Korkut Ata Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

Mehmed Es‛ad Aga is a poet who lived in the late 18th century and early 19th century and wrote poems amount to be able to organize a diwan besides his significant duties in the state. Place names appearing in the poems of Mehmed Es‛ad Aga of Enderun (Palace School), who is considered among the poets of Hane-i Hassa (Private Chamber), are not only composed of Diwan poetry metaphors and images but also names of the places where the poet was present due to his duty or dismissal. Urban and space perception finding a broader place in poetry with Diwan poetry aesthetics’ evolution from abstract to concrete upon its localization in the 19th century appeared in Es‛ad’s Diwan, too, and the districts and places of Istanbul offered a variety to Es‛ad’s poems by combining with his observation and portrayal skills. Furthermore, place names identified in the poems written by Es‛ad, particularly the cities, are also in the nature of historical documents bearing the traces of social, cultural, and political life of the period. Es‛ad reflected various elements of these places where he was present such as historical texture, architecture, geography, nature, and cultural differences in his poems. He made use of the names of many countries, cities, and mountains such as Morea, Janina, Famagusta, and Georgia as well as Erzurum, which he frequently mentioned in his poems as a consequence of being a customs officer in Erzurum and benefited from all the connotations offered himself by these regions. This study aims to identify the place names used in Es‛ad’s Diwan and analyze the similarities and differences between the identified names and their usages in Diwan poetry with the help of sources. In this regard, the poet’s way of reflecting the perception of geography and space in his poems was analyzed as well as determining his position in the era he lived in in terms of style.