Hamse is defined as a compilation of five pieces. As a literary term, it denotes “a group of works in Persian and Turkish literatures consisting of five masnavis. “The understanding of hamse in Turkish literature later expanded to signify a group of works entailing five pieces of prose or one collection of poetry (divan) and four masnavis. Initially encountered in the Persian literature, the hamses were later also embraced by the Turkish literature. Although the early examples comprised of mere imitations, they gradually gained originality, locality and thereby popularity, which allowed them to gain a significant position in literary literature.
MEHMET ARSLAN