Ashik

An ashiq, ashik, or ashough (Armenian:աշուղ ašuġ, Azerbaijani:aşıq, Georgian:აშუღი ašuġi, Greek:ασίκης, Persian:عاشیق‎‎, Turkish:aşık) is a mystic bard, balladeer, or troubadour who accompanied his song—be it a hikaye (Persian: dastan, a traditional epic or a romantic tale) or a shorter original composition—with a long necked lute (saz). The modern Azerbaijani ashiq is a professional musician who usually serves an apprenticeship, masters playing saz, and builds up a varied but individual repertoire of Turkic folk songs. The word ashiq عاشق ("in love, lovelorn") is subjective forms derives from ishq عشق (love), related to Avestan iš- "to wish, desire, search". The Turkish term that ashik superseded was ozan. In the early armies of the Turks, as far back as that of Attila, the ruler was invariably accompanied by an ozan. The heroic poems, which they recited to the accompaniment of the kopuz, flattered the sensibilities of an entire people.