Kitabi-Dede Gorgut

Kitabi- Dede Gorgut” (Kitab-i-Dedem ela lisani-taifie- Oguzan (In language of Oguz tribes  Book of Dedem Gorgut - Epos of the Oghuz Turks. The most ancient written monument of Azerbaijani folk literature (XI-XII centuries). 

According to the tradition, the authorship of epics in Kitabi Dede Gorgut related to Dede Gorgut. The main subject of epics was reflected in the twelve-like epics.

Dede Gorgut eposes, which root back to mythological views was written in XI century of AD under the name of Kitabi Dede Gorgut, and copies in our hands are just copies of the manuscripts of the sixteenth century. According to German orientalist Friedrich von Dits, that first investigated the m written monument, some of the mythological subjects, for example, the Cyclopes subject had caused creation of  similar subjects in ancient Greece. The image of Cyclopes in Kitabi Dede Gorgut if compared with Homer’s Poliphem image from Odyssey epic, is older. So far, two manuscripts of are Kitabi Dede Gorgut known. One of them is Dresden copy, which was taken by German orientalist, F. Dits from Istanbul to Germany and presented to library of Dresden city, consisting of a preamble and twelve boys (parts) (separate stories in epic is called as “boy”), and another one is a copy that was found on the 50-ies of XX century in Vatican, consisting of preamble and six boys. The third copy of “KItabi Dede Gorgut” was prepared at the Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.

The main essence of the epics of “KItabi-Dede-Gorgut” consists of protection of land and the people, the fight of forces that represent good, Oguz nations against alien invaders, life-and-death battle against evil forces, the importance of the moral-didactic meetings, which had not lost its importance now. During 50-es of last century under the ideological pressure of  the Soviet totalitarian regime Kitabi Dede Gorgut epic, was prohibited as literary monument, which as if causes national hate, and was just “rehabilitated” only in the early 60-es.

Being the monument of folk art of Azerbaijan, the poetic language of epos “Kitabi-Dede-Gorgut” language is rich with artistic drawings. Patterns of folk language, proverbs, sayings and idiomatic phrases were used skillfully in the epos. Kitabi-Dede Gorgut is very rich source to learn about the history of Azerbaijani Turks.