[Machine] I heard Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Souly the grammarian saying: The first Arab poet to praise the Turks is Ali ibn al-Abbas al-Rumi, where he says [The Vast Sea]: "If they stand firm, they are a wall of iron, our eyes are amazed at them. And if they move forward, they are like blazing fires that burn the enemies, repelling them. The kings of the land borrow their courage, their eyes are small when they appear, but their souls are grand."  

سَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى الصُّولِيُّ النَّحْوِيُّ يَقُولُ أَوَّلُ مَنْ مَدَحَ التُّرْكَ مِنْ شُعَرَاءِ الْعَرَبِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْعَبَّاسِ الرُّومِيُّ حَيْثُ يَقُولُ [البحر الوافر] إِذَا ثَبَتُوا فَسَدٌّ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ تَخَالُ عُيُونَنَا فِيهِ تَحَارُ وَإِنْ بَرَزُوا فَنِيرَانٌ تَلَظَّى عَلَى الْأَعْدَاءِ يَصْرِفُهَا اسْتَعَارُ مُلُوكُ الْأَرْضِ أَعْيُنُهُمْ صِغَارُ إِذَا بَرَزُوا وَأَنْفُسُهُمْ كِبَارُ