OLGU VE KURGU ARASINDA SÛZÎ ÇELEBİ’YE GÖRE MİHALOĞLU ALİ BEY VE AKINCI TİPİ

Raiding, a subject featured in many works from gazavatnâmes to border folk songs, holds significant importance in both Turkish literature and history. Sûzî Çelebi's (d. 931/1524) which narrates the raids and love stories of Mihaloğlu Ali Bey (d. 906/1506), is of particular importance as it is the only work entirely devoted to this subject. Despite this, the work has not been sufficiently analyzed, especially from a literary perspective. Until the late 16th century, “akıncı”s (raiders), who constituted an important element of the OToman military system, were light cavalry units that undertook an important mission in the OToman expansion into the interior of Europe through intelligence and aTrition operations against enemy countries. Mihaloğlu Ali was a “akıncı bey” who was famous for his heroism among the raider families. Generally composed of Turkmen, fighting for the sake of "Gaza" and "jihad, the “akıncı” combines the characteristics of the preIslamic "alp" type and the post-Islamic "Gazi" type. Sûzî's Gazavât-nâme, which contains episodes from the life of an “akıncı bey”, is an unfinished masnawi of 1795 couplets. The subject of the work is the four raids of Ali Bey, his love affair with Meryem, the daughter of the Wallachian prince, and her friend Bânû. While the love-related sections align with dual-hero love masnawis, only the characters are historically accurate. There isn’t a “hatime” section in the work. In Gazavât-nâme, a clear and vivid narrative style dominates the accounts of raids and didactic sections, while descriptions and poems, such as ghazals, are enriched by a strong and artistic tone. According to Sûzî, the main goal of a raider is to go to war to protect and glorify the religion of Allah and to be martyred in this way. Ali Bey is a legendary hero who pursues the "soldier of Gaza" and isn’t left alone by the "unseen saints". The heroism of the Mihaloğulları family dates back to Köse Mihal, Osman Gazi's companion, and is a heritage passed down from forefather to son.