One of the oldest surviving pieces of Turkish literature, The Book of Dede Korkut can be traced to tenth-century origins. Now considered the national epic of Turkey, it is the heritage of the ancient Oghuz Turks and was composed as they migrated westward from their homeland in Central Asia to the Middle East, eventually to settle in Anatolia. Who its primary creator was no one knows, the titular bard, Dede Korkut, being more a symbol of Turkish minstrelsy than a verifiable author. The songs and tales of countless minstrels lay behind The Book of Dede Korkut, and in its oral form the epic was undoubtedly subject to frequent improvisation by individual performers. Partly in prose, partly in verse, these legends were sung or chanted in the courts and camps of political and military leaders. Even after they had been recorded in written form, they remained part of an oral tradition. The present edition is the first complete text in English. The translators provide an excellent introduction to the language and background of the legends as well as a history of Dede Korkut scholarship. These outstanding tales will be of interest to all students of world mythology and folklore.
Faruk SUEmer (1924-1995) was Professor of History at the University of Ankara, Turkey. Ahmet E. Uysal (1922-1997) was editor-in-chief of publications at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. Warren S. Walker (1921-2002) was director of the Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
Acknowledgments Introduction Prologue Legend I: The Story of Bugach Khan, Son of Dirse Khan Legend II: The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan Legend III: The Story of Bamsi Beyrek, Son of Kam BUEre Legend IV: The Story of the Capture of Uruz Bey, Son of Kazan Bey Legend V: The Story of DelUE Dumrul, Son of Duha Koja Legend VI: The Story of Kan Turali, Son of Kanli Koja Legend VII: The Story of Yigenek, Son of Kazilik Koja Legend VIII: The Story of Basat, Killer of the One-Eyed Giant Legend IX: The Story of Emren, Son of Begil Legend X: The Story of Seghrek, Son of Ushun Koja Legend XI: The Story of Salur Kazan's Captivity and His Rescue by His Son Uruz Legend XII: The Story of the Revolt of the Outer Oghuz against the Inner Oghuz and of the Death of Beyrek Notes Bibliography
"...Dede Korkut stands as a masterwork of [tenth-century] Turkish literatureoand perhaps as one of the world's most impressive national epics... with its action-packed narrative in prose and verse, [it] unfurls a fascinating panorama of Turkish tribal and feudal lifeowarfare, hunts, festivities, plunders, preternatural phenomena, heroics and love. The socio-political characteristics, cultural values, morals and manners as well as ethnographic features it embodies make the epic a rich source for historians, folklorists and anthropologists."oMiddle East Journal "The Book of Dede Korkut has been called the Iliad of the Turks... the stories of Dede Korkut represent and embody the epic elan of a nation's literary imagination... an excellent translation in English... smooth, highly readable, enlightening." oBooks Abroad
