Abstract:

In our classical literature, anthologies are one of the oldest and most comprehensive sources which include the lives of the poets. Anthologist utilizes a great many written and spoken sources while gathering data about the poets either in his own age or those who lived before him. The material obtained from the sources revive as a form of biographical work by means of the classification peculiar to the anthologist. Nevertheless, the value of an anthology depends not only the facts given in the anthology about the poets but also it relies upon the variety and reliability of the sources which are utilized. In this study, it is tried to be rendered from which sources the works benefit while providing data about poets. The scope of the study begins with the Herat School (including Bahâristân, the Anthology of Devletşâh and Mecâlisü’n-Nefâ’is) which laid the anthology tradition emerged in Anatolia and extends to the Ottoman anthologies written down in the 16th century. As for determining the source, both the anthologies of Herat School and the anthologies written in the sphere of Anatolia were examined on the basis of what kind of changes and developments occurred in the historical process in works utilized by the anthologist. Furthermore, it is revealed in what ways (poet’s biography, his art and works) the anthologist benefited from the sources. For this reason, both the anthologies of Herat School and all the Ottoman anthologies written down in the 16th Century were analyzed. Altough “Tezkire-i Şu’ara-yı Rum” written by Garîbî in Iran, which expounds on the Anatolian poets was also included in the examination. During the analysis, translation of the anthologies and the texts’ transcripted form in Turkish were made use of and the original text was strictly followed in terms of quotations.

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