The Book
The Book of Dede Korkut
One of the oldest and best-loved epic traditions of the Turkic world. A short guide.
Who was Dede Korkut?
Dede Korkut is the wise bard of the Oghuz tribes. The book calls him the seer of the Oghuz: what he says comes true, and he brings word of the unseen. Khans seek his advice, he names children and settles quarrels, and at the end of every tale he comes to tell the story and offer a prayer.
Was he a real person, or the bardic tradition given a human face? It is hard to say for certain. Across a vast region, from Anatolia and Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, legends, shrines and melodies in the name of Korkut Ata live on.
The book and its manuscripts
The book's full title means 'The Book of my Grandfather Korkut in the language of the Oghuz people'. It consists of an introduction and twelve tales. The stories were told orally for centuries before being written down; the date is uncertain, but the 15th and 16th centuries are generally suggested.
The two best-known manuscripts are held in the Dresden library in Germany and in the Vatican. The Dresden manuscript contains the introduction and all twelve tales, while the Vatican copy has six. A third manuscript, introduced in 2019 and associated with the Turkmen Sahra region of Iran, added a new tale to those already known and opened a new chapter in the research.
The Oghuz world
The tales take place in a nomadic world of tents and camps, horse herds, hunts and raids. Bayındır Khan is the khan of khans, and his son-in-law Salur Kazan leads the lords. The Oghuz are divided into the Inner and Outer Oghuz, and the last tale tells of the rift between them.
In this world women ride, shoot arrows and wrestle too. Guests are honoured, names are earned and promises are kept. Part of the tales' magic comes from this: they speak of loyalty, hospitality and forgiveness as much as of heroism.
Language and style
The tales are told in a language where prose and verse are woven together. At key moments the heroes speak in rhythmic, rousing passages called soylama. Every tale ends with Dede Korkut arriving to tell the story and offer a prayer.
The proverbs and counsel from the book's introduction are still quoted today. You can find some of them, in modern language, on the Sayings page.
The kopuz and the bard
The kopuz is the stringed instrument in Dede Korkut's hands. The bard tells his tale to its music, and the kopuz is held in great respect throughout the book. It is considered an ancestor of today's bağlama and saz.
A short timeline
- Oral traditionThe tales of the Oghuz are passed down from generation to generation by bards.
- 15th to 16th centuriesThe tales are believed to have been written down in the form we know today.
- 1815Heinrich Friedrich von Diez translates the Tepegöz tale from the Dresden manuscript into German, introducing it to Europe.
- 1916Kilisli Rifat Bilge publishes the first complete edition of the book in Istanbul.
- 2018On a joint nomination by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Türkiye, UNESCO inscribes the Dede Korkut heritage on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- 2019A new manuscript associated with the Turkmen Sahra region is introduced to scholars.
This guide is a general introduction. For historical and manuscript details, please refer to scholarly editions.
