Summary View

Country

France

City

Paris

Institution

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Collection

Manuscrits turcs

Shelfmark

396

Contents

Ejderhā Destānı (Kirdeci Ali)

Author

Kirdeci Ali

كرده جى على

Show other names

Kirdeci ʿAlī (fl. 13th-14th century)

Kirdeci Ali (authorised)

Kirdeci, Ali (variant)

Ali, Kirdeci (variant)

Biographical notes

Kirdeci ʿAlī is known as the author of three religious stories (dāstān): The Kesik Bāş Destānı, the Güvercin Destānı, the Ejderhā Destānı. The only information about his life is also given by him in those stories. Nothing else is known about his life. He mentions the names of Mevlānā (Rūmī) (d. 672/1273) , Shams-i Tabrīzī (d. 645/1247 ?) and Aḥmed Faḳīh (d. 618/1221 or 628/1230) in his works, which is often accepted as evidence of his belonging to Mawlaw'īyya sect. His name Kirdeci, meaning the maker of pitta bread/bread, might suggest his role as the baker in a dervish convent. Vasfi Mahir Kocatürk argues that he lived between the 13th and 15th centuries [1200-1499 CE] based on the general characteristics of the language used in his stories. This is emphasizes by one of the manuscripts dated 1461 [1461 CE] where the Ejderhā Destānı is included. However, Halit Biltekin has noted that there is an earlier manuscript dated 760 AH [1359 CE], where another story by Kirdeci ʿAlī the ʿÖmer b. Ḥaṭṭāb Destānı is included. So it might be possible to suggest that he was active in 13th or 14th centuries [1200-1399 CE]. Although some other stories such as the Ḥikāye-i Delletü’l-Muḫtel, the Ḥikāye-i Geyik and the Dāstān-ı İsmāʿil are usually included in the manuscripts containing the works mentioned above, the attribution of these last three works to Kirdeci ʿAlī is no clear, since his name doesn’t appear in those stories. Further, despite the fact that his name appears in the works mentioned above, there is no way to be certain if Kirdeci is the person who is simply putting in writing already existing folk stories or if he is the author of them.

Title

Ejderhā Destānı

اژدرها دستانى

Notes

This is a mathnawi consisting of 113 bayts in which the 4th caliph of Islam Ali (b. Abi Talib) (35/656-40/661) volunteers to fight a dragon however he cannot succeed because he forgets to ask for the blessings of God and the prophet Muhammad. When he understands the mistake he made and asks for their blessing, he becomes able to slain the dragon with his legendary sword Zulfiqar.

Main language of text

Turkish

Bibliography

Editions

Argunşah, Mustafa. Kirdeci Ali Kesikbaş Destanı. Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, 2002.

Kocatürk, Vasfi Mahir. Türk Edebiyatı Tarihi. Ankara: Edebiyat Yayınevi, 1970.

Kozan, Ali and Rümeysa Bilgili. "Hz. Ali’nin Menkıbevî Hayatına Dair Bir Destan: Dâstân-ı Ejderhâ ve İslâmî Dönem Anadolu Türk Kültürüne Yansımaları." Turkish Studies. 8, no. 5 2013: 465-490.

Studies

Biltekin, Halit. "Kirdeci Ali ve Dâstân-ı ‘Ömer İbni Hattâb Adlı Küçük Mesnevisi." Turkish Studies. 8, no. I 2013: 1061-1069. (<p>includes the text in transcription</p>)

Tatcı, Mustafa. "Kirdeci Ali’nin Ejderha Destanı." In Edebiyattan İçeri. Ankara: Akçağ: 1997, 322-337. (<p>includes transliterated text</p>)

Show filiations

Amasya Beyazıt İl Halk Kütüphanesi 6321

Ankara Milli Kütüphane 3881

Atatürk Kitaplığı 453

Ankara Milli Kütüphane 458

Ankara Milli Kütüphane 25

Süleymaniye Yazma Eserler Kütüphanesi 7186

Ankara Milli Kütüphane 484

Physical Description

Number of folios

47 ff.

Columns

1

Ruled lines

5

History

Date of copy

possibly 17th. century