INTRODUCTION (20) (Mukaddime)

In Modern English

This kaza consisted of two kazas known by the names "Köprü and Zeytun." The Kaza of Zeytun, which until 1295 [1878] was made up of five nahiyes and about one hundred and forty villages, was reduced at this date to a structure of three nahiyes and about sixty villages; it was brought to the state of a nahiye and attached to the Kaza of Köprü, and thus the Kaza of Köprü grew.

Of the nahiyes forming the Kaza of Zeytun, one is 1- Avlağu (Avlagu), another 2- Kızılkise, another 3- the Göl nahiye. These encircle the northwest sides of the Kaza of Köprü from end to end. Formerly the "Zeytun Principality" was famous, and the Göl Nahiye was the center of this principality. Zekeriyya, Zeynel and Murad Beys were among the beys; each has a tomb, waqf and mosque in Göl Village. From this kaza, in the time of Sultan Mehmed II, such statesmen came out as the chief judge (kadılkudat) Zeyneddin Mehmed Zeytunî, the famous bey Mehmed Paşa and the marshal (müşir) Mahmud Paşa.

In this Kaza of Zeytun the Esenli and Karalı clans of the Kanık Uruk were formerly settled, and Mahmud Bey, son of Husrev Şah, also came with his own tribe and lived there. Since Erdoğan Şah and Hacı Börü Bey of the Esenli Clan and Soruk Bey of the Karalı Clan won fame, the villages Esenli, Karalı, Mahmud Beyli (otherwise Mahmad Beyli), Erdoğan Şah, Hacı Bey and Soruk remain from them.

4- Ortaklar Nahiye: It surrounds the east sides of the kaza and is near where the border of the Kaza of Havza ends. The famous villages Köpek and Evren are within this nahiye; they remain from the names of the Beys of the Seljuk government period, Sa'deddin Köpek and Bedreddin Evren. Because the Köpekoğulları, at the time Timur was victorious, acted audaciously against the exalted Ottoman sultanate, Ortak Bey, son of Ak Evren Bey, and his sons eradicated the Köpekoğulları. The village given by the sultan to Ortak Bey was given to his sons as property, and the name "Ortaklar" became the special name of that village.

5- Oymaağaç Nahiye: It surrounds the southwest sides of the kaza. Since this nahiye too is settled with the Kanık Turks, famous persons have come out of them. The vizier Muharrem Paşa, who rose from the stewardship (kâhyalık) of Köprülü Mehmed Paşa, is from Yahşi Fakih Village within this nahiye; there are also villages attached to the names of the Beys Kılıç, Esen and Buruk. All of these were counted among the Kanık beys.

6- Paşa Nahiye: It surrounds the south sides of the kaza. While it was called "Yumrutaş Nahiye," it was called "Paşa Nahiye" because it was the farm of Tâceddin Paşa. The famous Beys Toyrak and Ak Evren are from this nahiye, and there is a village each called by their names. The Simre Nahiye in Kedeğra also consists only of the Paşa Nahiye; Bayram Village was the old center of this Simre. This Simre was the property of İşboğa Noyin-Abuşka, minister of Anatolia in Amasya; it is understood from the examination of old records that the name of Yeşbeyi Village is corrupted from İşboğa. Sultan Kemal-i Dânişmend lived in this Simre. The famous Ottoman vizier Kıblelî Mustafa Paşa is from Ak Evren Village within this nahiye.

7- Samuk Alan Nahiye: It surrounds the northwest sides of the kaza. Because Samuk, son of Yeşmut of the line of Hülâgû-Ulağu Khan, the famous ruler of the Tatars, and brother of Cümûdâr, minister of Anatolia in Amasya, lived in this nahiye, his name became the name of his farm. "Samuk Alanı" means "Samuk Çiftliği."

8- Gulâm Nahiye: It surrounds the northeast sides of the kaza. The Kaplak-Kaplan property within this nahiye is attached to the name of the famous bey Kaplak Bey, emir of Kedeğra, and was endowed by his children. While the old name of Gulâm Village, the center of the nahiye, was written "Kul Nahiye, Kul Village," after the date 900 [1494-95] it was written "Gulâm Nahiye, Gulâm Village." It has been understood that Kaplak Bey's slave (kul) was Esen Bey.

From this Kaza of Köprü, thanks to the Köprülü Family, such statesmen were raised as the grand vizier Siyavuş Paşa, the viziers Müezzinzade Ali Paşa and Hamza Paşa, the reisülküttab (foreign minister) Köse Ahmed Efendi and the beylerbeyi Çömülüzade el-Hac Ali Paşa. Since the founding of the Town of Kedeğra the notables, scholars and history of this kaza are very important and famous; it is superior to all the kazas of Amasya. Today, from the kaza that bears this superiority, the two esteemed deputies of the Liva of Amasya, the Efendis Hacı Mustafa Tevfik and Fazıl Mehmed Arif, are also from this kaza.

V- The Kaza of Ladik: It encircles the northeast of Amasya; it is bounded on the east by Canik, on the west by Amasya, on the north by Havza and on the south by the kazas of Erbaa. The kaza center is the town of Ladik, on a pleasant slope on the north foothills of Akdağ, sloping toward the south. It was Arabicized as "Lâdîk, Ladık" and written so in old records.

The old name of this town is "Leodikya"; it is widespread information that it was built by a queen named Leodik, wife of the famous great Mihridad-Mitrad, ruler of Amasya, and later was wrongly called "Lâdik." From this it is understood that this town is an ancient city two thousand years old. But although it is put forward that the "Lâdik Nahiye" in Konya, the "Town of Lâdik" in the sanjak of Denizli and the "Sanjak of Lazkiye" in the vilayet of Beirut were also attached to the said queen Leodik and all called "Leodikya," that three of them are known by the name "Lâdik" and one by the name "Ladkiye," whether this claim is correct is doubtful.

Evliya Çelebi says in his Seyahatname: "Because it was built by one named 'Hâvik (with he)' or 'Hâvik (with ha)' from the Amasya kayasıra, it was called 'Hâvik' and then, corrupted, 'Lâdik.'" Yet since the name of the Town of Hafik within and around the Vilayet of Sivas is written "Hâvik" in the "Bezm ü Rezm," the building and naming by Hâvik must be for the Town of Hafik. Since both are within the Vilayet of Sivas, a resemblance is thought to have arisen.

Again in the said Seyahatname Evliya Çelebi, the late man, relaying from the Ladikis of that time, says: "Right after the conquest of this town, when Selman Gazi, one of the beys, entered the fortress and asked permission of Melik Ahmed Danişmend Gazi, saying 'shall I plant the banner on its tower,' since it spread among the people that the said melik gave the order 'lâ, dik' (no, plant it), this town was called 'Lâdik.'" Since there is no historical evidence to confirm this widespread rumor, this naming may be seen as a tale. In popular speech it is called "İlâdik."

It is understood from old documents that Süli Bey, bey of the Doğanlı Clan, one of the Turkish tribes living in and around this town, was son-in-law of the said Melik Ahmed Danişmend Gazi, that his daughter was İldük Hatun, that the melik's sons by the daughter were Arslan Doğmuş and the Uluğ Beys, who were sons of Süli Bey. The great emir Bedreddin Şâhenşâh bin Arslan Toğmuş ed-Doğanî is also buried in Niksar and his inscription exists; if one heeds that in Ladik too there are large villages and properties under the names Kızoğlu and Doğanlı, it can be surmised that this town's name was given from the name "İldük Hatun," in other words "İldik Hatun."

The south sides of the Town of Ladik are mountain, and its other three sides look to an open and flat plain; for this reason its general appearance is fine, its air healthy, its humidity predominant. Today it is counted seventeen quarters; of these the Bahşî, Koğa, Kilyas, Saray, Zaviye, Kızılsini and Kösere quarters have existed since long ago. As the town gradually became flourishing and grew, later the quarters Cami-i Cedid, Harmanlar, Han Pınarı, Hacı Ali Pınarı, Şehre Küsdü, Sun'ullah Paşa, İskâniye, Namazgâh, Taşlı Pınar and Kilise appeared, and it has come to include some five hundred households.

The mosque in the Zaviye Quarter was converted from a church and a minaret added. In the Cami-i Cedid Quarter, when the mosque that the vizier Davud Paşa had built in 891 [1486] came to the verge of collapse, in 1085 [1674-75] it was renewed by Sultan Mehmed Han IV and revived with two minarets. In the Bahşî Quarter in 915 [1509-10] Bülbül Hatun, mother of Prince Sultan Ahmed, governor of Amasya, had a mosque and bathhouse built and arranged their waqfs. All of these mosques are of stone masonry and sound.

In 1112 [1700-01] in the Cami-i Cedid Quarter the former şeyhülislam Ladikli Mehmed Efendi had a lofty madrasa with twelve cells and a very regular stone mosque, bedesten and taşhan built, and in 1117 [1705-06] endowed them to the madrasa and mosque. The wooden madrasa with nine cells in the Bahşî Quarter was built by Hızır Paşa and has waqfs. In the Zaviye Quarter, recently one more madrasa with five cells was built.

Besides these religious buildings and learning institutions, there are a mescit and a mosque each built by Mes'ud Bey, Sun'ullah Paşa, Polad Bey, Emir Ahmed Çelebi and Hacı Yunus Ağa, a rüştiye school, a primary school and a girls' school. In 1323 [1905] Çerkes Kara Beyzade Ömer Bey also had a fine bathhouse built in the Saray Quarter. The tomb of es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Ahmed Kebir-i Rufaî, founder of the Rifâî lodge that made the Town of Ladik a place of visitation for people, is very famous; it had waqfs, an imaret and a lodge. The Bâlî Baba Lodge around the town is also a famous place of visitation.

Four great families that became famous in history came out of this town. The first of these is the Doğanlı Süli Family, of the Danishmendid and Seljuk beys; each was very famous in his own age. The second is the Kubad Family, of the Seljuk descendants; the "Kubadoğulları" are famous in Ottoman history. The third is the Yeni Bey Family, of the beys of His Majesty Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Han. Its children were all among the beys and won great fame. The fourth is the family of His Excellency Seyyid Ahmed Kebir-i Rufaî; its children and grandchildren spread in Anatolia and in the Arab lands. Beys also came out of them.

The grand vizier Tayyar Mehmed Paşa is of the Yeni Bey Family; his father Mustafa Paşa was among the beys, and his sons Mustafa Paşa, Ahmed Paşa and Hüseyin Paşa among the viziers, all raised from the Town of Ladik. The former şeyhülislam and sultan's imam Mehmed Efendi, another sultan's imam Ali Efendi, another Hasan Efendi, another Emir Mustafa Efendi are from the Town of Ladik; the janissary agha and vizier Çalık Ahmed Paşa was raised from the Saray Nahiye. Besides these, the beys and persons of the molla class who came out of the Town of Ladik and its villages are very many. Since the former grand vizier Ladikli Tayyar Mehmed Paşa raised the famous Köprülü Mehmed Paşa, it is evident that the Ladikis rendered very great service to the exalted Ottoman sultanate.

The Town of Ladik was renewed and repaired by Seljuk Sultan Mes'ud and was under the administration of the Kızoğulları, and then, while under the administration of the Kubadoğulları, when the Amasya government accepted the protection of the exalted Ottoman sultanate, it was counted as Ottoman territory. When His Majesty Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Han, his son His Majesty Sultan Bayezid Han II and their princes served as governors in Amasya, it served as a summer palace. In this respect the Kaza of Ladik is famous in history and its beys are many.

While the total population of the Kaza of Ladik is only about twenty-five thousand, it includes more than sixty villages and formerly four nahiyes. On the east side of this kaza, about ten kilometers from the town, there is a great lake; since its fish and reeds are very famous, delicious fish are caught and fine mats are woven. The economic benefit it provides is quite important. This lake, six kilometers long and three kilometers wide, is about six meters deep. Six streams rising from the highlands of Seki, Kızoğlu, Polad and Çakır Gümüş pour into the lake southeast of the town. Coming out from here it forms the river famous by the name "Tersakan." The drying of this lake is being considered.

One of the four nahiyes is 1- the Hamid Nahiye; it surrounds the southeast side of the kaza. Its center is Hamid Village; it has a lodge known as the "Göl Tekkesi" and, in Polad Village, a mosque famous as the "Sultan Mustafa Camii."

The second is 2- the Kara Abdal Sultan Nahiye; in 1314 [1896-97] it was merged with the Hamid Nahiye and a great nahiye was formed. The Abdal Sultan Lodge is famous and has a tomb too. In Şeyhli Village there are the Kılıç Dede Lodge and tomb, famous as "Seyfî Dede." The famous villages Büyük Kızoğlu, Küçük Kızoğlu, Çakır Gümüş, Aşağı İnöz and Yukarı İnöz are in this nahiye.

The third is 3- the Ahmed Saray Nahiye; it surrounds the north side of the kaza. At Ahmed Sarayı there are the lodge of es-Seyyid Zeynelabidin Rufaî, one of the worthy children of Seyyid Ahmed Kebir-i Rufaî, a stone mosque and a primary school. In Diyadin Village there is the Samud Lodge built by Zeyneddin Samud Baba, and in Salur Village the Hacı Nebi Lodge.

The fourth is 4- the Doğanlı Nahiye; while formerly Muslim Turks lived there, today Greeks live there entirely. The villages Doğanlı, Tataroğlu, Karamuk, Kemal, Ömer Hafız, Hacı Ali, Kırık and Durasın are in this nahiye.

VI- The sixth is the Kaza of Mecidözü: It encircles the south and west sides of Amasya; it is bounded on the east by Amasya, on the west by Çorum, on the south by Zile and on the north by the kazas of Hacıköyü. Its center is the town of Mecidözü, founded near Avkat Village on the level ridges of two hills. Since this town is also famous as "Hacıköyü," in relation to Avkatlıoğlu Hacı Ali Ağa, to distinguish it from the Hacıköyü mentioned above it is called "Avkat Hacıköyü" and the other "Gümüş Hacıköyü."

It is understood from old documents that the site of this town has been famous as "Mecidözü" since the dates of 530 [1135-36] because it was the property of Abdülmecid Hirevî, who was kadı of Anatolia in the old Danishmendid period. Avkat Village is northwest of this town; it circulates in popular speech that it is the name of one of the Pontic king's sons and that the old fortress ruin seen in this village belonged to this Avkat, who ruled there.

Most of the Turks living in this kaza are of the Bayındır and Kayı uruks; there are also Tatars and Kurds. The town that is its center was formerly in the state of a village; since Avkatlızade el-Hac Ali Ağa, living in this village from the date 1140 [1727-28], gained influence and power, in 1168 [1754-55] he had a mosque, bathhouse, school and a great mansion for himself built, his son Mustafa Paşa arranged the waqfs, and his son el-Hac Süleyman Bey enlarged the mosque again and built a madrasa in front of it, and they brought this place to the state of a town.

Around 1291 [1874-75] the kaza was established and given to the administration of a kaymakam, around 1306 [1888-89] a primary school was built, in 1312 [1894-95] it was converted into a rüştiye school and became a battalion center. Karslı Ahmed Şükrü Bey, formerly a major, had a bathhouse and reading room built; the kaymakam İskilipli İsmail Kemal Bey in 1316 [1898-99] had a renewed government mansion and a clock tower built, repaired the mosque of Hacı Süleyman Bey, and strove to have a fine minaret added to it. The notables and people of the kaza vied with one another in helping, showing an envious zeal.

Since this kaza consists of three kazas famous by the names Mecidözü, Danunözü and Varay, it includes about two hundred and forty villages, seven nahiyes and a total population of about fifty thousand; the town of Mecidözü, its center, is a small new city of about three hundred households. The town's general appearance is pleasant; formerly it was under the influence and administration of the Bayındırlı Family.

The children of Baba İlyas-ı Horasanî, of the Bayındır uruk, when their influence in Amasya vanished, settled in this kaza and preserved their existence. That Bayındır Village, near the town of Mecidözü, was once a rather large town is shown today by the village's size. Since this village is adorned with fine paving, its vineyards and gardens pleasant and abundant, and its position regular, there is no doubt that it was formerly a town.

Of the old great sheikhs, eş-Şeyh Şihabeddin Bâlî Baba, famous as "Balım Sultan," has a lodge and tomb near the town of Mecidözü; it was built in 836 [1432-33] by the emir of Mecidözü, Cibril (Cebele)zade el-Hac Turkad Bey, and its waqfs were arranged. It is a famous place of visitation. The tomb of Zünnûn Baba, famous as "Zünnûn-ı Mısrî," is also in a place near, southwest of this town of Mecidözü; this too is a famous place of visitation. The history and epic of this Zünnûn Baba are famous; they will be mentioned in the second part. He occupied the Ottoman sultanate for about ten years.

Of the seven nahiyes the kaza contains, one is 1- the Aştağul Nahiye. It surrounds the south sides of the kaza; the name of this nahiye, recorded in old records as "Üstac Oğul," is written in various forms such as "Aştağul, Actavul, İştağul, Eştakul, İçtavul." Around 675 [1276-77] the judges of Mecidözü lived in this village "Üstac Oğul" and signed all sharia documents "el-Kâdî bi-Medîneti Aştağul" (judge of the city of Aştağul); judging by this, this nahiye was once a kaza center.

2- Zünnûnâbâd Nahiye: It surrounds the southwest sides of the kaza. It is understood from old documents that this nahiye was formerly a kaza and its center was Elvan Çelebi Village; until the dates of 1263 [1846-47] it was famous under the name "Zünnûnâbâd Kaza," then was brought to the state of a nahiye and attached to the Kaza of Mecidözü. Judging by the fact that in the sharia documents up to the date 930 [1523-24] this nahiye is recorded as "Tanunözü" and after this date written in the form "Zünnûnözü, Zünnûnâbâd," it is understood that it came to be called by the name of the Zünnûn Baba mentioned above.

3- Elvan Çelebi Nahiye: It surrounds the north sides of the kaza; its center is "Ulvan Çelebi," otherwise "Elvan Çelebi Village." Before His Excellency Elvan Çelebi settled here, this nahiye was a kaza famous as "Tanunözü," and the Zünnûnâbâd Nahiye was also within this kaza. If the old arrangement of this kaza is heeded, it is understood that it consisted of two kazas under the names "Tanunözü" and "Mecidözü," that the kaza center of Mecidözü was Aştağul Village and that of Tanunözü Tanun Village. While in the dates of 727 [1326-27] this kaza was called "Tanuk Kaza" and its center "Tanuk Town," later it was wrongly called "Tanun."

In 727, since Muhlis Paşazade Âşık Paşa, one of the children of Baba İlyas, went to the land of Egypt, his son Elvan Çelebi came to this Tanuk and settled; upon his father's death in Kırşehir he took it permanently as his homeland; in 753 [1352] he revived Tanunözü by having built a very pleasant small marble mosque, in front of it a tomb for himself, on its west side a great lodge, on its north side an imarethane and a bathhouse. For this reason this town, after these charitable works were built, began to be called by the name "Elvan Çelebi Kasabası."

Since Alâeddin Ali Şah-ı Rûmî, vizier of Sultan Eretna Bey, famous as "Köse Peygamber" (Beardless Prophet) and ruler of Sivas, was a cousin of this Elvan Çelebi, he helped Elvan Çelebi in reviving the great waqfs that would carry out the said person's charitable works and had given Tanunözü to the children of Muhlis Paşa. For this reason the children of the said pasha were for a long time persons of influence in this kaza.

4- Kayı Nahiye: It surrounds the southeast of the kaza. Because a part of the Kayı Tribe of the Oghuz Turks lived in this nahiye, it was called "Kayı Nahiye." Today there is a village famous by the name "Kayı," where Kurds live. When in the time of Süleyman Han the Rumeli conquests advanced and the people of this village of the Kayı Tribe, to which the sultans of the sons of Osman belong, migrated to Rumeli, a part of the Kurds who resisted Bıyıklı Mehmed Paşa in the Âmid Affair, were defeated and removed, had been settled here.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• kazâ, nâhiye, karye: in Ottoman administration, the district below the sanjak (liva), the subdistrict below it and the village
• kesb-i cesâmet: growing, becoming large
• ifrâğ: casting into a form, converting
• ilhâk: adding, attaching
• kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
• ricâl-i devlet: statesmen
• mâlikâne: a property or income source belonging to its owner
• temlîk: making a property someone's possession
• istîsâl: uprooting, eliminating
• meb'ûs: deputy
• ta'rîb: fitting to Arabic, Arabicization
• akîb-i fethinde: right after the conquest
• tevâtür-i âmm: a rumor widespread in the people's mouth
• elsine-i âmme: popular speech, people's tongue
• vesâ'ik-i atîka: old documents
• mütesellim, kâ'im-makâm: kaymakam
• mekteb-i rüşdî: an Ottoman school at middle-school level
• inâs mektebi: girls' school
• sarây-ı sayfî: summer palace
• vesâ'ik-i şer'iyye: kadı records, sharia documents

Zeytun, Köprü and Hüsameddin's Method

This section begins from the middle of a long series in which the kazas forming the sanjak of Amasya are described one by one. Hüsameddin explains the nahiye and village names of the kazas by tying them to the names of local persons: names such as Ortaklar, Samuk Alan and Gulâm are each counted as derived from the name of a bey, a farm or a slave. Most of these explanations rest on old records and local account; on subjects such as the Zeytun Principality or the conflict of the Köpekoğulları with Ortak Bey, I could not find a record I could confirm in other sources. These derivations for village names must therefore be read as the author's interpretation.

The neighboring entry speaking of the district of Köprü records that Köprülü Mehmed Paşa was born in the village of Rudnik, attached to the sanjak of Berat in Albania, was recruited by devshirme and brought to Istanbul, and was for a time in the town of Köprü. Hüsameddin's saying that statesmen were raised "from the Kaza of Köprü thanks to the Köprülü Family" brings forward the Köprülü family's tie with this town; for details on the family's origin the neighboring entry can be consulted.

The Name and Early History of Ladik

Ladik is today a district attached to the province of Samsun. It is founded about eighty kilometers from the provincial center, at an average altitude of nine hundred and twenty-four meters above sea level; Akdağ and Lake Ladik are the district's defining geographical elements. This place, which Hüsameddin describes as "a kaza of Amasya," became a district in 1928 and was attached to Samsun.

On the source of the name, the first explanation Hüsameddin gives largely agrees with present knowledge. In the sources the district's name is derived from the city of Laodikeia Pontika founded in the region in antiquity, and its founding is generally tied to the Hellenistic period, the time of the Kingdom of Pontus. On which queen or king founded the city there are different accounts; the account of Leodik, wife of Mithridates, that Hüsameddin mentions is one of them. It is also noted that communities such as the Hittites and the Kaska ruled the region earlier. The city continued to exist in the Roman and Byzantine periods too.

Hüsameddin himself characterizes the widespread rumor, that is, the story of Danishmend Melik Gazi's saying "lâ, dik" to Selman Gazi's question "shall I plant the banner," as a tale, and says there is no historical evidence for such folk etymologies. The link with the name of ancient Laodikeia shows that the real source of the name is far older than this story. The "İldik Hatun" explanation Hüsameddin proposes, however, is presented as a conjecture, and I could not find its counterpart in another source.

The Seljuk, Danishmendid and Ottoman Periods

After Manzikert the region was Turkified and came under Seljuk and Danishmendid rule. According to some sources, with the weakening of the Seljuks Ladik passed in the fourteenth century to the administration of the Eretna Principality and was then added to Ottoman lands. Hüsameddin's account that it passed to Ottoman protection after the "Kubadoğulları" administration is consistent with this general frame. On which sanjak Ladik was attached to in the Ottoman period the sources diverge: in some accounts it appears as a kaza attached to the Sanjak of Amasya, in others to the Sanjak of Canik. Hüsameddin counts the kaza within the Liva of Amasya. It is known that Ladik as a kaza continued its existence in the Ottoman period as a settlement based on agriculture and stock-raising and came to the fore in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with tobacco and stock-raising.

On which of the buildings counted for Ladik in the text have reached today, it is possible to say this: the main historical tombs in the district are mentioned as the Sunullah Paşa, Dikilitaş and Seyyid Ahmed-i Kebir tombs. The Seyyid Ahmed Kebir who appears in the text as founder of the Rifâî lodge is the last of these. Lake Ladik is still today one of the district's most important natural assets and is important for fishing and bird watching; as understood from Hüsameddin's sentence "the drying of the lake is being considered," the lake was economically valuable a hundred years ago too. The ski center on Akdağ and the Hamamayağı spas are other elements of today's Ladik.

Mecidözü and the Lodge of Elvan Çelebi

Mecidözü, a kaza center attached to Amasya on Hüsameddin's pages, is today the district of Mecitözü attached to the province of Çorum. Among the places he describes, Elvan Çelebi Village is a village still known today by that name between Çorum and Mecitözü. Elvan Çelebi is the son of Âşık Paşa, grandson of Muhlis Paşa and great-grandson of Baba İlyas-ı Horasanî; his great-grandfather Baba İlyas was the leader of the Babaî uprising of 1240. It is told that he came here right after his father Âşık Paşa's going to Egypt in 727 [1326] and never left; this information agrees with Hüsameddin's sentence "in 727, since Âşık Paşa went to the land of Egypt, his son came over this Tanuk and settled." Another source says that his grandfather Muhlis Paşa settled in the village before Elvan Çelebi, and that after having a tomb built for Baba İlyas in the village where his grave is (the old Çat, today İlyas) he passed with his dervishes to the village of Elvançelebi.

Elvan Çelebi's date of death is not certain. Taking as the basis 760 (1358-59), the completion date of his book on the family history, the Menâkıbü'l-kudsiyye, it is thought that he died a few years later. His grave is in the tomb inside his own lodge and is still visited today by the people of the area. The lodge became the most important center of the Vefâiyye order after the lodge of Baba İlyas in İlyas village in Amasya. The Ottoman historian Âşıkpaşazade also lived in this lodge. Because the lodge was on a busy trade route, in the middle of the sixteenth century the German travelers Dernschwam and Busbecq stayed here and wrote that the dervishes here were poor-looking people who lived by begging but were loved and respected by the people. The information Hüsameddin gives, dated 753 [1352], on the building of the mosque, tomb and imaret, I could not confirm in the sources I read.

Points Worth Noting

A fact repeated throughout the text is that village and nahiye names come from the names of famous persons and that most of these persons were Tatar beys of the Mongol period, Seljuk descendants or Turkmen clan beys. This is an indication of how active a political geography the Amasya region was in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The persons the four great families, which Hüsameddin tells of in connection with Ladik, gave to Ottoman state administration show that Ladik was, beyond being a small Anatolian kaza, a center raising viziers and şeyhülislams for the empire's upper ranks. The details of these claims (such as the relationship between Tayyar Mehmed Paşa and Köprülü Mehmed Paşa) I could not confirm in other sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 1, p. 199–203. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

• "Elvan Çelebi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/elvan-celebi
• "Köprülü Mehmed Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/koprulu-mehmed-pasa

Other sources

• "Ladik, Samsun", Vikipedi, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladik,_Samsun