The scientists of Europe began showing interest in Turkmen literature in the 19th century. Heinrich Friedrich von Diez (1751-1817), a German diplomat and orientalist , translated and published several works of Eastern literature. In 1811 he published some parts from the Turkmen epic «The Book of Father Gorkut» («Gorkut ata») under the name «The Book of Oguz». Besides that he published his article about the chapter of the epic «The song how Beset killed Depegoz» comparing it with the episode about one-eyed Cyclops, named Polyphem in the 9th song of the epic «Odyssey» by Homer, a Greek epic poet of the 8th century B.C. He also published Turkmen sayings and proverbs, because for some years he worked as a diplomat in Turkey.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) a well-known German classic poet, after reading «The Book of Oguz» published in German by Friedrich von Diez wrote the following poem expressing his gratitude to him in his book «West-östlicher Divan»:
