“Edige Batır Epic” published by VakıfBank Culture Publications tells the war of independence and sovereignty of the Kipchak Turkic peoples against the Golden Horde state through the eyes of a true heroic warrior, Edige, who lived in history. The book was prepared in contemporary Turkish by academician Göksel Öztürk, taking care to preserve the common words in Bashkir and Turkish languages.

VakıfBank Cultural Publications (VBKY) presents the “Edige Batır Epic”, one of the most common epics among Kipchak Turkic peoples, in today’s Turkish. The work tells the story of a heroic warrior, who is a historical figure who also lived in real life, and who struggled with his son Moradim to maintain the dominance of the Golden Horde state. In addition to Edige, the epic also includes historical figures of the 14th century such as Timur Han and Toktamış.

The epic takes place on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where the Golden Horde state is located. Edige fights with Toktamış against Urus Han. With Timur’s victory at the end of the war and Toktamış’s defeat, he ruled the Golden Horde for nearly twenty-five years as one of Timur’s most trusted men and as the Chief of the state. The Golden Horde, where the princes supported by Edige were the khan, enters a period of rise again in this period, but as a result of the throne intrigues and the enmity of Kadirbirdi, who is after his father’s revenge, Edige and her son Muradım are killed, and the Golden Horde is again buried in the confusion caused by internal fights.

Sourced from 261-year-old manuscripts

This work, known as the copy of the famous Bashkir bard Burangolov; It was completed in 1940, as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations of the epic, by M. Borangolov, Rəşit Nigmeti, Bayazit Bikbay and historian Ebubekir Usmanov, based on the manuscript dated 1762. Burangolov’s work, which was subject to a ban, was first published in the journal “Agizel” in 1989. In the work prepared by academician Göksel Öztürk, care was taken to preserve the words common in Bashkir and Turkish languages.

A fair, brave and generous warrior

Edige, who stands out in the epic with her valor, fair judgment, intelligence and generosity, is described in some historical sources as follows. “He was a medium-sized, stocky, smart, generous, smiling, prudent man with a very dark face.” Apart from the Bashkir version, the epic, which also has Kazakh, Kazan Tatar, Crimean Tatar, Karakalpak, Tatar, Nogai, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Turkmen, Dobruja Crimean Tatar versions, reveals the rich imagination and creativity of the Kipchak Turkish peoples through the theme of heroism.

From the book, Edige Batır Epic

“My smiling people

The one who sheds tears,

Bahadır born dormitories

that destroyed them all,

It is a garden called Naris.

He gathered an army to plunder the country,

Do not wage war against this enemy

Does Bahadır sleep well?

When his homeland is dyed in blood

blood swallowing homeland

The valiant who does not run to protect,

Will it be expensive in the country?

Let me return to my homeland,

To Baba Tökleş Mountain

Let me go out and throw my arrow!

Destroying my idil

who do not give comfort to my people,

Take your property and make you suffer

The gentlemen who plundered the country

I’ll kick them all out of the country!

Timur listened silently to Edige’s words.”

Who is Goksel Ozturk?

Göksel Öztürk, who was born in Üsküdar in 1963 as the child of a civil servant family from Giresun, Görele, grew up in Anadolu Hisarı. He completed his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies at Marmara University. He completed his master’s degree titled “Azerbaijan Turkish Proverbs and Idioms (Text-Translation-Index)” and his doctoral thesis on “Edige Batr Epic Bashkir Version (Analysis-Text-Transcription-Text-Translation-Index)” at Marmara University Turkic Studies Institute. Dr. Prepared and defended by Emine Gürsoy Naskali. Öztürk, who has various publications in the field of Turkish Language and especially Contemporary Turkish Dialects, has been familiar with many contemporary Turkish dialects, as well as carried out academic research and education studies in his field in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Bashkortostan and Uzbekistan at different times and periods. He worked as a visiting professor at Istanbul Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Kırklareli University, Eskişehir Anadolu University, Istanbul University and Ardahan University. Öztürk, who is married and has one child, works at Istanbul 29 Mayıs University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Turkish Language and Literature.

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Publisher: VBKY

Name of the book: Edige Batır Epic

Author: Goksel Ozturk

Editor: Prof. Dr. Mehmet Aca

Number of pages: 264