El-Hâc Seyfeddîn Şâdgeldi Paşa (1)

In Modern English

He was the son of Hacı Kutlu Şâh. After the "Kaynar Incident", in early 763 [1361-62] he became emir of Amasya for the second time. But after his father's death he did not submit to the Eretna Oğulları and took the administration in Amasya independently. He founded a small independent emirate in Amasya.

This independent emirate in Amasya was called "the Emirate of the Kutlu Şâh Oğulları, the Government of the Kürts, the Principality of the Kutluzâdes". It was Hacı Kutlu Şâh who first founded this emirate. But it was Şâdgeldi Padişah who truly founded the independent emirate in Amasya. He was called "the First Şâdgeldi".

Three sons of Hacı Kutlu Şâh were famed: The first was Şihâbeddîn Ahmed Şâh, who was killed in the Konya war. He was famed as "Bayraklı Gâzi". His sons are Tuli and Şâdî Beys. Tuli Bey went to Egypt, Şâdî Bey remained in Amasya.

The second son was Seyfeddîn Şâdgeldi Padişah, the third İmâdeddîn Süleyman Şâh. His sons Kutlu Paşa and Yâkût Paşa were among the Ottoman viziers. Süleyman Şâh lived in his grandfather's homeland famed as "Kürtler Farm".

Şâdgeldi Paşa summoned Sirâceddîn Muhammed Bey, emir of Niksar, to his side and made him vizier, and made Nizâmeddîn Mahmûd, chief judge of Amasya, army judge (kazasker). He made his classmate, the famed professor Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî, judge of Amasya. He left Nizâmeddîn Abdülmelik Çelebi in his post. He also made Gümüşlüoğlu Hâce Sinâneddîn Yûsuf Çelebi treasurer.

The emirate of Sivas, vacated by Kutlu Şâhoğlu Ahmed Şâh, was taken by Hâce Alî Şâhoğlu Tâceddîn İbrâhim Bey. For Hâce Alî Şâh, vizier of Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey, had been left alone by Hacı Kutlu Şâh's death, and the power of government was concentrated in him alone.

In the emirate of Köprü and Merzifon, his brother Umur Bey took the place of Taşanoğlu Haydar Bey. Since Hâce Alî Şâh's brother Halîl Bey had died in the Kaynar Incident, his sons Abdülmecîd and Abdül'azîz Beys had gone to the Elvan Çelebi Lodge and taken refuge with Elvânzâde Abdurrahmân Çelebi.

The district famed as "Tanun District", today the district of Mecidözü, was ruled by Bayındıroğlu el-Hâc Şemseddîn Muhammed Bey bin Saltık Bey, who from old had been attached to the Kürtoğulları. He was among those who helped Şâdgeldi Paşa prevail.

But Sârımeddîn Ahmed Bey bin Abdullah Bey, son of Beyler and emir of Osmâncık and Çorumlu, since he was very close to Âdil Bey, emir of Kastamonu, did not submit to Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa. He relied on the strength of his castle and on Âdil Bey's power.

In the first years of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's rule the emirate of Amasya consisted of the provinces of Amasya, Tokat and Canik and the places attached to them. Only the districts of Osmâncık and İskilip and a part of the present province of Çorum, formerly known as "Çorumlu", were not attached to the emirate of Amasya. The ruler of these places was Ahmed Bey.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa was very prudent and understood politics. He had bound the notables of Amasya, the scholars and especially the people completely to himself. He summoned scholars and notables to his assembly, governed by consulting them, and listened with great interest to the scholars' learned debates.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa was extremely generous and his giving and kindness embraced all the people. He showed respect to sheikhs. Mevlânâ Hüsameddîn Hüseyin Çelebi, sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevîhâne, who had received blessings from Ulu Ârif Çelebi in Konya, and Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi, sheikh of the Mes'ûdî Hankâh, son of eş-Şeyh Mûsâ Çelebi, were those who served the influence of the emir Hacı Şâdgeldi. He loved scholars very much.

To remove Ahmed Bey's willfulness easily, Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa summoned to his side Devecioğlu Şücâ'eddîn Hüseyin, bey of Develi Karahisarı, and his brother Bedreddîn Osmân Bey, drew them to his side and set them to attack Ahmed Bey.

For there had been enmity from old between Devecioğlu Timur Khan and Gâzi Osmân, emir of Osmâncık and Çorumlu. This enmity had passed as an inheritance to their children. Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa was taking advantage of precisely this enmity.

In 764 [1362-63] Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa had the Amasya Castle repaired and its mint rebuilt. At the place called Tarabut he had a great paper factory built. This place became famed as "Kâğıthâne". He also made the famed papermaker Ahi Muhyiddîn Muhammed Çelebi the emin (manager) of the Kâğıthâne.

Gül Beyoğlu Alâ'eddîn Alî and Yağmuroğlu Sârımeddîn İbrâhim Beys, who had fled from Amasya to Egypt the previous year, were given emirates by the Egyptian government in 764. Taşanoğlu Haydar Bey also went to the Maraş region.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, together with Devecioğlu Hüseyin Bey, had besieged Osmâncık Castle. Ahmed Bey, lord of the castle, was resisting by asking help from Âdil Bey, emir of Kastamonu. In the end Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa scattered the relief force that came, took the castle through men he won inside the castle, and seized the İskilip and Çorumlu sides.

Since Beyleroğlu Ahmed Bey was killed at this time, in his place his young son Muzaffereddîn Mahmûd Çelebi became emir by Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, and Şücâ'eddîn Hüseyin Bey became emir of the province of Çorumlu. Osmân Paşa became emir of Develi Karahisarı, and his younger son Koç Hüseyin Bey stayed in Amasya beside Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa.

Among the beys who fled from Amasya in the Kaynar Incident, Receb Bey, brother of Gül Beyoğlu Alî Bey, was given the principality of Aşere by Melik Eşref Şa'bân in 765 [1363-64]. His son Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey served twice as vizier to Melik Zâhir Berkûk.

The success at Osmâncık made Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's influence and fortune shine. It made him known everywhere. But it had seriously opened a gap between the emirate of Amasya and the emirate of Kastamonu. The emirate of Kastamonu was jealous of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's shining.

For this reason there were correspondences and wars between the two emirates. With the help of the beys of Samsun and Bafra, Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa also took Sinop, and his sphere of influence and emirate grew a little more.

Our worthy brother, the numismatist Ahmed Tevfîk Bey, says: "In a work written on the coins of the kings of Trebizond it is written that the king of Trebizond, John III Komnenos [Yani], gave his own sister Te'odora in 766-1358 to Hacı Mîrî, emir of Halipya (Sinop) and Amasya. Hacı Mîrî is Hacı Emîr Şâdgeldi Paşa."

It is understood from this that Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's influence had gained great importance on the shores of the Black Sea, had given fear and anxiety to the king of Trebizond, John III, and that the king won Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's trust by giving him his own sister.

In 766 [1364-65] Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey's killing of his own vizier Hâce Alî Şâh was an important event. Its effects shook everywhere. Because of this event Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's influence and independence were strengthened still more.

Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey was a very immoral man. The vizier Hâce Alî Şâh, who governed well toward the people, was a scholar, good-natured, a lover of justice. But Muhammed Bey's immorality and his inclination and love for the immoral had badly broken relations between them. For this reason neither was safe from the other.

Yet it was Hâce Alî Şâh who maintained Muhammed Bey's emirate and kept his influence and fortune alive. Hâce Alî Şâh was the source of Muhammed Bey's life and fortune. Hâce Alî Şâh's only fault was that he did not carry out some of Muhammed Bey's orders that were contrary to justice and rightness. It was also Hâce Alî Şâh who had saved Muhammed Bey from the attacks of Dulkadiroğlu Halîl Bey.

Muhammed Bey, who should have been grateful for so much protection and care, killed Hâce Alî Şâh this year, made Hâce Bedreddîn Yâkût, one of his father's most trusted men and friends, vizier in his place, and made himself ill-famed before the beys and the people.

This causeless murder of Muhammed Bey weighed very heavily on the people. For the people, and especially the Turks, hate mad nobility and are always grateful for loyalty and justice. Muhammed Bey, boasting and swelling with pride in his nobility, had committed the murder, and for this had turned the people and beys against himself.

Karamânoğlu Alâ'eddîn Bey, ruler of Konya, was already very angry at Muhammed Bey for his disloyalty and immorality. As soon as he heard of this murder and its effects, he rose to uproot Muhammed Bey. Dulkadiroğlu Halîl Bey, who was eager to avenge his father, was with the Karamanoğlu.

Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey, understanding the magnitude of the immorality and the murder he had committed and the horror of his end, applied to the Egyptian ruler Melik Eşref Şa'bân and asked for help. He was imitating his father's applying to Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun and asking for help.

Melik Eşref Şa'bân had ordered Emîr Cürcî el-İdrisî, governor of Aleppo, to help Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey with his soldiers. Maqrizi says: "Emîr Cürcî el-İdrîsî, governor of Aleppo, set out with his soldiers from Aleppo toward the land of Rûm in the month of Dhu'l-Qa'da of the year 766, to help Nâsırüddîn Muhammed Bey bin Eretna."

But Cürcî Bey's relief force was a little late. Karamânoğlu Alâ'eddîn Bey, who was in the region nearest Muhammed Bey, had besieged Kayseri, and Dulkadiroğlu Halîl Bey was pressing Sivas; no benefit was obtained from Cürcî Bey's help. There was no one to give Muhammed Bey help and support.

For the only ones who could help Muhammed Bey with troops and influence were Hâce Alî Şâh and his son, the bey of Sivas Hacı İbrâhim Bey. Yet Hâce Alî Şâh had been killed, and his son Hacı İbrâhim Bey had been removed from office, driven out and had taken refuge with Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya.

Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey, left helpless before Karamânoğlu Alâ'eddîn Bey's siege, left Kayseri Castle at night and fled toward Sivas. Alâ'eddîn Bey, after taking Kayseri, followed Muhammed Bey and marched on Sivas. He took Sivas too.

Muhammed Bey, whom the people hated for his immorality and who could find no welcome even from his own table companions, fled from Sivas too and, while wandering in distress in the villages, fell into the hands of Dulkadiroğlu Halîl Bey. Halîl Bey killed Muhammed Bey in mid-767 [1365-66] and avenged his father.

Maqrizi says in his "Kitâbü's-Sülûk": "Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey bin Eretna was in a defeated position before his vizier Hâce Alî Şâh. Although he gained independence by killing him, the killing of the vizier did not benefit him. He was killed at the hands of his enemies who attacked from every side."

Müneccimbaşı Ahmed Efendi says in his "Câmiu'd-Düvel": "Karamânzâde Alâ'eddîn Bey drove Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey out of his country and took Kayseri and Sivas. Muhammed Bey, while wandering in distress in the villages, was seized and killed."

When Muhammed Bey was killed, two sons remained: one was the Second Reşîdeddîn Eretna Bey, the other Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey. Since Alî Bey was very fond of lust, he was called by analogy "Horoz Bey" (Rooster Bey). The Second Eretna Bey took Muhammed Bey's place.

It was after this event that Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya, gained great influence and respect. For the person the emirs feared most was Hâce Alî Şâh. When he was removed, Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa remained alone with his nobility and justice.

Again this year relations were broken between Zeyneddîn Araboğlu, son of Murâd, emir of Zeytun, and Taşanoğlu Umur Bey, emir of Köprü and Merzifon, and they were virtually at war with each other. Zeynel Bey lived in Arablı Village of the Zeytun district. Arablı Village had become a fine town through his effort.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa summoned Umur and Zeynel Beys to Amasya, judged them and reconciled the two. He kept at the center for a time Samukoğlu Burak Bey bin Esen Bey, who had set them against each other. Then he sent him back too after pleasing his heart.

Around 768 [1366-67] the kazasker Pîr Nizâmeddîn Mahmûd Cürcânî died; in his place Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî, judge of Amasya and professor of the Dâru'l-İlm, became kazasker, and the judge İmâdzâde Mü'eyyideddîn Muhammed Çelebi became judge of Amasya.

This year Halifetzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey, the former emir, living in Ankara, endowed the Öyük, Cândâr and Ercük farms in the Arguma (Suluova) nahiye of Amasya for the expenses of his grandfather's madrasa in Ankara. He appointed Nizâmeddîn Abdülmelik bin Ömer, mufti of Amasya, and his children as mutevelli.

In 769 [1367-68] Şerefeddîn Toganşâh, bey of Turhal and uncle of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, and Nizâmeddîn Abdülmelik Çelebi, mufti of Amasya, died. Toganşâhoğlu Mübârekşâh became bey of Turhal; among the scholars Mevlânâ İzzeddîn Muhammed Amâsî, professor of the Atabegiyye, became mufti of Amasya, and Şeyh Uraloğlu Zeyneddîn Siyâvuş Çelebi of Divriği became professor of the Halifet Gâzi Madrasa.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa was a learned man. Summoning people of learning and maturity from every side to Amasya, he showed them great respect and took pleasure in their learned debates. Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's high endeavor had made Amasya a university (dârülfünûn).

His kazasker Mevlânâ Cemâleddîn Aksarâyî, his şeyhülislam Mevlânâ İzzeddîn Amâsî, and his private physician Mevlânâ Burhâneddîn were among the foremost scholars. Besides these, Mevlânâ Muhyiddîn Yahyâ bin Armağân and Mevlânâ Musliheddîn Mûsâ bin Mahmûd Sivasî were also great scholars.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa had married the sister of Hâce Alî Şâhzâde el-Hâc Tâceddîn İbrâhim Bey, and thus had won Hacı İbrâhim Bey's love and bond toward himself and forestalled his opposition. For Hacı İbrâhim Bey's influence was not inferior to his father's.

Hacı İbrâhim Bey had applied to his father's friends in order to avenge his father on the Eretnazâdes. Tâceddîn Ahmed Bey, son of Süleyman Şâh and emir of Tokat, had promised to help him. Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, being his brother-in-law in any case, would help.

The Eretnazâde Second Reşîdeddîn Eretna Bey, having taken Sivas with difficulty, had come to the throne there and settled. Hacı İbrâhim Bey, with the support of the beys who helped him, defeated Eretna Bey in battle and made him flee from Sivas. Entering Sivas victorious, he became emir.

In the "Kitâbü'l-Acâyib" in the Nûr-ı Osmâniye Library it is written "ninety-three years have passed over the throne of Sivas since Hacı İbrâhim drove Eretna Bey out and came to the throne", and by the reckoning of leap years this date indicates the year 769 [1367-68]. Thus it meant that Prince Hacı İbrâhim Bey's emirate of Sivas was the work of the effort of his brother-in-law, Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya, and that Sivas also came under Hacı Şâdgeldi's influence.

Although the Second Eretna Bey fled, defeated by Hacı İbrâhim Bey, he entered the Karaman land to plunder, in order to rescue Kayseri, threatening Alâ'eddîn Bey and trying to make him hand over Kayseri.

In early 770 [1368-69] Şeyh Hüsâmeddîn Hüseyin Çelebi, sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevîhâne, one of the great scholars and men of manners, died. In his place eş-Şeyh Cemâleddîn Ahmed Çelebi, son of Şeyh Nusret of Zile, became sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevîhâne. The person called "Püser-i Nusret" (son of Nusret) in "Bezm ü Rezm" is precisely this Cemâleddîn Ahmed Dede Efendi.

Immediately after this, eş-Şeyh Nâsıreddîn Dâ'î el-Mülûk ve's-Selâtîn Nusret bin the late Hamzatü'z-Zilevî, father of the said sheikh, endowed his property to the expenses of his lodge that he had built in Zile and stipulated the mutevelliship for his other son Celâleddîn Habîb Çelebi.

This waqf deed of Şeyh Nusret Efendi was drawn up at the beginning of Shawwal 770 [1368-69], and at its top the signature "Muhammed bin Muhammed el-Aksarâyî, Ruler of the Lands of Rûm and Şâdgeldi Paşa's Army (Kazasker)" was seen. This signature clearly shows that Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî was Şâdgeldi Paşa's kazasker at Amasya.

Halifetzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey, the former emir of Amasya, who had lived in Ankara since the Kaynar Incident, was pardoned by Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa through the intervention of great intermediaries and in 771 [1369-70] came to Amasya with his family and children.

As related in "Câmiu'd-Düvel", the Second Eretna Bey, after leaving Sivas, had attacked and taken Kayseri with the men he gathered around him and had become emir there.

But while the Second Eretna Bey, at a time when the Karamanids were occupied with the Ottomans, was attacking and plundering the Karaman land, Karamânzâde Alâ'eddîn Bey came upon him. In the battle between them the Second Eretna Bey was routed and fled toward Maraş. He took refuge with the Dulkadiroğlu. His uncle Ca'fer Bey became bey of Kayseri.

Gül Beyoğlu Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey, who went from Amasya to Egypt and became one of the emirs there, had gone last year to the Hijaz as emîrülhac (leader of the pilgrim caravan). After the pilgrimage he lived in Mecca, had one of the minarets of the Harem-i Şerîf repaired, and in 771 returned to Egypt with Tavâşî Sâbıkeddîn Miskâl el-Enûkî. (Kitâbü's-Sülûk).

Again this year es-Seyyid Necmeddîn Yahyâ er-Rufâ'î, son of es-Seyyid Şemseddîn Ahmed-i Kebîr er-Rufâ'î, the man of spiritual state buried at Ladik, the pole of the Rifa'i sheikhs and one believed in by the people at large, died at Hakala. He was buried in the cell of the lodge he had built there.

Hacı İbrâhim Bey, emir of Sivas and brother-in-law of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, after the Second Eretna Bey's flight to Maraş, fell to the desire to seize Kayseri and was occupied with Ca'fer Bey.

Yet the Eretnids around Sivas, hurt in their hearts by some of Hacı İbrâhim Bey's conduct, gathered around the Second Eretna Bey's younger brother Horoz Alî Bey and attacked Sivas. In 772 [1370-71] they drove Hacı İbrâhim Bey out of Sivas by war and put Ali Bey on the throne of the emirate.

Since it is written in the "Kitâbü'l-Acâ'ib" "eighty-five years have passed since the event of Hacı İbrâhim and the accession of Muhammed Beyoğlu Şâhzâde", this event took place in 772. The Şâhzâde he refers to is Muhammed Beyoğlu Horoz Alî Bey.

When Alî Bey became emir of Sivas he made Hâce Bedreddîn Yâkût, his father's vizier, his vizier, and Seydî Hüsâm, one of the famed Husayni sayyids, his close friend and companion in conversation.

Hâce Bedreddîn Yâkût was among the close men of Büyük Eretna Khan and the father-in-law of Süleyman Şâh, younger brother of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa. Seydî Hüsâm was es-Seyyid Hüsâmeddîn Hüseyin bin Ferîdeddîn Muhammed el-Fergânî el-Kubâ'î, who had migrated from Transoxiana to Sivas.

For at this time a Turkmen named Humuzoğlu Ahmed had arisen, one of the famed brigands, who struck and plundered the Sivas and Elbistan regions and spread terror everywhere. Ahmed was a hero famed for his bravery and courage, known for standing alone against twenty or thirty brave men.

Hâce Yâkût, winning this hero to his side, made him commander-in-chief of Horoz Alî Bey, and he became famed as the emir Seyfeddîn Ahmed Bey and his son Sârımeddîn İbrâhim Bey. They were also called "Hubuzoğlu".

At this time Kadızâde Burhâneddîn Ahmed Çelebi, judge of Kayseri, famed for his mastery in the religious sciences and literature and his intelligence and skill in administrative affairs, wished to show himself the equal of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa. His sister's son was Gümüşlüoğlu Şeyh Mü'eyyideddîn Muhammed bin Burhâneddîn Ahmed Çelebi.

Around 773 [1371-72] the mosque, madrasa and imaret (soup kitchen) that Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa had built in Amasya were completed, and Şeyhülislâm Mevlânâ İzzeddîn Muhammed Amâsî became the first professor of the Şâdgeldi Paşa Madrasa. This mosque and madrasa later became known as "Saraçhane Mosque" and "Saraçhane Madrasa", and even the inscription over the mosque's door was removed.

Among the sons of Sultân Altunbaş, Mes'ûd Çelebi had succeeded his father in the Havza region, his brother Keykubâd Çelebi lived in the Ladik region, and his other brother Alp Arslan Çelebi in the Amasya region. His third brother Keyhusrev Çelebi had remained with him.

Before this Mes'ûd Çelebi had died, and a dispute had arisen between his brothers and his sons Kılıç Arslan, Abdülmelik and Sa'îd Beys over the mutevelliship of their grandfather's waqfs. Kılıç Arslan Bey was the eldest of his brothers and fairly the most mature of Altunbaş's children.

Although Kılıç Arslan Bey was mutevelli according to the founder's condition, he did not give his brothers and uncles their shares of the waqf income, tormented them, and paid no heed even though he had been warned repeatedly by Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa.

Kılıç Arslan Bey was fairly brave. Regarding the Havza district entirely as a farm of his own, he did not refrain from interfering in the administrative affairs of the district. For this reason his relations with Taşanzâde Umur Bey were broken, and he had stopped Umur Bey from interfering in the district's affairs.

At this time both launched attacks and dared to disturb order in the districts of Havza and Köprü. The one who incited Kılıç Arslan Bey most was his uncle Keyhusrev Çelebi. Kılıç Arslan Bey gave himself the title "Sultân Rükneddîn Kılıç Arslan" and no longer submitted to Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa.

Because of his rebellious conduct Kılıç Arslan Bey was, together with his uncle, put outside the borders of the emirate of Amasya. The mutevelliship was taken over by his other brother, Abdülmelik, famed as "Melik Bey" and "Melikşâh". Kılıç Arslan Bey went with his uncle to Erzincan. He took refuge with Hüseyin Bey, emir of Erzincan.

In Ramadan 774 [1372-73] Süleyman Şâhoğlu el-Hâc Tâceddîn Ahmed Şâh, bey of Tokat, endowed his property to the expenses of the Lodge of eş-Şeyh Evran, buried in Tokat; he stipulated the mutevelliship for his brothers Melik Azîz and Tursun Beys and their children. For he had no child of his own.

El-Hâc Ahmed Bey died some time after having this waqf deed drawn up. The vacancy of the emirate of Tokat became a fairly important event. For Eretnazâde Alî Bey, regarding Tokat as within the borders of his own emirate, had appointed his vizier Hâce Yâkût Bey as emir of Tokat and sent him.

But since the notables and people of Tokat knew Alî Bey's cruelties and immoral evils, they did not admit Hâce Yâkût to Tokat. They accepted Kadı İmâdoğlu Şeyh Necîbeddîn Mûsâ Bey, appointed to Tokat by Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya. This person, famed as "Emîr Şeyh Necîb", is the brother of Mevlânâ Mü'eyyideddîn Muhammed Çelebi, judge of Amasya.

Eretnazâde Horoz Alî Bey, as related in detail in Azîz bin Erdeşîr's work Bezm ü Rezm, was an extremely immoral man, occupied day and night with amusement and drink, fond of Mongol vagabonds, in love with one of the Mongol boys. This boy would play Alî Bey like a toy. Alî Bey had put all the affairs of government in this boy's hands. Hacı İbrâhim Bey, Alî Şâhzâde and governor of Sivas, had driven Ali Bey out of Sivas because of this state. Ali Bey went to Kayseri and busied himself with immorality.

Ali Bey's immorality and the tyranny of the Mongol boy had wearied the people of Kayseri and the judge of Kayseri, Burhâneddîn Ahmed Çelebi. What could be done: there were many men of undetermined sex and lineage who gathered around Ali Bey in the name of his army and held to him. Especially the "Barambays, Baramlus" of the Mongol people were very devoted to Ali Bey.

The Barambays were the children and partisans of Sutayoğlu Barambay, who died in 735 [1334-35] while governor of Diyarbekir. Barambay's son İbrâhim Şâh in 745 [1344-45] killed his uncle Hacı Togacar, became governor of Diyarbekir, and himself died in 751 [1350-51]. His sons were Baram and Alî Beys.

Alî Bey was famed as "Alî Paşa". While the Second Barambay was fighting with his brother for the province of Diyarbekir, the Turkmens united and drove the Barambays out of the lands of Diyarbekir. They came and settled around Kayseri, became neighbors of the Samagurlus of the Mongol people, and drew close to Eretnazâde Alî Bey.

The Barambays were cruel, excessive, bloodshedding men. The old Mongol tyranny was very clearly seen in their faces and conduct. Alî Bey, though a Turk son of a Turk, regarded himself as a Mongol. The Turks hated Alî Bey. Alî Bey had become the favorite of the Barambays.

For this reason the beys and people of Kayseri rose and drove Alî Bey out of Kayseri. Learning of this event, Karamânoğlu Alâ'eddîn Bey, with an important force he took with him, came, occupied and seized Kayseri and drove Kadı Burhân out of the court (776 [1374-75]).

For this reason Kadı Burhân, uniting with Alî Bey, whom he did not like at all, and winning the Samagarlus and Baramlus to his side, had set about war with the Karamanids. The Karamanid Alâ'eddîn Bey, seeing the great number of Mongol marauders, took fright and left Kayseri.

Kadı Burhân, entering the city with Alî Bey, put the Karamanids and those who followed them to the sword and showed his first cruelty. He turned the people of Kayseri cold toward himself. For Kadı Burhân needed soldiers and partisans for the emirate he would found in the future. For Kadı Burhân there could be no better soldiers than the Samagars and Barambays.

Kadı Burhân, entering deep among the Barambays, had turned them cold toward Alî Bey. Alî Bey was virtually an obstacle to Kadı Burhân's ambitions. For this reason he sent word to Hacı İbrâhim Bey, governor of Sivas, asking him to take and seize Kayseri and to send someone from his side to the emirate of Kayseri.

Hacı İbrâhim Bey sent Tuli Beyzâde Hasan Bey, one of his trusted men, with a company of soldiers. He appointed him to the emirate of Kayseri. Kadı Burhân had hoped that the emirate of Kayseri would be given to him, and for this reason was offended at Hacı İbrâhim Bey. Hacı İbrâhim Bey, not trusting Kadı Burhân's states and conduct, summoned Kadı Burhân to Sivas.

In 778 [1376-77] the wife of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya, and sister of Hacı İbrâhim Bey, governor of Sivas, died in Amasya. Hacı İbrâhim Bey, to offer condolences to his brother-in-law, took Ali Bey and Kadı Burhân with him and they came to Amasya.

Hacı İbrâhim Bey wished to make this condolence an occasion to remove the coldness that had arisen between himself and Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa. The coldness had arisen from one of Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa's slaves killing one of Hacı İbrâhim Bey's men.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• emâret-i müstakille: independent emirate; a principality attached to no one
• inkıyâd etmemek: not to submit, not to remain attached
• vak'a: event, often a great event or a battle
• mahdûm: son
• maktûl: killed
• müderris: teacher giving lessons in a madrasa, in today's sense a professor
• kâdı'l-kudât, kazasker: chief judge; here, the highest judge in charge of army and state affairs
• defterdâr: official at the head of financial affairs, finance administrator
• mülhakât: places attached to a place
• meşâhîr-i a'yân: the notables of the city
• ulemâ: scholars
• müşâvere: consultation, deciding together
• sahî: open-handed, generous
• hankâh, zâviye, tekke: building in which dervish communities gathered, worshipped and hosted guests
• darb-hâne: mint, the place where coins are struck
• meskûkât: coins, old money; "meskûkât mütehassısı" means a numismatist
• emîr-i sâbık: former emir, an emir who has left office
• vakfiye: document stating that a property has been donated for charity and how it is to be administered
• mütevellî: person who administers a waqf
• emîrü'l-hacc: leader of the caravan going on the pilgrimage
• dârü'l-fünûn: university
• hemşîre: sister; halîle: wife

Şadgeldi and the Emirate of Amasya

The main figure of the text, Hacı Şadgeldi, is the second eldest son of Hacı Kutlu Şah, emir of Amasya. In present-day sources he is called Hacı Seyfeddin Şadgeldi; it is stated that he became emir of Amasya in the summer of 1359, studied in Amasya under Mevlana Fahreddin İlyas, remained at first attached to Eretna Bey, and declared his independence after his death. Hüsameddin calls him "the First Şâdgeldi" and regards him as the true founder of the independent emirate. In written sources the dynasty is called Kutluşahlar, Şadgeldiler or the Beys of Amasya. According to some sources the principality lasted from 1340 to 1393; the Şadgeldi period is shown as between 1361 and 1381. The date "763 [1361-62]" that Hüsameddin gives falls at the beginning of this range.

The same sources write that Hacı Kutlu Şah was the slave and spiritual son of Taceddin Altunbaş of the Anatolian Seljuks. That Hüsameddin in the next entry relates that Kadı Burhâneddîn tried to discredit Şadgeldi as "a slave's grandson" shows that the debate on this subject was alive then too. Hüsameddin presents this characterization as a slander. That in the same text Şadgeldi's grandfather is called "Kürt Bey" is the reason the dynasty is called the "Government of the Kürts" or "Kürtoğulları". There is today no single view on the origin and meaning of this name; Hüsameddin in the text only lists the names used.

The picture of Şadgeldi's way of governing is clear in Hüsameddin: he summons the ulema to his assembly, governs by consulting them, and gathers scholars around him. This picture does not remain only in the book. In an academic study on Aksarâyî it is written that Cemâleddin Aksarâyî took lessons from the same teacher as Şadgeldi, that when Şadgeldi became emir he brought him to the judgeship of Amasya and the professorship of the Dâru'l-İlm, and appointed him kazasker on the death of Pîr Nizâmeddin Cürcânî in 768 [1366-67]. This date coincides exactly with the 768 that Hüsameddin gives. According to the same study Aksarâyî wrote in Amasya a work in question-and-answer form on hadith and exegesis, in Persian so that the people would understand, at Şadgeldi's request and indication. Hüsameddin's sentence "he had made Amasya a dârülfünûn" is in this respect not to be counted an exaggeration. A separate study has also been made on whether a work attributed to Şadgeldi truly belongs to him.

Relations with the Eretnaoğulları and the Difference in Accounts

The most noteworthy part of the text is the account of the end of Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey. Hüsameddin writes that Muhammed Bey killed his vizier Hâce Alî Şâh (766), that then, before the attack of Karamanoğlu Alâeddin and Dulkadiroğlu Halîl, he fled from Kayseri and Sivas, was caught and died at Halîl Bey's hand in 767; his quotations from Maqrizi and Müneccimbaşı also say that he was killed at the hands of enemies. The present-day encyclopedia entry on the Eretnaoğulları, however, draws a different picture: it states that Muhammed Bey set aside Hoca Ali Şah around 1358, and that he himself was killed in Sivas in October 1365 by statesmen such as Hacı Şadgeldi and Hacı İbrahim, who were not content with his rule. The entry on Kadı Burhâneddin also mentions the same event as Muhammed Bey's being killed at the hands of his own emirs Hacı Şadgeldi, Hacı İbrahim and Kılıcarslan, and adds that Kadı Burhâneddin's share in this event could not be determined with certainty. That is, where Hüsameddin keeps Şadgeldi out of this event, the present general account regards him as one of the direct parties to it.

The differences in dates are also noteworthy. Hüsameddin gives Hâce Alî Şâh's killing as 766 [1364-65]; the encyclopedia entry writes that Hoca Ali Şah was set aside in 1358. The reason may be that the sources refer to different events, or that they give different dates to a single event. Another document is needed to reach a firm judgment in the text. On the year of Muhammed Bey's death, however, the two accounts are close: 767 [1365-66] and autumn 1365 agree.

For the period after Muhammed Bey the encyclopedia entry summarizes as follows: his son Ali Bey, only thirteen years old, came to the throne; when authority could not be established in the government, among the emirs Hacı Şadgeldi at Amasya, Mutahharten at Erzincan, Tâceddin at Niksar, Hacı İbrahim at Sivas, Şeyh Necib at Tokat, and Kılıcarslan at Şarkîkarahisar began to act on their own. Most of the events Hüsameddin lists here and there in this entry are the details of this dispersal: Şeyh Necib's appointment to Tokat by Şadgeldi, Hacı İbrahim's coming to power in Sivas with Şadgeldi's support, and the taking of the Osmâncık and Çorumlu region fall within this picture. Ali Bey's flight to Sivas when Karamanoğlu Alâeddin took Kayseri in 1375, and Kadı Burhâneddin's then retaking the city and rising to the vizierate in May 1378, also appear in the encyclopedia entries in a way similar to Hüsameddin's. The dates 776 [1374-75] and 780 [1378-79] that Hüsameddin gives are consistent in this respect.

The Question of Kadı Burhâneddin

The text gives the place where Kadı Burhâneddin first steps on the stage and his character together with Hüsameddin's harsh judgments. Kadı Burhâneddin was born on 8 January 1345, was the son of Şemseddin Muhammed, judge of Kayseri, was appointed to the judgeship on returning to Kayseri in 1364, and married the daughter of Eretnaoğlu Mehmed Bey. He became vizier in 1378, declared his sovereignty in Sivas in 1381, and around July 1398 was beheaded before the walls of Sivas by the Akkoyunlu Karayülük Osman Bey. The encyclopedia entry presents him as a man of firm character, able, learned, just, intelligent and a protector of scholars; this is a picture very different from Hüsameddin's characterization as "treacherous, cruel, a killer". Bezm ü Rezm, one of Hüsameddin's sources, according to the encyclopedia entry, was written at Kadı Burhâneddin's command; this work should be evaluated separately as a narrative composed in the ruler's circle.

Şadgeldi's Buildings

Hüsameddin lists Şadgeldi's building works briefly: castle repair, renewal of the mint, the paper factory at Tarabut, mosque, madrasa and imaret. A summary of Amasya's history also reports that in 1363 Amasya Castle was repaired, the old mint renewed, a paper factory built, and in 1372 structures consisting of a mosque, madrasa and imaret built. This information is consistent with Hüsameddin's dates (764 and 773).

This mosque stands today under the name Saraçhane Mosque. According to Culture and Tourism Directorate sources the mosque was built in 1372 by Şadgeldi Paşa, emir of Amasya; it was at first square in plan with a single dome, and later a space was added, turning its plan rectangular, and it was covered with a dome. It is built of rubble stone and brick and has a cylindrical brick minaret; the last-congregation porch on the north has seven bays. Its name was first Şadgeldi Paşa Mosque, and from the time of Çelebi Mehmed it became Saraçhane Mosque because of the saddler shops around it. Hüsameddin, however, draws attention in his own footnote to the change of this name and the removal of the inscription over the door; he writes that Şadgeldi's name and emirate were virtually erased, that the inscriptions of the Serrâchâne and Çeribaşı mosques were also removed, and says he worked for years to find them. The accounts of the cultural institutions do not mention this loss of the inscription; they only write that the name comes from the saddlers. The two accounts do not exclude each other.

Şadgeldi's tomb too is in Amasya today. The structure, located opposite the Halifet Gazi Tomb and southwest of the Kadılar Tomb, was built in the 14th century, is rectangular in plan, of iwan type, with cut stone walls and covered with a vault; it is said to resemble the Kadılar Tomb very closely.

On the matter of the Kâğıthâne, Hüsameddin's own footnote says that there is a record on this paper house and its manager in the waqf deed of Bâyezîd Pasha. Apart from this, no other source information on this structure was found. There is no additional information in the sources on the details of this paper production in Amasya, the place of the structure and how long it lasted.

The Question of the Trebizond Marriage

Hüsameddin, starting from information relayed by Ahmed Tevfik Bey, writes that Hacı Şadgeldi married Teodora, sister of the king of Trebizond. In the text the king's name appears as "John III". In present-day sources it is related that the Trebizond emperor Alexios III in 1358 married his sister Theodora to Hacı Emir, mentioned as emir of Chalybia, who had raided the Maçka region, so that the raids were stopped through diplomacy. Whether this Hacı Emir and Hacı Şadgeldi are the same person is again not stated in this source; Hüsameddin's only basis is the record relayed by Ahmed Tevfik. The marriage date 1358 is written in Hüsameddin as "766-1358"; since the Hijri year 766 falls in 1364-65, the two dates do not agree here. For the matter to gain certainty, the Trebizond coin book and later research must be seen separately.

Other Persons in the Text

Cemâleddîn Aksarâyî was a scholar who, after leaving Amasya, was appointed to the judgeship by Karamanoğlu Alâeddin at Konya, then returned to Aksaray, served as professor at the Zinciriye Madrasa and died there in 791 [1389]. On names such as the Mevlevîhâne sheikh Hüsameddin Hüseyin Çelebi, the family of Şeyh Nusret, the Rifa'i sheikh Necmeddin Yahyâ and the sheikh of the Hankâh-ı Mes'ûdî Şemseddin Ahmed Çelebi, no information was found in other sources; for these persons Hüsameddin's book and footnotes are the only source. The same applies to local emirs such as Gümüşlüoğlu, Samukoğlu and Taşanoğlu.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 418–424. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

• Kemal Göde, "Eretnaoğulları", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1995. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/eretnaogullari
• Abdülkerim Özaydın, "Kadı Burhâneddin", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2001. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kadi-burhaneddin
• Mustafa Karabacak, "Cemâleddin el-Aksarâyî'nin Hadisçiliği: el-Es'ile ve'l-Ecvibe Örneği", Siirt Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 7/1 (2020).

Official sources

• "Saraçhane Camii", Kültür Portalı (Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü). https://www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turkiye/amasya/gezilecekyer/sarachane-cam
• "Şadgeldi Türbesi", Kültür Portalı (Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü). Şadgeldi Türbesi sayfası.

Other sources

• "Hacı Şadgeldi", Vikipedi. https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacı_Şadgeldi
• "Kutluşahlar Beyliği: Şadgeldiler", Arkeolojik Haber. https://www.arkeolojikhaber.com/haber-kutlusahlar-beyligi-sadgeldiler-18218/
• "Amasya Tarihçe", Amasya Sarraflar ve Kuyumcular Derneği. https://amasyakuyumculardernegi.com/amasya.php?tarihce=
• "Alexios III of Trebizond", Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_III_of_Trebizond