Poet (b.
1642, Urfa - d. 1712, İstanbul). His original name was Yusuf. When he was in 24
he came to İstanbul (1665). After the death of the Sultan’s aide, Mustafa Paşa,
to whom he had presented one of his poems and thus attracted his attention, he
decided not to stay in İstanbul and went to Halep. Benefiting from the support
of the Ottoman State, he married in Halep, where he lived comfortably for 25
years and wrote most of his works. Upon the appointment of Baltacı Mehmet Paşa,
who had worked as the Governor of Halep, to the position of Grand Vizier, he
returned with him to İstanbul (1710). On his return his work was well received
and he was admired as a master poet. During his later years he worked as a
security officer at the Office of the Mint. His grave is in Karacaahmet.
Nabi,
the first poet who criticized the fact that the same themes were always chosen
as the topic of Divan* poetry, attached great importance to didactic poetry and
takes his place among the greatest poets of Turkish literature with his perfect
language and strong technique. Nabi, in whose poems the subjects of theosophy,
religion, ethics, and wisdom mainly appeared, expressed his own opinions about
the order of Ottoman society in great detail in his works. Although he put
forward the necessity of writing in a clear language in lyric poetry, he did
not always follow this rule and although he usually used this clear and gentle
language, at times his discourse was complex, artistic and rhetorical.
WORKS:
Divan (Divan*, 1841, 1875), Divançe (Booklet of Poems, Persian), Terceme-i Hadis-i Erbain (Translation of the Forty Hadis*, by Necip Asım, Millî Tetabbular review, issue 4. 1912), Hayriyye (Good Things, poetry in rhymed couplets which gives moral advice to his son Ebulhayr in Halep, 1889; also translated into French. 1887), Hayrabad (Charities, poetry in rhymed couplets, 1705), Surname* (Book of the Circumcision Feast, narrates the circumcision feasts held by Mehmed IV for his princes in Edirne. With the name Nâbî'nin Surname*si - Nabi’s Book of the Circumcision Feast by Agâh Sırrı Levend, 1944), Fetihname-i Kameniçe (Book of the Conquest of Kamieniec, prose, narrates the expedition to Poland, with the name of Tarih-i Kameniçe (History of Kamieniec, 1864), Tuhfetu’l-Haremeyn (Gift from Mecca and Medina, explanation of the pilgrimage in prose, 1849), Zeyl-i Siyer-i Veysi (Appendix to the Biography of Veysi, Bulak, 1832), Münşeat-ı Nabi (Letters of Nabi, his private and official letters).
REFERENCE: Abdülkadir Karahan / Nabî (1953, gen. bas. 1987), Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri II (1972), Mehmet Kaplan / Nabî ve Orta İnsan Tipi (Türk Edebiyatı Üzerine Araştırmalar-I, 1976), Haluk İpekten / Eski Türk Edebiyatı – Nazım Şekilleri- (1985), Samim Kocagöz / Nabi’nin Park Kahvesi (Bir Şehrin İki Kapısı, Kasım 1985), Mine Mengi / Divan Şiirinde Hikemî Tarzın Büyük Temsilcisi Nabî (1987), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) – Ünlü Edebiyatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 4, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1999), Menderes Coşkun / Manzum ve Mensur Osmanlı Hac Seyahatnameleri ve Nabi’nin Tuhfetü’l-Haremeyn’i (2002).
