“Khamsa” as a Universal Genre

Uzok Jurakulov

Tashkent State University of the Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Keywords: Conception of “Bilig”, Universal Genre, Formative Epic, Character System, Epic Mindset, Epic Hero,

Dogmatic Interpretation.

Abstract: This research, based on historical poetics, examines the evolution of Khamsa within the Eastern-Islamic

environment and Turkish mindset, as inspired by religious-educational texts, the Qur'an, and the hadiths of

Muhammad. The paper investigates the transformation of the Khamsa Fabula system from divine narrative to

the Khamsa style, analysing the plot and its constituting motifs. It proposes that the tradition of writing

Khamsa originates not from Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi's "Shahnama" and Persian literary traditions, as some

scholars suggest, but from Yusuf Khass Hajib's "Kutadgu Bilig", a seminal work of eleventh-century Turkish

literature. This connection is examined through the prism of the concept of "bilig" and its role within the

Turkic epic mindset. The analysis includes a comparative study of Eastern epics and Firdowsi's "Shahnama".

1 INTRODUCTION

"Khamsachilik is an excellent specimen of Eastern-

Islamic spiritual, educational, philosophical and

poetic mindsets. The first “Khamsa” was penned by

Niẓāmī Ganjavī, (1141 - 1209), who was born in

Ganja, Azerbaijan, towards the end of the 12th

century. It was named “Panj Ganj” (five treasures),

and comprised “Makhzan-ol-Asrâr” (“The Treasury

of Mysteries” 1180), “Khusrav ve Shirin” (“Khusrav

and Shirin” 1180 -1181), “Leyli ve Majnun” (“Layli

and Majnun” 1189), Eskandar-Nâmeh (“The Book of

Alexander” 1199 - 1210), and “Haft Peykar” (“The

Seven Beauties” 1197).

According to the Azerbaijani literary critic G.Y.

Aliev, although Niẓāmī’s five epics were assembled

into a single volume by an unknown editor after the

poet's demise and initially labelled “Five Treasures”

and subsequently “Khamsa”, there is a profound

connection and poetic coherence within the

composition and internal content of these five epics.

This was also highlighted by E.E. Bertels and the

Hungarian scientist Wilhelm Bacher [Amir Khusra

Dihlavi. 1975].

Nizami did not simply compose his “Khamsa” as

a mandate of some monarch or a collection of

Corresponding author:

individual lengthy narrative poems. The five epics

emerged as a distinctive system in his creative

consciousness. After Nizami, the tradition of crafting

khamsa was initiated by Amir Khusrav Dehlavi

(1253-1325). In reply to Nizami’s “Khamsa” between

1298-1302, he wrote, “Matla ul-Anwar” (“Spring of

Light” 1299), “Shirin ve Khusrav” (1299), “Majnun

ve Leyli” (1299), “Aina-e-Iskandari” (1299), and

“Hasht-Bihisht” (“Eight Heavens” 1302). G.Y.

Aliyev posits that Khusrav Dehlavi effectively

mirrored Nizami’s narratives in almost all his epics

apart from “Hasht Behisht”, and only in certain areas

did he utilise the plots in Firdowsi’s “Shahnomasi”

[Amir Khusra Dihlavi. 1975; p.39-53]. This tradition

was perpetuated by Ashraf ibn Shaykhul-umam

Abulhasan ibn al-Hasan al Maraghoyi al-Tabrizi in

the 15th century (who died around 1450-1460).

Ashraf’s “Khamsa” (1428 - 1444) is made up of

“Minhoj ul-Abror”, “Riyaz ul-Ashiqin”, “Ishqnama”,

“Haft Avrang”, “Zafarnama”. Sources suggest that

Jamali, a poet from Herat’s literary scene, also

composed a “Khamsa” [Aliyev G.Yu. 1985]. This

Khamsa, created between 1402 and 1417, included

“Tuhfat ul-Abror”, “Mehru Nigor”, “Mahzun ve

Mahbub”, “Haft Awrang”, and another untitled epic.

Moreover, it is recognised that poets such as

Badriddin Hilali, Abdullah Khatifi, Ghiyazidin

Sabzavori, Said Qasimi, Fasih Rumi, Khoja Imdad

310

Jurakulov, U.

“Khamsa” as a Universal Genre.

DOI: 10.5220/0012486600003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 310-320

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

Lori, Ali Ohi, and Shaikhim Suhaili crafted epics akin

to “Khamsa”. Furthermore, experts note that the

traditions of writing Khamsa have persisted in

Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Uzbek, Azerbaijani,

Turkmen, Pashto, Kurdish, and Georgian languages.

However, Alisher Navo’i cited his two forerunners,

Nizami Ganjavi and Khusrav Dehlavi, in the

“debocha” (preface) and “hatima” (afterword)

sections of his “Khamsa”. Ashraf was mentioned only

in some instances."

“Haft awrang” (“Seven thrones’), the collection

of Nūr ad-Dīn Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī including seven

epics, is also presented as a new view of Khamsa

traditions in several pieces of research. However,

recognizing Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī’s great

contribution to the tradition of Khamsa, Alisher

Navoi’s recognition and respect for Abd ar-Rahmān

Jāmī in the prologues and other parts of each epic of

“Khamsa”, Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī’s unique

contribution to Navoi’s worldview and creative

activity, it is worth saying that “Haft awrang”

although it came to the field on the basis of the

Khamsa tradition, it is a completely different

phenomenon. The structure of the oeuvre, the volume

of epics in it, methods and ways of interpretation, and

aesthetic conception demands a different approach to

Jami’s “Haft awrang” based on completely different

theoretical criteria. M.Mirzaahmedova, who prepared

the “Commentary and Comments” on Navoi’s “Sabai

Sayyor”, quotes the following verses of Jami on the

same issue.

Meaning: Hiradnama (book of wisdom) is my

desire, it is not my business to tell legends. Talking

about the secrets of wisdom is better than telling old

stories...” M. Mirzaahmedova wrote about that three

epics (“Tohfat ol-ahrār”, “Sabhat al-abrār”,

“Kheradnāma-i Eskandari”) out of the seven epic

poems in Jami’s “Khamsa” are philosophical and

didactic. The scientist supports his ideas with a quote

from the book “History of Uzbek Literature” by

Professor N. Mallaev [Alisher Navoi. 1992].

Five of them: “Selselat adh-dhahab”, “Salaman-o

Absāl”, “Tohfat ol-ahrār”, “Sabhat al-abrār”,

“Kheradnāma-i Eskandari” is approximate to Navoi’s

“Hayrat ul-Abror” in terms of characters and poetic

concept. In them, as Jami himself pointed out, the

preaching prevails more than the story, the movement

of characters, rhetoric, and wisdom more than the

plot. In addition, if all these seven epics were

collected under one volume, and if two verses wrote

followed by each other the whole book would have

236 pages in Arabic script. If the verses had been

written in two lines, it would be 472 pages. Then,

excluding the fact that some epics are larger and some

are smaller, each epic has 67-68 pages. Then,

excluding the fact that some epics are larger and some

are smaller, each epic would consist of approximately

67-68 pages [Abdurrahman Jami]. Such a simple

comparison shows that Jami tried to write concisely

and clearly. Saying wisdom, a great deal of

generalized, condensed thoughts indicates that it was

intended to satisfy the intellectual needs of the reader

rather than the emotional needs. The fact that two

epics in “Haft Awrang” (“Yousuf and Zulaykho”,

“Kheradnāma-i Eskandari”) were written based on

stories in the “Qur’an” confirms this conclusion.

2 OBSERVATIONS AND

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the above, it seems appropriate to consider

three "Khamsa" written by authors belonging to the

Turkic nation—two in Persian and one in Turkish—

as an epic phenomenon with a unique structural-

semantic system, formed in the realm of Eastern-

Islamic aesthetic consciousness. These works are the

result of an active synthesis process in Eastern-

Islamic aesthetic and poetic thought, and the

arrangement of five epics in "Khamsa". That is, upon

the first comparison of external compositional

aspects, it literally illustrates the principle of

classicism (Table 1):

Table 1. Comparison of external compositional aspects that

literally illustrates the principle of classicism

Authors: Niẓāmī Ganjavī Khusrav

Dehlavi

Alisher

Navo’i

1st epic: “Makhzan-ol-

Asrâr”

“Matla ul-

Anwar”

“Hayrat al-

abra

”

2nd epic: “Khusrav ve

Shirin”

“Shirin ve

Khusrav”

“Farhad va

Shirin”

3rd epic: “Leyli ve Majnun” “Majnun ve

Leyli”

“Layli va

Majnun”

4th epic: “Haft Peykar” “Hasht-

Bihisht”

“Sab’ai

Sayya

”

5th epic: “Eskandarnâmeh” “Aina-e-

Iskandari”

“Sadd-i

Iskandari”

Although the first works shown in the table are

categorised as philosophical and didactic epics by all

the scholars [Bertels E.E. Selected works. 1962], their

main purpose in the structure of the "Khamsa" is to

direct the poetic concept of the epic, provide a general

compositional framework, and lay the ethical and

aesthetic foundation for the next four epics. In

summary, the subsequent epics in the "Khamsa"

invariably follow the map drawn in the first epic.

Plots, motifs, details, and characters in the following

“Khamsa” as a Universal Genre

311

epics are expanded modules of the chronotope of the

first epic. The first epic has a poetic-conceptual

essence, a universal chronotopic scope, and an

incredibly vast heavenly content, which has not been

seen in world literature before. In E.E. Bertels’

research, written in connection with the study of

Nizami’s "Makhzan-ol-Asrâr", it was noted that

under the influence of the Arab folk didactic work

"Kalila and Dimna", Rodaki from Bukhara, wrote the

epic with the same name (10th century); After him,

Abu Shukur Baghdadi led the didactic interpretation

in "Ofarinnnoma" (middle of the 10th century). Later,

this tradition was continued by some poets such as

Tayyan, Khojasta Sarakhsi, Margazi, Khusravi, and

Ma'rufi. Their allegorical interpretation of reality, the

wide scope characteristic, and the metrical system

were not as in the "Khamsa”. On this basis, the

scientist identifies the epic "Hadiqat ul-haqaiq",

written by Persian poet Sana’i in the 12th century, as

the first philosophical and didactic work [9].

However, he did not pay attention to works written in

the Turkish language, specifically in the sphere of

Turkish poetry. However, Yusuf Khass Hajib’s work

"Kutadgu Bilig" is a work of the same type, and its

counterpart has not been found in the history of

Persian or world literature because this work

appeared in the Eastern-Islamic environment and

presented a new worldview and a completely new

poetic interpretation method for the spiritual-

enlightenment thinking of the peoples of the world.

The first epics of "Khamsa" are approximate to this

epic in terms of universal interpretation of humans

and Allah, humans and existence, humans and

society, and human-to-human relations. But on the

other hand, "Qutagu bilig" is a novelty for Eastern

classical poetics and even for universal aesthetic

thought, as it sets the objective of processing and

recreating religious, social, and literary traditions in

the form of concrete poetic modules. Indeed, a similar

universal scope is not found in Sumerian literature,

which is based on a polytheistic worldview, nor in

Indian and Chinese literature dominated by

Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and

Confucianism, nor in ancient Iranian literature

influenced by Zoroastrianism, nor in the history of

ancient literature. It seems that the form of elevating

and poetic thought in Khamsa, the way of perceiving

the three heavens as unique, the tradition of Khamsa

is an effect of the Eastern-Islamic environment, and

in particular, the aesthetic potential of the Turkic

peoples who grew up in this environment. The two

"Khamsa" written before Navo’i, regardless of

whether they were written in Persian, the fact that the

three greatest Khamsa writers in the history of world

literature - Niẓāmī Ganjavī, Khusrav Dehlavi, and

Alisher Navo’i- belong directly to the Turkic nation

serves as the primary basis for us to reach such a

significant conclusion. In addition, Sana’i’s epic

"Hadiqat ul-haqaiq" and Jamali’s and Ashraf’s

"Khamsas" emerged in the Turkish environment, in

the social and cultural aura of the kingdom ruled by

Turkish rulers. The most important thing is that the

first epics of "Khamsas" are the continuation of

"Kutadgu Bilig", the great epic of the Turkic peoples

in terms of poetic and conceptual points of view.

"Khamsa" is a new and universal genre in the history

of world literature, which appeared in the Eastern-

Islamic literary environment, has a vast scope in

terms of poetic content, and focuses on the

interpretation of universal problems.

Its historical foundations are based on the

doctrines of Islam, the final religion revealed to all

humankind five hundred years before the writing of

the "Khamsa". It marks the enlightenment of a new

human who was shaped by these tenets, freed from

the influence of various forms of ignorance and false

beliefs, the realisation of his Creator, a vast process

encapsulating the unique perception of age-old issues

such as life and death, faith and disbelief, good and

evil, existence and the world, and society. A Muslim's

realisation of Allah, their views on the

commencement, doomsday, and eternity, the path to

self-realisation, their perception of complex

situations in the human heart and society, and their

response to countless questions about the three

heavens were fundamentally different from those of

people who lived before the Book, revealed to

Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the Islamic

spirituality interpreted by him.

As a matter of fact, religions and all the divine

doctrines revealed before Islam were undoubtedly

universal in terms of their scope and essence.

Literature has been interpreting this doctrine for five

hundred years, in conjunction with the Qur’an,

hadith, aqeed, fiqh, and commentary, or relying on

them. In the world of Eastern philosophical and poetic

mindset, the greatest results in literature,

comprehensive specimens of art and literature, were

created in the XI-XII centuries. By this time, the

Islamic poetic mindset reached a stage of epic scale,

surpassing even the pre-existing folk heroic epic.

After all, no matter how large-scale the epic is, it

appears within the framework of the socio-cultural

life and poetic mindset of a specific nation,

expressing its history, socio-historical, spiritual,

cultural, and national needs. However, even in the

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first written epic works created in the Islamic

environment, the universal scope was visible.

Interestingly, such a vast, universal task fell

within the scope of Turkish poetic mindset, and

Turkish art, which began to give the Eastern-Islamic

world a number of jurists, muhaddis, mathematicians,

physicists, naturalists, linguists, and literary scholars

from the 9th century, not Arabic literature, the cradle

of Islam, nor Persian literature, which was hardened

in the struggle of cultural coherence.

Abdurauf Fitrat discusses the influence of Islamic

religion and Arabic-Islamic literature on Turkish

literature in his collection "Eng eski Turk

namunalari" (The oldest specimens of Turkish

literature) and notes that the first specimens of poetic

literary works created under such influence were

found in Turkish folklore of the 7th century. He

directly connects the moral views of faith, justice,

patience, repentance, generosity, and fairness in the

folk songs with the Islamic enlightenment manifested

in the Turkic tribes that had just begun to accept Islam

[Fitrat A. 1927; p. 87-97]. In our opinion, the

processes of synthesising the fiqh and aqeed sciences,

Islamic enlightenment, which was revealed in the

Arab-Islamic environment, later entered the Persian

and Turkic world. Many formal, natural, applied and

social sciences were born on this basis, and the

methods of balāgat and fasāhat (eloquence) passed in

stages like this. "Kutadgu Bilig" by Yusuf Khass

Hajib, who lived in the XI century, is a perfect

synthesis of enlightening, scientific, aesthetic

novelties.

European, Russian, and Persian scholars who

have studied Khamsa tend to connect the formation

of Khamsa traditions with Firdowsi’s "Shahnama".

However, there is no profound and conceptual

evidence except for similarities in plots and

characters in their research [9; p. 1962]. E.E. Bertels,

who understood this well, raised a special issue called

"Niẓāmī and Firdowsi" and stated that Niẓāmī’s

"Khamsa" is fundamentally different from

"Shahnama". He analytically substantiates many

historical and poetic deficiencies characteristic of

Firdowsi and subjectivism regarding the principle of

interpretation [Bertels E.E. 1960; p. 360-393]. Bertels

points out that works such as "Kalila and Dimna",

"Afarinnoma" by Abu Shukur Balkhi, and some of

the literary works written within this theme by

Rudaki, Tayyan, Khojasta Sarakhsi, Safar Margazi,

Khusravi, Labibi, Ma’rufi, and Ammorar are mainly

didactic in spirit (sermon) and cannot be the basis of

the first epic in "Khamsa".

Bertels compared, chapter by chapter, Niẓāmī’s

“Makhzan ul-asrar” with Sana’i’s “Hadiqat al-

haqaiq”, written while residing in the palaces of three

Ghaznavid rulers (Zahiruddalawa Ibrahim, 1059 -

1099; Alaudawla Mas’ud III, 1099 - 1114; Yamin ud-

dawla Bahram Shah, 1118 - 1152) who ruled in the

11th - 12th centuries.

Citing Niẓāmī’s lines in the preface of the work,

“These two works were created in a well-known place

and dedicated to two Bahramshahs”, Bertels suggests

that one of them (Sanoi’s work) was dedicated to

Ghaznavi Bahromshah, and the other (Niẓāmī’s

work) was dedicated to Fakhriddin Bahromshah ibn

Dawood (1285). Bertels argued that this similarity

could not form the basis for the notion held by

European and Persian literary scholars that

“Makhzan-ol-Asrâr” is a nazire, a poem written using

the same metrics and rhyme as another poem.

Niẓāmī’s work differs from “Hadiqat al-haqaiq” (this

work is written in ‘Hafif’ bahr) in terms of metrics.

The sari’ bahr employed by the Turkish poet was the

basis for subsequent epics with similar content. In

conclusion, even if the content of the epic “Makhzan-

ol-Asrâr” is compared with certain chapters of

“Hadiqat al-haqaiq”, there are very few common

points between these two epics. A comparison of the

works of the two poets demonstrates that they

represent two moral and religious philosophies

formed during the initial centuries of Islam. The first

of these represents the archetype of the philosopher

who developed the canons of the ‘kalima’, its

theoretical doctrines and the second represents the

archetype of an ascetic who built his activity on the

basis of theory but sought additional ways in life's

practice [9].

In general, E.E. Bertels, who specifically studied

the first epic of “Khamsa” based on the traditions of

Eastern epics, despite noting dozens of examples of

oral and written literature, for some reason does not

mention “Qutadgu Bilig”, which is similar to

Niẓāmī’s “Makhzan-ol-Asrâr” in many respects [9; p.

203-204]. Other studies on “Kutadgu Bilig” have

stated that Yusuf Khass Hajib’s book was written

around the same time as Nizam al-Mulk’s

“Siyasatnama” and Keikavus’ “Qabusnama” and is

comparable to them in terms of content and form.

In our view, Nizam al-Mulk’s work

“Siyasatnama” tackles more social, legal, and moral

“Khamsa” as a Universal Genre

313

issues from a scientific-historical perspective, while

“Qabus-nama” largely focuses on the interpretation

of dogmatic, moral, social, and domestic issues.

There is a significant difference between these two

works in terms of poetic form. In addition, “Siyar ul-

mulk” (“Siyasatnama” was written in 1091, 21-22

years after the writing of Yusuf Khass Hajib’s.

According to research by Ulughbek Dolimov, a

Doctor of Pedagogy, “Nasihatnama” (“Qabusnama”)

was written in the 82nd-83rd years of the 11th

century, 12-13 years after “Kutadgu Bilig” [Bertels

E.E. 1960].

An even more complex problem is revealed in the

comparison of “Shahnama” and “Kutadgu Bilig”.

That is, the majority of European, Persian, Turkish,

and Russian scholars, even Fitrat and some Uzbek-

speaking literary scholars who followed him,

repeatedly emphasised the influence of Ferdowsi’s

“Shahnama” on the work “Kutadgu Bilig”. In doing

so, they primarily relied on evidence of the similarity

in metrics between the two works, and other

typological features were not analysed. This situation

did not satisfy K. Karimov, who prepared “Kutadgu

Bilig” for publication by comparing different

manuscripts. The scientist expressed his objection as

follows: “It is surprising that almost all of those who

admit that “Kutadgu Bilig” was written in Aruz

metrics, said that this work was written directly under

the influence of the Shahnama, and they attributed its

writing in Aruz solely to the influence of

“Shahnama”. They have no other evidence than that.

In particular, they don’t analyse just one or two verses

from “Kutadgu Bilig” to prove their point. We do not

want to deny the influence of “Shahnama” and

Firdowsi on “Kutadgu Bilig” and Yusuf Khass Hajib;

literary cooperation and interaction is something that

is generally recognised, but the subjects of

“Shahnama” and “Kutadgu Bilig” are completely

different from each other. It should not be forgotten

that it is the work of an independent and prominent

Turkish writer [Karimov Q. 1971].

The quoted extract appears to reflect only the

initial and general opinions that the scientist

expressed regarding the problem of "Shahnama" and

"Kutadgu Bilig". Q. Karimov did not aim to solve the

problem at this juncture; he merely responded to

some subjective opinions about "Kutadgu Bilig" that

previous researchers had advanced. Within the scope

of this brief research, we also don't have the

opportunity to devote a large amount of space to the

typology of "Kutadgu Bilig" and "Shahnama".

However, as we are advancing the issue that the

"Khamsa" genre, and the first epic within it,

represents a specimen of "Kutadgu Bilig", both

deepened in content and perfected in form, it would

be appropriate to highlight some comparisons and our

conclusions.

1. "Shahnama" is a historical-chronological,

religious-mythological, philosophical-poetic work

that tells of rulers who lived before Firdowsi and

during his time. The entire work, in essence, is related

to the ruling person (king), and many nations and

people's lives are depicted through the personality of

the ruler. The central issue in "Kutadgu Bilig" is the

concept of "bilig". Literary scholars from Uzbekistan

and other nations who have studied "Kutadgu Bilig"

have proposed a mistaken view regarding this main

problem - the conception of "bilig". "Bilig" was

defined solely as "knowledge" or "science". As a

result, narrow, one-sided opinions about the essence

of the work were expressed. This situation was also

evident in the research and promotion of the book

under the title "Saodatga eltuvchi bilim"

("Knowledge that leads to happiness"). However, the

meanings of the words "bilig" and "bilga" in the

ancient Turkic language were not confined to the

concepts of knowledge or science. Instead, the

original forms - Bilgamish in the Sumerian epics,

Bilga xoqon in the petroglyphs - were not adjectives,

but nouns ("bilig" – enlightenment, realisation,

knowledge; bilga - scholar, critic, connoisseur).

Later, "bilga" was defined as a great and

prominent man of his time. As a result, a common

noun became a proper noun. It is not for nothing that

these individuals, entrusted with the great tasks of

governance, protection of the people, and unification

of the nation, are known as Bilga. The words "bilig"

and "bilga" are used extensively in the oral and

written examples of Turkish literature from the

earliest period up to approximately the XIII-XIV

centuries. In "Devonu lugotit turk", the word

"knowledge" has three meanings: 1) knowledge,

enlightenment; 2) wisdom; 3) intellect [Mahmud

Koshgari. 1960; p. 367]. In "Navoiy lug‘ati"

("Navoi’s dictionary") this bilga defined

"knowledge", "science", "intellect" [Dictionary of

Navoi's works; p. 118]. At this point, it should be

noted that both dictionaries allow certain limitations

in the interpretation of the word "bilga". The author

of the former dictionary - Mahmud Koshgari,

compiled his book according to the principle of

explaining the meanings of a specific word in his

historical time and place. He did not aim to determine

the scope of meaning and tasks performed by them in

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the context of religious, historical, philosophical, and

poetic mindsets. The author of "Navoiy Lug‘ati"

explained the words primarily through classic

literature. Even then, he paid more attention to words

related to Arabic, Persian, and Chigatoy-Turkish

languages. The words used in Navoi’s works that

relate to the educational and religious views dialects

of the ancient Turkic peoples were ignored. He did

not consider the poetic-contextual nature of the words

at all but preferred to present explanations and

examples within the framework of independent

verses (beyts). However, in religious, philosophical,

and literary texts, each word carries meaning as part

of a vast contextual system. It demonstrates various

spiritual-educational, historical-etymological, and

poetic-metaphorical interpretations.

In the same vein, the word "bilga" in the work of

Yusuf Khass Hajib has a universal scope. It is not idle

that the educational-poetic concept of a huge work,

consisting of 12814 verses (6407 beyts), is predicated

on this word. So "Bilig" was derived from ancient

Turkic sources (Let's recall "Bilgamish", "Bilga

xoqon", or Alpomish, whose second name, Hakim,

means knowledgeable and enlightened). For instance,

according to the context of "Kutadgu bilig", bilig

means "enlightenment" in a broad sense, and the

conception of "bilga" means the owner of

enlightenment, i.e. judge, scholar, intellectual, a

person close to the Creator, possessor of divine and

worldly knowledge, a person aware of the knowledge

of the Three Heavens.

Historically, the concept of enlightenment dates

back to the time when Adam was created. In those

days, even the concepts of time and space as we

understand them today did not exist. The concept of

time and space originated as a measure of time and as

one of the first means of life in human existence, from

the moment when Adam, peace be upon him,

descended to Earth. Until the first man was created

and all the angels worshipped him, there was only

enlightenment; only Azazil failed to realise that

bowing before Adam, in accordance with God’s

command, was tantamount to bowing to God

Himself. Adam, peace be upon him, knew Allah,

possessed knowledge (bilig) about His beautiful

names, attributes, and all His creatures, and attained

the status of a possessor of enlightenment (“bilga” in

Turkish). Navoi refers to this state in the first person

as "marifatullah" [Alisher Navoi. 1991]. Azazil,

however, became envious of this status achieved by

man and became a cursed devil. His remaining in

such a state was due to his inherent ignorance [Holy

Quran. 1992;p]. Therefore, the essence of the word

“enlightenment” encompasses all the positive

(goodness) concepts in the divine books and the

lexical reserve of humanity, and the word

“ignorance” contains all the negative (evil, wicked)

concepts. The word “knowledge”, which underpins

Yusuf Khass Hajib’s book, expresses the author’s

poetic concept from the same perspective. The proper

noun “Bilga”, which evolved based on the concept of

“Bilig”, was initially used to refer to the first owner

of enlightenment - Adam (peace be upon him). All the

prophets of the Creator who came after Adam (peace

be upon him) are also acknowledged under the same

quality. In the periods when the arrival of God’s

messengers ceased; holy books revealed by the

Creator were corrupted; falsely interfered with them

(polytheism, mythology, periods of ignorance) under

the quality of Bilga, the hero of the folk epic - the

image of the “Alp” (hero, warrior, reformer, and

leader) appeared.

In other words, the “Alp” is the image of the

messengers of the Creator, forgotten over time,

mythologised, and metaphorised in the poetic and

literary mindset of the masses. Calling Bilgamish in

the Sumerian epic, Bilga xoqon, Alpomish

(Hakimbek - owner of bilig) and the names of the

main characters in the ancient Turkic language as a

Bilga, has such spiritual-educational, cultural-

historical, artistic-etymological foundations.

Therefore, Yusuf Khass Hajib’s “Kutadgu Bilig”

is an example synthesised in the mind of a single

author of the trinity of the creator - existence

(cosmos) - mankind, which was formed on the basis

of Islamic spirituality in the 7th - 10th centuries, and

which conceptually corresponds to the essence of

“Khamsa”.

The text of “Shahnama” was based on semi-

historical chronicles interspersed with ancient

Eastern, particularly Persian, myths and legends.

When discussing the historical factors of

“Shahnama”, E.E. Bertels noted the role of “Avesto”

motifs, of which only some fragments remained in the

Sasanian era, folk legends, legends of Buddhism, and

monism in the public memory, and heroic songs sung

in the region of Central Asia and Iran. Also, referring

to Narshahi’s work “History of Bukhara”, he

emphasised that songs such as “Afsungarlar Yig‘isi”(

“The sorcerer’s cry”) and “Siyovush qasosi”

(“Siyovush’s Revenge”), which were popular among

the inhabitants of ancient Bukhara, were incorporated

into the plot of “Shahnama” [10]. In “Kutadgu Bilig”

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315

we do not find any plot related to myth. In it, only the

Qur'an and the content of tawhid, the Islamic faith,

were interpreted by the author at a high poetic level.

This also precisely corresponded to the author’s

concept in “Khamsa”.

“Shahnama” tells the story of the lives of heroes

with different goals, different worldviews, and

beliefs, according to its comprehensive nature and

chronicle plot. The only thing that unites them is the

title “Shahnama” (“Writings about Kings”), which is

the main link in the composition of the work.

However, the images of the king in it are also

different: righteous-tyrant, simple-cunning, religious-

non-religious, humanitarian-nationalist, etc. It is

interesting that in such diverse plots, different

characters act according to their own worldviews. In

this work, which tells about the rulers of the world, a

single epic concept that summarises them in terms of

universal values is not clearly visible. In “Kutadgu

Bilig”, the concept of an enlightened person is

promoted through the artistic interpretation of a single

hero. Many researchers of “Kutadgu Bilig”

interpreted the images of Kuntugdi (justice), Oytoldi

(state, rulership), Ogdulmish (intelligence),

Ozgurmish (gratitude) as a reflection of individual

heroic or human qualities in the image of a certain

hero mentioned by the author. In general, the context

of the work does not deny this interpretation. Even

these images individually correspond to the nature of

the characters of the four epics in “Khamsa”. For

example, Farhad's intelligence, sharp logic, Majnun’s

patience on the path of love, and Iskandar’s rulership

and justice are qualities typical of these characters.

Despite this, the idea that Yusuf Khos Hajib

interpreted the image of a true Islamic man imbued

with Islamic spirituality, perfect in morals, steadfast

in his actions, an original Islamic person through

these four images, expresses the harmony between

the philosophical concepts of “bilig” in “Qutadgu

Bilig” and “Khamsa” more fully.

4. The chronotopes in which the heroes of

"Shahnama" operate are also diverse. These

chronotopes are largely determined by the historical-

geographical and poetic-mythological regions

associated with the hero (king) whose story is being

told. Each of these chronotopes leads to a different

destination. Neither the author nor the direction of the

fabula in the work can influence this. In "Kutadgu

Bilig", the grand journey of a perfect individual,

represented by four characters, comprises birth, life,

and life after death, forming a single, universal

chronotope. Its destination is also clear. This

destination ultimately aligns with what the author (as

well as the author of "Khamsa") envisages in his

ideal.

5. Lastly, in "Shahnama" personal issues (specific

to the king), national matters (specific to the Persian

nation), disputes regarding statehood, and the

kingdom's internal affairs are more prevalent, leading

to narrow dramatic and tragic interpretations. The

author's stance and social ideal are clear at this point

- when the interests of his own nation and those of

other nations conflict. On the other hand, "Kutadgu

Bilig", in accordance with its religious and

educational essence, does not favour a particular

nation. In general, it illuminates the path to "komillik"

(perfection), the ideal of an enlightened individual.

It's important that the author himself followed what

he advised in the book, comprehended the bliss of

enlightenment, and shared it with others. The

following sentences appearing in the preface of

"Kutadgu Bilig" testify to these thoughts: "Bu kitabnì

tasnif qilg‘ìlì balasag‘un mavludlìg‘ parhiz idisi er

turur" (Meaning: "The author of this book is a person

born in Balasogun, a dieter [that is, restrained,

patient]") [Yusuf Khos Hajib. 1971].

According to E.E. Bertels, Firdausi lived between

935/936 and 1020 AD. "Shahnoma" was completed

on 16 January 999, according to the scientist's exact

calculation. Yusuf Khass Hajib was born around

1019, and he finished writing this work in 1069-1070

[Yusuf Khos Hajib. 1971]. A gap of 70-71 years

separates these two works. The first epic in Nizami’s

"Khamsa" was written in 1180. Thus, "Makhzan ul-

asrar" appeared 181 years after "Shahnama" and 110-

111 years after "Qutadgu Bilig". Nizami’s epic differs

from both works in terms of metrics. "Shahnama" and

"Qutadgu bilig" were written in Mutaqarib Bahr,

while "Makhzan ul-Asrar" was written in Sari’ Bahr.

The first epic of Nizami’s (as well as Dehlavi’s,

Navoi’s) "Khamsa" differs from "Shahnoma" in other

respects. The plots of Khusrav, Shah Bahram, and

Alexander in "Khamsa" are similar to Firdowsi’s

"Shahnama" only in certain aspects concerning the

plot and poetic form. However, according to the

poetic content and structure of metaphorical

interpretation, it fundamentally diverges from

Ferdowsi’s oeuvre. Firdausi’s Alexander is depicted

as a king, his biography, as per the author’s intent,

testified that he is a descendant of Iranian rulers. Yet

the characters of Khusrav, Shah Bahram, and

Iskandar differed significantly from the heroes of

Firdowsi even in Nizami’s "Khamsa" [10; p. 363-

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393]. They acquired a completely different form and

content in Navoi’s "Khamsa".

Now we will focus on the relationship between

the first epic of this "Khamsa" and "Kutadgu Bilig".

In the earlier parts of the article, we mentioned that

the first epic plays a crucial compositional role in

crafting "Khamsa" into a cohesive poetic system,

thereby defining it as an independent literary genre.

At this point, there's a need to elucidate the poetic

connection between "Kutadgu Bilig" and "Khamsa",

which is reflected in the semantic-structural

relationship of the same work ("Q.B.") with the first

epic. This is because the first epic is more akin to

"Kutadgu Bilig" than many other similar epics in

terms of its poetic-aesthetic concept and poetic

structure. The primary objective of the first epic in

"Khamsa" is the compositional organisation within

the genre system and the semantic-structural

harmonisation of the subsequent four epics. We

tentatively term this epic the "moulding epic". The

"moulding epic" (compositional mould) in "Khamsa"

demonstrates the function of harmonising and

organising the genre with the following

characteristics:

1. Universality of epic space: In this case, the

principal poetic criterion is the extent of the epic

space covered by the moulding epic. The universal

epic space isn't confined to a specific individual,

nation, country, or the image of the world understood

solely through thought and logic. It will aim for a

comprehensive representation of the reality of the

three heavens (heaven-earth-underground).

Astronomical concepts (sun, moon, planets, stars) and

geographical areas (earth, country, city, village, etc.)

that occupy a central position in typical realistic

works also feature in such works, but at a rather

passive level, and sometimes as metaphorical tools.

It's worth noting that the human phenomenon is

central to everything.

This form of epic space was observed in Yusuf

Khass Hajib’s "Kutadgu Bilig" and the first epic of

"Khamsa". "Kutadgu Bilig" starts with praise for

Allah and the Prophet, peace be upon him, then

continues with the chapter about the creation of

Adam, peace be upon him, and his appreciation of

knowledge (enlightenment). Although the verses

from Surah Al-Baqara, which describe the history of

Adam's creation, peace be upon him, were not cited.

The verses talk about the first place of man (heaven)

and the first activity (coming to know Allah and

attaining enlightenment). The first conversation

(dialogue) of "Makhzan ul-asrar" began with the

depiction of this place. Contrary to Yusuf Khos Hajib,

Niẓāmī directly includes the Qur’anic verses about

the creation of Adam and his poetic interpretation.

This conversation, reflecting the essence of the first

epic (even the entirety of "Khamsa"), was

superficially evaluated by Bertels as "in the places

where the creation of man was reflected, the words

were based on Qur’anic legends." (emphasis is ours –

U.J.) [10]. Professor Khalil Yusufli spoke about the

issue of the Creator, Man, and the Universe in the

interpretation of "Makhzan ul-asrar" and made the

following points. "The poet, who attempted to depict

the past, present, and future of all humanity starting

from Adam, portrayed man not separately from the

animate and inanimate world of nature, but in

conjunction with it" [Nizami Gentsevi. 2011]. It

seems that the Azerbaijani literary critic held an

impartial view about the universality of Niẓāmī’s epic

space and the representation of human life within this

vast space. This form of epic space was expressed in

Dehlavi in a manner that is quite consistent with

Niẓāmī’s description and expression. Navo’i depicts

it more extensively and deeply.

2. Universality of Epic Time: Realistic works are

known to depict primarily three forms of time. All

events occur within the parameters of past, present,

and future times, perceived through the five senses.

In universal time, the time perceived through these

senses is understood and explained as part of a vast

system. That is, universal epic time is an unceasing

time that has neither a beginning nor an end. Human

time, which is understood within this universal time

system, is also divided into three parts. And, in

accordance with this classification, it is part of

universal time. Universal time comprises three great

stages: the time before the commencement of human

life - the universal past; world life (astronomical size

- past, present, future); and the time after the end of

world life, akin to the universal future. The literary

genre formed based on universal time perceives the

time of the world or humanity as a fleeting stage

within the eternal, universal time. It is incorrect to

approach this view in a strictly materialistic or

rationalistic way. Numerous European and Russian

scholars, including Uzbek literary scholars of the

Soviet era, have narrowly covered this topic, making

serious mistakes in defining the purpose, objective,

and essence of such universal genres, their aesthetic

range, and particularly, their narrative techniques.

Even the flaw in M. Bakhtin's views, who formulated

the theory of the literary chronotope, is noticeable at

this problem's root. This aspect is apparent in the

“Khamsa” as a Universal Genre

317

scientist's approach and evaluation of Dante's work.

The classification of the artistic, literary method of

the authors of "Khamsa" (Nizami, Dehlavi, Navoi) as

romanticism by the literary experts of the Soviet

period stems from a misunderstanding of the artistic

chronotope's scope in it.

Researchers unable to fit the universal time

interpreted by the authors of Khamsa into the

framework of realism and rational logic concluded

that it was mythical, imaginary, or the product of the

author's romance. However, the fact that "Khamsa"

and other classic works did not fit into the rational

time logic does not mean they were unreal

(untruthful). Indeed, the authors of these works

accepted the universal time as pure truth, i.e., real

time, and artistically interpreted it. The universality

of such works' era was also an example of high

realism, in contrast to simple realism. Therefore, the

correct understanding and assessment of the

"Khamsa" period's universal nature leads to a

reconsideration of the issue of chronotope theory and

Eastern classical literature's methods.

Here, the transient life was explained through

eternal life. It was posited that the entire universe,

humankind, and time were created by the eternal God,

and all of these were mortal. As a result, the

immensity of time and the universality of the epic

scope were emphasised. It is clear that the three ages

in the world's life are not eternal, but temporary

stages. In most of "Kutadgu Bilig"'s chapters, the

author repeatedly emphasised life's transience in the

world, all its ups and downs, and the mortality of

human life. The oeuvre, whose initial chapters began

with the description of eternity, ended with a chapter

about the transience of time (the time of the

materialistic world), and the torment of friends (i.e.,

transitory needs). The reality of "Khamsa" also

occurred between these two times. The map of time

drawn in a universal form in the first epic is

artistically interpreted in different forms in the next

four epics. And the "empty hand" narrative about

Alexander in the last epic represents the oeuvre's

conclusion about transient life or passing time.

3. Universal Plot and Fabula System: "Kutadgu

Bilig" and "Khamsa" incorporate a universal plot and

fabula system that interprets the events of three

worlds. These events span from the time of Adam

(peace be upon him) to the time when the literary

work was written, taking place within the three

universal spaces. Some plots fully encapsulate the

reality of the three heavens, while some relatively

independent plots depict events that occurred within

one world and served to reflect the reality of the

universal world more generally. This might include

the creation of Adam (peace be upon him), events

associated with the devil, the beginning of life on

earth, information about the first generations, the

lives of prophets, the formation of a particular nation,

stories about famous individuals, and episodes about

domestic life, among other things.

4. Universal Character: It should be noted that the

universal space and time depicted in the "Khamsa"

genre acquire meaning solely due to the human

character at its centre. In other words, in this work, all

artistic literary components were centred on creating

a universal human image, starting from time and

space. In the first epic, a broad portrayal of this image,

the artistic chronotope, and its place and functions in

the artistic model of "Khamsa" are defined. To reveal

the essence of this universal human image, several

forms of an artistic image have been developed in

"Khamsa". Based on the general system of images

and characters in the work, they can be classified as

follows:

a) Real-Historical Characters: The main feature of

such characters is their interpretation in a manner that

does not contradict historical truth in the slightest. In

this sense, real images in the artistic world of the work

depict a real human phenomenon more than an artistic

image. This category includes the characters of

prophets, ṣaḥābahs-companions, tābi‘ūns

("followers" or "successors", who are the generation

of Muslims that followed the companions (ṣaḥābah)

of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), saints (Sufis),

teachers, poets, thinkers, kings. As M. Bakhtin noted

concerning epic characters, such images were

considered "untouchable characters" in the artistic

world of "Khamsa". Historical truth is the main

criterion in their interpretation.

b) Biographical Characters: Biographical images

also hold a special place in the system of "Khamsa"

characters. Such characters are observed in the

introductions and endings, at points directly

associated with the author. The author’s parents,

relatives, friends and brothers, teachers and

contemporaries, and historical figures somehow

related to the author’s biography are considered

biographical characters. However, they are not

exactly historical images.

c) The Character of the Author: This character

performs various tasks at different points in the plot.

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In the system of "Khamsa" characters, they have

guiding, organising, defining, describing, reacting,

and other functions. Much like biographical images,

the image of the author should not be confused with

the personality of the historical author.

g) Metaphorical Characters: These form a series

of characters that actively move within the framework

of the first epic in "Khamsa", particularly the

subsequent four epics, and play an essential role in

conveying the artistic and poetic concept.

Metaphorical characters express the author's ideals

about world life in general, existence, society, and the

human phenomenon, particularly about dignity and

humanity. Such characters fully cover various aspects

of a person and the world (such as "Dahr Arusi").

Furthermore, such motifs were included in the system

of "Khamsa" images through metaphorical

processing from the reality of real life, various

narratives, legends, and written sources from

predecessors, and served for the interpretation of the

work's general concept. "Qutadgu Bilig" and

"Khamsa" were directly connected at this point. Like

"Khamsa", the image forms listed in "Qutadgu Bilig"

create a general system of characters.

5. Universal Epic Concept: The aforementioned

components of the genre (space, time, plot, character)

are amalgamated in the epic concept at the heart of

the genre. This is not simply an epic concept formed

by the author's individual perspectives, artistic,

poetic, and literary ideals, nor is it, like an epos, the

epic history, needs, hopes, and philosophical-literary

mindset of a particular nation. The genre of

"Khamsa", "Qutadgu Bilig", or specifically, the first

epic in "Khamsa", stands apart from the oral and

written genres of the three literary types, and this is

its superiority. Understanding and interpreting the

universal chronotope, universal plot, and universal

system of images based on the trinity of God -

existence - man is an epic concept typical of

"Khamsa". "Kutadgu Bilig" in the first epic defined

the ways and methods of perceiving the universe and

human phenomenon on a heavenly scale. The five

epics in "Khamsa" harmoniously interpreted the five

continents of the earth and the challenges of the

people who lived there, live there now, and will live

there in the future. The image of a man in the first epic

is universal in its broadest sense. It was not restricted

by a specific nation, time, or space. This image is a

universal artistic literal representation of a person

operating in three chronotope dimensions.

3 CONCLUSIONS

1. The roots of the Turkish artistic and poetic epic

mindset, which brought the tradition of Khamsachilik

to world literature (Niẓāmī Ganjavī, Khusrav

Dehlavi) and developed as an independent genre

(Alisher Navo’i) [Dzhorakulov U. 2017], can first be

traced back to the Holy Qur'an, and then to the

legitimate continuation and epic tradition of the

ancient Turkic peoples.

2. Soviet literary scholars linked the roots of epic

traditions in “Kutadgu Bilig”, Khamsa, and other

Turkish epics to Persian literature, particularly, the

“Shahnama”. However, from the perspective of

historical poetics, this connection is not justified;

3. The concept of “bilig”, which served as the

artistic-conceptual foundation in “Kutadgu bilig” and

was later refined in “Khamsas” authored by Turkish

writers, is a global artistic, poetic, and philosophical

concept in accordance with Islamic essence.

4. Lastly, these theses highlight the necessity for

a distinct study of Turkish epic traditions as a single,

universal artistic and poetic system.

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