El-Hâc Seyfeddîn Şâdgeldi Pasha (3)

In Modern English

When his illness eased, Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha took command of the army. He set out toward Sivas and went as far as Artukâbâd. Kadı Burhân, taking the Baramlu and Samagarlu troops and his own partisans as well, confronted Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Kadı Burhân, on the one hand, showing that he wished to settle the matter by peace and to prevent bloodshed among Muslims, sent envoys and letters to Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. Then he asked for a meeting. He kept Hacı Pasha stalled as long as he wished.

On the other hand, he secretly sent into Hacı Şâdgeldi's army as many men as he needed from among the Turkmen and Mongol orators in his retinue, and had them carry on propaganda to sow division in the army, saying: "Şâdgeldi is a slave's son, a man whose forefathers and lineage are unknown, and his beylik and governorship are not valid under the sharia; Kadı Burhân, however, is a noble and well-born person on both his father's and grandfather's side. How will you fight such a well-born person by following a slave's son?"

The moment Kadı Burhân learned the effect of the propaganda he had carried on in Hacı Şâdgeldi's army, he changed his tone in the negotiations conducted through envoys going back and forth between the two sides. He spoke to Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's envoy as follows:

"Hacı Şâdgeldi says, 'Let us all together seat the son of Ali Bey on the throne of the emirate, since he is the heir of the country; let us not shed blood among Muslims.' Yet it is Hacı Şâdgeldi who killed the emir-son's grandfather, who dragged his father from city to city, who would not even look him in the face when he came to Amasya, his inherited property, who had his belongings plundered and drove him out of Amasya. How can he now show compassion to the emir-son?"

Meanwhile, a great and dangerous division had arisen in Hacı Şâdgeldi's army. The Çonkar and Kara Tatar tribes had left the army and gone, and the army's morale was completely broken.

The beys of Amasya, the scholars, and the army officers, to restore order and morale in the army, tried to prove that the words spoken were mere fables and that Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's forefathers, lineage, nobility, and gentility were established, as we set out above.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha did not see the effect of the letters of invitation and complaint he had received from the notables of Sivas. He was already vexed at this. Deeply affected by the words spoken, which he had not expected, and by the dangerous situation in the army, he fell ill again. He saw that it was necessary to settle the matter by gentle means and turn back. He raised the army and returned to Amasya.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha saw that he had to act in very earnest. Consulting with the statesmen, he called upon Tayerten, Tâceddîn, Melik Ahmed, Cüneyd, and Bâyezîd Beys, the beys of Erzincan, Canik, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî, Kayseri, and Kastamonu, to form an alliance against Kadı Burhân.

Bâyezîd Bey, ruler of Kastamonu, was the father-in-law of Hacı Şâdgeldizâde Emîr Ahmed Bey. He had more strength and splendor than the other beys. Cüneyd Bey, son of Ömer Bey, governor of Kayseri, was Kadı Burhân's greatest enemy. Tâceddîn Bey had become famous as "the man of Canik"; he was attached to Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha and was governor of the whole Samsun region.

This move of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha pointed toward war with Kadı Burhân. In the high council he convened to settle this, the chief military judge Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî, the mufti İzzeddîn Muhammed Amâsî, the leading scholars Celâleddîn Muhammed bin Resûl and Alâ'eddîn Alî bin Aksarâyî, the valued emir Cemâleddîn Fîrûz Bey, and the scholars and emirs who followed them did not think it right to fight Kadı Burhân immediately, and said:

"If the aim of this war is to make emir the child of the foolish Alî Bey, who has not even reached adolescence, then the wealth and lives to be spent are a pity; it is of no benefit to the government of Amasya. If the aim is to take the province of Sivas completely, the war must be postponed until the situation is clarified and the necessary preparations are completed. The harm of haste is great."

The great emirs and scholars who opposed this, such as the commander-in-chief Alî Pasha, son of Bâbukşâh, the vizier Sirâceddîn Muhammed, son of Torumtay, Pîr Alî, son of Halifet, and Îsâ Bey, son of Sunkur, urged Şâdgeldi Pasha to war. Alî Pasha in particular found taking Sivas very easy and kept encouraging the aged Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Their objections went so far that, as if foreseeing the outcome, they silenced the scholars and emirs who were not for war by accusing them of having been won over by Kadı Burhân and having had their mouths watered.

For it was said that Kadı Burhân had spies in Amasya, and people feared that the secret matters discussed in the council would spread among the people, and feared the false reports of the spies. In such times even telling the truth could not be without danger.

In short, favorable answers had been received from the beys to whom Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had applied, and each had promised to send auxiliary forces. On these promises Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha gave in to the haste of the commander-in-chief Alî Pasha. He gathered all his force and set out from Amasya.

Kadı Burhân, learning that Hacı Şâdgeldi had set out, left Sivas and marched toward Tokat. When Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha reached Turhal, Kadı Burhân had come down to Artukâbâd. Kadı Burhân took the road of stalling and sent as envoy one of the men he trusted, a man named Devâtî Ahmed Bey.

The envoy had been sent with two purposes: first, to separate the commander-in-chief Alî Pasha from Şâdgeldi Pasha by promising him the emirate of Amasya; second, if that proved impossible, to learn the location of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's camp.

At this time a military unit prepared by Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha made a sudden night raid on one wing of Kadı Burhân. It had caused considerable disorder in Kadı Burhân's army and thrown Kadı Burhân into alarm.

The two sides gradually drew closer to each other. Kadı Burhân advanced from below Tokat as far as Kazova. Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had come as far as this too. But no trace had appeared of the auxiliary forces promised to Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Kadı Burhân left in ambush a unit made up of valued warriors chosen from his army. One morning in the first ten days of the month of Ramadan 783 [1381] he began the battle. Fighting that day, he gave the appearance of a feigned rout, withdrawing his troops slowly and in good order, and Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha followed him together with his emirs in a body.

Just as Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had come level with the ambush and passed it, Kadı Burhân's troops coming out of the ambush attacked from behind, and Kadı Burhân, turning back, attacked from the front, violently assaulting Hacı Şâdgeldi's wing.

Hacı Şâdgeldi's wing consisted of his own personal troops. The real large force stayed behind under the command of his son Emîr Ahmed Bey. The commander-in-chief Alî Pasha and most of the emirs were with Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Kadı Burhân, by occupying the main force of Amasya with part of his army, had left Hacı Şâdgeldi's wing completely alone. Encircling this isolated wing with all his strength, he fought a bloody battle. In this battle Hacı Şâdgeldi and some of the emirs were killed; emirs such as Alî Pasha and Pîr Alî Bey were taken prisoner. Kadı Burhân all but fainted with joy.

The name, government, and dynasty of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha were unknown things that had no place at all in the history of Turkey. They were so unknown that even to claim their existence was impossible.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha and his father Kutlu Şâh were, in their own time, historical figures of distinction whose names, deeds, and works were very famous in the middle of Anatolia, yet, sadly, Turkish history and the Ottoman historians did not know them. It was this humble person who introduced them to the world of history and found their graves and lineage.

While I, this humble person, was engaged in historical research in Istanbul and reading in turn the works on history in the libraries, first at the Es'ad Efendi Library the Bezm ü Rezm came into my hands. The more I read, the greater my astonishment grew. I summarized it, translated it into Turkish, and took it.

Then that year I went to Amasya and set about examining the tombs. In the end I became suspicious of the tomb at the eastern end of the Halifet Cemetery, opposite the Tomb of Halifet Gâzi and adjoining the Tomb of the Judges. For on the Kadı Fountain in front of it there was this inscription:

"In the time of the great emir Hacı Şâdgeldi Pâdişâh, may his state endure, the one who had this blessed spring built and constructed, may God do good to them, is the weak servant Muhammed bin İmâd bin Muhammed, judge of Amasya. In the year seven hundred and seventy-nine [1377-78]."

While searching for this tomb I had with me my dear friend Hasan Şevkî, my writing teacher the famous calligrapher Mustafa Sabrî, and Gürcî Osmân Efendizâde Mehmed Rüşdî Efendi. The floor of the tomb had filled with stone and earth, and the graves inside had become indistinct. We cleaned the place. On the grave we came upon in the middle we found these inscriptions:

"This is the tomb of the late, forgiven, happy, martyred, slain emir, the ornament of the pilgrimage, Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha bin Kutlu. In the year seven hundred and eighty-three [1381-82] he passed to the mercy and forgiveness of God."

Indeed, while the calligrapher Mustafa Efendi was reading the phrase "he passed to the mercy and forgiveness of God" on the headstone, I said that on the footstone it would surely say "in the year seven hundred and eighty-three." The moment he read it exactly so, my friends were astonished.

Afterwards I returned to Istanbul. My going and returning was in the year 1311. Then in 1327 I went to the General Library with my companion of conscience, the late Mehmed Tâhir Bey, deputy for Bursa. The chief librarian, our valued and respected brother İsmâ'il Hakkı Efendi, showed us a Persian treatise called "Kitâbü'l-Es'ile ve'l-Ecvibe" from among the books of the Cârullâh Efendi Library, saying "here is an Amasyan for you."

According to what is written in the preface of this treatise, it is a work of jurisprudence written by Muhammed bin Muhammed Aksarâyî in the name of the great emir of Amasya, "el-Hâc Seyfü'd-dünyâ ve'd-dîn Şâdgeldi Pasha." I at once copied out its preface and took it. I had added it to the biography of the said emir. Sadly, it burned in 1331 in the Taş Musluk fire. The Cârullâh Efendi Library was also transferred to the Millet Library. I looked for that book and, sadly, could not find it.

On the first page, on the back, of the work registered under number 603 in the Millet Library in the Fatih area, "Kitâbü'd-Dürerü'l-Mensûre," with "İzzeddîn Muhammed bin Muhammed el-Amâsî" written against the author, the following is written in saffron-colored ink in a thick and beautiful thuluth script:

"It is the work of the poor servant who is in need of the grace of God of abundant bounty, called 'the Glory of the Hanafi school' (may God forgive him and his past), written for the flourishing library of the lofty station and master Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, educator of rulers and sultans (may God strengthen his helpers and his state)."

This book is in two parts; the first part is a sound text on jurisprudence. It is written in Arabic. In the preface to this part the author writes as follows:

"I mean the blessings of the trustworthy ruler whom God chose with exalted attributes, to whom He gave a share and abundant portion of great virtues, who is famed for justice and fairness and far from the path of oppression and injustice: the educator of rulers and sultans Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, may God make his state endure."

The second part is a short and concise text on the principles of jurisprudence and is written in Persian. Its beginning is as follows:

"Praise be to God, who honored us with Islam and made known to us the subtleties of the lawful and the unlawful. Blessings and peace upon Muhammad, master of mankind, upon his family, and upon his companions who are like stars in the dark. To proceed: when the Creator (Glorified and Exalted) adorned the throne of dominion and the seat of sovereignty with Bahâ'üddünyâ ve'd-dîn, exalter of Islam and the Muslims, shadow of God in the worlds, most learned of rulers, most just of sultans, the great and just sultan (may God make his dominion and sovereignty eternal), and purified the field of the world of oppression through his justice, compassion, love, and mercy; by the blessing of these fine qualities and approved deeds, the light of religious knowledge and researches based on certain knowledge appeared in his pure spirit and luminous person. He reached the utmost point in being acquainted with distressing, difficult, and problematic matters. When he went deep into the religious sciences and certain researches, he became the recourse and pole to whom reference is made in the science of principles; he reached such a sea that the scholars and jurists of the age fell short in presenting proofs before him and admitted their incapacity. After this he turned to the sciences of the branches concerning rulings on the subtleties of the lawful and the unlawful. Since this sincere supplicant had written a book on principles for his blessed court, he wished to write another book on the branches as well. Thereupon he turned to compiling these two hundred and fifteen questions debated by the people of the age and adorning them with blessed titles; the work was written on this subject and completed."

At the end of this second part is written: "The book ed-Dürerü'l-Mensûre is completed. Praise be to God, who grants intellect to the possessors of intellect. On Monday, the tenth of the month of Ramadan, in the year 834 [1430-31]. May God's blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad and all his family."

This scattered wording of the master of the ta'liq script who wrote this book shows that the copying of "Kitâbü'd-Dürerü'l-Mensûre" was completed on Monday the tenth, or the twelfth, of the month of Ramadan in the year 834.

Likewise this Persian preface shows that the great sultan Bahâ'ü'd-dünyâ ve'd-dîn el-Hâc Şâdgeldi Pasha was one of the leading scholars in the science of principles, a pole of the researchers, a figure as deep as the seas in learning. In this person's name this book was written on two hundred and fifteen questions of principles that the scholars of his age debated and disagreed upon.

The worthy Mustafa Efendi, famous as "Kâtib Çelebi," also saw this "Kitâbü'd-Dürerü'l-Mensûre"; but he came to the opinion that it was written by "Emîr-i Kebîr el-Hâc Şâdgeldi Pasha," and in the "science of jurisprudence" section of Keşfü'z-Zünûn he mentions this book and shows its author as "el-Hâc Şâdgeldi Pasha."

In the endowment deed, kept in the administration of waqf records, of "Celâlü'd-devleti ve'd-dîn Bâyezîd Pasha bin es-Sadru'l-Muvakkar Yahşî Bey," dated 11 Zilhicce 820 [1418], there are the following clear statements:

"All the shares that passed to the said founder from the exalted and respected emir, Light of the State and Religion, Hamza Bey b. Emîr Bîçâr (may God make his fortune endure), from Sittî Hâtun, the respected and chaste daughter of the great emir Mustafa Bey, and from Benefşe Hâtun, daughter of Abdullah;

again all the shares that passed from the said Hamza Bey, Sittî Hâtun, and Benefşe Hâtun, that is, three hundred and twenty-three shares out of a total of six hundred and seventy-two shares of half of the adjoining twin baths outside the said city; which bath is known by the name of the late Hacı Şâdgeldi."

Defter-i Mücedded-i Anadolu 19, page 245.

And in the endowment deed of the said sadr dating from the end of the month of Safer 821 [1418]:

"All the shares that passed to him, from two chaste and respected daughters: Cânî Hâtun, daughter of the late Mehmed Bey, who was the wife of the late Mustafa Bey bin Biklar Begî, and Sultân Hundî Hâtun, daughter of Îsâ Bey, son of the said Mustafa Bey."

Register 19, page 248.

Besides these, there are records and historical information concerning Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, his father Hacı Kutlu Şâh, his grandfather Kürt Bey, his father Kayı Bey bin Buşak Bey, and the last of their children that I have found; these are the product of my long and very wearying labors. A whole volume would have to be written on these alone. Time and money do not allow it.

Such clear proof shows that Hacı Kutlu Şâh and his son Hacı Şâdgeldi Pâdişâh were eminent figures who ruled as independent emirs and governments in Amasya. In Amasya there was an independent emirate and government founded by Hacı Kutlu Şâh. This independent emirate was higher than the emirate of Karaman, and larger, stronger, of more national feeling, and more authoritative in word than the emirates of Saruhan, Germiyan, and Aydın.

It is not the Historian of Amasya who invented this independent emirate, its rulers, its beys, and their children for the honor of Amasya and of being Amasyan. The Historian of Amasya's only service is to find and bring to light an independent government and emirate that ruled gloriously in Amasya and whose name and renown were later forgotten, together with those who founded it and lived in it, doing so out of nothing but a surge of love of homeland, without receiving the slightest protection or help from any side, and spending all his means in particular for this cause.

These passages I have quoted verbatim from the endowment deeds of Bâyezîd Pasha show very clearly that Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was famous in his own age under the title "Beylerbeyi." The "Twin Bath" called today "Alaca Hamam" in Amasya was known in the time of Bâyezîd Pasha as the "Bath of Hacı Şâdgeldi."

Certain shares of this bath had passed to Bâyezîd Pasha from Biçaroğlu Hamza Bey and from Sittî Hâtun, daughter of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pashazâde Mustafa Bey, and her husband Benefşe Hâtun. This bath had passed to Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha by inheritance from the Seljuks. Its present name, "Alaca Hamam," was given because it passed into the administration of Alaca Yahyâ Bey, son of Şâdî Bey, again of the dynasty of Hacı Kutlu Şâh.

Of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's wives, the daughter of es-Seyyid Ahmed el-Kebîr er-Rufâ'î, the sahib al-hal buried in Ladik, and the daughter of Hâce Alî Şâh, vizier of Sultan Eretna, could be identified. But their names could not be ascertained. His son born of the daughter of Seyyid Ahmed Rufâ'î, Seyyideddîn Muhammed Bey, had died before him. His other sons are Fahreddîn Ahmed and Musliheddîn Mustafa Beys.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had concubines and daughters. Of his daughters, Safâpaşa Hâtun, Ma'sûme Hund Hâtun, Bulaşâh Hâtun, and Cihânşâh Hâtun could be identified. His brother-in-law Şeyhzâde Şerefeddîn Osmân Pasha and Alî Şâhzâde Tâceddîn İbrâhim Bey are known. His sons-in-law are known as Mübârekşâh, son of his paternal uncle, and Biçarzâde Seyfeddîn Biçar and Sunkurzâde Cemâleddîn Yahşî Beys.

The names of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's three viziers are famous: one is Sirâceddîn Muhammed Bey, son of Toganşâh, emir of Niksar; another his brother-in-law el-Hâc Şerefeddîn Osmân Pasha; the third Torumtayzâde Sirâceddîn Muhammed Çelebi. His chief military judges were Pîr Nizâmeddîn Mahmûd Cürcânî and Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî. Nizâmeddîn Abdülmelik Nahcıvânî, who held the office of şeyhülislam, and İzzeddîn Muhammed Amâsî were very famous.

His greatest commander-in-chief was Babukşâhzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Pasha. His father İmâdeddîn Esen Bey had also been commander-in-chief in the first years of his emirate. İmâdeddîn Esen Bey is thought to have been the father-in-law of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was a virtuous emir rare for his time; a man who acted on his knowledge, just toward his subjects, a perfect sage who understood the governance of the people. Scholars, emirs, sheikhs, and the people loved him greatly. Depending on the occasion he was called by the epithets Şemseddîn, Seyfeddîn, Bahâ'eddîn; he was a person who had become the beloved of hearts.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was a person who served most for the felicity and development of the emirate. He protected with all his strength the scholars, the men of virtue, and the people of art whom he drew from every side. The city of Amasya, in his time, became a center of higher learning and raised the greatest scholars and men of letters. These are seen in the biographies section of the History of Amasya.

Yahyâ er-Rûmî, Hacı Şâdgeldi's private secretary, patron of the calligraphers of Anatolia, and pupil of Argun Kâmilî, was very famous. His pupil Muslihzâde Celâleddîn Abdurrahmân Çelebi became one of the famous scholars and calligraphers.

Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had built, in addition to the Gıyâsiyye, Halfetiyye, Torumtâ'iyye, and Atabeyiyye Madrasas, a madrasa, opposite it a zawiya, and between them a great mosque. In the endowment deed of eş-Şeyh Sun'ullâh el-Halvetî, who sat in his zawiya, it was seen that this great mosque was known as the "Mosque of Hacı Şâdgeldi."

Sun'ullâh Halvetî, who had his endowment deed drawn up in 847 [1443-44], was famous as "Sheikh of the Saddlers, Sheikh of the Tanners." Later the said great mosque came to be called "Saraçhane Mosque" and "Saraçlar Mosque" in reference to the saddlers' workshops built in its vicinity. Just as the Bath of Hacı Şâdgeldi nearby came to be called "Alaca Hamam."

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• tahaffüf: easing, lessening
• tefrika: division, divisiveness
• nâtıka-perdâz: master of speech, propagandist
• eben-an-ced: from father and grandfather, by descent
• haseb ve neseb: forefathers and lineage; a person's family background
• kuvve-i ma'neviyye: moral strength, morale
• mürâhık: approaching adolescence
• sefîh: foolish, inept
• ca'lî inhizâm: feigned rout, pretending to flee
• mahdûm: son; kerîme: daughter
• eshâm: shares
• dîbâce: preface
• istinsâh: reproducing a manuscript by hand, copying
• dâru'l-fünûn: institution of higher learning; a university in today's sense
• harîk: fire

The Battle of Kazova and Şâdgeldi's Death

The conflict Hüsameddin narrates is the last act of the power struggle that emerged in central Anatolia after the dissolution of the Eretna principality. Kadı Burhâneddin had risen as regent and vizier of the Eretna dynasty and regarded Hacı Şâdgeldi, emir of Amasya, as his most important rival in the region. The entry in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi writes that Şâdgeldi was defeated and killed in the autumn of 1381, after which Kadı Burhâneddin proclaimed his sultanate in Sivas, had the sermon read and coins struck in his name. Hüsameddin places the death in Ramadan 783; this date also agrees with the inscription on the footstone of Şâdgeldi's sarcophagus.

The course Kadı Burhân follows in the text is noteworthy. First he stalls with peace offers, then he slanders Şâdgeldi's lineage by placing agents in the army, and finally he draws him into an ambush with a feigned retreat. The basis of the "slave's son" charge leveled at Şâdgeldi is that the sources describe differently Kutlu Şâh's tie to the Seljuk prince Taceddin Altunbaş: in some accounts Kutlu Şâh is regarded as Altunbaş's slave and spiritual son; in others it is written that Şâdgeldi descended from Altunbaş. In a study written on Kılıç Arslan, the same label appears to have been used earlier too in Kadı Burhâneddin's circle to discredit Şâdgeldi in the eyes of the people. In a footnote Hüsameddin writes that the rumor is thought to have been spread to muddy minds by alluding to Kutlu Bey, slave of Şâdî Bey, who had sons named Mahmûd, Ahmed, and Şâdî; he adds that Kutlu Bey's son Ahmed was at that time ravaging the vicinity of Sivas. This inference could not be verified in other sources. The propaganda in the text, therefore, is not a rumor that appeared suddenly but a weapon long in use that was brought back into play on the eve of the war.

The council debate also carries an interesting detail. That the scholars and some beys opposed the war while the commander-in-chief Alî Pasha argued that Sivas would be taken easily shows two distinct views within one government. According to Hüsameddin, what set Şâdgeldi in motion was the beys' promise of aid; that no trace of the promised forces was seen on the day of battle is also told among the causes of the defeat.

On the place of the death the sources do not meet at exactly the same point. Hüsameddin places the battle at Kazova, below Tokat. In a journal study on the history and monuments of Amasya, in one place it is written that Şâdgeldi was killed at Tokat and his body buried in Amasya in the Halifet Gâzi Cemetery; in another, that he was done away with in the battle fought at Kazova. The accounts agree that the event took place in the Tokat region.

Şâdgeldi's Tomb and the Kadı Fountain

Hüsameddin's story of finding the tomb is a clear example of his effort to open with his own eyes a forgotten page of Amasya's history. According to what he narrates, he found the tomb he was looking for by becoming suspicious of the phrase "Hacı Şâdgeldi Pâdişâh" in the inscription of the Kadı Fountain. Today the Şâdgeldi Tomb stands in the Gökmedrese quarter, opposite the Tomb of Halifet Gâzi and south of the Tomb of the Judges. According to the presentation of the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, it is a structure of rectangular plan, of the eyvan type, with cut-stone walls and covered by a vault, and it closely resembles the Tomb of the Judges.

The inscriptions read by Uzunçarşılı show that one of the marble sarcophagi in the tomb belongs to Şâdgeldi, with the phrase "martyred, slain emir" on its side face and the date 783 on the footstone. It is reported that the structure holds the graves of eight more persons together with Şâdgeldi. The date 783 that Hüsameddin had predicted in advance, "the footstone will surely say 783," is thus confirmed.

The Tomb of the Judges and the Fountain of the Judges adjoining the tomb belong to the family of judges of Mehmed bin İmâd, who had the fountain built. The fountain inscription was also read by Uzunçarşılı: the same four-line inscription states that the fountain in the Recep quarter is near the Halifet Gâzi Cemetery and gives the date as 779 (1377-78). In Hüsameddin's text the year is printed as "tis'in ve seb'în," that is, ninety seventy; according to Uzunçarşılı's reading the correct form is "tis'a ve seb'în," that is, seventy-nine. For this reason the date is given in the translation as 779. The inscription also shows that in 1377-78 Şâdgeldi was regarded as the "great emir" and as a ruler whose state was wished to "endure." The tomb itself was repaired by the Directorate of Foundations in 2007.

Şâdgeldi's Scholarly Side and "ed-Dürerü'l-Mensûre"

Hüsameddin presents Şâdgeldi not merely as a commander but as a ruler who protected the people of learning. The two works mentioned in the text are the basis of this claim. The first is Cemâleddîn Aksarâyî's Persian "Kitâbü'l-Es'ile ve'l-Ecvibe"; it is still noted in academic studies today that this work, which discusses the difficult points in verses and hadiths, was dedicated to Şâdgeldi. Studies have been made on the copy of the work in the Süleymaniye Library. Hüsameddin says that the Cârullâh Efendi copy he saw burned or was lost in the fire of 1331; whether the copy studied today in the Süleymaniye Library is the same as the one he saw could not be verified.

The second work is "ed-Dürerü'l-Mensûre." In the text Hüsameddin gives both the Arabic jurisprudence part and the Persian principles part of the work. The point to note here is this: the note at the end of the work, as Hüsameddin also states, is a copying date and indicates the year 834 [1430-31]. This is about fifty years after Şâdgeldi's death. Whether the text was therefore written in Şâdgeldi's lifetime, whether it was later compiled in his name, and whether it is in his own hand are separate questions. A symposium paper listing the scholars raised in Amasya mentions the work as the "great work" of Şâdgeldi Çelebi Pasha. The title of another symposium paper explicitly takes up the problem of the work's attribution to Şâdgeldi. Since the content of this paper could not be read, what its view is could not be verified.

In the same symposium paper it is written that Şâdgeldi was killed by Kadı Burhâneddin in 782 (1380) and buried near Pîr İlyas; this differs from the information Hüsameddin gives (783, Halifet Cemetery) and does not agree with the tomb inscriptions either. In another study on Şadgeldi's government in his own period, it is written that he ruled Amasya for about twenty years between 760 and 783 (1359-1381).

The Bath and the Mosque

The bath records that Hüsameddin quotes from the endowment deeds of Bâyezîd Pasha are important for understanding Amasya's early-period built heritage. The twin bath he calls the "Bath of Hacı Şâdgeldi" is today known as Alaca Hamam. This bath and the two-door han appear among the structures endowed in 1751 for the Bekir Pasha Madrasa. Hüsameddin's explanation of how the bath's name turned into Alaca (Alaca Yahyâ Bey) could not be verified in other sources.

The mosque in the last section of the text is today known as the Saraçhane Mosque. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the mosque was built in 1372 by Şadgeldi Pasha, emir of Amasya; originally of square plan and single-domed, it was later turned into a rectangular plan by the addition of a space, and is built of rubble stone and brick. The structure, first called the Şadgeldi Pasha Mosque after its builder, became the Saraçhane Mosque from the time of Çelebi Mehmed because of the saddlers' shops around it. This agrees with the change of name that Hüsameddin narrates at the end of the text.

The Dynasty of the Kutluşahs

The view Hüsameddin defends at length in this section is that Kutlu Şâh and Şâdgeldi were an independent dynasty neglected in Anatolian history. Today the Kutluşah Principality is spoken of as a dynasty that held sway over Amasya and its surroundings from the 1340s to 1393; it oscillated between allegiance to the Eretna Principality and the Kadı Burhâneddin State and independence. Hüsameddin's extension of the genealogical chain to Kürt Bey and Kayı Bey could not be verified in other sources; this section rests on the records he himself found.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 431–436. amasya.bel.tr
• Amasya Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları 13 (Amasya tarihi çalışmaları; Şadgeldi Türbesi ve Recep Mahallesi çeşme kitabesi bölümleri). https://www.amasya.edu.tr/media/e2rm5hum/sosyal-bilimler-arastirmalari-13.pdf

Academic studies

• Abdülkerim Özaydın, "Kadı Burhâneddin", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2001. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kadi-burhaneddin
• Halil İnalcık, "Murad I", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/murad-i
• "Kadı Burhaneddin Karşısında Bir Selçuklu Şehzadesi Kılıç Arslan", Belleten. https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/2577/tur
• Recep Dikici, "Türkiye Kütüphânelerinde Yazma ve Matbû Eserleri Olan Amasyalı Âlimler", Uluslararası Amasya Âlimleri Sempozyumu Bildiriler Kitabı II, Amasya, 2017.
• Mehterhan Furkani, "Siyasî ve İlmî Bir Kişilik: Amasya Emiri Hacı Şadgeldi Paşa ve ed-Dürerü'l-Mensûretü fi'l-Furûʻ Adlı Eserin Kendisine Nispeti", Uluslararası Amasya Âlimleri Sempozyumu, 2017 (only the title could be seen; the text could not be read).
• "Aksarâyî'nin Kitabü'l-Es'ile ve'l-Ecvibe'si ve Yorum Metodu", Dinbilimleri Akademik Araştırma Dergisi. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/daad/article/478342
• Anadolu'da Hadis Geleneği ve Darü'l-hadisler Uluslararası Katılımlı Sempozyum bildirileri, Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi, 2011 (Amasya darülhadisleri bölümü; Bekir Paşa Medresesi vakıfları).

Official sources

• "Şadgeldi Türbesi", Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Kültür Portalı. https://kulturportali.gov.tr
• "Saraçhane Camii", Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, Kültür Portalı.

Books

• Selim Özcan, "Kadılar Türbesi", Online Türkiye Turizm Ansiklopedisi, 2019. https://turkiyeturizmansiklopedisi.com/kadilar-turbesi

Other sources

• "Kutluşahlar Beyliği: Şadgeldiler", Arkeolojik Haber. https://www.arkeolojikhaber.com/haber-kutlusahlar-beyligi-sadgeldiler-18218/