Nefʿī (نفعى) 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 ''maḫlaṣ'') of an Ottoman

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

whose real name was ʿÖmer (عمر) (c. 1572,

Hasankale Pasinler or Basean ( tr, Pasinler; hy, Բասէն, translit=Pasēn; ka, ბასიანი, tr; la, Phasiani; el, Φασιανοί, translit=Phasianoí; formerly Hasankale and Hesenqele, meaning "the fortress of Hasan"), is a town in Erzuru ...

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

– 1635,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Biography

Nefʿī came to the Ottoman capital of

sometime before the year 1606, when he is noted to have been working in the bureaucracy as the comptroller of mines (''maden mukataacısı''). Nef'i attempted to gain the

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 ...

's favor for his poetry, but was unsuccessful with

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...

(reigned 1603–1617) and

Osman II Osman II ( ota, عثمان ثانى ''‘Osmān-i sānī''; tr, II. Osman; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young ( tr, Genç Osman), was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 162 ...

(reigned 1618–1622). However, finally, Sultan

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

(reigned 1623–1640) recognized his skill and granted him a

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

. Because of his vicious literary attacks on government officials, he was executed by strangulation in 1635 at the request of ''

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

Bayram Pasha Bayram Pasha (died 26 August 1638) was an Ottoman grand vizier from 1637 to 1638 and the Ottoman governor of Egypt from 1626 to 1628. Life Bayram, was from Ladik, near the Anatolian city of Amasya. He was Turkish origin and was a member o ...

. p. 285

Story of his execution

Turkish historian and journalist Mahmut Sami Şimşek tells the following story about the execution of Nef'i: Nef'i's execution was decided due to his satirical verses on Grand Vizier Bayram Pasha. As Nef'i went to

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...

to present his newly written

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

book "''Sihâm-ı Kazâ''" ( en, Arrows of Misfortune) to Sultan Murad IV, lightning struck the dome of the palace. The sultan ordered him away yelling "''You evil! Take your book and get off so that we get rid of the arrows of misfortune''". After leaving the sultan's audience, Nef'i asked the palace master ( ota, Dâr-üs Saâde Ağası) to mediate for his pardoning. The black master of African origin started to write an application to the grand vizier while Nef'i stood nearby and watched. A short while after, a drop of black ink fell onto the white paper, and Nef'i promptly commented in

sarcasm Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflection ...

"''Sir, your blessed sweat dripped."'' The palace master tore the paper in anger, and Nef'i was delivered to the executioner. He was courageous until the last moment as he said to his executioner "''Go man, you slacker!"'' After he was strangled with an oiled rope in the woodshed of the palace, his corpse was thrown into the sea. The following verse became famous describing the event:

Works

Nef'i was strongly influenced by classical

Persian poetry Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...

, but also developed the Turkish '' kaside'' form. In addition to odes, especially about Sultan Murad IV, Nef'i wrote sarcastic and often vitriolic verse about the failings of specific governmental officials. Another famous verse of poet is as following: Tahir efendi bana kelp demiş/ İltifatı bu sözde zahirdir,/ Maliki mezhebim benim zira,/ İtikadımca kelp tahirdir. Sir Tahir called me a dog/ His compliment is manifest in this/ After all, my school is

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

/ Indeed, dogs are clean. ccording to my creed *Tahir means clean in Arabic.

Notes

References

* ::''This article is based in part on material from the

Turkish Wikipedia The Turkish Wikipedia ( tr, Türkçe Vikipedi) is the Turkish language edition of Wikipedia, spelled ''Vikipedi''. Started on 5 December 2002, as of , this edition has articles and is the largest Wikipedia edition, and ranks 16th in terms of ...

''.

Biography

Story of his execution

Works

Notes

References

Further reading