Book of Dede Korkut

The most celebrated epic of the Oghuz Turks is the *Book of Dede Korkut* (also called the *Book of Korkut Ata*). Its tales convey the morals and values of the nomadic Turkic way of life, including pre-Islamic beliefs, and form a key part of the cultural heritage for peoples of Oghuz origin—primarily in Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. For a long time, only two manuscripts were known, one in the Vatican and another in Dresden, Germany. A third was discovered in 2018 in a private collection in Gonbad-e Kavus, Iran. These stories are among the best-known Turkic dastans, out of over a thousand recorded epics across the Turkic and Mongolian language families.

The epic is a heroic dastan, also called the Oghuznama among the Oghuz. It begins in Central Asia, moves into Anatolia, and centers most of its action in the Caucasus. According to the scholar Barthold, it could not have been written anywhere else. The work is the main repository of Oghuz ethnic identity, history, customs, and values, commemorating their struggles for freedom as a herding people. However, the stories were put into their present form after the Oghuz no longer thought of themselves by that name. From the mid-10th century onward, the term Oghuz was gradually replaced among Turks by *Turkoman*, a process completed by the early 13th century. The Turcomans were mostly Oghuz Turks who had converted to Islam and adopted a more sedentary life. In the 14th century, a Turcoman federation called the Aq Qoyunlu established a confederation centered in eastern Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and western Iran.

The twelve main stories were written down after the Turks converted to Islam. The heroes are portrayed as good Muslims, while the villains are called infidels, but there are many references to pre-Islamic magic. The character Dede Korkut (“Grandfather Korkut”) is a famous soothsayer and bard who links the stories together; a thirteenth chapter compiles sayings attributed to him. In the dastans, he appears as the *aksakal* (the respected elder), an advisor or sage who solves tribal problems. Among the population, respected *aksakals* are wise problem-solvers; among *ashiks* (bards), they are often called *dede* (“grandfather”). Historically, this term designated respected tribal elders, and today it is used within families; in many parts of Azerbaijan, it replaces *ata* (ancestor or father). The histo