Amasyalıdır. Amasya Fatihi olan Melik Dânîşmend Ahmed Gâzi mahdûmudur. Sülâlesi cild-i sânîde yazılmışdır. Amasya’da doğup büyüdü. Buna Melik Seyfeddîn İsmâil Gâzi de dendi. 491’de Amasya emîri ve sâir bilâd-ı Dânîşmendiyye hükümdârı oldu.
492’de Kayseriyye Emîri ve Dânîşmend Gâzi’nin oğulluğu Emîr Gümüş Teğin Gâzi ile ve sonra Konya Hükümdârı [113] Sultân Kılıç Arslan ile araları açıldı. Bu esnâda ehl-i salîb orduları Amasya ve bilâd-ı Dânîşmendiyye üzerine yürüdü.
Melik İsmâil Gâzi, bu kadar sademâta göğüs gererek mukavemet edib neticede salîb ordularını târumâr edib 500’de her iki hasmı da vefât eylediğinden Anadolu Hükümdârı oldu. Merkez-i hükûmeti Amasya idi.
Bu esnâda Amasya kadı’l-kudâtı Alâeddîn Ebu Nasr Mehmed el-Harizmî olup vezîri de Mehmed bin Beşir el-Bağdadî idi. Bunların marifetiyle Melik Gâzi İsmâil Bey Amasya’da nâmına sikke kestirdi. Hutbe okuttu. Sikkelerinde lakabı bazen Şemseddîn ve bazen Seyfeddîn idi.
Her halde Âl-i Selçuk’dan Tuğrul Bey Selçuk hükümdârı Sultân Gıyaseddîn Mehmed Şâh’dan aldığı kuvvetle Anadolu‘ya gelip Kılıç Arslanzâde Sultân Mes’ûd’u Konya tahtına iclâs edib İsmâil Gâzi ile mükerreren muhârebe etdi. Bu muhârebelerin birinde 516’da, yahut 506’da vefât etdi.
Amasya‘da muazzam bir câmii ve türbesi olduğu kayden [114] anlaşıldı. Kuyûd-ı Vakfiye idâresindeki “Amasya Cihât Defteri”nde “Vakf-ı câmi-i şerîf Melik İsmâil Gâzi nâm-ı diğer Câmi-i Enderûn, der İçerişehir, der Amasya” yazılıdır.
Bu câmi-i şerîf, el-yevm Loğ Minare demekle meşhûrdur. Kezâlik türbesi de Şamlılar Mahallesi’nde el-yevm Alagöz Baba Türbesi demekle meşhûr eski kubbe olup, Melik İsmâil Gâzi türbesi olduğu rivâyet edilmekdedir. Fakat Cihât Defteri’nde Melik müşârün-ileyhin kabri Merzifon kasabası civârında Sehmü’d-devle köyünde olduğu yazılıdır.
Bu câmi-i şerîfin ve türbesinin mevkûfâtı defter-i mezkûrda İçerişehir’de Yağıbasan Hânı ve Suluova’da Kolay ve Kulu köyleri olduğu yazılıdır. Hân-ı Yağıbasan, İçerişehir’in Kurşunlu Mahallesi’nde olduğu sonra bu hâna Kurşunlu Hân ve şimdi Kurşunlu Mahallesi dendiği cild-i evvelde yazıldı.
Melik İsmâil Gâzi, Ehl-i Salîb Muhârebâtı’nda harâb olan Ziyâre kasabasını da binâ edib Kasaba-i Dânîşmendiyye tesmiye etdiği ve sonra Ziyâre Mahallesi dendiği de kayd [115] edilmişdir. Melik Şemseddîn İsmâil bin Dânişmend nâmına darb etdirdiği sikkesi “Meskûkât-ı İslâmiye Kataloğu”nda vardır.
Melik Gâzi İsmâil Bey’in Sunkur, Yağıbasan diye iki şehzâdesi görülmekdedir. Gâliba halîlesi Ayşe Gâzi binti el-emir Yağıbasan bin Mehmed bin Alparslan olmalıdır. Sunkur Gâzi, Melik İsmâil Gâzi’nin mahdûmu olduğu muhakkaktır. Fakat Yağıbasan Gâzi, Melik müşârün-ileyhin mahdûmu olmasında ihtilâf vardır.
Amasya‘da Yağıbasan Hânı ve Melik İsmâil Gâzi’nin câmi-i şerîfi mevkûfâtından olduğu gösteriyor ki Melik müşârün-ileyhin Yağıbasan adlı bir mahdûmu vardır. Cemâleddîn İsmâil bin Nizameddîn Yağıbasan da Melik İsmâil Gâzi’nin hafîdidir. Amasya’da Şamice Mahallesi’nde medfûn olan Melik Gâzi İsmâil Bey bin Melik Bayram Bey bu Melik İsmâil Gâzi’nin evlâdındandır.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Melik Dânişmend Ahmed Gazi, the conqueror of Amasya. His line is written in the second volume. He was born and raised in Amasya. He was also called Melik Seyfeddîn İsmâil Gazi. In 491 [1097-98] he became emir of Amasya and ruler of the rest of the Danishmendid lands.
In 492 [1098-99] he fell out with Emîr Gümüş Teğin Gazi, emir of Kayseri and adopted son of Dânişmend Gazi, and afterwards with Sultan Kılıç Arslan, ruler of Konya. At this time the crusader armies marched on Amasya and the Danishmendid lands.
Melik İsmâil Gazi withstood so many blows and resisted, and in the end he shattered the crusader armies. In 500 [1106-07], since both of his enemies had died, he became ruler of Anatolia. His seat of government was Amasya.
At this time the chief judge (kâdı'l-kudât) of Amasya was Alâeddîn Ebû Nasr Mehmed el-Hârizmî, and his vizier was Mehmed son of Beşîr el-Bağdâdî. Through them Melik Gazi İsmâil Bey had coins struck in his own name in Amasya and had the Friday sermon read in his name. The title on his coins was sometimes Şemseddîn and sometimes Seyfeddîn.
In any case, Tuğrul Bey of the Seljuk house came to Anatolia with the force he received from the Seljuk sultan Gıyâseddîn Mehmed Şah, seated Sultan Mes'ud, son of Kılıç Arslan, on the throne of Konya, and fought İsmâil Gazi repeatedly. In one of these battles, in 516 [1122-23] or 506 [1112-13], he died.
It has been understood from the records that he had a magnificent mosque and a tomb in Amasya. In the "Amasya Cihât Defteri" (Amasya Revenue Register) in the Waqf Records Administration it is written: "The mosque waqf of Melik İsmâil Gazi, also known as the Enderûn Mosque, in İçerişehir, Amasya."
This mosque is today famous as Loğ Minare. His tomb is the old dome in the Şamlılar quarter that is today known as the Tomb of Alagöz Baba, and it is said to be the tomb of Melik İsmâil Gazi. However, the Cihât Defteri writes that the Melik's grave is in the village of Sehmü'd-devle near the town of Merzifon.
The waqf properties of this mosque and tomb are shown in the said register as the Yağıbasan Han in İçerişehir and the villages of Kolay and Kulu in Suluova. It was written in the first volume that the Yağıbasan Han was in the Kurşunlu quarter of İçerişehir, that this han was later called Kurşunlu Han, and that the quarter is now called Kurşunlu.
It is also recorded that Melik İsmâil Gazi rebuilt the town of Ziyâre, which had been ruined in the wars with the crusaders, and named it the Dânişmendiyye Town, and that it was later called the Ziyâre quarter. The coin he had struck in the name of Melik Şemseddîn İsmâil son of Dânişmend is in the "Meskûkât-ı İslâmiye Kataloğu" (Catalogue of Islamic Coins).
Two sons of Melik Gazi İsmâil Bey are seen, named Sunkur and Yağıbasan. His wife Ayşe Gazi was probably the daughter of Emîr Yağıbasan son of Mehmed son of Alparslan. It is certain that Sunkur Gazi was the son of Melik İsmâil Gazi. But there is disagreement over whether Yağıbasan Gazi was the son of the said Melik.
That the Yağıbasan Han in Amasya was among the properties of Melik İsmâil Gazi's mosque waqf shows that the said Melik had a son named Yağıbasan. Cemâleddîn İsmâil son of Nizâmeddîn Yağıbasan is also a grandson of Melik İsmâil Gazi. Melik Gazi İsmâil Bey son of Melik Bayram Bey, who is buried in the Şamice quarter in Amasya, is a descendant of this Melik İsmâil Gazi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Dânişmendiyye: the Danishmendid country, the lands of the Danishmendid dynasty
- ehl-i salîb: the crusaders
- sademât: shocks, heavy blows
- târumâr etmek: to shatter, to scatter
- kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
- sikke kestirmek: to have coins struck in one's own name
- hutbe okutmak: to have one's name mentioned in the Friday sermon; a sign of independent rule
- iclâs etmek: to seat
- mükerreren: repeatedly
- kuyûd-ı vakfiye: waqf records
- cihât defteri: a register in which the revenues and expenses of waqfs are written
- mevkûfât: properties attached to a waqf
- halîle: wife
- hafîd: grandson
- müşârün-ileyh: the person named above
The Danishmendids and Amasya
Dânişmend Gazi, founder of the Danishmendid dynasty, entered the service of Sultan Alparslan, took part in the Battle of Manzikert, and after the victory conquered Sivas, which had been granted to him as an iqta, in 1071; he then took Amasya, Tokat, Niksar, Kayseri and their surroundings. The dynasty ruled around Sivas, Tokat, Amasya, Kayseri and Malatya from 1071 to 1178. When the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan II. Kılıç Arslan annexed the Danishmendid lands, Amasya joined the Seljuk state, and under the Seljuks the city was known by the title "Dârü'l-izz." Hüsameddin presents İsmâil Gazi as a direct son of Dânişmend Gazi. Present-day research gives the order of the dynasty differently.
The Events Hüsameddin Describes and the Chronology Known Today
The chain of events in the text recalls the following events known today from Danishmendid history: Gümüştegin, son of Dânişmend Gazi, together with Kılıç Arslan defeated the crusaders near Merzifon in August 1101; he took Malatya in 1102, then fell out with Kılıç Arslan, was defeated near Maraş (1103) and died in 1104. Kılıç Arslan also died in 1107. The dates Hüsameddin gives, 491, 492 and 500, fall within this span. However, the man who headed the Danishmendids against the crusaders at that time and is named alongside Kılıç Arslan is Gümüştegin in the sources; the name İsmâil does not appear. The sequence in the text, which makes "Gümüş Teğin Gazi" and "Kılıç Arslan" İsmâil's rivals, suggests that these events are being tied to a different ruler. This is an interpretation and cannot be tested against a single source.
On the other hand, in the list of Danishmendid rulers the name İsmâil appears after the death of Yağıbasan, in the 1160s. This İsmâil is the son of İbrâhim, brother of Zünnûn; it is reported that Yağıbasan's wife married him and proclaimed him ruler, and the sources differ on who took the throne. This ruler was called "Şemseddîn İsmâil" and reigned from 1166 to 1172. The title "Şemseddîn" that Hüsameddin gives to İsmâil Gazi fits this name. It is possible that two different İsmâils have been told as one person; however, this inference does not rest on firm information. The dispute over whether Yağıbasan was İsmâil's son is related to this: in the inscription of 552 (1157) found in Niksar, "Melik Gazi" is named as Yağıbasan's father, and in the dynasty's lists this name belongs to Emîr Gazi; the name İsmâil does not appear in the inscription.
Seljuk Intervention and Mes'ud's Accession
Hüsameddin writes that Tuğrul Bey seated Mes'ud on the throne of Konya with the force he received from the Great Seljuk sultan. According to the encyclopedia entry on the Danishmendid dynasty, Emîr Gazi, the elder son of Gümüştegin, supported his son-in-law Mes'ud, and thanks to him Mes'ud came to the Anatolian Seljuk throne in 1116. These two accounts differ. The order of events in Hüsameddin's book does not agree with the present knowledge that shows Danishmendid support.
The Loğ Minare Mosque and Enderun
The building Hüsameddin calls a "magnificent mosque" is today the Enderun Mosque in the Hatuniye quarter of Amasya, known among the people as the Loğ Minare Mosque. Its date of construction is not known with certainty. Hüsameddin states that in some documents from 612 (1215-16) on it appears under the name "Câmi-i Enderun" or "Câmi-i Gazi Bey." The mosque was most probably built under Şemseddin İsmâil Gazi Bey (1166-1172) of the Danishmendids. This date coincides with the reign of the İsmâil mentioned above, and it is noteworthy that it presents the İsmâil of the text as the builder of this structure. In 879 (1474-75) Gülbahar Hatun, mother of Bayezid II, and in 911 (1505-06) Gülçiçek Hatun, likewise of the palace, endowed various villages, hamlets and income properties to it.
The building has long been in ruins; it was reduced to ruins in the earthquake of 1939, and from its remains it has been understood that it was built over a church and had colonnaded porticoes. In its southeast corner stands a minaret of red brick about 13 meters in diameter. Because this minaret, nearly 15 meters high, looks like a great loğ stone, the mosque is called "Loğ Minare" among the people. The name Enderun is thought to come from the building's location in the İçkale (inner fortress).
The Question of the Tomb and the Grave
Hüsameddin reports the tradition that the Tomb of Alagöz Baba in the Şamlılar quarter belongs to Melik İsmâil, but he himself also notes that the waqf register contradicts this tradition: the register places the grave in a village near Merzifon. The sources we read contain no other information on whose tomb this is, so the matter is unresolved.
The Yağıbasan Han and Kurşunlu
Yağıbasan, Danishmendid ruler of Sivas and Amasya, took Ünye, Samsun and Bafra on the Black Sea coast in 1150. It is recorded that Amasya, Ankara and Cappadocia were given to Yağıbasan, the son-in-law of the Anatolian Seljuk sultan I. Mes'ud. Yağıbasan is buried in the cemetery of the madrasa he had built in Niksar. The Yağıbasan Han and the Palace of Dânişmend Gazi in Amasya, though mentioned in the sources, have not survived. According to Hüsameddin, the han shown among the properties of the mosque waqf is this building, and its name later became Kurşunlu Han and then the name of the quarter.
What Could Not Be Verified
No information was found in the sources read on Alâeddîn Ebû Nasr Mehmed el-Hârizmî and Mehmed son of Beşîr el-Bağdâdî, on the rebuilding of Ziyâre as Dânişmendiyye, on Sunkur Gazi and Yağıbasan Gazi being sons of Melik İsmâil, or on the grave in the village of Sehmü'd-devle. The identity of the coins and the "Amasya Cihât Defteri" entry also could not be verified outside the book.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 298–299. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies