Osmanzâde Tâ’ib Re’îs-i Şâ’irân mıydı?

Osmanzâde Tâ’ib Ahmed (d.1136), one of the leading poets of the Ahmed III era, is called melikü’ş-şu’arâ/re’îs-i şâ’irân based on a hatt-i humayun quoted by Safâyî. However, a document review in the Ottoman archives of a hatt-i humayun manuscript belonging to Ahmet III revealed that Safâyî’s transmission regarding Tâ’ib was incorrect. Thus, it is evident that Osmanzâde Tâ’ib was praised; however, he was neither referred to as melikü’ş-şu’arâ nor was he assigned such a mission. The recent discovery necessitates a reassessment of Osmanzâde Tâ’ib. In this study, the personal and professional life of Osmanzâde Tâ’ib as well as his patronage relations and approach to other poets were summarized. Furthermore, prominent poets of the Istanbul literary structures of 1133/1721 are introduced by emphasizing their situation in that era to clarify their positions in literary circles. After stating the positions of these poets at the state levels and describing their patronage relations, the views of Sâlim, Safâyî, and other poets concerning these poets are presented. Hence, after sampling the text of Ahmed III’s hatt-i humayun regarding poetry and poets, the complete and original text about Osmanzâde Tâ’ib is presented. The views of the biographical sources of the era of Tâ’ib are introduced, and Tâ’ib’s relations with other poets are explained. Therefore, it was stated that Osmanzâde Tâ’ib was not a melikü’ş-şu’arâ/re’îs-i şâ’irân ; however, he was a great poet who gained the appreciation of Ahmed III and Damat Ibrahim Pasha. ABSTRACT There are notable poets known as melikü’ş-şu’arâ in the history of literature. Melikü’ş-şu’arâ/sultânu’ş-şu’arâ are Safâyî Efendi’s inclusion of a hatt-i humayun text, which he claimed belonged to Ahmed III, in his Tezkire concerning Osmanzâde Tâ’ib Ahmed (d.1136 / 1723), one of the best poets of Ahmed III era, made him to be known as melikü’ş-şu’arâ/ re’îs-i şâ’irân . A hatt-i humayun text related to Osmanzâde , which was revealed because of document reviews in the Ottoman archives, showed that Safâyî Efendi’s transmission about Osmanzâde Tâ’ib was incorrect. However, it is evident in hatt-I humayun that Osmanzâde Tâ’ib was praised but he was neither referred to as melikü’ş-şu’arâ/re’îs-i şâ’irân nor was he assigned such a mission. This recent discovery revealed the necessity of reassessment of Osmanzâde Tâ’ib. While making this reassessment, the life of Osmanzâde Tâ’ib is discussed in the first section. Nevertheless, to clarify his personality thoroughly, his professional life, patronage relations, and his approach to other poets are presented in chronological order. In the second section, the important poets of the literary circles of 1133/1721 are introduced, since it is claimed that he was appointed as the melikü’ş-şu’arâ/re’îs-i şâ’irân within the same era. The positions of eminent poets, such as Dürrî Ahmed Efendi (d.1135/1723), Arpaeminizâde Mustafa Sâmî Efendi (d.1146/1734), İzzet Ali Paşa (d.1147/1734), Mirzazâde Sâlim Mehmed Efendi (d.1156/1743), Şeyhülislam İshak Efendi (d.1147/1734),