AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Esen Bay-Emîr Bedreddîn Ebü'l-mekârim

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 333 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasyalıdır. Amasya vâlisi Nasıreddîn Şehinşâh-ı Selçûkî Atabegi olan Emîr İmâdeddîn Sûlî Bay’ın mahdûmudur. Amasya’da emâret eden Şehzâdegân-ı Selçuk’a hizmetler ve Rûmlarla gazâlar ederek gâzi unvânını aldı. Sinop fethinde bulundu. 616 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Meşâhir-i ümerâ-yi Selçûkiyyeden idi. Esen Gâzi demekle meşhûrdur.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He is a native of Amasya. He is the son of Emir İmâdeddin Sûlî Bay, who was the atabeg of the Seljuk prince Nâsıreddin Şehinşâh, governor of Amasya. He served the Seljuk princes who held the emirate in Amasya, and by fighting wars against the Rum he earned the title of gazi. He was present at the conquest of Sinop. He died after 616 [1219-20]. He was one of the well-known emirs of the Seljuks. He is known as Esen Gâzi.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • atabeg: a senior emir responsible for the upbringing and affairs of a prince
  • Şehzâdegân-ı Selçuk: the Seljuk princes
  • emâret: emirate, office of governing
  • gazâ: war fought for the sake of the faith
  • Rûm: the Christian Rum people and states in Anatolia
  • meşâhir-i ümerâ-yı Selçûkiyye: the well-known emirs of the Seljuks
  • mahdûm: son

The Conquest of Sinop

Sinop surrendered to İzzeddin Keykâvus I on 26 Cemâziyelâhir 611 (2 November 1214). The sultan had brought before the city Alexios I Komnenos, the Rum emperor of Trebizond, whom he held captive; the people of Sinop surrendered the city on condition that Alexios be released and that those who wished to leave be allowed to go. The next day the sultan signed an agreement with Alexios and sent him back to his country. From this date until the defeat at Kösedağ in 1243 the Empire of Trebizond recognized the Seljuk state as its superior. Sinop was the most important trading port on the Black Sea, and its conquest increased the strength and prestige of the Seljuk state.

After the conquest, the repair of the walls was given to the Seljuk emirs. One of the inscriptions at Sinop dated 612 (1215/16) states that the emir of Amasya, Mübârizeddin Behrâmşâh son of Kaymaz, repaired two towers, two bodies of wall and three arches "together with the emirs of Amasya and its districts." A second inscription found recently shows that the same team repaired two more bodies of wall and one more arch; this points to the Amasya emirs having undertaken a considerable work at Sinop and to their being financially strong. In the inscription texts that could be read, Esen Bay's name does not appear, and the emirs of Amasya are mentioned collectively. Hüsameddin's "he was present at the conquest of Sinop" therefore does not conflict with these documents and agrees with the information that the Amasya emirs took part in the work after the conquest; but that Esen Bay was in this team could not be directly verified.

Amasya in the Seljuk Period

After the Danishmendids, Amasya was joined to Seljuk lands during the reign of Kılıç Arslan II. When Kılıç Arslan divided the country among his eleven sons, he gave Amasya to Melik Nizâmeddin Argunşah; in 1196 Rükneddin Süleymanşah II took the city back from his brother. In the Seljuk period the city was called "dârü'l-izz" (abode of glory and honour), and in the time of Alâeddin Keykubad I it was one of the administrative centres of the state. Hüsameddin's "Seljuk princes who held the emirate in Amasya" agrees with the city's tradition of being a centre assigned to princes. Which prince Nâsıreddin Şehinşâh, named in the text, was, who his father was and in which years he governed Amasya could not be found in the sources.

A similarity of names should also be noted: the father in this entry, "Sûlî Bay", bears the same name as "Sûlî Bey", who is mentioned as a son of Esen Bey Sâdeddin in Hüsameddin's entry 238. Whether there is any kinship between the two Sûlîs cannot be understood from the sources; nothing can be said on this.

No direct information on Esen Bay, his father Sûlî Bay or Şehinşâh was found in other sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 333–333. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents