Amasya hükümdârı Melik Yağıbasan (Yağı Basan Hân) esbak Anadolu hükümdârı olan Sultân İbrâhim Hân'ın mahdûmu olduğu 560 târîhli vakfiyesinde mestûrdur. Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'in yâhud Emîr Gümüştigin Gâzi'nin oğlu değildir. Her hâlde bu Yağıbasan Gâzi 491'de şehîden vefât eden Antakya emîri Yağıbasan bin Muhammed bin Alp Arslan'ın kızından hafîdidir. Yağıbasan bin İsmâ'il bin ed-Dânişmend nâmıyla da kaydı görülmüşdür.
Amasya hükümdârı Yağıbasan Hân, Amasya'da İçerişehir'de şimdiki Kurşunlu Mahallesi'nde cesîm bir hân inşâ etdirdiği münâsebetle oraya Mahalle-i Yağıbasaniyye ve Hân-ı Yağıbasan Mahallesi dendiğini ve Gök Medrese Mahallesi'nin yol kenârında Melik Dânişmend Ahmed Gâzi'nin sarâyında ve önündeki Altı Bahçe demekle meşhûr bâhçelerde ikâmet ve ba'dehû buraları umûmen vakf eylediğini kuyûd-ı atîka göstermekde ve müşârün-ileyhin sarâyı mevki'ine şimdi Yukarı Bakacak ve Altı Bahçeler mevki'inin kısm-ı cenûbîsine Aşağı Bakacak denmekdedir.
Hükümdâr-ı müşârün-ileyhin Amasya'da atabegi Celâlüddevle Mahmûd bin el-Merhûm Fetih Hân ve emîrü'l-ümerâsı Hüsâmüddevle Hasan bin İltigin ve kâdı'l-kudâtı Kemâleddîn Ebu'l-Fezâ'il İlyâs bin Hasan el-Horasânî olduğu ele geçen kuyûd-ı atîkadan istidlâl olunur. Hattâ 560 târîhli vakıf-nâmesini imzâ eden [321] kadı, Şeyhu'l-İslâm ve'l-müslimîn Sadreddîn Muhammed bin el-Merhûm İlyâs el-Horasâni'dir.
Celâlüddevle Mahmûd Gâzi Bey, şimdiki Temennâ Mahallesi'nde Fetih Gâzi Bahçesi civârında bir mescid-i şerîf binâ ederek pederinden ve ceddinden kalan bu bahçeleri ve Hüsâmüddevle Hasan Gâzi Bey de Hân-ı Yağıbasan civârında diğer bir mescid-i şerîf inşâ ederek Öz Nâhiyesi'nde Emîr Hasan Alanı (Çiftliği) nâm karyeyi vakf etdikleri ma'lûmât-ı kaydiyedendir. Bu Hüsâmüddevle'nin birâderi Sehmüddevle Hüseyin Gâzi emîr-i Merzifon olup orada câmii, vakfı, mevki'i "Sehmüddevle" demekle kayden meşhûrdur. Sihâmuddevle dahi denir.
Taharriyât-ı târîhiyyeden ve cereyân-ı ahvâlden istidlâl olunduğu üzere Dânişmendiye hükümdârı Yağıbasan Hân, Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'i Amasya'dan Niksâr'a kaldırıyor, ba'dehû Kayseriyye'ye gönderip oranın emâretini veriyor, Melik Muhammed Gâzi bu hareketden bîzâr olarak ba'zı Türkmen beylerini elde edib yeğeni bulunan Yağıbasan Gâzi aleyhine i'lân-ı husûmet ediyor, Malatya ve Sivas taraflarını istîlâ etmeğe çalışıyor.
İbtidâ Malatya üzerine hareket ederek emîri ve yeğeni Aynuddevle Ahmed Bey'i harben katl etmekle Malatya'yı zabt ediyor, ba'dehû Sivas'ı almak üzere geliyor, Amasya hükümdârı Yağıbasan Hân dahi kuvve-i mevcûdesiyle Sivas'a gidip vâlî Arslan Togmuş Bey'i takviye ediyor. [322] Sivas kurbunda bulunan şimdiki Azîziye kasabası civârında tarafeyn harb etmekle Melik Muhammed Gâzi ile Arslan Togmuş Gâzi Beyler 537'de maktûl olarak Yağıbasan Hân harbi kazanıyor, memleket-i Dânişmendiye'de istiklâlini te'mîn ediyor.
Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr'da "537'de Kayseriyye ve Malatya ve hudûd-ı Rûmiyye emîri Melik Muhammed bin ed-Dânişmend katl olunarak bilâdını Konya hükümdârı Melik Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî istîlâ etmiş" olduğu mestûrdur. Fakat Ikdu'l-Cümân'da "Melik-i müşârün-ileyhin 538'de vefâtıyla Mes'ûd'un bütün bilâd-ı Dânişmendiye'yi istîlâ etdiği" mezkûrdur. Meskûkât-ı İslâmiyye Kataloğu'nda Melik Muhammed Gâzi ve emîr-i Malatya Aynuddevle Gâzi Beyler'in vefâtı 537 târîhinde gösteriliyor.
Tabakât-ı Hanefiyye'de kadı-i bilâdu'r-Rûm olan Abdülmecîd el-Herevî tercemesinde kadı-i müşârün-ileyhin memleket-i Dânişmendiye'den 535'de Şâm'a ve üç ay sonra Kayseriyye'ye rihlet edib orada kadı olarak 537'de vefât etdiği ve Târîh-i Âl-i Dânişmend'de Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'in Amasya'dan Niksâr'a, ba'dehû Kayseriyye'ye i'zâm edildiği mezkûr ve Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'in türbesi de Azîziye Kasabası civârında olduğu meşhûrdur. Şu kuyûd-ı târîhiyyenin cem'inden Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'in 529'da cülûs etdiği, ba'dehû 535'de hal' ve 537'de katl edildiği netîcesi zâhir olur. İşte Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr'ın kayd eylediği vak'a budur.
Bu vak'adan sonra Muhammed Gâzi Bey'in küçük mahdûmu Zünnûn [323] Bey Kayseriyye'de kaldığı münâsebetle Kayseriyye'yi zabt ederek i'lân-ı emâret ediyor, fakat büyük mahdûmu Melik İbrâhim Bey harbden avdet ederek küçük birâderini Kayseriyye'den def' etmekle bu da i'lân-ı istiklâl ediyor, bu aralıkda harben maktûl olan Sivas emîri Arslan Togmuş Bey'in oğlu Bedreddîn Şâhenşâh Bey de Melik Muhammed Gâzi Beyzâdelerden ahz-ı intikâma kalkışıyor.
Yine bu aralıkda Malatya emîri iken maktûl olan Aynuddevle Ahmed Bey'in mahdûmu olup Zülkarneyn Gâzi demekle meşhûr olan Alp Arslan Gâzi Bey³⁴¹ Malatya'da i'lân-ı emâret ederek bu da Melik Gâzi Beyzâdeler ile uğraşıyor, Rûmlar dahi bu kadar ihtilâlât-ı dâhiliyyeyi görüp Yağıbasan Hân ile harb ederek Trabzon, Sinop ve Kastamonu taraflarını gasb etmekle memleket-i Dânişmendiye bir herc ü merce düşüyordu.
Dânişmendîler'in şu fetreti, memleket-i Dânişmendiye'yi Rûmlar'ın istîlâsına kapdırmak gibi bir tehlike-i muzırrayı takdîr etmiş olan Sultân Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî, eniştesi bulunan Ankara vâlîsi Güdül Bey'i celb ve istimâlet ederek kendisine ser-asker nasb ediyor, ma'iyyetine bir kuvve-i azîme terfîk ederek zâhiren Yağıbasan Gâzi'ye mu'âvenet için Amasya'ya i'zâm ediyor, kendisi dahi dîğer bir kuvve-i kâfiye alarak yek-diğeriyle uğraşan [324] Melik İbrâhim, Zünnûn, Zülkarneyn Beyler'i cebren dağıtıyor, Kayseriyye ve Sivas taraflarını istîlâ etdikden sonra Güdül Bey'i müte'âkib Tokat üzerinden Amasya'ya geliyor.
Sultân Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî, Amasya'ya geldikde Yağıbasan Gâzi Bey'i Niksâr'a gönderip bütün memâlik-i Dânişmendiye'yi 538'de istîlâ ediyor, ya'nî bütün Anadolu hükümdârı oluyor, hükûmet-i Dânişmendiye'nin merkezi olan Amasya'yı kendisine makarr-ı hükûmet ittihâz ederek hükûmet-i Dânişmendiye'ye hitâm veriyor.
Çünkü Amasya, Dânişmendîler'in merkez-i hükûmeti olduğu münâsebetle bu hükûmeti kaldırmak ve âtiyen zuhûru melhûz olan vekâyi'e meydân vermemek için Dânişmendiye hükûmetinin merkezinde ikâmet etmek lüzûmunu Sultân Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî takdîr ediyordu. Sultân Mes'ud'un Amasya'yı merkez-i hükûmet ittihâz etmesi, mücerred âb u hevâsının letâfetinden değil, belki memâlik-i Dânişmendiye'yi tamâmiyle istîlâ etmek siyâsetinden istifâde için idi. İşte Ikdu'l-Cümân'ın kayd eylediği vak'a budur. Çünkü Sultân Mes'ûd'un Amasya'da Simre Kasabası'nı 538'de binâ etdirdiği müttefikan kayd edilmekdedir.
Dânişmendîler'in Amasya'da hükûmeti 467-538 târîhine kadar tâm yetmiş bir sene devâm edib Melik Ahmed, İsmâ'il, İbrâhim, Sunkur, Muhammed, Yağıbasan nâmlarıyla altı nefer zevât idâre-i hükûmet etmişlerdir. Bu hükûmet hudûd-ı Rûmiyye üzerinde müteşekkil olduğu cihetle bunlar, [325] dâ'imî bir harb ve gazâda imrâr-ı hayât ederek "Gâzi" unvân-ı mefharetiyle iktisâb-ı şeref etmişlerdir. Binâ'en-aleyh bunların cümlesi de "Melik Gâzi" unvânıyla meşhûrdur.
Bu hükûmet-i Dânişmendiye, ibtidâ-yı teşekkülünde Rûmlar'ın nüfuzunu Anadolu'dan tamâmiyle izâle edecek derecede kudret-i askeriyye gösterdikleri kâbil-i inkâr değildir. Hudûd-ı garbiyyesini Üsküdâr'a kadar îsâl ederek Boğaz'dan geçen gemilerden vergi ve gümrük alan bu hükûmetin nüfûzu sâyesinde Türkler'in Anadolu'da ebediyyen tavattun edebilmeleri mümkün olabilmiş, hattâ Selçûkîler'in Anadolu'da nüfûz-ı hükûmetleri, bunların mu'âvenet-i mâddiyesiyle idâme-i mevcûdiyet etmişdir.
Dânişmendîler, zann olunduğu gibi bir mekteb-i sıbyân hâceliğinden türemiş, sülâlesi gayr-i mazbût adamlar değillerdir. Bunu iddi'â edebilmek için o zamân Türkler'in soylara, husûsiyle irislere ne kadar dikkat ve ihtimâm etdiklerini unutmamak îcâb eder. Bir melikzâdeyi iris olmadığından dolayı tahtından iskât eden Türkler, bu kadar mefâhir-i milliyeyi, me'âsir-i dîniyyeyi meydâna getirecek derecede ibrâz-ı reviyyet ve şecâ'at etdikleri hâlde öyle bir mekteb hâcesinin başına toplanacak bir seviyyede olmadıkları meydândadır.
Dânişmendîler, bâlâda arz edildiği üzere Selçûkîler'in mensûb olduğu "Kınık" sülâlesi beylerinden ve hânzâdelerden olup "Toganlu" nâmıyla bir oymak teşkîl eden Togan Hân neslinden [326] oldukları ve Selçûkîler'in ammizâdelerinden bulundukları cihetle Türkler, Türkmenler arasında fevkalâde hâ'iz-i nüfûz ve i'tibâr idiler.
Yağıbasan Gâzi Arabiyyü'l-ibâre sikkeler kesdirmiş olup Meskûkât-ı İslâmiyye Kataloğu'nda görüldüğü üzere bir sikkesinin yüz tarafında "el-melikü'l-âdil Nizâmeddîn Yağıbasan bin Melik Gâzi" ve devresinde "Bin Melik Dânişmend Zahîr Emîrü'l-Mü'minîn" ve arka tarafında belden yukarı, sağa müteveccih kıvırcık saçları bir çelenge bağlanmış bir sûret tersîm edilmiş olup bu sûret Yağıbasan³⁴² Gâzi'nin tasvîri olmalıdır. Dânişmendîler'de Rûmiyyü'l-ibâre sikkelerin mecmû'u da Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey'e ve evlâdına mensûb olduğu Katalog'da ayânen görülmekdedir.
Katalog'da "Sivas'da Dânişmendlüler" unvânı altında mülûk-i Dânişmendiye'nin sıra ile yazılmasına göre bunların³⁴³ merkez-i hükûmeti kuyûd-ı târîhiyye hilâfında Sivas olduğunu işrâb etmekdedir. Hâlbuki mülûk-i Dânişmendiye'nin merkez-i hükûmeti Amasya şehri olduğu Târîh-i Âl-i Dânişmend'in ifâdâtından müstebân ve Amasya'da mevcûd olduğu arz edilen âsâr-ı Dânişmendiye dahi bunu mü'eyyiddir. [327]
Amasya, hükûmet-i Dânişmendiye'nin merkezi olmasaydı, Sultân Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî bütün memâlik-i Dânişmendiye'yi istîlâ etmek için Amasya'yı merkez-i hükûmet ittihâz etmeğe lüzûm görmezdi. Kezâlik Emîr Gümüştigin sülâle-i Dânişmendiye'den değildir.³⁴⁴
In Modern English
Melik Yağıbasan (Yağı Basan Han), ruler of Amasya, is the son of Sultan İbrahim Han, who was earlier ruler of Anatolia; this is written in his endowment deed dated 560 [1164-65]. He is not a son of Melik Muhammed Gâzi or of Emîr Gümüştigin Gâzi. This Yağıbasan Gâzi is in all likelihood a grandson, through his daughter, of Yağıbasan ibn Muhammed ibn Alp Arslan, emir of Antioch, who died a martyr in 491 [1097-98]. A record of him has also been seen under the name Yağıbasan ibn Ismail ibn ed-Dânişmend.
The old records show that Yağıbasan Han, ruler of Amasya, had a large han built in İçerişehir in Amasya, in today's Kurşunlu Quarter, for which reason the place was called Mahalle-i Yağıbasaniyye and Hân-ı Yağıbasan Mahallesi; that he lived in Gök Medrese Quarter, by the roadside, in the palace of Melik Dânişmend Ahmed Gâzi and in the gardens in front of it known as Altı Bahçe, and that he afterwards endowed all of these places. The place of the said ruler's palace is now called Yukarı Bakacak, and the southern part of the Altı Bahçeler area is called Aşağı Bakacak.
It is understood from the old records that came to hand that this ruler's atabeg in Amasya was Celâlüddevle Mahmûd ibn el-Merhûm Fetih Han, his chief emir Hüsâmüddevle Hasan ibn İltigin, and his chief kadı Kemâleddîn Ebu'l-Fezâ'il İlyâs ibn Hasan el-Horasânî. Indeed, the kadı who signed the endowment deed of 560 is "the sheikh of Islam and of the Muslims" (Şeyhü'l-İslâm ve'l-müslimîn) Sadreddîn Muhammed ibn el-Merhûm İlyâs el-Horasânî.
Celâlüddevle Mahmûd Gâzi Bey had a mescit built around the Fetih Gâzi Garden in today's Temennâ Quarter and endowed these gardens, which had come down from his father and grandfather; Hüsâmüddevle Hasan Gâzi Bey likewise had another mescit built around Hân-ı Yağıbasan and endowed a village called Emîr Hasan Alanı (Çiftliği) in the Öz District. This information comes from the records. The brother of this Hüsâmüddevle, Sehmüddevle Hüseyin Gâzi, was emir of Merzifon, and his mosque, endowment and estate there are known in the records by the name "Sehmüddevle." He is also called Sihâmuddevle.
As inferred from historical research and the course of events, the Danishmendid ruler Yağıbasan Han moved Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey from Amasya to Niksar, then sent him to Kayseri and gave him its emirate. Weary of this treatment, Melik Muhammed Gâzi drew some Turkmen beys to his side, declared hostility toward his nephew Yağıbasan Gâzi, and tried to seize the Malatya and Sivas regions.
He first marched on Malatya, killed in battle its emir, his nephew Aynuddevle Ahmed Bey, and took Malatya; then he came to take Sivas. Yağıbasan Han, ruler of Amasya, went to Sivas with the force he had and supported the governor Arslan Togmuş Bey. The two sides fought near Sivas, around today's town of Azîziye; Melik Muhammed Gâzi and Arslan Togmuş Gâzi Beys were killed in 537 [1142-43], and Yağıbasan Han won the battle and secured his independence in the Danishmendid realm.
It is written in Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr that "in 537 Melik Muhammed ibn ed-Dânişmend, emir of Kayseri, Malatya and the Rum frontier, was killed, and his land was occupied by Melik Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî, ruler of Konya." But in Ikdu'l-Cümân it is recorded that "upon the death of the said melik in 538, Mes'ûd occupied the entire Danishmendid realm." In the Catalogue of Islamic Coins the deaths of Melik Muhammed Gâzi and Aynuddevle Gâzi Bey, emir of Malatya, are shown as dated 537.
In the biography of Abdülmecîd el-Herevî, kadı of Anatolia, in Tabakât-ı Hanefiyye, it is written that the said kadı migrated from the Danishmendid realm to Damascus in 535 [1140-41] and three months later to Kayseri, and died there as kadı in 537; in Târîh-i Âl-i Dânişmend it is written that Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey was sent from Amasya to Niksar and then to Kayseri. It is also known that the tomb of Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey is around the town of Azîziye. From the putting together of these historical records the conclusion emerges that Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey took the throne in 529 [1134-35], was deposed in 535 and was killed in 537. This is precisely the event recorded in Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr.
After this event, Muhammed Gâzi Bey's younger son Zünnûn Bey, who remained in Kayseri, took Kayseri and declared his emirate. But when the elder son, Melik İbrahim Bey, returned from the war and drove his younger brother out of Kayseri, he too declared his independence. Meanwhile Bedreddîn Şâhenşâh Bey, son of Arslan Togmuş Bey, the emir of Sivas killed in the war, also set out to take revenge on the sons of Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey.
Again at this time, Alp Arslan Gâzi Bey, famous as Zülkarneyn Gâzi, son of Aynuddevle Ahmed Bey who had been killed while emir of Malatya, declared his emirate in Malatya and he too occupied himself with the sons of Melik Gâzi Bey. The Greeks, seeing so much internal confusion, fought Yağıbasan Han and took the Trabzon, Sinop and Kastamonu areas by force; the Danishmendid realm was falling into complete disarray.
This interregnum of the Danishmendids had given rise to a harmful danger, that the Danishmendid realm might be left to Greek occupation. Seeing this, the Seljuk Sultan Mes'ûd summoned his brother-in-law Güdül Bey, governor of Ankara, drew him to his side, gave him the post of commander-in-chief, added a large force to him and sent him to Amasya, ostensibly to help Yağıbasan Gâzi. He himself took another sufficient force and by force dispersed Melik İbrahim, Zünnûn and Zülkarneyn Beys, who were occupied with one another; after taking the Kayseri and Sivas areas he followed Güdül Bey and came to Amasya by way of Tokat.
When Sultan Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî came to Amasya he sent Yağıbasan Gâzi Bey to Niksar and took the whole Danishmendid realm in 538 [1143-44]; that is, he became ruler of all Anatolia. Making Amasya, the center of the Danishmendid government, his own seat of government, he ended the Danishmendid government.
For since Amasya was the Danishmendid seat of government, Sultan Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî saw that it was necessary to sit at the center of the Danishmendid government in order to abolish that government and to give no opportunity to events expected to arise in the future. Sultan Mes'ûd's making Amasya his seat of government was not merely for the beauty of its air and water, but to benefit from the policy of seizing the Danishmendid lands entirely. This is precisely the event recorded in Ikdu'l-Cümân. For the sources together record that Sultan Mes'ûd had the town of Simre built in Amasya in 538.
The Danishmendid government in Amasya lasted a full seventy-one years, between 467 and 538 [1074-75 and 1143-44]; six persons, named Melik Ahmed, Ismail, İbrahim, Sunkur, Muhammed and Yağıbasan, ran the government. Because this government was founded on the Greek frontier, they lived in constant war and gaza and earned the honorific title "Gâzi." For this reason all of them are famous under the title "Melik Gâzi."
It cannot be denied that at the beginning of its founding this Danishmendid government showed military strength to the degree of completely wiping out Greek influence from Anatolia. It was thanks to the influence of this government, which extended its western border as far as Üsküdar and collected taxes and customs from ships passing through the Bosphorus, that the Turks could settle permanently in Anatolia; indeed, the Seljuks' governmental influence in Anatolia continued to exist with their material help.
The Danishmendids are not, as supposed, people of unknown lineage who sprang from a children's school teacher. To claim this one must forget how much attention and care the Turks of that time gave to lineages, especially to irises. It is evident that Turks who removed a prince from his throne because he was not an iris, and who showed such ability and valor as to produce so much national pride and so many religious monuments, were not at the level of gathering around such a school teacher.
As set out above, the Danishmendids were from the beys and khan's children of the "Kınık" tribe to which the Seljuks belonged, descendants of Togan Han, who formed a clan under the name "Toganlu," and since they were cousins of the Seljuks, they held great influence and prestige among the Turks and Turkmens.
Yağıbasan Gâzi had coins struck with Arabic inscriptions. As seen in the Catalogue of Islamic Coins, on the obverse of one of his coins is "el-melikü'l-âdil Nizâmeddîn Yağıbasan bin Melik Gâzi" (an Arabic text meaning "the just melik Nizâmeddîn Yağıbasan, son of Melik Gâzi"), around it "Bin Melik Dânişmend Zahîr Emîrü'l-Mü'minîn" (a text meaning "son of Melik Dânişmend, supporter of the Commander of the Faithful"), and on the reverse is drawn a half-length figure turned to the right, with curly hair tied with a wreath; this picture must be a depiction of Yağıbasan Gâzi. It is plainly seen in the catalogue that all the coins with Greek inscriptions among the Danishmendids belong to Melik Muhammed Gâzi Bey and his children.
Judging by the way the Danishmendid meliks are listed in order under the heading "The Danishmendids in Sivas" in the catalogue, it appears that their seat of government was Sivas, contrary to the historical records. Yet that the seat of government of the Danishmendid meliks was the city of Amasya is understood from what Târîh-i Âl-i Dânişmend relates, and the Danishmendid works reported to be in Amasya support this.
If Amasya had not been the seat of the Danishmendid government, Sultan Mes'ûd-ı Selçûkî would not have considered it necessary to make Amasya his seat of government in order to seize all the Danishmendid lands. In the same way, Emîr Gümüştigin is not of the Danishmend dynasty.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mestûr: written
- kuyûd-ı atîka: old records
- istidlâl: drawing a conclusion based on evidence
- hafîd: grandson
- vakıf-nâme, vakfiye: endowment deed
- emîrü'l-ümerâ: emir of emirs, chief emir
- maktûl: killed
- i'zâm: sending
- hal': deposition from the throne
- herc ü merc: confusion, disarray
- fetret: a period of vacuum and confusion
- makarr-ı hükûmet: seat of government
- meskûkât: coins
- tersîm: drawing, depicting
- mekteb-i sıbyân: children's school
- iris: in the text, a Turkmen noble on both the mother's and father's side
Who Was Yağıbasan
In today's encyclopedias Yağıbasan is a son of Emîr Gazi and a brother of Melik Muhammed; Hüsameddin counts him as a son of Sultan İbrahim. The coin inscription Hüsameddin himself reports, however, says "son of Melik Gâzi." That is, the two pieces of information on the same page do not support each other; today's account takes the inscription on the coin as its basis. After Melik Muhammed's death Yağıbasan became melik of Sivas and, by marrying his brother's widow, also became influential in Kayseri. He is mentioned as ruler of Sivas, Niksar, Tokat and Amasya. In 1150 he took Ünye, Samsun and Bafra on the Black Sea coast, and in 1155, upon the death of Sultan Mesud I, Amasya, Ankara and Cappadocia were given to him. He allied with Byzantium and, with the encouragement of Zengid Nûreddin, fought against Kılıçarslan II; after Kılıçarslan took Sivas he went to his son-in-law Şâhinşah at Çankırı and died there on 4 August 1164. He is reported to lie in the graveyard of the madrasa he had built in Niksar. In the inscription in Niksar dated 552 [1157] his title is written as "el-Melikü'l-Âlim, el-Âdil, Nizâmüddünyâ ve'd-dîn Ebü'l-Muzaffer Yağıbasan b. Melik Gāzî b. Melik Dânişmend Zahîrü Emîri'l-Mü'minîn"; this is very similar to the coin inscription Hüsameddin reports. Some sources also mention the Yağıbasan Madrasa in Tokat with the date 1152.
Records and Buildings in Amasya
The emîrü'l-ümerâ Hüsâmüddevle Hasan ibn İltigin in the text also appears in architectural history. The Çağlayan (Çalâkçalık) Bridge over the Yeşilırmak on the Amasya-Çorum road was built in the first half of the 12th century by Hüsâmüddevle Hasan, son of İltigin Gazi, one of Yağıbasan's emirs. This bridge, seventy meters long and with six arches, is said to bear the earliest example of the dated pavilions that would later become common on Ottoman bridges. That the person Hüsameddin mentions as Yağıbasan's chief emir bears the same name as the emir who built the bridge supports the records Hüsameddin reports.
The Yağıbasan Han and the Danishmend Gazi Palace are Danishmendid buildings mentioned in the sources but which have not survived to the present. The bibliography of the entry on the Danishmendids also points to Hüsameddin's book for this information. The present-day equivalents of the quarter names Yukarı Bakacak, Aşağı Bakacak and Altı Bahçeler are not stated in the sources I read.
Did the Danishmendid Government Really End in 538
Hüsameddin writes that Sultan Mesud took Amasya in 538 [1143-44] and ended the Danishmendid government. In today's account the Danishmendids do not end at this date. Mesud, taking advantage of internal Danishmendid quarrels, marched on Sivas in 1142 and took the city; Yağıbasan, however, is still mentioned in 1152 as ruler of Sivas, Niksar, Tokat and Amasya. The Sivas branch of the dynasty ends only with the campaigns of Kılıçarslan II: Danishmendid rule at Kayseri and Zamantı closes around 1169, or in some accounts in 1171 or 1173, while Sivas, Niksar and Tokat are taken in 1175. The Malatya branch survived for some time longer. It is true that Sultan Mesud had a city called Simre built near Amasya; but the sources do not give its date. Hüsameddin's date of 538 could not be verified in this respect.
The End of Muhammed
Hüsameddin relates that Melik Muhammed was killed in 537 in the battle he fought against Yağıbasan near Sivas, and bases this on Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr. In today's sources Melik Muhammed dies in Kayseri on 6 December 1143; his grave is said to be in the tomb on the qibla side of the Great Mosque. After Muhammed's death it is Yağıbasan who opposes the heir Zünnûn. The battle near Azîziye and the killing of Muhammed that Hüsameddin describes do not appear in the sources I read. However, the names Zünnûn, Aynüddevle, Yağıbasan and Zülkarneyn being mentioned in contention is common to both accounts.
The Name Dânişmend and the Origin of the Dynasty
The "children's school teacher" account that Hüsameddin objects to arises from the Persian meaning "scholar" of the word Dânişmend. The sources state that Dânişmend Gazi belonged to a Turkmen family living in Azerbaijan and that his real name was Taylu; Ibn al-Athir says he received this title because he taught the Turks. According to some sources Dânişmend Gazi is the maternal uncle of Süleymanşah, founder of the Anatolian Seljuk State. The information on the Kınık tribe and the lineage of Togan Han that Hüsameddin gives was not found in the contemporary sources I read. The information that the Danishmendids were cousins of the Seljuks likewise could not be verified.
Points That Could Not Be Verified
The information that the Danishmendid border reached Üsküdar and that taxes were collected from ships passing through the Bosphorus does not appear in the sources I read. It is related that in 1129 the Danishmendids controlled Ankara, Çankırı, Kastamonu and the coastal regions on the Black Sea coast; the continuous contention with Byzantium was in this area. The view that Emîr Gümüştigin was not of the dynasty, for the reason above, does not fit today's account: according to the catalogue Hüsameddin describes in a footnote, Dânişmend Gazi took the throne in 464 and Gümüştigin Gâzi's emirate began in 477; today's encyclopedia lists also count Gümüştegin as the second ruler after Dânişmend Gazi. The information, which Hüsameddin cites from the endowment deed, that Yağıbasan was a "son of Sultan İbrahim" was not verified in contemporary sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 329–331. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Abdülkerim Özaydın, "Dânişmendliler", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/danismendliler
- M. Baha Tanman, "Dânişmendliler (Mimari)", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/danismendliler#2-mimari
- Faruk Sümer, "Mesud I", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mesud-i
- "Kayseri", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kayseri
- Abdülkerim Özaydın, "Dânişmend Gazi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/danismend-gazi
Other sources