Yahya bey Dukagjini

Dukaginzâde Yahyâ bey
Extract from Gencine-i Raz, a diwan literature work of Yahya bey Dukagjini, National Manuscript Library, Istanbul
Born	1488 Istanbul or Albania
Died	1582 (mostly accepted)
Occupation	Poet, military
Language	Ottoman Turkish
Nationality	Ottoman
Education	Acemi oglan
Literary movement	Diwan poetry

Yahya bey Dukagjini (1488–1582; Turkish: Dukaginzâde Yahyâ bey or Turkish: Taşlıcalı Yahyâ bey, and Albanian: Jahja bej Dukagjini) was an Albanian poet and military figure. He is known for his Ottoman Turkish diwan poems of the 16th century.^[1]

In his youth, Dukagjini was recruited as a poet via the Ottomans' devşirme. He acted as a military figure, serving as a bölükbaşı. He participated in the 1514 Battle of Chaldiran, the 1516–17 Ottoman–Mamluk War, the Baghdad expedition of 1535, and the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566. Dukagjini was exiled after writing an elegy about Şehzade Mustafa, Suleiman the Magnificent's executed son. As a result, the murderer was discussed, Grand Vizier, Rüstem Pasha, exiled Dukagjini to the Balkans, where he spent the end of his life.

Dukagjini is known for his originality in his poems, though he did plagiarise themes and ideas from Persian literature, he presented such ideas in his own form.