Türk Dünyasında Dinî Hikâye Bağlamında Manzum Bir Battalnâme: Kazak Sahasındaki Kıssa Seyit Battal’da Gazâ Anlayışı
A Verse Battalnâme in the Context of Religious Narratives in the Turkic World: The Concept of Ghazā in Qissa-i Seyit Battal from the Kazakh Region

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the concept of ghaza in Kıssa Seyit Battal, which is regarded as the earliest known example of a Battalnâme written in Kazakh Turkish. The primary text of the study is Kıssa Seyit Battal, which was compiled and edited by Mäulekey Jumaşulı, published in Kazan in 1879 in Arabic script, later transliterated into Cyrillic, and subsequently published in Volume XVI of the Babalar Sözi collection. Considering that religious narratives in the Kazakh literary tradition are referred to as “religious epics,” the work is evaluated within the framework of the Kazakh religious epic tradition and the tradition of verse religious narratives, while selected passages are examined through a context-based textual analysis. The analysis reveals that Seyit Battal’s identity as a ghazi is shaped not only by epic warriorhood and military leadership but also by a religious understanding that associates his actions with seeking Allah’s approval. While the oppositions between tawhid and idolatry, believer and unbeliever, and truth and falsehood constitute the religious foundation of ghaza, the episodes surrounding Mehraşıp intertwine the call to Islam, religious debate, physical conflict, and the struggle against idolatry. In the conflict with Milan Shah, this religious opposition becomes more explicit in the form of large-scale military ghaza between Muslim and unbeliever armies. References to takbir, martyrdom, and divine assistance further reinforce the religious meaning of military struggle. Consequently, ghaza in Kıssa Seyit Battal is constructed within a religious-heroic framework that integrates the ghazi identity, belief in tawhid, the struggle against idolatry, the call to Islam, martyrdom, divine assistance, and military combat.

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