Book of Dede Korkut
Short summary
Lands of the nomadic Oghuz Turks near the Caucasus and the Black Sea, presumably in the early Middle Ages. The wise bard Dede Korkut advised the Oghuz, foretold their future, and taught that no one dies before the appointed hour.
A childless prince, at his wife's advice, fed the poor and was granted a son. Jealous retainers slandered the youth, and his father shot him during a hunt. The mother healed him secretly, and the son later rescued his father from the same traitors.
Salur Kazan, leader of the Oghuz beys, went hunting, and raiders sacked his camp, seizing his wife and son. With a loyal shepherd and the other beys, he defeated the enemy and recovered his family.
Bamsi Beyrek won his promised bride in contests of riding, archery, and wrestling, but enemies captured him before the wedding. After sixteen years he escaped, returned disguised as a minstrel, stopped her marriage to a rival, and freed his comrades.
A one-eyed giant born of a fairy devoured the Oghuz until a hero raised by a lioness blinded him with a heated skewer.
Basat stood up, angry. Making Tepegöz kneel down like a camel, he cut off his head with his sword. He made a hole through the head, put the string of his bow through it, and dragged it to the entrance of the cave.
Kazan was later captured and freed by his son. Finally, his uncle led a revolt and killed Beyrek for staying loyal. Kazan executed the uncle, and Dede Korkut sang of the departed heroes.
Detailed summary by legends
The prologue subtitle is editorial.
Prologue. Dede Korkut’s wisdom, sayings, and teachings
Dede Korkut advised the Oghuz, foretold their future, and taught obedience to Allah, generosity, truthfulness, and respect for parents.
He praised hospitable wives, condemned three kinds of troublesome wives, and spoke of fate and the limits of life:
Nothing happens if it was not already written down in the beginning.
No one dies before his appointed hour.
The dead cannot come back to life.
The departed soul does not return.
Legend 1. The Story of Bugach Khan, Son of Dirse Khan
Bayindir Khan humiliated childless guests by seating them in a black tent, including one unhappy prince.
At his wife's advice, the prince fed the hungry, clothed the poor, paid debts, and held a feast. Prayers brought them a son. At fifteen, the boy killed a powerful bull, received his name from Dede Korkut, and gained a principality. His father's forty retainers resented him and falsely accused him of crimes and plotting murder. Deceived, his father shot him during a hunt and left him wounded. His mother demanded news of her missing child:
You rode off as two, but return now alone. Where is my son whom I found in the dark of the night? <...> My child-nursing breast—may it go quite dry—is sore. <...> My one son is lost! My poor heart is burning!
She found him alive. A holy rider had prescribed mountain flowers mixed with her milk, and this remedy helped heal him. She concealed his recovery. Fearing exposure, the retainers seized his father to sell him to the enemy. At his mother's urging, the son pursued them despite his father's cruelty. With forty companions he killed or captured the traitors and freed his father. Father and son reunited, and Bayindir Khan rewarded the young hero.
Legend 2. The Sack of the House of Salur Kazan
Salur Kazan left a lavish drinking feast to hunt with the Oghuz beys, despite a warning about the border.
He entrusted his camp to his son Uruz and three hundred warriors, but enemy raiders came.
They plundered the camp and carried off his mother, son, warriors, and wife Burla Hatun, together with her forty attendants, livestock, and treasure.
A shepherd defended Kazan's sheep with his enormous sling, losing both brothers but driving away the raiders. Alarmed by a dream, Kazan returned to the ruined camp. After questioning a stream, a wolf, and a dog, he found the shepherd and learned the truth. Kazan feared the shame of needing a shepherd's help and tied him to a tree. The shepherd uprooted it and followed, offering to use its wood for cooking. Kazan accepted his loyalty and promised to make him chief of the stable if the rescue succeeded.
The captors tried to identify Burla Hatun by threatening to serve the women Uruz's flesh. He urged his mother to eat rather than reveal herself and suffer dishonor. Before his execution, Kazan and the shepherd arrived. The other Oghuz beys joined them, defeated the enemy, and killed its leaders. Kazan spared fugitives and those who surrendered, recovered his household and wealth, rewarded the shepherd, and celebrated by freeing slaves and granting gifts.
Legend 3. The Story of Bamsi Beyrek, Son of Kam Büre
Two childless princes received a son and daughter after the beys prayed for them, and promised the children to each other. The boy later rescued merchants from raiders and earned the heroic name Bamsi Beyrek.
While hunting, he reached the tent of his promised bride, Banu Chichek, who disguised herself as a nurse to test his skills.
Beyrek defeated her in riding, archery, and wrestling, and gave her his ring. Her violent brother attacked Dede Korkut when he requested her hand, but a prayer froze his raised arm. After being released, he demanded vast herds, mutilated dogs, and fleas. Dede Korkut supplied them and humbled him by shutting him among the fleas. Wedding preparations followed, but enemy soldiers raided Beyrek's tent, killed his deputy, and imprisoned him and thirty-nine companions. His family and bride mourned him for sixteen years without learning his fate.
A deceitful rival produced Beyrek's bloodstained shirt and gained permission to marry Banu Chichek. Merchants found Beyrek in captivity and told him. His captor's daughter lowered him from the castle after he promised to return and marry her. Outside, he found his faithful gray horse, embraced it, and praised it as a companion dearer than a brother before riding toward the Oghuz homeland:
Your lovely back can take one to his goal. I shall not call you ‘Horse,’ but ‘Brother,’ For you are even better than a brother. I say that I have work to do, Oh, my comrade, who is better than a comrade.
Disguised as a mad minstrel, Beyrek visited his grieving sisters and disrupted the wedding. He broke the groom's bow, shot accurately with his own, and gained Kazan's protection. He made Banu Chichek reveal her ring, then proved his identity through memories of their first meeting. His blood restored his father's sight. He forgave his rival but refused to celebrate until his comrades were free. The beys captured the castle and rescued them. Beyrek married his helper, returned home, and shared forty days of weddings with his men.
Legend 4. The Story of the Capture of Uruz Bey, Son of Kazan Bey
Kazan lamented that sixteen-year-old Uruz had not earned a warrior's reputation and might lose his inheritance. Uruz replied that his father had never taught him warfare. Kazan acknowledged this and took him hunting near the enemy frontier. A large enemy army approached, and Kazan explained its weapons and intentions. Although Uruz begged to fight, Kazan ordered him to watch from the mountains with his forty companions. Uruz declared his duty to his father:
Male lambs are for sacrifice high on Arafat Mountain. A man has a son to continue his name; The son bears a sword in support of his father. Let my head be sacrificed for you.
Unable to remain still, Uruz attacked. His horse was shot, his forty companions were killed, and he was captured. Kazan found him missing and assumed he had fled home. Burla Hatun's demands for their son forced him to search again. Discovering the dead warriors and Uruz's whip, he understood what had happened. He reached the captors, who released Uruz briefly to speak with him. Uruz begged him to retreat rather than risk both their lives.
Kazan refused to abandon his irreplaceable son. He attacked alone but suffered an eye wound and withdrew. Burla Hatun arrived armed with her attendants, followed by the Oghuz heroes Kazan had summoned. Together they defeated the enemy; Burla also fought fiercely. Kazan freed Uruz and embraced him. Back home, he held a feast, released slaves, and rewarded the surviving warriors.
Legend 5. The Story of Delü Dumrul, Son of Duha Koja
A boastful warrior charged travelers at a bridge over a dry riverbed. After challenging the angel of death, he was overcome and begged Allah for mercy. He could live if someone died willingly instead. His parents refused, but his wife offered herself. Rejecting the wealth he offered her, she declared her loyalty beyond material comfort:
Should I take my flock there, let my grave be there, too? Should I sip your cool springs, let my blood run like water. Should I spend your gold coins, let them be for my shroud.
He asked Allah to spare them both or take them together, promising charity. Allah accepted his prayer, took his parents' lives, and granted the devoted husband and wife another 140 years of life.
Legend 6. The Story of Kan Turali, Son of Kanli Koja
Kan Turali wanted a wife who could ride, fight, and reach the enemy before he could.
His father found a powerful princess in Trebizond, but her suitors had to defeat a bull, a lion, and a camel or die. Thirty-two had already failed. Kan Turali went with forty companions and faced the animals without his usual weapons. Encouraged by his companions' songs and the princess's admiration, he killed all three. He won her hand but vowed not to consummate their marriage before seeing his parents. They departed, and his companions rode ahead to announce his success.
While he slept, the princess kept watch. Her father regretted the marriage and sent six hundred riders to recover her. She woke Kan Turali, and they fought together. After returning to their camp, she learned he was missing and searched again. She found him wounded, his horse shot, and rescued him from surrounding enemies. Together they defeated the remaining attackers.
Ashamed that she might boast of saving him, Kan Turali threatened to kill her. She challenged him and fired a headless arrow rather than hurt him. He embraced her, claiming he had only tested her. They reconciled, returned to his parents, and celebrated their marriage.
Legend 7. The Story of Yigenek, Son of Kazilik Koja
Bayindir Khan's vizier led a raid against a Black Sea castle but was captured by its gigantic commander. His son grew up believing him dead until another young warrior revealed his imprisonment. The son obtained twenty-four banner-bearing beys from Bayindir Khan and set out to rescue his father. A dream warned him of the danger, but he refused to turn back.
All twenty-four beys failed against the commander. The young man prayed to Allah, wounded the giant, pursued him, and cut off his head at the gate. His father was freed after sixteen years, and they recognized and embraced each other. The victors plundered the castle, converted its chapel into a mosque, and sent gifts to Bayindir Khan.
Legend 8. The Story of Basat, Killer of the One-Eyed Giant
Lost during a flight from enemies, Basat was raised by a lioness before his family found him.
His father also adopted Tepegoz, the monstrous child born after a shepherd forced himself upon a captured fairy.
Protected by his mother's ring, the giant killed nurses, children, and warriors, including Basat's brother. Dede Korkut negotiated a daily tribute of two people and five hundred sheep. Returning from a raid, Basat learned of the disaster, gave a desperate mother a prisoner to replace her son, and confronted the giant.
Captured, he escaped a boot and blinded the sleeping giant with a heated skewer. He fled beneath a ram's skin, survived traps involving a ring and treasure house, and secured a suspended sword. Refusing the giant's plea of brotherhood, he beheaded him, avenged his brother, and freed the Oghuz.
Legend 9. The Story of Emren, Son of Begil
Bayindir Khan gave a warrior a horse, sword, and club received as tribute, appointing him to guard the Georgian frontier. Later, Kazan credited the warrior's remarkable hunting skill to his horse. Offended, he threatened to leave the Oghuz, but his wife persuaded him to hunt instead. He fell and broke his leg. Although he concealed the injury, his wife spread the news, and enemy spies reported his weakness to their ruler.
Warned of an attack, he asked his son to seek Kazan's help. The son instead took his father's horse, armor, and three hundred men to defend their home. He resisted threats but was nearly defeated in single combat. After he prayed, Allah granted him the strength of forty men. He overcame his opponent, who accepted Islam, and the enemy fled. His father welcomed him, arranged his marriage, and presented him at Bayindir Khan's court for recognition.
Legend 10. The Story of Seghrek, Son of Ushun Koja
A bold young warrior claimed a high place at council before earning it. Challenged to prove himself, he led a raid but was captured after resting carelessly in an enemy hunting preserve. His younger brother grew up unaware of him until an orphan revealed the truth. Their parents tried to prevent a rescue by marrying the younger son. He placed a sword between himself and his bride and vowed not to consummate the marriage until he had found or avenged his brother.
He rode to the castle, killed enemy grooms, and drove off horses. Twice his own horse woke him as attackers approached, and twice he defeated them. The enemy then armed his captive brother and sent him to kill the stranger. Finding the youth asleep, the elder brother took his lute and sang a warning instead of attacking.
They exchanged names, recognized each other, and embraced. Together they drove back the enemy and returned home. Their delighted father welcomed both sons, found a bride for the elder, and held their weddings.
Legend 11. The Story of Salur Kazan’s Captivity and His Rescue by His Son Uruz
Pursuing a gifted falcon into enemy country, Kazan fell into a deep sleep. His twenty-five companions died defending him, and he was captured. Confined beneath a millstone in a well, he frightened his captor's wife by claiming to ride her dead daughter underground. Released to praise his captors and insult the Oghuz, he instead killed a man they let him ride and sang defiantly of his victories and ancestry. Rather than release him, they imprisoned him again.
Uruz grew up believing Bayindir Khan was his father. Learning the truth, he confronted his mother and organized a rescue with his uncle and the beys. The captors armed Kazan and sent him against the approaching army, promising freedom. Kazan concealed his identity and defeated several Oghuz champions, including Beyrek.
Uruz attacked and wounded him. Kazan then revealed himself, and father and son embraced. The united Oghuz captured the castle, replaced its church with a mosque, and returned home for seven days of celebration.
Legend 12. The Story of the Revolt of the Outer Oghuz against the Inner Ughuz and of the Death of Beyrek
Excluded from the customary plundering of Kazan's tents, the Outer Oghuz rebelled under his maternal uncle, Basat's father. They invited Beyrek as a supposed peacemaker, then demanded his allegiance. He refused to betray Kazan. The uncle wounded him fatally, and Beyrek asked his men to demand vengeance. Kazan mourned alone for seven days before his brother and a trusted retainer urged him to act.
Kazan defeated his uncle and ordered his beheading. The other rebels begged forgiveness, which he granted, while the uncle's camp was plundered. Dede Korkut sang of departed heroes and prayed that his listeners would keep their faith and receive forgiveness at death.