Ayşe Hubba Hatun

Diwan Poet

Birth
-
Other Names
Ayşe Hâtûn, Hubbâ, Ayşe Hubbâ Kadın, Hubbâ Ayşe Kadın

Divan poetess (B. Amasya – D. 1589-90, Istanbul). She is one of the poetesses of 16th century. Her name is mentioned in sources also as Ayşe Hâtûn, Hubbâ, Ayşe Hubbâ Kadın, Hubbâ Ayşe Kadın. She received a good education and learnt Arabic. She married Şemsi Çelebi, one of the grandchildren of Akşemseddin who was the teacher of Sultan Selim II. Thus she entered the palace. She had a daughter from Şemsi Çelebi. She became the teacher of Sultan Selim II firstly and then Murat III. Mehmed Vusûli Efendi, one of the scholars and poets of that period, who was known as Molla is Ayşe Hubbâ’s son-in-law. Her relations with the palace made it possible that her son-in-law became kadi of Istanbul. After this incident Vusûli was named “Hubbâ Mollası”.

Ayşe Hubbâ researched Divân literature. She wrote mesnevis (a type of divan poetry which is written with two couplets), odes (poetry written to praise or criticize someone) and lyrics (a type of lyrical divan poetry written by couplets). Her style in her poetry is not a feminine one, as it is the case in the whole Divan literature, in other words her style resembles to the style of male poets. In spite of that, biographers praised her skills. It is written in sources that she was clearer in her poems (obvious and correct) than poetesses before her in Anatolia such as Zeynep Hatun and Mihrî Hatun, and even some male poets.

Under the influence of hamse (the corpus of five mesnevis of a poet) and mesnevi (a type of narration in the form of story written using couplets), Cemşid ü Hurşid mesnevis were often written as a love story especially in Iranian and Turkish literatures. Their topic was classic love stories in the Eastern literatures. It is known that Ayşe Hubbâ wrote a similar mesnevi of 7000 couplets again under the title “Cemşid ü Hûrşîd”. She has rich descriptions in this mesnevi form. Chapters about the sea and human nature have a particular importance in the work.

Ayşe Hubbâ Hatun was the aunt of Şeyh Yahya Efendi, wife of Akşemseddinzade Şems Çelebi and conversation friend and teacher of Selim II. Therefore she was regarded as a member of palace and she has beneficent works. As literary works she is author of a “Divan” and a mesnevi titled “Cemşid ü Hurşid”. Ayşe Hubbâ Hâtûn passed away in Istanbul in 1589 or 1590 and was inhumed across Debbağhane in Eyüp.

WORKS: Divan (manuscript), Cemşid ü Hurşid (mesnevi).

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