Reflection of the Tripoli War in Arabic Poetry and Analysis of İsmail Sabri's Qasida Called “Harbu Trâblus”

Abstract

The wars that the Ottoman Empire engaged in with Western states in its last periods greatly affected the Arab world. Especially Arab poets, who were not insensitive to social and political issues, gave an important place to these wars of the Ottoman Empire in their divans. The war that Arab poets particularly emphasized among these conflicts was the Tripoli War between the Ottoman Empire and Italy. Generally, in the eyes of the poets, this war was accepted as a colonial attempt by the West to the Islamic world, and this caused these poets to absolutely support the Ottomans. Although Egyptian poet İsmail Sabri remained indifferent to the Ottoman rule throughout his poet career, he wrote poems about this war, both showing his reaction to Italy and declaring his support for the Ottoman Empire. In this study, the reflections of the Tripoli War in Arabic poetry were discussed and, in this context, İsmail Sabri’s qasida called “Harbu Trâblus” was evaluated. The mentioned qasida has been analyzed verse by verse, attempting to highlight the themes that the poet emphasizes throughout the qasida. The poet’s messages regarding the war, addressed to both the Western world and the Islamic community and his thoughts about the war, have been articulated. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.