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The Book of Dede Korkut
The heroic epic of the Oghuz Turks — a shared Turkic monument made up of separate tales, inscribed by UNESCO in 2018 on a joint nomination by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Türkiye.
The Book of Dede Korkut is an epic of the Oghuz Turks, born in oral tradition and later written down. It consists of separate tales called boy, all linked by the wise bard Dede Korkut, who names the heroes and blesses them at the end of each tale.
Two manuscripts are known — twelve tales in the Dresden copy and six in the Vatican copy — and in 2018 a thirteenth tale came to light in a new manuscript found in the Turkmen Sahra region of Iran. Salur Kazan, Bamsi Beyrek, Basat and the one-eyed giant Tepegoz are heroes shared by all Turkic literature.
The "Heritage of Dede Qorqud/Korkyt Ata/Dede Korkut, epic culture, folk tales and music" was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2018. In 2000 the epic's 1300th anniversary was marked with UNESCO's support.
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Updated: October 1, 2026