Halifetzâde Şücâ'eddîn Tekür Sinan Bey'in mahdûmu olup "Tekürlü" demekle meşhûr ve ceddinin evkâfı mütevellîsi idi. Amasya'da [434] vâlî kâ'im-makâmı iken Cumûdâr Hân'ın muhibb-i hâlisi olduğu münâsebetle 693 şevvâlinde Amasya vâlîsi olmuşdur. Lâkin mezâlim-i Tatar olanca şiddetiyle ber-devâm olup hükûmet-i İlhâniyye'den halkın nefreti günden güne artıyor, Hristiyânların hattâ Yahûdîlerin tahakkümâtı ehl-i İslâmın üzerine kâbûs-ı belâ gibi çökmüş duruyor, müslim Türkler tahsîlât-ı şedîde altında eziliyordu.
Bu zamâna kadar bir tarafdan ulemâ-yı İslâmın diğer tarafdan ümerâ-yı benâmın yirmi beş seneden beri sarf etdikleri mesâ'î-i fevkalâde semerâtından olmak üzere nûr-ı İslâmiyyet Tatarlar'ın arasında oldukça parlamış, birkaç noyin ile ufak ümerâ-yı Tatar'dan çokları kabûl-i İslâm etmiş, Hristiyânların harekât-ı müfritânesi, Hristiyânlığın âkil bir insânı iknâ' edecek desâtîr-i i'tikâdiyyeye mâlik olmadığı, Tatar ukalâsını Hristiyânlıkdan tenfîr eylemiş idi.
Âl-i Cengiz'den Gazân Hân bin Argun Hân'ın dîn-i İslâma meyli pek ziyâde olduğunu gören bütün ulemâ ve ümerâ-yı İslâm, müşârün-ileyhi taht-ı İlhânî'ye iclâsa çalışıyor, ez-cümle Emîr Nevrûz ile meşâhîr-i ulemâdan Sa'deddîn İbrâhim Hamevî müşârün-ileyhe tekarrüb ederek Gazân Hân'ı hâlis bir müslim ediyor, Geyhatu ve Baydu Hânlar'ın Hristiyânlık nâmına harekât-ı zâlimânesi Tatar beylerini bile tenfîr etmekle Emîr Nevrûz Bey bu beyleri dahi dâ'ire-i ittihâdına alıp Baydu Hân'ı 694 [435] şevvâlinde harben ahz ve katl ederek Gazân Hân'ı taht-ı İlhânî'ye iclâs ediyordu.
Henüz yirmi beş yaşında bulunan Gazân Hân 694 zilhiccesinde i'lân-ı İslâm ve kendi nâmını Mahmûd ve birâderi, velî-ahdı olan Olcaytu Hân'a "Hudâbende Muhammed" tesmiye etdiği gün bütün ehl-i beyti, ümerâsı ve seksen bin Moğol kabûl-i İslâm etdikden sonra evvelce Hristiyânlığı kabûl etmiş olan ekser sükkân-ı deşt ü Hıtâ ve sâ'ir ukalâ-yı Tatar Müslümân oldular.
Anadolu nâzırı bulunan Cumûdâr Hân zâten müslim olduğu münâsebetle Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân'ın kabûl-i İslâm ve cülûsuna izhâr-ı memnûniyyet etmiş olmalıdır ki Baydu Hân'ın tarafdârı olup Konya ciheti nâzırı olan Akboğa Noyin ba'zı harekâta cür'et etmekle Gazân Hân bunu ahz ve katl ve dâmâdı olan İzzeddîn Pervâne Bey'i Harşene kalesinde habs eylediği hâlde Cumûdâr Hân'ı muvakkaten makâmında ibkâ etmişdir.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân'ın kabûl-i İslâmı Anadolu sükkânı üzerinde hüsn-i te'sîr etmekle Sultân Mes'ûd'un erkân-ı devletinden feryâd ve Hristiyânların tahakkümât-ı şedîdesinden şikâyet ve istimdâd ederek Mahmûd Gazân Hân'ın dergâh-ı adâletine ilticâ etmişler idi. Zâten Mahmûd Gazân Hân, mezâlim-i Tatar'ın Anadolu Türkleri'ni ne kadar dil-gîr etdiğini ve nihâyetinde Türkmen Beyleri bu mezâlimden kurtulmak için i'lân-ı istiklâl edeceklerini tahmîn etmekde idi. [436]
Binâ'en-aleyh Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, 695 recebinde saltanat-ı Selçûkiyye'yi tamâmiyle ilgâ ederek Anadolu memâlikini dört kısma taksîm ve her bir kısma senevî on beş tümen⁴¹⁸ vergi tarh ve tevzî' ve her kısmı bir emîr-i müte'ahhide tevcîh eylediği esnâda Konya emâretini Babazâde Mücîreddîn Muhammed Emîr Şâh Bey'e ve Amasya emâretini emîrü's-sevâhil Azîzeddîn Muhammed Bey'e tefvîz etmişdir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Halifetzâde Şücâeddin Tekür Sinan Bey. He was known as "Tekürlü" and was trustee of his grandfather's waqfs. While deputy governor in Amasya, because he was a sincere friend of Cumûdâr Han, he became governor of Amasya in Şevvâl 693 [1293-94]. Yet Tatar oppression continued in all its intensity, and the people's hatred of Ilkhanid rule grew from day to day. The pressure of the Christians, even of the Jews, lay on the Muslims like a nightmare, and the Muslim Turks were being crushed under heavy tax collection.
By this time, as the fruit of the extraordinary effort that Islamic scholars on the one hand and famous emirs on the other had spent for twenty-five years, the light of Islam had spread considerably among the Tatars, and several noyins and most of the small Tatar beys had become Muslim. The Christians' excessive conduct and the fact that Christianity lacked rules of belief that would convince an intelligent person had also turned the wise among the Tatars away from Christianity.
Seeing that Gazan Han, son of Argun Han of the Genghisid line, had a great deal of interest in the religion of Islam, all the Muslim scholars and emirs were trying to seat him on the Ilkhanid throne. Among them Emîr Nevruz and the famous scholar Sa'deddin İbrahim Hamevî drew close to Gazan Han and made him a sincere Muslim. Because the cruel deeds that Geyhatu and Baydu Han had done in the name of Christianity had cooled even the Tatar beys, Emîr Nevruz Bey brought these beys too into his union; in Şevvâl 694 [1294-95] he captured Baydu Han in battle and killed him, and seated Gazan Han on the Ilkhanid throne.
Gazan Han, who was still only twenty-five years old, proclaimed Islam in Zilhicce 694; he named himself Mahmûd and gave his brother and heir Olcaytu Han the name "Hudâbende Muhammed". On that day, after all the members of the dynasty, its emirs and eighty thousand Mongols became Muslim, most of the people of the steppe (deşt) and of Cathay who had earlier accepted Christianity, and the other wise men of the Tatars, also became Muslim.
Since Cumûdâr Han, nâzır of Anatolia, was already Muslim, he must have shown satisfaction at Sultan Mahmûd Gazan Han's entry into Islam and accession to the throne. When Akboğa Noyin, who had sided with Baydu Han and was nâzır of the Konya side, dared certain movements, Gazan Han had him captured and killed, imprisoned his son-in-law İzzeddin Pervâne Bey in the fortress of Harşena, and for the time being left Cumûdâr Han in his post.
Sultan Mahmûd Gazan Han's becoming Muslim had made a good impression on the people of Anatolia. The statesmen of Sultan Mesud and the people, complaining of the heavy pressure of the Christians and asking for help, had taken refuge in Mahmûd Gazan Han's gate of justice. Mahmûd Gazan Han in any case foresaw how much Tatar oppression was wearing down the Turks of Anatolia and that in the end the Turkmen Beys would declare their independence to be rid of this oppression.
Thereupon, in Receb 695 [1295-96], Sultan Mahmûd Gazan Han abolished the Seljuk sultanate altogether. He divided the lands of Anatolia into four parts, imposed on each part a tax of fifteen tümens a year and distributed them, and gave each part to an emir who undertook it. At this time he left the emirate of Konya to Babazâde Mücîreddin Muhammed Emîr Şâh Bey and the emirate of Amasya to Azîzeddin Muhammed Bey, the emir of the coasts (emîrü's-sevâhil).
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütevelli: the person responsible for the administration of a waqf
- evkâf: waqfs
- muhibb-i hâlis: sincere friend
- mezâlim-i Tatar: Tatar oppressions; "Tatar" is the general name used for the Mongols
- tahsîlât: tax collection
- noyin: Mongol commander and noble
- ukalâ: the wise, persons of judgement
- ehl-i beyt: here, the ruler's dynastic family
- tümen: a unit of ten thousand men; in tax reckoning an amount of ten thousand dinars
- emîr-i müte'ahhid: the emir who undertakes the tax and administration of a region
- Hıtâ: Cathay, northern China and its surroundings
Gazan Han's Conversion to Islam
Hüsameddin writes that Gazan Han became Muslim in Zilhicce 694 after defeating Baydu. According to the encyclopedia entry the order went the other way: Gazan became Muslim on 19 June 1295 in the Lâr valley in Elburz at the urging of his emir Nevruz Bey, and took advantage of this in his struggle with Baydu. According to the same entry about a hundred thousand Mongol soldiers also became Muslim at this time; Hüsameddin gives the figure of eighty thousand. Gazan entered Tabriz on 4 October 1295 and ascended the throne in early November. Some historians attribute this conversion to a political calculation; Rashid al-Din, on the other hand, says that Gazan held a sincere faith. This debate is the background to Hüsameddin's expression "a sincere Muslim".
The seating of a Muslim ruler on the Ilkhanid throne did not at once improve the situation in Anatolia. The Ilkhanid governors in Anatolia rebelled against Tabriz on various pretexts; when Togaçar rebelled in 1296, Baltu the next year, and Sülemiş, grandson of Baycu Noyan, in 1299, Anatolia was thrown into distress and the people were crushed all the more. The atmosphere Hüsameddin calls a "good effect" did not last long, and in later entries these revolts are seen following one another.
The Division of Anatolia into Four Parts
In Hüsameddin's footnote it is written that each tümen was ten thousand dinars, that the annual total of the four parts came to a hundred and fifty thousand dinars, and that this corresponded to about half a million lira. The encyclopedia entries do not separately describe this four-part arrangement; Gazan's Anatolian policy is given there through the appointment and dismissal of Seljuk sultans: Mesud was deposed in 1296, and Alâeddin Keykubad III was placed on the throne in 1298. Hüsameddin's saying that "he abolished the Seljuk sultanate altogether" should therefore be read with care; in later entries the re-enthroning of Seljuk sultans is seen in his own account too.
The information that İzzeddin Pervâne Bey was imprisoned in the fortress of Harşena does not appear in the encyclopedia entries examined. It is also not clear whose son-in-law the text's phrase "his son-in-law" means: Geyhatu's father-in-law is mentioned as Ak Boğa, but it could not be verified that this Akboğa is the same person as Akboğa Noyin in the text.
Halifetzâde Celâleddin Mehmed Bey
No written source other than Hüsameddin's work was found on Halifetzâde Celâleddin Mehmed Bey.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 368–369. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- "Gāzân Han", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gazan-han
- Faruk Sümer, "Keykubad III", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 25, 2022, p. 359–361. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/keykubad-iii
- Muharrem Kesik, "Mesud II", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 29, 2004, p. 342–344. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mesud-ii