An Unknown Manuscript of a Poetic Hazrat Ali Cenknâme

After embracing Islam, the Turks engaged in conquests and struggles to spread the religion. These struggles influenced various aspects of life, including literature. Cenknames (epic war narratives) are among the examples of this influence. The text we examine in this study is a Cenkname of Hazrat Ali. The battles of Hazrat Ali and his acts of bravery in these wars have been a popular subject not only among writers but also among readers in Turkish literature. Hazrat Ali, who was both a relative and a close companion of Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph of Islam, holds a significant place due to the hardships he endured, his critical role in the early years of Islam, his contributions to the religion, and his central position in pivotal events. These factors are among the primary reasons for the enduring interest in his life. In this study, a manuscript of a Cenkname of Hazrat Ali, writ-ten in the masnavi verse form and from our personal library, has been transcribed into mod-ern Turkish and analyzed. The study first provides information about Cenknames, introduc-es the work, and then examines its content, style, and linguistic features. It has been deter-mined that this Cenkname shares similarities with other Cenknames of Hazrat Ali in certain aspects. The text consists of 229 couplets, and there is no information available about its author or copyist.