Basat- Turkic HeroHero"Slayer of Tepegöz"

The Lion's Fostering

In the Book of Dede Korkut, Basat's story begins with loss. During a raid on the Oghuz encampment, his father Aruz's infant son is left behind in the chaos. A lioness finds the abandoned child and raises him among her cubs on the open steppe. When Oghuz hunters later encounter a strange creature running with the lions, Aruz recognizes the boy and reclaims him, though Basat retains the ferocity and fearlessness of his upbringing. Dede Korkut gives the boy his name, declaring that since his base was a lion, he shall be called Basat.

The lion-fostering marks Basat as set apart from the other Oghuz warriors. While the rest of the beys and their sons represent the social order of the tribal confederation, Basat carries the wildness of the steppe within him. This quality proves essential when the Oghuz face a threat that conventional heroism cannot overcome.

The Slaying of Tepegöz

Tepegöz, a monstrous one-eyed giant born from the union of a shepherd and a peri, terrorizes the Oghuz. He demands a daily tribute of sixty humans and five hundred sheep, and no warrior who challenges him survives. The Oghuz beys are paralyzed: some counsel flight, others despair. Basat alone volunteers to face the creature.

Entering Tepegöz's cave, Basat finds the giant asleep among the bones of his victims. He heats an iron spit in the fire until it glows and drives it into the giant's single eye. Tepegöz, blinded and raging, blocks the cave entrance and begins groping for his attacker. Basat escapes by clinging to the belly of a great ram as the giant feels the backs of his flock passing through the entrance.

The blinded Tepegöz hurls his magic ring after Basat, which adheres to the hero and draws him back toward the giant. Only when Basat cuts off his own finger does he free himself from the enchantment. He then takes up Tepegöz's own sword, the only weapon that can wound the monster, and strikes the killing blow. Basat returns to the Oghuz encampment as their deliverer, and Dede Korkut sings his praises.