First Chapter (1)

In Modern English

It relates, from the historical information on the Turan government to which Anatolia belonged in the early ages, the known events that concern the Sanjak of Amasya.

Since the thousands of years that passed, in the beginning of the early ages, up to the times that ancient history was able to record are not known, these centuries are placed under the heading "unknown times."

Since the events of these unknown times are full of suppositions that sometimes reach the limit of impossibility and, very rarely, are thought to accord with reality, one encounters very many strange things in history books that speak of the events of the unknown times.

In this regard the sons of Adam, that is all humanity, descended from the three sons of the prophet Noah known by the names Ham, Sam and Yafes; that the Turanians too descended from Yafes ibn Noah, and the claims of theirs to be related below, are among these events. Of these events, those the Qur'an reports are certain and in accord with reality among Muslims like us; the others need to be proved by old works.

For according to the Turanians' claim "all the Turan peoples were grandchildren and children of a person known as 'Aşnuk Ata,' descended from Tivil Ata, and had spread around in the time of Yaguz Han. Tivil Ata was a glorious prophet sent to the children of Aşnuk Ata and had shown the Turanians the right way."

The grandchildren of Aşnuk Ata believed in one God, that is, in the oneness of the exalted God. The Assyrians denied Hazret-i Noah, who was sent to the people of Nineveh, that is the Assyrians, and exceeded all bounds in denying the existence and oneness of the exalted God. As mentioned in the Qur'an, God destroyed them with a terrible flood of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, from which they had benefited most.

Upon this flood event Yaguz Han, khagan of the Turks, sent his son Tiras Han against Nineveh; Tiras Han took Iran and occupied the Assyrian and Babylonian lands. Then, when Tiras Han became khagan in his father's place, he appointed his son Samir Han to Babylon and Uzar Han to the rulership of the continent called Khazar today.

According to this claim of the Turanians, Aşnuk Ata is in the place of Hazret-i Adam, and in terms of the nearness of times, the person the Hebrew histories show as Yafes ibn Noah must be speaking of this Yaguz Han.

But it is known that a person of the Turanians named Samir (Simir) founded a government around Iraq. In this regard the Turanians' government in the Anatolian continent in the early ages is as glorious as it is very ancient. The Samiriye State, in which Samir Han ibn Tiras Han founded a city around today's Baghdad, gave it the name "Samirat" and made it his seat of government, is understood from the old expression "the city of Samira."

Samir Han, who was the founder of the Samiriye state or Simriye government in Anatolia, ruled there for a time; when he died his son Bars Han, and after him his son İgrak Han, became ruler of the Samiriye state, that is khagan of the Samirat land. As time passed the continent he ruled was called "İgrak," and then, Arabized, "Irak."

When İgrak Han died his son Velavud (Akad, Ugat) Han ruled seventeen years as khagan of the Iraqi lands; after his death his daughter Atelya (Atilay) Han sat in the office of ruler, took the Syria and Palestine continents, and when she died after ruling seven years her son Balgır Han became khagan of Anatolia.

Balgır Han, after taking the Anatolian continent as far as the Black Sea, turned east and went as far as the city of Herat, brought those places under his sovereignty and returned. But sensing that a second flood would come, he had a gigantic tower built for his deliverance. When the terrible event he expected occurred, a general confusion (the confusion of tongues) took place in his land and he died in the twenty-eighth year of his government; when the provincial governors declared their independence the Samirat State broke apart.

After this second event, Bilkay Han, son of Oktay, who was Balgır Han's "bay tar," that is master of the horse, appeared, routed his rivals and became khagan of Anatolia.

Bilkay Han was valiant and heroic; he invented the science of veterinary medicine, founded the city of "Kargumuş" on the bank of the Tigris and ruled thirty-eight years.

After him Bilkay Han's son Haktay (Oktay) Han became khagan of Anatolia. Oktay means "blessed, that is auspicious, alive and having life" and is called "Kutay, Kütay" in the Altay dialect. Today among the Mongol line it is said "Oktay." This state became known in Anatolia as the "Hıta State." Those belonging to it were called "Hıtayît, Hıtaylı," then, shortened, "Hıtît" and later "Hitit."

In the work called Tarifü'l-Ümem, Muhammed ibn Abdülaziz el-Kurtubî says: "The Hıta people were a great community of the Turan peoples and had ruled in the Greek land before the Messiah." Historians among the Europeans, such as the famous Maspero and Morgan, also write that "the Hıta, that is Hittite, peoples were generally Turanian, founded a united state in Anatolia in the early ages and made great works."

After Oktay Han ruled twenty-one years, his son Taleş (Taliş) Han, remaining alone in the khanate office, ruled fifteen years and left the office to the administration of his son Gerüş Han. When he in turn ruled eleven years and left his place to his son Aytos (Aydos) Han, Aytos became khagan of Anatolia.

As mentioned in the Silsilename, it is this Aydos Han who first invented writing and the scribal craft among the Turks; he was extremely intelligent, resolute and prudent. He brought under his sovereignty most of the small khans in Anatolia who had declared independence at the end of Balgır Han's government, began to exercise the influence of the khanate, and ruled thirty-three years.

Since Aydos Han's name was known among the Turks as a master and inventor, if someone did a fine job it would be said "he did it like Aydos, he wrote it like Aydos." In the places where the Turks live one meets cities, towns, districts and many notables named "Aydos." At the death of this Aydos Han his son Balgır Alp Han became khagan of Anatolia.

Balgır Alp Han marched on Arbagit, that is the khan of Syria, who opposed him, brought him under his sovereignty by war, founded the city of Aleppo and died in the thirtieth year of his government. It is known that Alp means "wrestler" in the Turkish language.

The city of Aleppo, according to the historian Maspero's word, since it was formerly known by the names Halbut, Halbu, Halebî, is the Arabized form of the word Albut and Albit, meaning belonging to Alb. For in the Turkish language there is an assimilation between hemze and ha, and when Arabized the ha (with he) is mostly written and read as ha (with ha) or ha (with hı). Like Uz "huz (with he), huz (with ha)" and ogan "hogan, hakan."

Then Alp Han's son Taliş Han became ruler and ruled eleven years and founded the city of Faran. Then his son Harkun (Argun) Han became ruler of Anatolia. Argun Han was just and prudent; he made the Zab river flow, defeated his enemies in battle and continued the government. Then his son Tutmas Han, after him his other son Taliş Han, and after him Tutmas Han's son Boyun Han became khagans of Anatolia. It cannot be insisted that this information given by the Silsilename accords with reality. But since the historical information belonging to these ages has been mixed with certain empty beliefs, it also cannot be said definitely that they are empty beliefs.

For as written in Nesebname-i Mülûk, in these times when the Hıta government continued in Anatolia, seventeen dynasties of the Hıtaylıs followed one another in the Chinese empire. That their names and the names of these Hıta rulers in Anatolia resemble one another so much and agree with our present dialect with a small difference proves that at that time the whole of Asia was under the sovereignty of the Turanians. It is expected that future excavations will illuminate these.

Maspero, among the European historians, in his book on the eastern peoples, gives the names of the Turan governments that formed the Hıta, that is Hittite, united state in Anatolia as follows: the governments of Aratu, Amut, Ergunut, Urbahit, İrbahit, Irahit, İberit, Tibarit, Halbut, Karit, Lisit, Mazit, Muşarit, Hanit. It is evident that the letters (t) seen at the end of these names are in the Hıta language generally a suffix of belonging, and that the names are Turkic.

1- Aratu: the province of Van and its surroundings; the one belonging to the word "aray," meaning "seeker," is "arat."

2- Amut: the province of Diyarbekir and its surroundings; it is also called "Amat." It belongs to the word "amay," meaning "protector and patron," and is the place to which the "Amat" tribe belongs. Later, Arabized, it was called "Amid."

3- Ergunut: the province of Erzurum and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "ergun," meaning "mature person."

4- Urbahit and Urbagit: the province of Syria and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "urbak," meaning "coverer." Clothing is called "urba," and the flour sprinkled on wet dough so that it does not stick, "urbag." Urbay Hatun is the daughter of Berke Han, ruler of the Crimea.

5- İberit: the province of Tbilisi and its surroundings; it is what we call "İbarlı, Avarlı." Its meaning and examination were mentioned in the Medhal.

6- Irahit and Iragit: Iraq, that is the province of Baghdad and its surroundings; it belongs to the word İgrak mentioned above. Later, Arabized, it was called "Irak."

7- Tibaret and Tibarit: Trabzon and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "tibar" mentioned in the Medhal. This province was called "Lazit," then, altered, "Lazik."

8- Halbut: the province of Aleppo and its surroundings; as mentioned above, it belongs to the word "Alb." Later, Arabized, it was called "Haleb." Here, because Han-ı Esrin, that is "Esrin Han," one of the Turan rulers, founded another city, it was called "Hanesrin," then, Arabized, "Kanesrin."

9- Sulit: Adana and its surroundings, that is the "Silisya, Cilicia" continent; the province of Konya too belongs, in this sense, to the word "Suli, Sili." This was later divided into parts.

10- Karit and Garit: the province of Aydın and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "agar," meaning "rising." These places were later called "Karya" and divided into three or four parts.

11- Muşarit: the province of Muş and Bitlis and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "busar." Today the sanjak of Muş is a part of it.

12- Hanit: the province of Kastamonu and its surroundings; it belongs to the word "anay," meaning "settled." Later it was shortened further and called "Henit."

13- Mazit is the continent. It is Amasya and its surroundings, the subject of our history; it is the very same as the word "Masit" and is shortened from the word "Amasit."

The "Amasit Government" mentioned in this table, according to the information given by European historians such as Sayce, Lenormant, Maspero and Morgan, was known by the names "Amazit, Mazit, Amazon, Mazu, Miziyen, Misiyen," and it is certain that the seat of government was the city of Amasya.

Around Amasit, Hittite clans such as "Amasit, Togayit, Sibasit, Kumanit," that is, as Reynak and Morgan explain, these Turan peoples lived: the Togayits had settled around Tokat, the Sibasits around Sivas, and the Kumanits around Canik.

As understood from the excavations and studies made by Western experts on antiquities within the provinces of Ankara, Konya and Aleppo and in the Euphrates and Tigris basin, from the information given by eastern historians, and from the names and explanations shown as khagans of Anatolia in the Silsilename mentioned above, the Turanians had spread, about four thousand years before the Hijra, step by step and in the manner of conquerors, over the whole of Asia.

Of the Turanians who thus came to Asia Minor, the Hıtaylıs, that is the Kutay (Hittite) clans, spread from the Iraq continent toward the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; in the Kızılırmak basin the Togayits and the clans that helped them had settled. For this reason this continent became known by the name "Togayit, Tohayit." It means belonging to Togay.

Luba, the famous historian, one of the members of the French Academy, says: "Cappadocia was in ancient ages a great continent, and its name is carved in the Darius inscriptions on Mount Bisutun in the form 'Katpatoha.' According to what researchers such as the famous Lagarde and Kiepert have made out, it is a proper name made of the words 'Katpa' and 'Toha' and means 'the Toha side.' Later the Greeks corrupted it and said 'Cappadocia.'"

In the Cappadocia continent the first of the Turanians to rule were the Togayits, who made today's city of Zile their center of homeland and gave it the name "Silay," meaning "honorable homeland." Later it was called "Zela, Zila" and today "Zile." Harkar Han, one of the Togayits, founded a strong city there and gave it the name "Harkarit"; although it was then called "Karkariyye," the name "Zile" prevailed.

Then the Togayits founded today's city of Tokat and made it their center, and it was called "Togat, Tohat." Togat is shortened from the word "Togayit," like "kelay, kelayit, kelat"; it means "Togaylı." That the city recorded in Tarih-i Âl-i Danişmend as "Tohya, Tokya, Tukye, Dukye" and, Arabized, in Nüzhetü'l-Müştak as "Tuhat" is "Tokat" is written in Mirkatü'l-Cihad.

The Sibasits too are a great clan of the Turanians. Sibasit is the very same as the word "Sivasit," and "savas, sivas" in the Hıta language means "sivimli," that is, in our dialect, "lovable, beloved." The Sivasits lived in today's city of Sivas and its surroundings and founded this city and gave it the name "Sivasit." Later, though the Greeks recorded it as "Sibasit, Sibast," the original name prevailed and the name "Sivas" became famous.

In Es-Sebu's-Seyyar, es-Seyyid Muhammed Rıza Efendi says "the city of Sivas was founded by Saves ibn Batrus ibn Yunat ibni Tarsus." It is evident that these names, which took Greek dress and changed shape, are Turkic, being Sevas ibn Batur ibn Yunat ibn Tiras. That "Batur" means "brave and heroic" and "yunat" "running horse" is written in our dictionary books. The names Sevas and Tiras are known.

As understood from this detailed information given by the eastern and western histories, since Asia Minor from very ancient times, and before the Armenians and Greeks, was the Turanians' own homeland, their motherland, it is evident that the Turanians gave Asia Minor the name "Anadol."

For Anadol, formed in the pattern of "karakol," is said of the place founded and settled, that is the place of residence, the original homeland. It is taken from the verb "anatmak," meaning "to found and settle," and is a place name in the form "anatol." In the dictionaries of Ebu Hayyan el-Endülüsî and Ahmed ibn Mühennâ it is written in the form "anadı and anatıtı," with the equivalent "essese and temekkene," and it is understood to be both transitive and intransitive. Words derived and used in the Turan language such as "ana, anat, anac, anar, anagul, anal, anamur, anay" show that these verbs exist in the Turan language.

As the name "Anadol" is carved generally on works and the doors of great buildings made in Anatolia in the Seljuk period and later up to the ninth Hijri century, so on the door of the Darüşşifa completed in Amasya in 708 [1308-09] the name "Emir-i Anadol Ahmed" is carved, and the name "Anadol" is written in very many Arabic histories such as Ikdü'l-Cümân.

As understood from these inscribed and historical records, the word "Anadol" is exactly the Arabized form of the word "Anatol." In this respect the word "Anadol" is, historically and lexically, Turkic, not Greek. But since the Anadol continent lies east of Greece, the Greeks took this word and, putting it into the form "Anadolis" according to their own dialect, used it in the sense of "east," and our historians, without research, took the Greeks' claim and passed it on to us, using it in the form "Anadolu." The Greeks' civilization in Anatolia consists of changing the names of existing places.

The Amasits living in the eastern part of Cappadocia in this Anadol, as Morgan explains in his work Akvam-ı Şarkiyye-i Kadime, are of the Turanians; it means the children of a person named "Amas," whose being a Turkic word was made certain by explaining its meaning and derivatives in the Mukaddime. In our dialect it means "Amaslılar."

In Mir'âtü'l-İber Said Pasha of Diyarbekir, after saying "Aram ibn Sam ibn Noah had four sons named 'Us, Hul, Maş, Kaşir,'" says "Maş went to the Anatolian regions, and his children and peoples spread there."

Yet it is written in Ravzatü'l-Elbab that "the children of Maş ibn Aram ibn Sahit living in Anatolia" were Turks, and in Kitabü'l-Memalik it is mentioned that "the peoples Esban (Seban), Toh (Togay), Kaman (Kuman), Maş (Amas), who first lived and spread in Anatolia" were of the Turks.

Since the name of Amasya is written as "Mase" in the works known as el-İkmal and Ikdü'l-Cümân and the name of the Amazons in Western histories as "Maze and Mazon," it is evident that the words "Maz, Mas, Maş" are shortened from the words "Amaz, Amas, Amaş." In this regard it is understood that "Amas," the origin of the words "Amaz and Amaş," was not of the children of Sam ibn Noah but of the Turanians and of the children of "Samir." The name Sam is none other than this Samir.

As understood from these historical records, it is established that the highest ancestor of the Amasits was Amas ibn Aram, one of the children of Samir ibn Tiras.

For in Ünsü'l-Mühec and Ravzü'l-Füreç, Muhammed ibn Muhammed eş-Şerif el-Hüseynî, in the map of Anadol at the place of Amasya, names "Masiye" and, in the description, "Amasya, Amasite, Masite." In this regard there is no doubt that the homeland and center of the Amasits was the city of Amasya.

The Amasits living in the sanjak of Amasya were extremely warlike and even their women were very skilled at using weapons; that is, since all their members were soldiers, they became known in history by the name "Amazons, Amasons." They founded a government in the city of Amasya and acted as a dependent member of the Hittites, who were their origin.

When Boyun Han, khagan of Anatolia mentioned above, died childless, while each of the khans of Anatolia fought one another with a claim to the khanate, Mitur Han of the Amasits defeated them all and became khagan of Anatolia. Then his son Mokay Han, and after him his other son Tarnal (Turnal) Han, became ruler of Anatolia.

Turnal Han, after ruling twelve years, fell from his horse and died while going hunting; after him his son Amas (Amas) Han founded the city of Amasya. In his time idolatry spread and harsh practices were seen; thereupon the khans of Anatolia rose and killed him in battle in the twenty-ninth year of his government, and Atıg Han, a bar of another dynasty, became khagan in his place.

According to this information given by the Silsilename, the founder of the city of Amasya is this Amas Han, and his children ruled around Amasit, known by the title "Mazit." At this time the Amasit area is thought to have included the Halis (Alis), that is the Kızılırmak basin. Of these İli Han is famous.

The famous historians Lenormant and Maspero write in their histories that "they called İliyon the Misian ruler who was ally of the Hittite ruler Saru Han"; İlıkan ibn Sam mentioned in Mucemü'l-Buldan is also İli Han, ruler of Amasya. Saru Han is the grandson of Atıg Han mentioned above and the son of Sablul (Sabul) Han.

Sam, shown in the Mucem as İli Han's father, must in all likelihood be Sülim, as explained in the Mukaddime. For no son of Sam ibn Noah named İli Han is known. Yet he also cannot be the actual son of the Amas Han above. Perhaps he may be among his grandchildren, but how many generations lie between them is not known.

According to the famous historian Lenormant's estimate, İliyon (İli Han) was alive 1340 years before the Common Era, that is 1922 years before the prophetic Hijra, and in 1893 before the Hijra was in the Egyptian war with the Hittite ruler Batur Han.

According to this record İli Han lived in the times of the Hittite ruler Batur Han and his father Saru Han and was ruler of Amasya for a long time; according to the quality "Usut" mentioned in Tarihü'l-Kâmil too he must have been intelligent and prudent. In the Hıta language "ili and ilis" is the very same as what we call "iylik" in our dialect. In this regard İli Han is also known as İlis Han.

İlis Han, gaining strength in Anatolia, brought the Sulit and Karit areas mentioned above under his sovereignty; it is thought that he sent his son Sülim Han, appointing him to the governorship of Sulit, and Amas Han to the governorship of Karit, and it is certain that he nominated his third son Barum Han to the rulership of Amasya.

For the continent that today's sanjaks of Teke and Menteşe cover was formerly known by the name "Lisit, Lycia," settled by members of the Süli tribe and subject to the influence of a person named Sülim; this is mentioned in very many histories such as Mir'âtü'l-İber. It is evident that Lisit is shortened from the word "İlisit."

In the same way the continent covering the sanjak of Karesi, separated from the old Caria continent, was formerly known by the name "Misit, Mysia," and there is still a district called Amasya within the sanjak of Karesi; that the word Misit too is shortened from the word Amasit is proved by the records of eastern and western histories. So many historical signs can in any case form a conviction.

After İlis Han's death his third son Barum Han became ruler of Amasya. Mucemü'l-Buldan and Sebu's-Seyyar record this as Rum ibn Ilıkan. In all likelihood Rum must be shortened from the word "Barum." For the Bermit (Barumit) clan, separated from the Amazons, is known. Since the name Rum is not known in the Turan dialect, the scribes' error and the historians' corruption may show the word Barum as Rum.

How many years Barum Han ruled in Amasya is not known. But, as is historically certain, he had two sons named Tiras and Karsan. Barum Han sent his own son Tiras Han, appointing him in place of his brother Sülim Han to the governorship, that is the bar-ship, of Sulit; it is thought that he nominated his other son Karsan Han to the rulership of Amasya.

For as written in Es-Sebu's-Seyyar, the founder of the present city of Tarsus, which is within the Lycia continent, is Tarsus ibn Rum ibn Ilıkan; in Western histories and especially in Mir'âtü'l-İber it is mentioned that this name Tarsus is "Terasis." Terasis means Tiras; the Greeks, adding only a sin at its end, said Terasis, and the Arabs, Arabizing it, Tarsus.

After Barum Han his son Karsan Han became ruler of Amasya. Harşene ibn Rum ibn Ilıkan, mentioned in all the eastern histories, is precisely this Karsan Han. As explained in the Mukaddime, the historian Texier gives him the name "Karisin."

Karsan, in the Turan language, is the name of a kind of predatory animal larger than a squirrel, with a spotted belly, resembling a fox and a cat. In our dialect it was called "karsak."

According to the information given by the famous historian Morgan, in the times of the Egyptian ruler Ramesses III and then the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser, the Hittite state was defeated in successive wars inside and out and then collapsed, and new governments formed around Aydın, Adana and Ankara. Thereupon some of the Hittites became attached to the Egyptian and Assyrian states and the newly founded governments, and some took refuge in the Amasit and Lazit governments.

The Amasit government was also affected by the fall of the Hittite united state and its sphere of influence narrowed; it remained limited to a region made up of today's sanjaks of Amasya, Tokat, Canik, Çorum, Sivas, Şarkî Karahisar and Yozgat, and this area too was called Harşenun. Since the Cappadocia continent lost the liva of Kayseri and its surroundings, Cappadocia was divided into two parts.

As written in Merasıdü'l-İttıla, Harşenun is the name of a sphere, that is a continent made up of many towns, and the city of Harşene is the seat of government of this continent. Harşenun is the Arabized form of the word "Karsanun" and means "those belonging and attached to Karsan." Like "Amasun" for Amas, "Kutayun, Kutagun" for Kutay, and "Kirasun" for Kiras. In this regard "Karsanun, Karzanun" was used in place of Amazon.

As understood from the account of the famous historian Morgan, the Hittites of the Turanians came to Asia Minor about three thousand years before the Hijra and founded a government, spread civilization in Anatolia for some 1280 years, and were overthrown around 1822 before the Hijra. Since the names of the Anatolian Turan rulers, that is khagans, are seen written in the Silsile mentioned above, they were reported.

As understood from the names of the Turan rulers mentioned, they are made up of four dynasties. The names of the fourth dynasty could not be found in full. There may be omissions and additions in their names. The city of "Hit" on the Euphrates, once very prosperous, preserves their name by mistake from the name Hittite.

Although European researchers have brought out part of these facts by spending abundant money and great effort on making important excavations in Anatolia and are trying to bring out the rest, we Turanians remain uninformed about these Hittites, our own kin.

Karsan Han, ruler of Amasya, upon the fall of the Hittite united state, was obliged to put the area of his government under protection; he had a strong fortress built on the top of a high mountain north of Amasya, made it the seat of government and named it after himself; later, Arabized, it was called "Harşene." In Western histories it is written "Karisini."

Then, northeast of the city of Niksar, which was called "Kavira" because it was the dwelling place of the kavirs, that is preachers, of the star worshippers, and was regarded as blessed, on a high mountain with a flat top, he had another strong fortress built and gave it too the name "Karsan"; later the Greeks, adding a sin at its end, said "Karsanus, Harsanus." Then when the Romans gave it the name Diyopolis and afterwards Niyuksar, "Niksar" remained from this by mistake.

From the record of the historian Morgan it can be known that Karsan Han ruled in Amasya about 1822 years before the prophetic Hijra, but how many years he ruled could not be understood. But that he ruled more than twenty or thirty years, that many fortresses were built in his time, and that the Amazon area was transformed into the name Harşenun is understood. Then his son Sülim Han became ruler of Amasya.

In the time of Sülim Han, a great part of the Greeks defeated in the Trojan War near the Dardanelles, source of many empty beliefs, took refuge on the Mediterranean and a part on the Black Sea coasts; they first came to the area of today's Canik (Sanit), which was within the Harşenun area and then lived in by the Sanits.

Sülim Han completed the Harşene fortress his father had built and lived there. Then his son Amas Han became ruler of Harşenun and fought the neighboring peoples and became famous under the name Amentas. Then his son Tanuş Han became ruler of Harşenun, that is Amasya, and had built the town of Tanus, today attached to the province of Sivas, and the town of Danusiyye (Tanuşin) within the sanjak of Amasya, and their fortresses.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• kurûn-ı ûlâ: the early ages; the name of the period used by Hüsameddin
• ezmine-i mechûle: unknown times, ages on which writing and history give no information
• hâkân: khagan; a Turkish ruler
• akvâm: peoples, communities
• silsilenâme: genealogical register; here the old manuscript source giving the sequence of rulers
• mu'arreb: Arabized, a form adapted to Arabic
• muhaffef: shortened
• mensûb: attached, belonging; also used in the sense of a suffix added to the end of a word
• hafriyyât: excavation work
• mevsûm: named
• bâr: governor, regional administrator (in the author's interpretation)
• kable'l-hicre: before the Hijra
• vekâyi': events
• hurâfât: baseless, empty beliefs

The Nature of This Section

In the first part of this chapter Hüsameddin fills the pre-literate period with a series of rulers based on Turan tradition. The material he uses is as follows: the narrative of descent from the sons of Noah, the names of Turan rulers, and explanations starting from word roots. He himself is aware of this; he writes that it "cannot be insisted that the information of the Silsilename accords with reality," but also that, since it is mixed with empty belief, it "cannot be said definitely that most of it is empty belief." Today it is not possible to verify the names and durations of the rulers in this section with documents surviving from written ages. The known kings of Hittite history are called by names such as Labarna (Hattusili I), Mursili I, Suppiluliuma I and Muwatalli II; I saw no coincidence with Hüsameddin's khagan names.

The Hittites According to Today's Knowledge

Today's account, based on archaeological and written records, is as follows. The Hittites are a people speaking one of the oldest known written languages of the Indo-European language family. It is argued that they came to Anatolia, according to some views by way of the Caucasus and between 2100-2000 BC, according to others migrating from north of the Black Sea; there is no full agreement among researchers on this. Before them the Hattians lived within the bend of the Kızılırmak. The Hittites, merging with the native people, formed political formations in centers such as Kussara and Nesha (Kanesh, today's Kültepe). The capital of the state was moved to Hattusa (Boğazkale) around 1650 BC in the time of Labarna, that is Hattusili I. Hittite history is divided into two parts: the Old Kingdom between 1650-1450 BC and the Empire period between 1450-1200 BC. The Battle of Kadesh against Egypt took place in 1274 BC, and the Treaty of Kadesh, the first known written peace treaty in history, in 1269 BC. The state was overthrown around 1200 BC through the movement of the Sea Peoples and Kaska raids from the north. On the causes of the collapse the old view is being questioned after the Hattusa excavations: a settlement at Büyükkaya dating after the capital's fall has been understood not to be Hittite.

The name Hittite itself is also interesting. The name "Hittite" was given to this people, who called themselves "of Nesha" and spoke the language they called Nesili, derived from Nesha, when 19th-century archaeologists associated the people of Hattusa with the Hittites mentioned in the Old Testament. That Hittite is an Indo-European language was demonstrated in 1917 by Bedřich Hrozný. In Turkish they were at first called "Etiler," then the form "Hititler" became established. That is, Hüsameddin's view on the relation of the Hittites and the Turan was written with the knowledge of the period before Hittite was deciphered as an Indo-European language. The sources the author used, such as Maspero and Morgan, are also the Western Oriental studies publications of that age. The Indo-European family is not the family to which Turkish belongs. The construct of a Hittite-Turkish kinship in the work therefore does not agree with today's scientific view.

Etymological Inferences

The word explanations that make up most of Hüsameddin's text rest on the method of linking names that resemble each other in sound: Aleppo with Alp, Sivas with "sevimli," Tarsus with Tiras, Niksar with Karsan, and so on. None of these has the character of a document in itself; sources showing how words changed over time do not support them, and I too found no source confirming them here. The reader should treat them as the author's interpretation.

On the word "Anadolu," the author argues that the name is of Turkish origin and that the Greeks took it and used it as "Anadolis." The generally accepted view is the opposite: Anadolu derives from the Greek word Anatolē, meaning "east, sunrise." In the Byzantine period the military region east of the empire's center was called the Anatolikon Theme, and in the Ottoman period the name Anadolu was used as the name of a beylerbeylik. Hüsameddin knows this view and plainly rejects it; these lines show one of the main lines of the book's national historical view.

On the Name of Amasya

The author's tying Amasya to a founder such as "Amas Han" is one of the old accounts of the city's name. According to local sources, the oldest known name of Amasya in Hittite documents is thought to be Hakmiş, and this name continued until the Persians' conquest of Amasya. Its name in the period of the Kingdom of Pontus is Amaseia; this name is plainly seen on the city coins struck from the 2nd century BC, and the geographer Strabo also mentions the city by this name. The word Amaseia is thought to be related to Mâ, an eastern mother goddess, and to mean "city of the Mother Goddess Mâ." In the Roman period the name did not change much, and in the time of the Danishmendids it was called sometimes Amasiyye, sometimes Şehr-i Haraşna. In the Seljuk, Ilkhanid, beylik and Ottoman periods it continued under its present name. That is, local knowledge ties the name Amasya not to Hüsameddin's Amas Han but to the mother goddess cult.

The Harşena Fortress

Hüsameddin's tying Harşena to Karsan Han is also among the old accounts. Some historians say that the fortress was built by Mithridates, king of Pontus, and others that the fortress took the name Harşana, that is Harşena, because it was built by the commander Karsan or Harsana. The fortress is on the steep cliffs of Mount Harşena, about 300 meters above the Yeşilırmak, and according to accounts took its name from Harşena, king of Pontus. According to another account it goes back to the Hittite period. In the fortress there are stepped tunnels, cisterns and dungeons; the fortress rises above the Royal Rock Tombs. Consequently there is no single definite founding story for the fortress's name; Hüsameddin's Karsan Han account coincides with one of the views mentioned but does not rest on a written document.

Calculation of Dates and Kadesh

The author gives the date of the Hittite ruler's war with Egypt as 1893 before the Hijra; this corresponds to about 1271 BC. The expression in the author's previous sentence "1340 years before the Common Era, 1922 years before the Hijra" does not hold together in itself; 1340 and 622 added would make 1962. This should be read as a rounding of calculation or a copying error. In today's records the Hittite-Egyptian war is known as the Battle of Kadesh and dated to 1274 BC; the event the author calls the Egyptian war may be the same, but this inference is mine, and the text does not give the king's name as Muwatalli.

The four dynasties, the 1280-year duration and the other numbers also show that the author's figures for this age do not rest on a definite record. The fall of the Hittites is today placed around 1200 BC, that is about 1822 years before the Hijra; Hüsameddin's figure "1822" is in this respect in agreement with today's knowledge.

Points to Note

In this chapter Hüsameddin reads the Amazons not as a legend of women warriors but as the name of a real clan called Amasit, and says that their women were skilled at using weapons. The method the author uses in this section is to derive history from similarities of names; today such inferences are not regarded as scientific proof.

The explanations of the names Zile, Tokat and Sivas were also made by the same method; no source confirming the equivalents of these names in the Hittite age was found in this study.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 256–263. amasya.bel.tr

Official sources

• T.C. Çorum Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü, "Hitit Tarihi (MÖ 1650-1200)": https://corum.ktb.gov.tr/TR-58680/hitit-tarihi--mo-1650---1200-.html
• T.C. Amasya Valiliği, "Amasya Adının Kökeni": https://www.amasya.gov.tr/amasya-adinin-kokeni
• T.C. Amasya Belediyesi, "Amasya'nın Tarihi": https://amasya.bel.tr/sayfalar/amasyanin-tarihi
• T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Okul Dışı Öğrenme, "Harşena (Amasya) Kalesi": https://okuldisiogrenme.eba.gov.tr/place-detail/harsena-amasya-kalesi-257

Other sources

• Hititler, genel bilgi ve kronoloji: https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hititler
• Anadolu adının kökeni: https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadolu