Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey

In Modern English

The person in question, called "Emîr Ahmed Bey" in Azîz-i Esterebâdî's Bezm ü Rezm, "Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha" in official documents, and "Emîr-i Mu'azzam Fahreddîn Ahmed Çelebi" in the pen of Hüsâmeddîn Kâtî, was the second son of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. Because he was "Devâtdâr" (inkwell-bearer) during his father's reign, he was called "Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha."

Emîr Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey, immediately after his father's death in the known manner, was seated on the throne of Amasya at Turhal by the unanimous vote of the pillars of the state in the month of Ramadan 783 [1381]. He became the third ruler of the independent emirate of Amasya. His mother was the daughter of Hâce Alî Şâh; he himself was the son-in-law of Bâyezîd Bey, ruler of Kastamonu, and of Ali Pasha, son of Bâbukşâh.

The contemporaries of Emîr Ahmed Pasha Bey were these: the ruler of the Ottoman country Hünkâr Murâd Bey, the ruler of the Karaman country Alî Bey, the ruler of Kastamonu Bâyezîd Bey, the emir of Canik and Samsun Tâceddîn Bey, the emir of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî Melik Ahmed Bey, the emir of Erzincan Tayerten Bey, the emir of Sivas Kadı Burhâneddîn Ahmed Çelebi.

The influence of Hünkâr Murâd Bey had entered toward the interior of Anatolia by way of Ankara. The first to benefit from this was the emirate of Amasya. The influence of the others was limited only to the provinces of which they were emirs. Eretnazâde Ca'fer Bey, emir of Kayseri, contented himself with the title of emir alone and busied himself with his own pleasures. The one governing the province was Cüneyd Bey, son of Ömer Bey.

Cüneyd Bey was Kadı Burhân's greatest enemy and a sincere friend of Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya. Bâyezîd Bey, ruler of Kastamonu, was both Ahmed Bey's father-in-law and his ally. Melik Ahmed and Tâceddîn Beys had long since bowed to the influence of the emirate of Amasya. Şeyh Necîb Bey, emir of Tokat, had in any case been appointed by Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.

Kadı Burhâneddîn, having found Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, who opposed him most and whom he envied intensely, alone and having killed him, could not contain his joy as if he had conquered the world; he became unaware of what he was doing, distributed letters of victory in every direction, and gave himself the title "Sultan."

After killing an emir as virtuous, just, and rare as Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, instead of appreciating his worth and showing at least respect to his body, he had the pasha's head cut off and sent to Sivas and then to Erzincan. He had the pasha's body humiliated as far as he could.

Kadı Burhân carried out two kinds of devilry. From both he had obtained, even if only temporarily, as much useful result as he hoped. The first was that he spread everywhere his victory over a military unit in which Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was killed as if it were a complete victory that had scattered the whole army of Hacı Pasha.

His aim in this was to force Şeyh Necîb Bey, emir of Tokat, to surrender and take the whole province of Tokat without a fight, and also to draw to himself Melik Ahmed and Tayerten Beys, emirs of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî and Erzincan. His sending Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha's severed head to Erzincan was based on this thought.

The second was that he wrote an openly worded letter of thanks addressed to the scholars and emirs in Amasya who were not for the war, and sent it to them in such a way that it would fall into the hands of the emir of Amasya; this forged letter did fall into the hands of Devâtdâr Ahmed Bey. His aim in this too was to sow the seed of discord between the notables of Amasya and the emir, to cast the emir into suspicion, to put the notables in a difficult position, to force the notables who were not for the war to flee Amasya, or to set them against one another, cause internal strife, and take Amasya.

In the Bezm ü Rezm, written at Kadı Burhân's command and approval, these two tricks and devilries, one quite openly and the other obscurely, can be seen and sensed, and their traces are evident.

On account of this forged letter, the chief military judge Cemâleddîn Muhammed Aksarâyî and the scholar İzzeddîn Hasan Çelebi went to Konya; the mufti İzzeddîn Muhammed and the judge Mü'eyyideddîn Muhammed Çelebi went to the Hejaz; the leading scholar Celâleddîn Muhammed bin Resûl went to Egypt; Aksarâyîzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî and Cemâleddîn Saferşâh Çelebi of Merzifon, together with the emir Yazarlızâde Cemâleddîn Fîrûz Bey, went to Bursa.

Yet none of them had been a partisan of Kadı Burhân or had made contact with him. But they could not explain their trouble. Either their heads would be cut off or they would be banished in a bad way. For this reason they were forced to flee.

When they fled, among the leading scholars Mevlânâ Cemâleddîn Yûsuf bin Ahî Hüseyin en-Nigîdî took the post of chief military judge, Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Yûsuf bin Halîl el-Malatî the post of judge of Amasya, and Mevlânâ Sa'îdeddîn Mevhûb bin ez-Ziyârî the post of fatwa authority. Among the great madrasa professors, Fahreddîn Osmân et-Türkmânî acted as deputy to the judge.

Emîr Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey and the pillars of government, sitting at Turhal and watching Kadı Burhân's situation, had decided to fight a decisive war with Kadı Burhân. But they were waiting for a suitable time. They had found ways to communicate with the captive Alî Pasha and Pîr Alî Bey and were giving them the necessary instructions.

Kadı Burhân, however, drunk with victory, returned at once from Kazova and entered the city of Tokat in state and splendor. Emîr Şeyh Necîb, frightened by the rumor that Hacı Şâdgeldi's army had been completely scattered, met him and had been obliged to go along with Kadı Burhân until he learned the truth of the matter.

But Kadı Burhân's returning at once from the battlefield and coming to Tokat showed very clearly that he shrank from meeting the main force Hacı Şâdgeldi had left behind, and it emboldened the beys opposed to him against him.

Among them Seydî Hüsâm Bey, placing himself at the head of the captive beys and of Şeyh Necîb, Ahi Nevrûz, Ferîdûn, and Nebî Beys, urged them not to be deceived at all by Kadı Burhân's displays and words, reminded them of the strength and awe-inspiring might of Emîr Ahmed Bey, bey of Amasya, and called them to an alliance against Kadı Burhân, saying:

"Hacı Şâdgeldi was an aged man. He died. Thanks be to God, he left a young and robust son; his manliness and valor are many times higher than his own. The beys of Ulus, Kayseri, and Erzincan, together with Tâceddîn Bey of Canitli (Canik) and the other frontier beys and the great men, must ally with him."

Seydî Hüsâm's aim was to seat Eretnazâde Muhammed Bey on the throne of the emirate under the regency of Bâbukşâhzâde Alî Pasha, who had been taken captive at the death of Hacı Şâdgeldi, and to become vizier himself. The realization of this aim depended on an alliance with Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, who was the strongest and most influential of all the emirs. Alî Pasha was also the father-in-law of the said emir.

Seydî Hüsâm understood that a long time would have to be waited to reach this aim. By a shorter route, he sought a way to remove as soon as possible the existence of Kadı Burhân, who was the greatest obstacle and enemy to this aim.

For this he made his friends accept inviting Kadı Burhân in a friendly manner to a garden outside Tokat and doing away with him there. They would apply to Kadı Burhân the trick Kadı Burhân had played on Kılıç Arslan.

But Kadı Burhân had spies everywhere. He grew suspicious of the invitation made to him. The wrong he had done to Kılıç Arslan came to his mind. Then, although he had learned the inner meaning of the invitation, he did not let it be sensed. He took the road of rewarding the allied emirs in various ways and separating them from one another.

He summoned to his side Alî Pasha, son of Bâbukşâh, one of the allied beys, rewarded him with fine words and great gifts, and informed him that he had forgiven him and that he could return to his homeland whenever he wished. Alî Pasha asked for all that Hacı Şâdgeldi had left behind. Kadı Burhân gave it without hesitation.

At this time the emir of Tokat learned the truth of the matter, took a stand against Kadı Burhân, and began preparations with the allied beys. The moment the allied beys understood Kadı Burhân's weakness, they found their opportunity and raided his troops. They came within a hair of scattering Kadı Burhân's army and taking him captive. Kadı Burhân could save his life only by fleeing completely alone.

After this raid Kadı Burhân raised his army from the city of Tokat and went out. Emîr Şeyh Necîb also took refuge in the fortress and did not let Kadı Burhân approach the city. Kadı Burhân had neither the strength nor the equipment to besiege and press the fortress.

Kadı Burhân was forced to leave even from before Tokat and went to Artukâbâd. On the one hand he wrote to Sivas and asked for new troops; on the other he sent Hâce Yâkût Bey as envoy to Turhal, to Emîr Ahmed Bey.

Kadı Burhân was trying to dissuade Emîr Ahmed Bey from his passion for avenging his father, proposing that he be content with the province of Amasya and go back to Amasya, and informing him that he himself would go to Sivas.

The envoy Hâce Bey was not Emîr Ahmed Bey's hand. From these offers of Kadı Burhân his helplessness and despair were understood. Emîr Ahmed Bey's showing perseverance and endurance angered Kadı Burhân. With the new force he had received he marched on Emîr Ahmed Bey.

Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, met Kadı Burhân with his troops and fought fiercely. But both sides suffered losses. Neither could Kadı Burhân win, nor did Ahmed Bey return defeated.

But when Kadı Burhân understood that he could not secure a decisive victory over Ahmed Bey, he repeated the offers he had made earlier through Hâce Bey. Ahmed Bey thereupon turned back from Turhal and had come as far as the place called Çengel.

Here it was seen that the Kastamonu auxiliary force that Emîr Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey had requested earlier had arrived only then, under the command of İsfendiyâr Bey. İsfendiyâr Bey was Emîr Ahmed Bey's brother-in-law. Talking big from on high, he turned Ahmed Bey back.

Emîr Ahmed Bey, arranging his troops well, turned back from the place Çengel with İsfendiyâr Bey's troops. He came to Turhal by way of Komenât. Seydî Hüsâm, who longed for Kadı Burhân's defeat, immediately carried this news to Kadı Burhân.

On this news Kadı Burhân turned back and came to Kazova. Hearing that Ahmed Bey had come to Turhal, he marched on Turhal. Around Turhal the two armies clashed once more. But İsfendiyâr Bey stood almost like a spectator. He took part in the battle very rarely. It was the Amasya troops who fought.

Ahmed Bey had decided that no good or benefit could come from İsfendiyâr Bey's auxiliary force, and Kadı Burhân, having suffered considerable damage, understood that there was no use in continuing the war.

Thereupon the two sides came to terms a second time. Ahmed Bey turned back with İsfendiyâr Bey and came to Amasya. Kadı Burhân went to Zile and stayed ten days. Then he left there too and went to Sivas.

For Kadı Burhân had received letters of complaint that Ahmed Bey, son of Kutlu Bey, one of the famous emirs, was striking and plundering the surroundings of Sivas and threatening Sivas. This too was one reason he could not continue the war.

Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, entered Amasya as emir at the end of the year 783 [1381]. He installed İsfendiyâr Bey in the Girls' Palace. He stationed his troops in the necessary places. He tried to bind up the wounds the war had opened.

In this war Kadı Burhân gained nothing from the emirate of Amasya. He only gained independence from the killing of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. But the losses of the emirate of Amasya were significant. The loss of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was the greatest of the losses. Then the province of Sinop passed to the administration of Bâyezîd Bey, Ahmed Bey's father-in-law. Tâceddîn Bey, emir of Canik and Samsun, began to act on his own.

Moreover İsfendiyâr Bey had settled and was staying in Amasya. His long stay gave the impression that Bâyezîd Bey would seize Amasya and its dependencies. Beyleroğlu Mahmûd Bey, emir of Osmancık, did not recognize the emirate of Amasya and obeyed Bâyezîd Bey.

Emîr Ahmed Bey was overwhelmed by the attacks and tricks of Kadı Burhân on one side and Tâceddîn Bey, bey of Canik, on the other. The plundering, bandit-like conduct inside the country of the Cavunkar (Çonkar) Oğulları, who had fallen for Kadı Burhân's incitement, weakened the emirate still further.

Ahmed Bey was a wise and far-sighted person. His father's vizier, Torumtayzâde Sirâceddîn Muhammed Çelebi, had returned wounded from the battle. He left him in the vizier's post. He took as his adviser and aide Halifetzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey, the oldest of the emirs of Amasya.

Ahmed Bey, while expecting help and protection from his own father-in-law, was very angry at his attempting to seize Amasya. İsfendiyâr Bey's not leaving Amasya greatly distressed him. For he could not send forces against the rebels rising from every side.

The adviser of the emirate, Alî Bey, had once lived in Ankara for eight years, had seen the strength of the Ottoman Turks and the life and activities of their sultans, and had admired them greatly. He considered the influence and awe-inspiring might of the Ottomans sufficient both against Kadı Burhân and against the emir of Kastamonu and the other beys.

Ahmed Bey understood very well that if he joined the Ottoman force Alî Bey proposed and relied on it, he would both be safe from his rivals' attacks and strengthen Turkishness against Europe; he considered accepting the protection of the Ottoman state more suitable than applying to the Egyptian government.

Ahmed Bey wanted this important matter to be realized as soon as possible. Persons such as Süleyman Şâhoğlu Kutlu, his paternal uncle's son and one of the pillars of the state; his brothers-in-law Yahşî, Biçâr, Torumtayoğlu Muhammed, and Atabeyoğlu Abdullah Beys; and the judge and mufti and the great scholar Muslihoğlu Celâleddîn Abdurrahmân found this thought very fitting.

Thereupon Ahmed and Alî Beys began to correspond with Alî and Saferşâh Çelebis and Fîrûz Bey, among the Amasyans who had gone to Bursa the previous year and been received there with extraordinary hospitality. Aksarâyîzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî and Cemâleddîn Saferşâh were very virtuous, powerful, and masters of speech.

These presented to the Ottoman ruler Hünkâr Murâd Bey and to his vizier Hayreddîn Halîl Pasha the situation of Amasya, the movements of Bâyezîd Bey, and İsfendiyâr Bey's long stay in Amasya, asked for their protection, and had received the answer of acceptance.

To be protected from Kadı Burhân's attacks, Eretnazâde Ca'fer, emir of Kayseri, and his aide Cüneyd Bey had also applied to the Egyptian government and asked for the protection of Melik Zâhir Berkûk. For Kadı Burhân was a very aggressive and cruel man.

The Ottoman ruler Hünkâr Murâd Bey, duly appreciating the applications of the notables of Amasya, had given forces to Süleymanşâh, son of Bâyezîd Bey, emir of Kastamonu, who had asked him for help to remove İsfendiyâr Bey from Amasya, and had set him in revolt.

Süleymanşâh was to march on his father and seize the emirate of Kastamonu. For his father was crippled. All the affairs of government had been left in the hands of his brother İskender Bey. İskender Bey was killed while fighting his brother. Bâyezîd Bey at once summoned his son İsfendiyâr Bey, who was in Amasya.

İsfendiyâr Bey in 785 [1383-84] took his troops and left Amasya. He went to Kastamonu and fought his brother Süleymanşâh. Süleymanşâh was defeated and took refuge with Hünkâr Murâd Bey, thereby saving both his own life from death and Amasya from seizure by İsfendiyâr Bey.

Makrîzî says in his "Kitâbü's-Sülûk": "In the year 785 men came from the beys of Sencâr, Tekrît, and Kayseriyyetü'r-Rûm (the Kayseri of Anatolia) and asked that their countries be of the Egyptian lands and that they themselves be among the Egyptian beys and governors. It was accepted and orders were written to each by the sultan. The sending of sultanic robes of honor was commanded."

The moment İsfendiyâr Bey left and went from Amasya, Emîr Ahmed Bey, grown stronger, fought and scattered the Çonkars who were threatening Amasya. He put to flight Bahtiyâroğlu Kara Devletşâh, who had placed himself at their head. He appointed Timurhânoğlu Koç Hüseyin Bey emir of Çorum and brought those parts under security.

After this he turned back and came to Osmancık. He removed from Osmancık Beyleroğlu Mahmûd Bey, who regarded himself as an emir appointed by Bâyezîd, and sent him to Tokat. In his place he made his brother Abdullah Bey bey of Osmancık.

Against Tâceddîn Bey, who was acting arbitrarily in the Canik and Samsun direction, he sent Kubâdoğlu Alî Bey, emir of Ladik. He gave him the emirate of Samsun. In this way he subdued and brought those parts too under order. The new bey became emir of Ladik.

For Alî Bey was the son of Keykubâd, son of Sultan Altunbaş. He was a man who had contended and fought with Tâceddîn Bey most. By silencing him with his courage and valor he had become famous as "Kubâdoğlu."

The emirate of Amasya at this time consisted of the provinces of Amasya, Tokat, Çorum, and Samsun. Ahmed Bey's good administration showed that he was worthy of his father's post. Books were written in his name and he had reached general respect.

In the time of Ahmed Bey, among the leading scholars Hüsâmeddîn Hüseyin el-Kâtî, Hüsâmeddîn Hasan el-Hôyî, Sadreddîn Artuk el-Gümüşî, Fahreddîn Osmân et-Türkmânî, Bedreddîn Mahmûd bin İbrâhim en-Niksârî, Şücâ'eddîn İlyâs bin el-Gümüşî, and the sheikh of the villages Hâfızeddîn Muhammed bin Halîl el-Habbâzî were very famous. Of these, Muslihzâde Celâleddîn Abdurrahmân Çelebi was a scribe and signatory of the divan. Hüsâm Dedezâde Celâleddîn Muhammed Çelebi, sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevi lodge, was also worthy of respect.

The famous scholar Hüsâmeddîn el-Kâtî had written the following on the cover of the Şerh-i Miftâh he wrote in the name of the said emir:

"For the library of the emir, scholar, just, supported, victorious, warrior, frontier guard, helper of the ghazis and mujahids, supporter of rulers and beys, Fahreddîn Ahmed Çelebi (may God strengthen his helpers and multiply his power manifold)."

Taşanoğlu Haydar Bey, who had earlier fled from Köprü and wandered masterless in the Elbistan and Maraş regions, had grown old. At this time he took refuge with Emîr Ahmed Bey, came with his wife and children, and settled in the region of "Koca Kayası" near Köprü. The emir of Köprü was his brother Umur Bey.

Likewise at this time, in place of Araboğlu Zeynel Bey, emir of Zeytun, who died, his son Zekeriyyâ Bey took over. Mahmûd Bey, bey of Hakala, also died and his son el-Hâc Muhammed Bey took his place. Mübârekşâh bin Toganşâh, emir of Turhal, was both Emîr Ahmed Bey's nephew and his brother-in-law.

Çongaroğlu Gözler and İnan Beys and Köpekoğlu Tosun Bey, acting at Kadı Burhân's incitement, had attempted to make trouble around Amasya and Tokat. They submitted to the forces sent, and Kadı Burhân's incitement came to nothing (786 [1384]).

Candaroğlu Bâyezîd Bey, emir of Kastamonu, hearing that the emirate of Amasya would join the Ottoman state, sent his son İsfendiyâr Bey to Amasya a second time. He asked the emir of Amasya, his son-in-law, that Amasya join the emirate of Kastamonu. İsfendiyâr Bey was charged with persuading and convincing Ahmed Bey.

İsfendiyâr Bey, who came to Amasya at the beginning of 787 [1385], was shown extraordinary respect and hospitality by Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, and was installed in the Girls' Palace. Because İsfendiyâr Bey stayed in this palace twice, the Girls' Palace had become famous as the "İsfendiyâr Palace," as the late Kâtib Çelebi says.

Fahreddîn Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, was already displeased with his brother-in-law İsfendiyâr Bey because of the earlier incident, and was not so weak as to need the protection of the Candaroğlu. Bâyezîd Bey, however, needed a force to protect himself against the pressure of Hünkâr Murâd Bey. For this he was vexed. Just at this time, when Kötürüm Bâyezîd Bey died in Kastamonu, İsfendiyâr Bey withdrew from Amasya at once. Fighting his brother Süleymanşâh repeatedly, he was able to seize the throne of the emirate. Ahmed Bey was thus freed from the troubles of this.

Kadı Burhân increased his attacks on every side. Sometimes he prepared forces to occupy Kayseri, went to the surroundings of Kayseri, struck and plundered, and returned; sometimes he attempted to take Tokat and Amasya, striking and slaughtering everywhere, and using every kind of trick sowed sedition among the emirs of Amasya, all but shaking the emirate of Amasya.

Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, allied with Tâceddîn, emir of Canik, and Ahmed Bey, son of Kutlu, and wanted to resist Kadı Burhân's attacks. But he could in no way break Kadı Burhân's predominance. For the old men were no longer at his head. Those who run an emirate are not the emirs alone; those who really run it are the select and prudent men.

Şeyh Aliyâr Çelebi, son of Divriklizâde Siyâvuş Çelebi, though one of the sheikhs and scholars of Amasya, had been sent as envoy to Kadı Burhân. Caught by Kadı Burhân's attraction, he stayed with him. The Çonkar beys famous as "Ulu, Sülemiş, Gözler," offended at Emîr Ahmed Bey over a trifle, had gone to Kadı Burhân.

Kadı Burhân was threatening Amasya by pampering these men and strengthening and emboldening the Çonkar tribe. Bahtiyâroğlu Devletşâh Bey, who had fled from Ankara and taken refuge with Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, went to Kadı Burhân, seized the fortress of Turhal, and was made emir by Kadı Burhân.

Before this Kadı Burhân had taken Tokat, removed Şeyh Necîb from there, and appointed Seydî Hüsâm emir of Tokat. But Emîr Ahmed Bey had drawn Seydî Hüsâm to himself and separated him from Kadı Burhân; then when Kadı Burhân dismissed him as well, Emîr Şeyh Necîb, the ally of Emîr Ahmed Bey, took Tokat, but submitted to Kadı Burhân.

In short, Kadı Burhân, pressing the emirate of Amasya extremely hard, laid claim to ownership of the districts and fortresses around Amasya. Hacı Bey, emir of Niksar, had died and his son Süleyman Bey had taken his place and attached himself to Kadı Burhân. In any case Ottoman protection could not tolerate delay.

Torumtayzâde Sirâceddîn Muhammed Çelebi, vizier of Emîr Ahmed Bey, was a wise man and master of speech. To bring about the protection and to report Kadı Burhân's attacks and the situation of Inner Anatolia, he had gone in person as far as Bursa and presented the situation to Hünkâr Murâd Bey.

Cüneyd Bey, emir of Kayseri, also, to ward off the evil of Kadı Burhân, prepared gifts and sent them to Egypt with his men in 787 [1385], and presented them to Melik Zâhir Berkûk on the sixth day of Shawwal, wishing his protection against Kadı Burhân. "Kitâbü's-Sülûk."

After coming from Bursa, Muhammed Çelebi went to Kadı Burhân and succeeded in making peace. He had stalled Kadı Burhân, the emirate of Amasya was protected for a while from the Judge's attacks, and time was gained until the arrival of the Ottoman forces.

For Karamanoğlu Alî Bey had broken his pledge by attacking the Ottoman country, and Candaroğlu İsfendiyâr Bey, angry that Hünkâr Murâd Bey had helped Süleyman Şâh, had begun a rebellious movement and, taking advantage of Hünkâr Murâd Bey's being occupied with the Karamanoğlu, had marched on Bolu.

As told in detail in the History of Turkey, after Sultan Murâd-ı Hünkâr scattered the Karamanids in 788 [1386], as told in detail in Bezm ü Rezm, he marched from Bolu toward Kastamonu and put İsfendiyâr Bey to flight, by battle, to Sinop.

İsfendiyâr Bey repented of the impropriety he had committed. But Sultan Murâd made İsfendiyâr Bey's brother Süleyman Şâh emir of Kastamonu. After this Sultan Murâd sent his own prince Yıldırım Sultan Bâyezîd with a military unit from Kastamonu to Amasya.

For Kadı Burhân, attempting to threaten the emirate of Amasya, had come as far as Turhal. While Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, was busy with defensive preparations against Kadı Burhân, he learned that Prince Yıldırım Sultan Bâyezîd had set out toward Amasya.

Beyleroğlu Abdullah Çelebi, emir of Osmancık, met Prince Yıldırım Bâyezîd Bey at the border of Osmancık, and Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, and the notables of Amasya met him as well in the town of Osmancık with a great and splendid ceremony.

Prince Yıldırım Sultan Bâyezîd sent an envoy from Osmancık to Kadı Burhân. He asked Kadı Burhân to withdraw from the border of the emirate of Amasya. He stayed for a while in the town of Osmancık.

Azîz bin Erdeşîr el-Esterebâdî says in his Bezm ü Rezm: "At this time (that is, while Kadı Burhân was staying at Turhal in Ramadan of the year 788) the son of Osman came to Osmancık and sent an envoy from there. The envoy came, reported the situation, and fulfilled his embassy. Sultan Kadı Burhân said, 'Osmancık is a country belonging to us. He must leave from there and go.'"

Prince Sultan Bâyezîd left Osmancık and came to the town of Gümüş. He lodged at the mansion of Hacı Muhammed Bey, emir of Gümüş. After staying here a day, he set out toward Amasya.

Prince Yıldırım Bâyezîd, in all probability, came to the city of Amasya at the beginning of Shawwal of the year 788 [1386], that is, on the first day of the Ramadan festival, in a great and glorious ceremony. He lodged in the palace of Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya. It was announced everywhere that the province of Amasya was counted among the Ottoman lands.

Mevlânâ Hadîdî, one of the scholars of Sultan Bayezid II, writes in his versified history of Yıldırım Sultan Bâyezîd's coming to Amasya as follows:

Again he gathered troops in great number
Yıldırım Khan marched on the land of Rûm
When he reached the land of Amasya
The bey of Amasya heard of it
At once he took the notables of his country
He came a good way to meet the Shah
He took the Shah and handed over his throne
"I am your servant, the land is yours," he said
He found high ranks in the Shah's presence
He found perfect peace in his majesty's company

Although the historians of Turkey have fallen into disagreement in determining the date of the accession of the province of Amasya to the Ottoman State, none has succeeded in cutting through the disputed question by presenting strong proof.

The course of events shows that the emirate of Amasya, by joining the Ottoman State and accepting the protection of the Ottoman sultans, was able to ensure in this way the continuation of the emirate in the dynasty of Hacı Şâdgeldi.

The emirate of Amasya was neither conquered by force by the Ottoman state nor did it fight and lose against the Ottoman Turks. On the contrary, with a national consciousness, by joining the national unity that the Ottoman Turks were trying to establish, it strove to exalt Turkishness.

The Amasyans, appreciating the great benefits of Turkish unity before anyone else, had been pioneers of the Ottoman State's influence and growth toward Inner Anatolia, that is, of the first establishment of Turkish unity in Anatolia.

Therefore the union of the Amasyans with the Ottoman Turks is a work of historically noteworthy alertness and culture. By this culture the Amasyans, and especially the dynasty of Hacı Şâdgeldi, became distinguished with great favor in the Turkish world and reached the highest posts in the Turkish state.

The historian and famous scholar Şeyhülislam Kemâl Paşazâde Şemseddîn Ahmed Şâh Çelebi, an Amasyan, says at the beginning of the seventh volume of his history, held in the Fâtih Library:

May Amasya flourish with justice
May it be far from calamity and the evil eye

"It was conquered in the time of the Sultan of the Mujahids, Hudâvendigâr Gâzi (may God make his proof luminous). The Ottomans became masters of that land in the days of his state and during his sultanate. The said late ruler gave the administration of that province to his eldest son Sultan Bâyezîd."

Since the said historian was charged with writing history around 915 [1509-10], his writing of an event of the year 788 without citing proof can be counted as a lone statement. It can be said that in history a lone statement cannot be accepted as proof.

But the joint endowment deed dated 9 Shaban 789 [1387] of es-sadru'l-ecell Seydî Murâd of Osmancık and el-Hâc Sancar (Sencer) completely removes the disputed question.

The Osmancık court reports the permission obtained from Sultan Murad I in order for these two persons to endow the village of Ovacık within the borders of Osmancık, which they owned in half shares, for the needs of Seydî Murâd's zawiya, as follows:

"By the permission of the exalted sultan, the great khan, the shadow of God in the world, lord of the kings of the Arabs and the Persians; who has had the pages of the state written in Arabic and Persian, spreader of safety and trust, distributor of justice and bounty, sultan of the ghazis and mujahids, breaker of the infidels and the rebellious, who wearied his exalted self for the comfort of the people and the peace of the land, helper of the world and religion, supporter of Islam and the Muslims; equipped with the special aid of the Lord of the worlds: Sultan Murâd Khan, son of the blessed, martyred, righteous Orhan, who passed to the forgiving mercy of God, son of the blessed, late, forgiven Sultan Osmân." (Defter-i Mücedded-i Anadolu 1, p. 247)

This canonical-law notification issuing from a court shows clearly that the district of Osmancık in the year 789 [1387] was within the disposal and administration of Sultan Murad Khan the First. For this reason they had obtained the permission of the said person for the endowment of the village of Ovacık. As is known, the district of Osmancık at that time was within the emirate of Amasya.

In all probability the said historian Kemâl Paşazâde had seen this endowment deed; he had heard through tradition from his ancestors and from the people of Amasya that Amasya, where he was born and raised, had joined the Ottoman state in the time of Sultan Murad I, had reached full conviction in his own way, and, relying on this conviction, preferred this form in his history.

From this it is understood that Kemâl Paşazâde's record is not a lone statement but a supported one. On the one hand the notification of the court, on the other the existence of local traditions, are just proofs that would convince not only Kemâl Paşazâde but every historian.

In particular Azîz bin Erdeşîr el-Esterebâdî, one of the notables of that time, describes in his Bezm ü Rezm the emirs in the places dependent on Amasya following the Ottoman prince and handing over their fortresses as follows:

"After this news came that Hacı Bey handed over the fortress of Maden, and Emîr Abdullah Çelebi the fortress of Osmancık, famed in the world for its solidity and steepness, to the son of Osman. The multitude and strength of the son of Osman multiplied manifold and he advanced.

Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, according to his old habit and settled rule, broke his pledge and drew near to the son of Osman. He allied and united with him. Mahmûd Çelebi also sent his own brother Kılıç Arslan Bey after him.

Later the Taşanoğlu himself came, declared his allegiance to the son of Osman, and joined him. All the beys around Amasya and the influential great men went in groups and declared their allegiance to the son of Osman. The multitude and splendor of the son of Osman grew manifold day by day."

Although Azîz Esterebâdî records these in the language of sorrow, he consoles himself by writing that the sultan, that is, Kadı Burhân, had no fear or worry about them at all and had a splendor and force that could force even the Ottoman forces to flee.

Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, was not the only one who made a covenant of alliance and union with Sultan Murâd-ı Hünkâr. His father Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha had also strengthened himself by allying with the said sultan and had set a good example for his son.

Indeed, Ahmed Bey's grandfather Hacı Kutlu Şâh had also established relations with Sultan Orhân, ruler of the Ottoman country, while fighting the Karamanids. In this case Ahmed Bey's love for the Ottomans was a sincere and old love inherited from his father and ancestors.

The independent emirate of Amasya began with Hacı Kutlu Şâh. Thanks to the alertness of his grandson Ahmed Şâh Çelebi it turned into a lawful beylerbeyilik. Of these, Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha was a virtuous emir. This person's having coins struck is understood from his mint. But neither his own nor his son's coin could be found.

The coming of Prince Yıldırım Sultan Bâyezîd to Amasya ended the independent emirate of Amasya. It had one more historical chapter added to the history of Amasya. The one who opened this chapter is the nationally minded culture of the notables of Amasya. For this reason the Amasyans showed a national intelligence worthy of reward in the history of Turkey.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• Devâtdâr: official who carried the divit (inkwell and pen set); a high official title in palace and state clerkship
• cihângîr: world conqueror
• zafer-nâme: letter announcing victory
• müzevver: forged, fabricated
• tohm-ı fesâd: seed of discord, incitement
• mümâşât: getting along, accommodating
• ifnâ: destruction
• mu'temed: trusted man
• kuvve-i imdâdiyye: auxiliary force
• desîse: trick, intrigue
• nakz-i ahd: going back on one's word, breaking a treaty
• mutâba'at: obeying, showing allegiance
• iltihâk: joining, union
• vakfiye: document stating the conditions and properties of a waqf
• kavl-i mücerred: unsupported, lone statement
• beyyine-i âdile: valid and just proof

The Accession of Amasya to the Ottomans

What Hüsameddin mainly defends in this section is that Amasya passed to Ottoman rule not by force but by the Amasyans' own decision and under the leadership of Emir Ahmed. The historical background of this view is told in the sources as follows: after Kadı Burhâneddin eliminated Şâdgeldi in 1381, his son Ahmed Bey, according to the entry on Kadı Burhâneddin in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, set out to take revenge for his father with the support of his father-in-law Candaroğlu Kötürüm Bayezid; but he was routed in 1383-84. İsfendiyar also took part in this war, and after the defeat he did not return to Kastamonu but stayed in Amasya for a long time. The detail in the text of "İsfendiyâr's long stay in Amasya" agrees with this information.

Hüsameddin writes that in the clashes around Turhal neither side could establish decisive superiority and that Ahmed Bey returned to Amasya not defeated but by agreement. The TDV entry, however, says that Ahmed Bey was routed in 1383-84 and that in 1384 Kadı Burhâneddin defeated the emir of Amasya repeatedly. This is a point clearly diverging from Hüsameddin's account. The main source for the events is Bezm ü Rezm, and according to the TDV, Esterâbâdî wrote his work at Kadı Burhâneddin's command; it is therefore to be expected that the narrative is close to Kadı Burhâneddin's point of view.

The Ottoman side's account also presents a different timeline. Halil İnalcık, in the entry on Murad I, writes that Ahmed, son of the emir of Amasya, took refuge with Murad in the winter of 1383-84, that Murad sent troops against the bey of Kastamonu, Kötürüm Bayezid, and that Osmancık recognized Ottoman protection. In the entry on Bayezid I, it is noted that the view of Yıldırım as the "first governor of Amasya" arises from his relations in 1384-1388 with Ahmed, emir of Amasya, and Çandarlı Süleyman Bey, who accepted Ottoman dominion against Kadı Burhâneddin. According to the same entry, the emir of Amasya, under siege by Kadı Burhâneddin, surrendered the city to the Ottomans in 1392, and the following year Bayezid entered Amasya and took over the city. The TDV entry on Amasya places the city's incorporation into Ottoman lands in 1398 and notes that Yıldırım left the administration to his son Çelebi Mehmed.

These dates are not the same as the 788 [1386] given by Hüsameddin. Hüsameddin places Yıldırım's coming to Amasya in Shawwal 788 [1386] and presents it as a joining. In the sources, however, it is written that Ottoman influence began between 1384 and 1388, that the surrender of the city to the Ottomans took place in 1392-1393, and that the definitive incorporation took place in 1398. Hüsameddin's sentence "the historians fell into disagreement over this date, and none could show decisive proof" therefore remains valid today.

The Osmancık Endowment Deed and Kemalpaşazade's Record

Hüsameddin's most striking move is his support of Kemalpaşazade's record that Amasya was taken in the time of Murad I with an endowment deed. In the joint endowment deed of Seydî Murâd of Osmancık and Hacı Sancar dated 789 [1387], the district of Osmancık appears as a place where Murad I's permission was to be sought. Hüsameddin takes this as proof that Osmancık was counted under Ottoman administration that year. In a footnote he writes that when the document was entered in the register in 1286, the word "semânîn" (eighty) in the year field was misread as "sittîn" (sixty), so that the date was thought to be 769, whereas in 769 Osmancık was dependent on Hacı Şâdgeldi. This explanation rests on the information that Osmancık was dependent on Şâdgeldi in 769. On the other hand, the entry on Murad I says, among the developments of 1383-84, "Osmancık recognized Ottoman protection"; this is compatible with the date 789 in the deed. Since the original of the deed could not be seen, the debate over its reading could not be verified.

Kemalpaşazade's record belongs to a history written around 915 [1509-10], about one hundred and twenty years after the events; Hüsameddin also knows this and therefore tries to support it with the endowment deed.

İsfendiyar Bey and the Girls' Palace

İsfendiyar Bey is the famous bey of the Candaroğulları, and according to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi he took part, in the lifetime of his father Kötürüm Bayezid, in the campaign Ahmed Bey, emir of Amasya, mounted against Kadı Burhâneddin, and after this war, which ended in Ahmed Bey's defeat, he did not return to Kastamonu and stayed in Amasya for a long time. It is written that after the death of Kötürüm Bayezid he declared his sovereignty in Sinop in 787 [1385]. Hüsameddin, for his part, writes that İsfendiyar came to Amasya twice and left Amasya on hearing of his father's death; although the two accounts differ on the place of death (Kastamonu or Sinop) and the order of events, İsfendiyar's long stay in Amasya is the common point. The same entry also writes that when İsfendiyar wanted to send his vizier with gifts to Kadı Burhâneddin and declare allegiance, Emîr Ahmed, Bey of Amasya, wanted to seize this delegation and hand it over to the Ottomans; whereupon Kadı Burhâneddin went to Amasya and took the city (1392-1393). Hüsameddin's text does not give this detail.

Identities in the Footnotes

Hüsameddin states two identities in the footnotes. He writes that Cüneyd Bey, who actually governed Kayseri, is regarded, on the basis of some historical indications, as the son of Ömer Bey, son of Sevündük Beg, emir of Hakala; and that Ahmed Bey, son of Kutlu Bey, who plundered the surroundings of Sivas, is Ahmed Bey, chief of the Akkoyunlu tribe. The first is an inference given as "it is supposed"; neither could be verified in other sources.

Scholars of Ahmed Bey's Time

Among the scholars counted as famous in Ahmed Bey's time in the text, the name of Hüsâmeddîn Hüseyin el-Kâtî is mentioned together with the cover inscription of the Şerh-i Miftâh he dedicated to the emir. The nuyan in the phrase "support of rulers and nuyans" in this dedicatory sentence is the name given to Mongol beys. Whether this scholar and his work are found in other sources could not be verified; no information was found in other sources on the persons named.

Mevlânâ Hadîdî's Versified History

The couplets Hüsameddin quotes are taken from Hadîdî's versified work on Ottoman history. In the couplets, the bey of Amasya's going out to meet the Shah and handing over his throne shows that the event is narrated as a peaceful submission. Hüsameddin's interpretation "it was neither conquered by force nor did it fight and lose" is in harmony with these couplets. The place Hadîdî calls "the land of Rûm" is, according to Hüsameddin's footnote, the province of Amasya; Amasya was then called "Vilâyet-i Rûmiyye." Whether the couplets are a contemporary account of this event or a compilation written later could not be verified.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 436–445. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

• Abdülkerim Özaydın, "Kadı Burhâneddin", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2001. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kadi-burhaneddin
• Halil İnalcık, "Bayezid I", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayezid-i
• Halil İnalcık, "Murad I", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/murad-i
• "İsfendiyar Bey", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/isfendiyar-bey
• "Amasya", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/amasya