İsa Necati (died 1509), usually referred to as Necati or Nejati, was an

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

poet, and the first great

lyric poet Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

of Ottoman Turkish literature. Considered an original and eloquent poet, he won the praises of his contemporaries and later

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 ...

writers, securing for himself an important place in Turkish literary history.

Life

Not much is known on his origin and youth. It is agreed that he was born a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

. His names İsa (Jesus) and Necati (who escaped from danger / found refuge) indicate a non- Muslim and non-Turkish ancestry, although contemporary biographers (''

tezkire ''Tezkire'' ( ar, تذکرة), from Arabic ''tadhkirah'' meaning "something that causes one to remember" or "memorandum", is a form of bibliographical dictionary or bibliographical compendium which flourished in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire. Th ...

'' writers) do not mention it. It seems that he made his name already in Edirne and managed to purchase his freedom. At a young age he went to

Kastamonu Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...

where he developed his skill in calligraphy and poetry. Around 1480, he went to

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 ( ...

, where he wrote poetry for Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

and made powerful friends. In one story, one of the Sultan's companions with the name Yurgi or Chiyurgi, said by some to have been a Greek from

Trabzond Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

, took some of Necati's ''

ghazel The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

s'' with him when he went to play

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

with the Sultan. The introduction was crucial; the Sultan was pleased with Necati's work and appointed him ''

katib A katib ( ar, كَاتِب, ''kātib'') is a writer, scribe, or secretary in the Arabic-speaking world, Persian World, and other Islamic areas as far as India. In North Africa, the local pronunciation of the term also causes it to be written keti ...

'' in the

Ottoman Imperial Council The Imperial Council or Imperial Divan ( ota, ديوان همايون, Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn), was the '' de facto'' cabinet of the Ottoman Empire for most of its history. Initially an informal gathering of the senior ministers presided over by ...

. After the accession of Sultan Bayezid II in 1481, Necati briefly entered the service of one of his sovereign's sons, Prince Abdullah. Together with his friend

Sehi Bey Sehi Bey (Ottoman Turkish: Sehî Bey), (1471?–1548) was an Ottoman poet and bibliographer. He was the first one to compile a ''tezkire'' (bibliographical dictionary of poets and poetry), a genre which would have many followers until the 19th ...

, he served as ''katib'' (secretary) to Prince Şehzade Mahmud, son of

Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Ba ...

. After the death of Prince Mahmud (1507 or 1508), Necati refused any further appointments and lived in retirement in Constantinople until his death on 17 March 1509.

Poetry

He was considered by contemporary and later bibliographers to be one of the greatest of his

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

. Apart from a few scattered lines from the many pieces attributed to Necati, the only extant work is his

Dīvān A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see '' dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

("Collection of Poems"), in which there are numerous examples of his graceful and refined verse.Encyclopædia Britannica İsa Necati
/ref> His ''Gül Kasîdesi'' (Rose

Qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

) is one of the only eight ''qasidas'' dedicated to Bayezid II, but the occasion is unknown, though it should have come during the early Bayezid reign. It is a ''Bahaariye'', or spring qasida.
Necati is considered less influenced by

Persian literature 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 ...

than other poets before him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Necati, Isa 1509 deaths Year of birth unknown 15th-century writers of the Ottoman Empire 16th-century poets of the Ottoman Empire Divan poets of the Ottoman Empire People from Edirne Civil servants of the Ottoman Empire Slaves of the Ottoman Empire Turkish-language poets 15th-century poets of the Ottoman Empire Male poets of the Ottoman Empire 15th-century slaves

Life

Poetry

See also

References