Bâḳî (باقى) was the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
(
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
: مخلص ''mahlas'') of the
Ottoman Turkish poet Mahmud Abdülbâkî (محمود عبدالباقى)
(1526 – 1600). Considered one of the greatest contributors to
Turkish literature
Turkish literature ( tr, Türk edebiyatı) comprises oral compositions and written texts in Turkic languages. The Ottoman and Azerbaijani forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, were highly influenced by Persian la ...
and Azerbaijani literature. Bâkî came to be known as ''Sultânüş-şuarâ'' (سلطان الشعرا), or "
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of poets".
Life
Bâkî was born to a poor family in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, his father being a
muezzin
The muezzin ( ar, مُؤَذِّن) is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day (Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque. The muezzin plays an important role ...
at the
Fatih Mosque
The large Fatih Mosque ( tr, Fatih Camii, "Conqueror's Mosque" in English) is an Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Ch ...
. Originally, his family apprenticed him to a harness-maker, but he would often skip work to attend classes at a nearby ''
medrese
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
'', or
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic school. Because of this, his family eventually allowed him to formally attend school. Bâkî was a good student, and he attended the lectures of many of the famous lecturers of the time. It was during his school years that his interest in and talent for poetry began to take shape, helped largely by the established poet
Zâtî (ذاتی)
(1471–1548). After completing school, he worked for some time as a teacher, but later, as his poetic fame began to grow, he was granted a number of different positions—generally as a ''
kadı'' (ﻗﺎضی), or Islamic judge—in the Ottoman
bureaucracy
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
. Bâkî died in Istanbul in the year 1600.
Bâkî was always very close to the
Ottoman palace, particularly during the reign of
Süleymân I, with whom he had good relations. During the subsequent reigns of
Selim II
Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...
and
Murad III
Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...
, he remained close to the palace and to state affairs, and received a great deal of attention and interest both from the public and the palace.
Works
Bâkî lived during the
height
Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is).
For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is abou ...
of the Ottoman Empire, and this affected his poetry greatly. Love, the joy of living, and nature are the primary subjects of his poems. Although almost no
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
influence is found in his poetry—as it is in many other Ottoman-era poets—his concept of love as revealed in his poetry was not entirely divorced from the
Sufi concept thereof.
Bâkî wrote a relatively small number of works in his lifetime, as he always stated that he wanted to make works great in quality rather than quantity. One of his most celebrated works is his ''Mersiye-i Hazret-i Süleymân Hân'' (مرثیه ﺣﻀﺮت سليمان خان; "''Elegy for His Excellency Süleymân Khan''"), among the most famed of
elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...
works in Turkish literature.
References
*.
*.
External links
One of Baki's poems in English translationat ''Poems Found in Translation''
The Baki Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baki
16th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire
Divan poets from the Ottoman Empire
1526 births
1600 deaths
Male poets from the Ottoman Empire