Turkish literature

Turkish literature is a vast collection of oral and written works. It spans nearly 1,300 years of history. This literature includes everything from ancient songs to complex written texts. It is defined by two distinct traditions that existed separately for most of history. One tradition is Turkish folk literature, which is spoken and sung. The other is Turkish written literature, which is formal and scholarly. These two paths finally merged in 1923 with the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

The folk tradition is rooted in the nomadic life of Central Asia. It was primarily an oral tradition. Minstrels, known as aşık or ozan, carried these stories through speech and song. This style used syllabic verse instead of complex rhythmic meters. The basic structural unit was the quatrain, or dörtlük, which is a group of four lines. Because these poems were meant to be sung, they are inseparable from folk music. This tradition reflects the lives of people moving from nomadic to settled lifestyles.

Written literature followed a very different mechanism. During the Ottoman Empire, this became known as Divan literature (divan edebiyatı). This style was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic literary forms. Writers adopted the aruz meter, a system of long and short syllables. They also used many Persian and Arabic words to fit this meter. This created Ottoman Turkish, a language distinct from the spoken tongue. The term "divan" refers to the collected works of a poet. Like folk poetry, Divan poetry was also connected to music, specifically classical Turkish music.

History provides many milestones for these traditions. The oldest written Turkic records are the Orhon inscriptions from the 7th century. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, nomadic peoples developed oral epics. The Book of Dede Korkut is a major example from the Oghuz Turks. In the 11th century, important written works like Kutadgu Bilig appeared. The 13th-century Sufi poet Yunus Emre became a towering figure. The Ottoman golden age lasted from the 15th to the 18th century. During this time, Evliya Çelebi wrote the 10-volume Seyahatnâme, or Book of Travels.

Scholars debate how to divide these literary stages. One proposal uses two periods: early (8th to 19th century) and modern (19th to 21st century). Another system uses three stages: pre-Islamic, Islamic, and modern. A more complex view suggests five stages. This includes pre-Islamic, pre-Ottoman Islamic, Ottoman, a transitional period (1850s–1920s), and the modern period. These divisions help researchers track how the language and themes changed over time.

Many famous characters and genres emerge from these traditions. The epic tradition features long stories of heroes. Examples include the Epic of Manas and the Epic of Köroğlu. Folk literature includes folktales about Keloğlan, a clever boy. It also features Nasreddin, a trickster figure and Muslim Imam. These stories often reflect religious influences, such as Sufism or the Alevi faith. These themes show how religion and social changes shaped the stories people told.

Turkish literature connects to many broader cultural systems. It shows how migration and settlement change how people speak and write. The influence of the Seljuk victory at the Battle of Manzikert in the late 11th century was vital. This event led the Oghuz Turks to settle in Anatolia. This settlement brought them into contact with Arabic and Persian cultures. Today, the literature remains a bridge between ancient nomadic roots and modern national identity.