Turkish Literature History Overview

What influenced the Ottoman form of Turkish literature?

Where were the oldest extant records of written Turkic found?

Which Turkic oral epic is associated with the Oghuz Turks?

When did the Oghuz Turks begin to settle in Anatolia?

When did the oral and written traditions of Turkish literature begin to merge?

Which event marked the beginning of the settlement of Oghuz Turks in Anatolia?

Who influenced the development of Divan poetry by arguing for the poetic status of Turkic languages against Persian?

In what language did Yunus Emre compose his works, distinguishing him from other poets of his time?

Which epic is recognized as an earlier epic and still preserved in the literature of various Turkic peoples of Central Asia?

Which of the following was more dominant in Ottoman written literature until the 19th century?

Which Turkic branch migrated towards western Asia and eastern Europe through Transoxiana starting in the 9th century?

What did Ottoman prose lack until the 19th century, distinguishing it from European literature?

Turkish Literature

Turkish literature encompasses oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language.
Ottoman Turkish, highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature, forms the basis of the written corpus and used the Ottoman Turkish alphabet.

History of Turkic Literature

The history of Turkic literature spans nearly 1,300 years.
The oldest extant records of written Turkic are the Orhon inscriptions, found in the Orhon River valley in central Mongolia, dating back to the 7th century.
Between the 9th and 11th centuries, a tradition of oral epics emerged among nomadic Turkic peoples in Central Asia.

Turkish Epic Tradition

The Turkish epic has its roots in the Central Asian epic tradition that gave rise to the Book of Dede Korkut.
The Book of Dede Korkut endured in the oral tradition of the Oghuz Turks after settling in Anatolia.
Alpamysh is an earlier epic, preserved in the literature of various Turkic peoples of Central Asia.

Ottoman Written Literature

The two primary streams of Ottoman written literature are poetry and prose.
Poetry, specifically Divan poetry, was the dominant stream.
Ottoman prose did not contain any examples of fiction until the 19th century.

Development of Divan Poetry

The development of Divan poetry over 500 years is a study still in its infancy.
Early in the history of the tradition, the Persian influence was very strong, but this was mitigated by poets such as Nesîmî and Ali Şîr Nevâî.

Famous Authors in Turkey

Yunus Emre, a Turkish folk poet and Islamic Sufi mystic, greatly influenced Turkish culture.
Yunus Emre was one of the first known poets to compose works in spoken Turkish rather than in Persian or Arabic.

Discover the rich history of Turkish literature, from oral compositions to written texts in Ottoman Turkish influenced by Persian and Arabic literature. Explore the oldest extant records of written Turkic, such as the Orhon inscriptions dating back to the 7th century in Mongolia.