An Anatolian poet and physician, Şeyḫī was born in Kütahya,
the capital of Germiyan (Turkey) region. One of his tutors was Aḥmedī, a famous Ottoman poet of the late 14th and 15th century [1350-1499 CE], during his youth. He went to Iran and majored in literature, Islamic mysticism and medicine.
After his return to Kütahya, he joined in the court of Germiyan
ruler Yākub II and he practiced
as the court ophthalmologist. He got in touch with the Ottomans in the time of Emīr Süleymān Chelebi, and got
the title reīs-i eṭıbbā (head of physicians) of the Ottomans when he cured Mehmed I. He is famous for
his masnawis (e.g. Ḫüsrev ü Şîrîn and Ḫarnâme) and accepted as one of the founders of Ottoman literature. He was called as hüsrev-i şuarā,
pīşterīn-i şuarā-yı Rūm or şeyhü’ş-şuarā (all means “head of poets”) in the sources. His tomb is in
Dumlupınar, Kütahya.
Germiyani, Yûsuf Sinan, approximately 1373-approximately 1422
Şeyhı̂, ca. 1373-ca. 1422
Sinaneddin, Yusuf, approximately 1373-approximately 1422
Yusuf Sinan, approximately 1373-approximately 1422
Yûsuf Sinan Germiyani, approximately 1373-approximately 1422
Yusuf Sinaneddin, approximately 1373-approximately 1422
شيخي
Manuscripts by this author
Dīvān
Şeyḫī’s Divan contains poems dedicated to various patrons, both the
Germiyanid rulers under whom Şeyḫī grew up and the Ottomans Murad II and Mehmed I.
In addition, Şeyḫī’s Divan contains 200 gazels which indicate a strong influence from
Persian poetry such as the works of Salman Savji and Hafiz.
Şeyhı̂'s Hüsrev ve Şirin is the first of the romantic poems of Turkey, and has not been equalled. It is
dedicated to Murad II, Sultan of the Turks,
1404-1451, whose praises are sung at length in the prologue. The poem was
left unfinished by the author at his death; and the conclusion was written by
Jemāli, his brother, or his sister's son
An imperfect copy of the poem, containing three detached fragments, f. 9 and f. 10. The latter part of the section
relating to the meeting of Hüsrev and Şirin in the hunting field, and
corresponding to ff. 104r-106r, of Add. 7906
The Ḫarnâme is a short satiritical mesnevi. It narrates the story
of a skinny donkey envious of the fattened oxen it sees, and is a satire on the morals of the age written
after the poet was robbed by bandits. It was presented to Sultan Murād I
Şeyḫī is a poet who’s famous for his
masnawis. Ḫüsrev ü Şīrīn by Şeyḫī is the second work which has this title in Ottoman
literature. The work consists of nearly 7000 couplets. It’s supposed that Şeyḫī would have written this masnawi between 1421-1430 in Kütahya, or at the court of Murād II, whom he presented this work. Famous poet Nizāmī Ganjavī’s effect upon his work is incontestable, but
Şeyḫī tried to do a loose translation
from Persian so much so that he nearly created a new work. His masnawi may be
incomparable to Nizāmī’s work but it has a strong influence over the works addressing
the same subject, under favor of using the language and figures of speech
effectively.
