one 's torture, coquetry, cruelty, lack of interest and adherence to the lover are his dominant and undisputable properties. In the Divan poems, the loved ones do not show love or kindness to their lovers. They do not share the happiness of their love or get sad if they separate either.[6: Aksoyak, Ismail Hakkı. "The Language Of Divan Poetry Is The Language Of The Empire." Journal of Turkish Studies Volume 4 Issue 5, no. 4 (2009): 8-9.]

The servant is always in need of protection, benignity and grace. With his apparent loyalty and love for the sultan, the servant prays for not being declined by their master. Even being a servant dog at the doorstep of the sultan, the loved one, is considered a gift. The servant considers his face the ground for the sultan, wishing he steps on his eye. His heart makes the soil from the sultan 's feet appear as crown on the head of the servant. Being stepped under the sultan of the land of beauty is not unpleasant; indeed, a proverb says that the lover is impudent. Muhibbi is the servant of the sultan 's edict with his suffering, gloom, fatality and complaints, trustworthiness and bountifulness. [7: Aksoyak, Ismail Hakkı. "The Language Of Divan Poetry Is The Language Of The Empire." Journal of Turkish Studies Volume 4 Issue 5, no. 4 (2009): 8-9.]

In Divan poetry, life is the only asset that the lover has. He wants to purchase the love of the loved one. Being neglected by the loved one is like losing his life. The words of the loved one, however, have the power to save lives. The lover may sacrifice his life when necessary. Had the lover had hundreds of lives, he would be ready to give them all for his loved one. The lover will always die honestly in the name of love. Since kissing the hands of the sultan is not free, the lover presents his life to the loved one when kissing the hands of the loved one. Life and heart disappears with the arrows of the sultan 's eyelashes. The wish of the lover is to die under feet of his horse upon seeing the sultan coming.

Kanuni, known as the world sultan, both takes his place in the expression of common Divan poetry with his traditional poet side and also uses his own structure relying on his sultanate in real life. Kanuni, who gives up his throne and becomes a servant, does not care about his sultanate and crown. He just wants to serve a sultan. The lover, who is now the sultan, is also the sultan of the world 's commanders. What is more Muhibbi rather prefers being a beggar in the district of the loved one than being a sultan to the world. Surprisingly, the sultan happens to torment his lover servants as the loved one does not always act accordingly.

Without a doubt, Suleiman was a distinguished poet. He became a great patron of culture, overseeing the "Golden" age of the Ottoman Empire in its artistic, literary and architectural development. Until now he is regarded as a perfect Islamic ruler.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aksoyak, Ismail Hakkı. "The Language Of Divan Poetry Is The Language Of The Empire." _Journal of Turkish Studies_ Volume 4 Issue 5, no. 4 (2009).

"Archive for 2010." Mind Body Soul RSS. http://www.yursil.com/blog/2010/page/11/ (accessed June 11, 2014).

Clot, André. "Preface." In _Suleiman the Magnificent: the man, his life, his epoch_. London: Saqi, 1992.

Halman, Talât Sait, and Jayne L. Warner. "Suleiman the Magnificient." In _A millennium of Turkish literature a concise history_. Rev. ed. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2011.

"POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020." POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020. http://www.poetryrepairs.com/v13/020.html (accessed June 11, 2014).

Renard, John. "Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi.." _The Journal of the American Oriental Society_, January 1, 1997.

Bibliography: Aksoyak, Ismail Hakkı. "The Language Of Divan Poetry Is The Language Of The Empire." _Journal of Turkish Studies_ Volume 4 Issue 5, no. 4 (2009). "Archive for 2010." Mind Body Soul RSS. http://www.yursil.com/blog/2010/page/11/ (accessed June 11, 2014). Clot, André. "Preface." In _Suleiman the Magnificent: the man, his life, his epoch_. London: Saqi, 1992. Halman, Talât Sait, and Jayne L. Warner. "Suleiman the Magnificient." In _A millennium of Turkish literature a concise history_. Rev. ed. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2011. "POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020." POETRYREPAIRS 13.02:020. http://www.poetryrepairs.com/v13/020.html (accessed June 11, 2014). Renard, John. "Poetry and Mysticism in Islam: The Heritage of Rumi.." _The Journal of the American Oriental Society_, January 1, 1997.