Nef'i

Nef'i (Ömer) (1572, Hasankale, Erzurum - 1635, Istanbul) was an Ottoman poet and satirist.

Biography

Nef'i entered military service as a quartermaster with Grand Vizier Kuyucu Murad Pasha (in office 1606-1611) during his suppression of the Jelali revolts in Anatolia in the early 17th century. Upon Murat Pasha's return to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Nef'i accompanied him as an accountant.

Nef'i attempted to gain the sultan's favor for his poetry, but was unsuccessful with Ahmet I (reigned 1603–1617) and Osman II (reigned 1618–1622). However, finally, Sultan Murad IV (reigned 1623–1640) recognized his skill and granted him a stipend.

Because of his vicious literary attacks on government officials, he was executed by strangulation in 1635 at the request of kaymakam Bayram Pasha.^[1]

Story of his execution

Turkish historian and journalist Mahmut Sami Şimşek tells following story about the execution of Nef'i:^[2]

Nefi's execution was decided due to his satirical verses on Grand Vizier Bayram Pasha.

As Nef'i went to Topkapı Palace to present his newly written satire book "Sihâm-ı Kazâ" (English: Arrows of Misfortune) to Sultan Murad IV, lightning struck the dome of the palace. The sultan ordered him away yelling "You evil! Take your book and get off so that we get rid of the arrows of misfortune".

After leaving sultan's audience, Nef'i asked the palace master (Ottoman Turkish: Dâr-üs Saâde Ağası) to mediate for his pardoning. The black master of African origin started to write an application to the grand vizier while Nef'i stood nearby and watched. A short while after, a drop of black ink fell onto the white paper, and Nef'i promptly commented in sarcasm "Sir, your sweat dripped." The palace master tore the paper in anger, and Nef'i was delivered to the executioner. He was courageous until the last moment as he said to his executioner "Go man, you slacker!" After he was strangled with an oiled rope in the woodshed of the palace, his corpse was thrown into the sea.

Following verse became famous describing the event:
Gökten nazîre indi Sihâm-ı Kazâ’sına
Nef'i diliyle uğradı Hakk’ın belâsına

Literally translated:
Alike came down from the skies of his "Arrows of Misfortune"
By his tongue, Nef'i received God's misfortune

Works

Nef'i was strongly influenced by classical Persian poetry, but developed the Turkish kaside form. In addition to odes, especially about Sultan Murad IV, Nef'i wrote sarcastic and often vitriolic verse about the failings of specific governmental officials.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Shaw, Ezel Kural; Shaw, Stanford J. (1976). History of the Ottoman empire and modern Turkey. Vol. 1, Empire of the Gazis: the rise and decline of the Ottoman empire, 1280-1808.. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29163-1.  p. 285
2. ^ Şimşek, Mahmut Sami (2009-01-29). "Biçimsiz Taş Altında İsimsiz Cellatlar" (in Turkish). Sosyal Okulu. http://www.sosyalokulu.com/yazilar.asp?goster=dos&id=198. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 

References

• Gibb, Elias John Wilkinson (2002). Ottoman Literature: The Poets and Poetry of Turkey. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 0-89875-906-4. 

This article is based in part on material from the Turkish Wikipedia.

Persondata
Name	Nefi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1572
Place of birth
Date of death	1635
Place of death