Amasya'nın ümerâ-yı kadîmesinden Şerefeddîn Muhammed Pervâne Bey bin Hasan bin İltigin Gâzi'nin oğlu olup Konya hükümdârı Keykâvus Hân tarafından 606 evâhirinde Simre vâlîsi unvânıyla Amasya emîri olduğu gibi Amasya kâdı'l-kudâtı Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Hirevî Kayseriyye kadılığına nakl olunarak yerine Evhadeddîn Mahmûd el-Kîmârî Amasya kâdı'l-kudâtı olmuşdur.
Konya hükümdârı Keykâvus Hân, pederinin intikâmını almak için var kuvvetini Kastamonu taraflarının fethine sarf ederek Rûmlar'ın en çok istinâd etdikleri Sinop'u alıp hudûd-ı şimâliyyeyi Karadeniz'e kadar götürmeğe azm ediyordu.
Binâ'en-aleyh Keykâvus Hân, 610 hudûdunda aldığı bir kuvve-i askeriyye ile tedrîcî bir sûretde Sinop üzerine hücûm edib kaleyi cebren zabt etmekle etrâfını istîlâ ve beyini esîr eden Şâhenşâh Beyzâde Devletşâh Bey³⁶⁹ bin Ulug Bey'e Sinop emâretini ve Canik [351] emâretiyle Karadeniz sevâhili muhâfazasını Güdül Beyzâde Halîfet (Halfet) Gâzi Bey'e tevcîh ve yeni feth edilen bilâd ve kasabâtı Amasya vilâyetine ilhâk ederek Amasya'yı "Simre Vilâyeti" nâmıyla teşkîl eylediği bir vilâyet-i cesîmenin merkezi i'tibâr etmişdir.
Simre vâlîsi Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir, yeni feth edilen Sinop şehrini ve kalesini i'mâr ederek burc ve bârusunu tecdîd eylediği, üzerlerinde görülen kuyûd-ı mahkûkadan anlaşılmakdadır. İkinci burcun üzerinde "İttefeka bi-tevfîkillâhi Te'âlâ fî eyyâmi's-sultâni'l-gâlibi izzü'd-dünyâ ve'd-dîni Ebu'l-Feth Keyhusrev burhânü emîri'l-mü'minîn ammere hâze'l-burca ve'l-bedene el-abdü'l-muhtâcu ilâ rahmetillâhi Te'âlâ Bedrüddîn Ebû Bekr sâhibü Simre fî şehri rebî'i'l-âhiri senete isnetey aşrete ve sitti mi'etin" ibâre-i mahkûkası görülmekdedir.
Simre vâlîsi olan Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir zamânında müderris-i Mes'ûdiyye Takiyyeddîn Osmân es-Sîmrî ve müderris-i Gıyâsiyye Mühezzibeddîn Alî bin el-Keşânî³⁷⁰ ve hânkâh-ı Mes'ûdî şeyhi Tâceddîn Mahmûd el-Harezmî ve kibâr-ı ümerâdan Mübârizeddîn Behrâm el-Kîmârî ve birâderi Nûreddîn Tugrak pek meşhûr olup bunlar 615 târîhine kadar Amasya'nın ahvâl-i siyâsiyye ve ictimâ'iyyesini idâre etmişlerdir. Fakat bu senelerde Simre hâkimi Kayser Şâh olmak üzere görülmekdedir. [352]
In Modern English
He was the son of Şerefeddîn Muhammed Pervane Bey bin Hasan bin İltigin Gazi, one of the old beys of Amasya. Keykâvus Hân, the ruler of Konya, appointed him emir of Amasya in late 606 [1210] with the title of governor of Simre. At the same time Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Hirevî, the chief judge of Amasya, was transferred to the judgeship of Kayseri, and Evhadeddîn Mahmud el-Kîmârî became chief judge of Amasya in his place.
Keykâvus Hân, the ruler of Konya, had decided to avenge his father by spending all his strength on the conquest of the Kastamonu region, and to take Sinop, on which the Greeks relied most, thereby carrying his northern border as far as the Black Sea.
Accordingly, around 610 [1213-14] Keykâvus Hân marched on Sinop step by step with a military force he had gathered; he took the fortress by force and occupied its surroundings as well. He gave the emirate of Sinop to Şahenşah Beyzâde Devletşah Bey bin Ulug Bey, who had taken the bey of Sinop prisoner, and the emirate of Canik and the protection of the Black Sea coasts to Güdül Beyzâde Halîfet (Halfet) Gazi Bey. He added the newly conquered settlements and towns to the province of Amasya, and regarded Amasya as the centre of a large province that he established under the name "Province of Simre".
It is understood from the inscriptions on them that Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir, governor of Simre, repaired the newly conquered city and fortress of Sinop and renewed its towers and walls. On the second tower an Arabic inscription of the following meaning can be seen: "By the success granted by God Almighty, in the time of the victorious sultan, the glory of the world and of religion, Ebu'l-Feth Keyhusrev, the proof of the Commander of the Faithful, this tower and wall were built by the servant in need of God's mercy, Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir, lord of Simre, in the month of Rebiülâhir of the year 612 of the Hijra."
In the time of Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir, governor of Simre, Takiyyeddîn Osman es-Sîmrî, professor of the Mesudiye Madrasa, Mühezzibeddîn Ali bin el-Keşânî, professor of the Gıyâsiye Madrasa, Tâceddîn Mahmud el-Harezmî, sheikh of the Mesudî khanqah, and, among the leading beys, Mübârizeddîn Behram el-Kîmârî and his brother Nûreddîn Tugrak were very well known. They directed the political and social affairs of Amasya until 615 [1218-19]. In these years, however, the ruler of Simre is seen to be Kayser Şah.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ümerâ-yı kadîme: the old beys, long-established emir families
- evâhir: the last part, the final days
- kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
- hudûd-ı şimâliyye: the northern borders
- tedrîcî: step by step, gradually
- cebren: by force
- tevcîh: assignment to an office
- sevâhil: coasts
- vilâyet-i cesîme: a large province
- burc ve bâru: tower and wall
- kuyûd-ı mahkûka: texts carved in stone, inscriptions
- hânkâh: dervish lodge
The Conquest of Sinop and the Governor of Simre
Sinop had come under the rule of the Komnenoi of Trebizond at the beginning of the thirteenth century. After taking Alexios I Komnenos, emperor of Trebizond, prisoner, Sultan Keykâvus I took him along and came before Sinop. The people of Sinop surrendered the city on condition that Alexios be released and those who wished to leave be allowed to go; the surrender took place on 26 Cemâziyelâhir 611, that is, on 2 November 1214. The next day the sultan signed a treaty with Alexios and sent him to his country. From that date until the defeat at Kösedağ in 1243 the Greek Empire of Trebizond recognised the Seljuk state as the superior power. Hüsameddin places the conquest around 610; the date in the sources is 611, a difference of about one year from the date Hüsameddin gives.
The inscription Hüsameddin reports is still in the inner citadel of Sinop. The earliest known bilingual Arabic-Greek inscription of the Seljuk period is on the east face of the second tower, where the Lonca Gate is located. Its text is in general agreement with the wording Hüsameddin reports: it states that this tower and wall were built by Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir, governor of Simre, a servant in need of God's mercy, that the date is the month of Rebiülâhir of the Hijra year 612, and that the inscription was written by Yavaş of Kayseri. The walls, where the repair and rebuilding works carried out after the conquest of Sinop can be traced, bear fifteen inscriptions in all. In them are named the sultan, twelve Seljuk emirs, nine Seljuk cities, three architects and one scribe. The inscriptions mention as emirs those of Malatya, Simre, Tokat, Kayseri, Aksaray, Ereğli, Amasya, Sivas and Honaz; that is, Amasya too took part in this common effort with its own emir. The inscriptions bearing the sultan's own name commemorate Keykâvus son of Keyhusrev; the difference between the name "Ebu'l-Feth Keyhusrev" in the text Hüsameddin read and this reading could not be resolved from the sources examined.
On the administration of Canik and the Black Sea coasts too, the sources differ from Hüsameddin. Hüsameddin holds that the emirate of Canik was given to Halîfet Gazi. The entry on Sinop, however, states that Kir Aleksi, the tekfur of Sinop, was released on condition that he keep the Canik region and pay tribute to the sultan. Halîfet Gazi, it is reported, was appointed commander of the Black Sea coastal guard after the conquest of Sinop. Halîfet Gazi's later governorship of Amasya is treated in the 35th entry of this volume.
The Lineage of Devletşah Bey
In a footnote Hüsameddin writes that Devletşah Bey, who was appointed to Sinop, was first emir of Sinop and then settled in Kastamonu, which he conquered; that his son Sultan Süleyman became famous as emir of Kastamonu; and that Süleyman's sons İbrahim and İsmail Bey and his grandsons Kasım and Muhammed Bey held the emirate in Kastamonu and its surroundings for about a hundred years. This account belongs to Hüsameddin and has not been compared with other sources in this study. In the same place it is also noted that Mühezzibeddîn Ali el-Keşânî was the son of Tâceddîn Ebû Nasr Muhammed bin Abdurrahman el-Keşânî, formerly judge of Amasya.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 340–340. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies