Korkut Ata is a semi-legendary wise figure exalted and sanctified in the ancient epics of the Oghuz Turks. He is known for his deep understanding of the traditions and customs of the steppe life and for preserving the tribal organization. He is also the bard who narrates the stories in the Book of Dede Korkut, the oldest epic of the Turks. In historical sources and various Oghuz legends, he is sometimes referred to simply as "Korkut," sometimes as "Korkut Ata," and in Western Turkic as "Dede Korkut."

Folk tales collected from the Syr Darya basin present him as a shaman (baksı), while written sources describe him as a Muslim Turkish saint who served as a vizier and advisor to rulers. In 2018, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan jointly included the Book of Dede Korkut in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

According to folk traditions, Dede Korkut was born from an enlightened, clear-eyed giant woman, but historical sources vary on details about his life. The oldest historical source mentioning Korkut Ata is Jami' al-Tawarikh by Rashid al-Din, the vizier of the Ilkhanate. This famous work, written in 1305 by Rashid al-Din with a committee, refers to Korkut as a contemporary of four Oghuz rulers. According to this source, Korkut was from the Bayat tribe and the son of Kara Hoca. He lived 295 years. He appeared during the reign of Inal Sir Yavkuy, the ninth ruler of the Oghuz lineage, and served as an advisor to the tenth ruler, Kayı Inal Khan, and to the following three Oghuz rulers.