Ninth Chapter

In Modern English

It explains and relates in detail the local Turkish beys who gained strength and ruled as emirs in Amasya and its surroundings after the death of Sultan Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan, the administrations to which Amasya and its surroundings were attached in their time, the events, the notable persons and their historical circumstances.

Sultan Alâeddîn Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan was the most just among the Ilkhanids, a Mongol ruler who stood closer to the Turks than his predecessors. He paid close attention to justice and fairness, and showed more respect than his father to the principles and rules of the religion of Islam, to the Sunni sect and to the men of religious learning.

In the reign of Bahâdır Khan the Turks had seen something of ease and happiness, had managed to suppress the Mongol and Tatar excesses to some extent, and thereby, achieving a national solidarity, had come to an age in which they could show their existence. In these matters Çoban Noyin, Bahâdır Khan's commander-in-chief (emîrü'l-ümerâ), and his children had given great help and done good.

Bahâdır Khan mostly appointed Turks in Anatolia and favored Turkish beys. The beys whom Emîr Çoban's son Timurtaş Bey, governor of Sivas, brought close to him were also Turks. The Turks loved Timurtaş Bey very much, because Timurtaş Bey, like Bahâdır Khan, was on the side of the Turks.

For this reason the execution of Emîr Çoban, Timurtaş Bey's flight from Sivas to Egypt, then the giving of the province of Anatolia to Emîr Şeyh Hasan Celâyirî, ruler of Baghdad, and afterward the passing of the province, on the death of Babukşâh, governor of Amasya, to Şâdî Bey of Hoy, had greatly affected the Turks and beys living around Amasya. For Mongol and Tatar influence and pressure were reviving.

Şihâbeddîn Şâdî Bey, governor of Amasya, as is understood both from his waqf deed and from official documents that have come to hand, was of the Yazarlu Turkmens living in the city of Hoy in Azerbaijan. He was born in the city of Hoy, received a Persian upbringing, and the language and literature of Iran had taken a place in his mind to the degree they had among the Azeris. Because he was very anxious, he was known jestingly by the nickname "Huylu" (temperamental).

The Azeris were Turks living in the province of Azerbaijan. Since Iranian feelings, Iranian literature and Iranian history had lived in their minds from old, they were very fond of Iran and Iranianness. Their official language was the Persian language, and their learning and culture were Iranian literature. Reading and writing Persian, above all speaking it, was in their view the greatest virtue. Even in language and character they had been separated from the Turks. Their love for the Mongol and Tatar beys had reached the degree of worship.

For this reason the Azeris did not shrink from conduct that despised and belittled the Turks and Turkishness, and did not attach importance to the thoughts and feelings of the environment in which they lived. Nevertheless they were Muslim and devout persons. The Azeris were found everywhere in Anatolia and, with their hypocrisy and flattery, gained influence and standing everywhere. They acted as deputies of the Mongol beys and carried out their business. Those in Anatolia who experienced the influence and pressure of the Ilkhanids most were the Azeris.

Şâdî Bey, governor of Amasya, had three brothers: Şemseddîn Muhammed Bey, Kemâleddîn Ahmed Bey and Cemâleddîn Fîrûz Bey. Of these, Fîrûz Bey was sipehsâlâr of Amasya, that is, its military commander. He also had two sons whom he loved as his two eyes: Emrullâh and Nasrullâh Çelebi. Şâdî Bey's slaves and concubines were very many. His influence and sovereignty were very sharp.

In Şâdî Bey's time the province of Amasya comprised the sanjaks of Sinop, Samsun, Şarkî Karahisar, Çorum, Tokat and Amasya; Şâdî Bey's emirate influence extended as far as Erzincan. In his Persian waqf deed, drawn up in Ankara in 725 [1324-25] and confirmed in Amasya in 735 [1334-35], he had endowed his goods and property in these places.

The great emir who was müstevfi, that is, treasurer and tax collector, in Amasya was Şemseddîn Muhammed Şâh bin Ahmed bin Ebi'l-Bedr en-Nahcivânî; the mufti of the country, called sadru'l-ulemâ, was Mevlânâ Şemseddîn Muhammed bin Ahmed en-Nahcivânî. The müstevfi was called "the Great" and the mufti "the Small". Both were among the great scholars. The muhtesib of the country, that is, the police and police chief of Amasya, was the great emir İmâdeddîn Ömer bin İbrâhim el-Lôrî. The Turks of Amasya called him "Lor Ömer".

In the time of their power the chief judge (kâdı'l-kudât) of Amasya was Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Ebu'l-Fezâ'il Ömer bin Şemseddîn Muhammed el-Hallâtî. This person was born in Amasya, received a fine Turkish upbringing, and was a Turk by lineage and spirit. He was high in learning and moral virtues and unequaled in prudence and foresight. He was the classmate and friend of learning of Babazâde Hâce Alâeddîn Alî Şâh bin Kutlu Bey.

The candâr of Amasya, that is, its guard, city steward and city trustee, was the great emir Musliheddîn Kutlu Bey. He was Şâdî Bey's slave and the son-in-law of Gümüşlüzâde Mahmûd Çelebi. The reins of his administration were in appearance in Şâdî Bey's hand, and in secret in the hand of Mahmûd Çelebizâde Celâleddîn Abdullah Çelebi. The notables of Amasya had made this Kutlu Bey their shield in all national and municipal affairs. He was called "Kutlu Cândâr".

The dizdâr of Amasya Castle, that is, the castle commander, was the vizier Kemâleddîn Ahmed Bey, brother of the governor Şâdî Bey. He too was called "Ahmed Dizdâr". Mevlânâ Bahâeddîn Muhammed bin Ahî Hasan el-Harezmî was the imam and famed sheikh of the upper castle. All the affairs of the Harşena Castle were in their hands.

At the time of Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan's death, among the notable scholars in Amasya, Mevlânâ Cemâleddîn İbrâhim bin İlyâs Aksarâyî, Mevlânâ Rükneddîn bin Muhammed Sinôbî, Mevlânâ Kemâleddîn Ebû İshak İsmâ'il bin Ya'kûb Sâlârî and the deputy of Amasya, Mevlânâ Nûreddîn Osmân bin Ya'kûb Ziyârî, were very famous. Kemâleddîn Ahmed bin Ziyârî, Musliheddîn Mûsâ bin Mahmûd Sivasî and Bahâeddîn Muhammed Kübrevî were also among the famed professors.

Among the notables of Amasya, Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Şâh bin Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Pervâne, son of Torumtay; Celâleddîn Abdullah Çelebi bin Tâceddîn Mahmûd Çelebi, son of Gümüşlü; and Alâeddîn Alî Bey bin Muhammed, son of Halifet Gâzi, were very influential. Ya'kûb Şâh was counted chief notable. İzzeddîn Muhammed Bey bin Saltık Bey, son-in-law of Alî Bey, known as "son of Gül Bey", was not inferior to his father-in-law.

Of the notables of second rank in comparison with these, there were: Gümüşlüzâde Burhâneddîn Ahmed Çelebi, Hâce Kutbeddîn Muhammed Çelebi, Babazâde Nûreddîn Kutlu Bey bin Fîrûz Bey, the Sunkur Beyzâde Süleyman and İsmâ'il Beys, and Hâce Fahreddîn Cevherî of the Babazâdes.

There were very important Turkish beys around Amasya. Of these, the Kayı Turks lived in the southwestern parts of Amasya. Their bey was the famed Buşaklu Emîr Bahâeddîn Kürt Bey. His brother Sevinc Er (Sevincer) Bey was also famed. Their father Kayı Bey was among the close men of the Seljuk Sultan Mes'ûd. The places where they lived are the villages known today as Kayı, Kayı Kürtler and Sevincer.

In the Öz Nahiye, the southern side of Amasya, the Yazarlu clan had settled. The ruler of this nahiye was the Yazarlu bey Kerîmeddîn İrmiş Bey bin Turak Bey. The farm where he lived is today called İrmiş (Vermiş) Village. İrmiş Village is the waqf of his grandson Cemâleddîn Fîrûz Bey. In official records it is called the "Cemâleddîn Bey Yazârî Waqf".

The Akdağ and Arguma nahiyes in the northern parts of Amasya were very important. Among the Turkmens who exercised the most influence there, Abâdoğlu Mübârizeddîn Sevündük Bey was also famed. This person lived in the village of Hakala, in front of the northern gorge of Amasya, overlooking Suluova, and made himself known to all the Turks. Through his effort Hakala had become a pleasant town.

The district of Ladik was the property of İhtiyâreddîn Sevinc Bey, famed from old as "Kızoğlu". Of his relatives, Abdî Beyzâde Hamîd Bey ruled the parts of the district called today "Hamîd Nahiye", and Ahmed Bey the northern parts called "Ahmed Sarâyı". In Sevinc Bey's time es-Seyyid Ahmed Sâhibü'l-hâl, one of the Rifa'i sheikhs, was a greatly respected person with a blessed face.

Celâleddîn Taşan Bey, son of Emîrdâd, who ruled as emir between Köprü and Havza, had more influence and power than these. He ruled the districts of Köprü, Havza and Merzifon. He lived in the high mountains and plateaus between Köprü and Merzifon. These mountains came to be called "Taşan Mountain". Taşan Bey's brother İdrîs Bey ruled the western parts of the district of Köprü and the nahiyes of Zeytun and Göl, and Esen Bey of the Samuk Oğulları the nahiye of Samuk Alanı.

The district of Gümüş Hacıköyü was the property of Burhâneddîn Ahmed Bey, brother of Gümüşlüzâde Abdullah Çelebi, one of the notables of Amasya. The famed Armağan Bey administered the district in his name. The town of Gümüş was at this time called "Gümüş Pazarı". Its judge, Mevlânâ Nizâmeddîn Abdülmelik bin Ömer en-Nahcivânî, was very well known.

Tur Alî Beyzâde Berekât Şâh, who had considerable influence and fame in the district of Havza, did not have as much influence as these. But Alâeddîn Saltık Bey bin Bayındır Bey, who ruled the district of Mecidözü, was a person equal to Taşan Bey. He lived in the town of Bayındır developed by his father. This place has now come down to the status of a village, and to its northwest Mecidözü has become a town.

The district of Varay was under the administration of İmâdeddîn Esen Bey, son of Emîr Babukşâh. He lived in the present Şerefder-Şerefler Village. The Mongol bey Acaytu Bay (Ece Bey) lived in the town of Varay, today the center of this district. But Esen Bey's influence and fortune extended as far as the town of Zile. The ruler of Zile, Şemseddîn Sâyis Bey, was famed. After him Kara Ca'fer Bey was one of Esen Bey's trusted men.

The great emir Şerefeddîn Osmân Bey bin Gâzi Muhammed Bey, who ruled the present province of Çorum, lived in Osmancık Castle and exercised his rule over Hacıhamza, İskilip, Çorum and the dependent places. His brother Nûreddîn el-Hâc Hamza Bey, living in his castle that ruled the present town of Hacıhamza, helped his brother.

In Çorum Osmân Bey's deputy was Sa'deddîn Sülü Şâh bin Hızır Şâh, chief of the Çorumlu clan. The whole Çorumlu clan had submitted to Sülü Şâh's command and influence. But Hüsâmeddîn Timur Bey, who lived at the Develü Fortress, threatened Çorum and rivaled Osmân Bey. His son Hüseyin Bey lived around Çorum.

The present district of İskilip (İskîlîb) was under the administration of the beys of two famed Turkmen tribes, the Ceceli and the Katarlı. The Cecelis, famed under the name of Caca Bey, had submitted to the command of Yahyâ Bey of the line of Cibrîl Bey bin Caca Bey, and the Katar (Kutar)lıs to Ya'kûb Bey, son of Katar.

Mühezzebeddîn Ulu Bey, who became emir of Tokat in place of Emîr Biçâr's son Nûreddîn Hamza-i Rûmî, was the son of Habakbay bin Sebüktay, one of the Mongol emirs, and a Turk by lineage. His cousin Zahîreddîn Tayartan Bey bin Şeyh Ömer was emir of Erzincan, and his paternal aunt was the mother of the Egyptian ruler Melik Nâsıreddîn Muhammed bin Kalavun. Because of this Ulu Bey had great influence. The treasurer of Tokat, es-Seyyid Şerefeddîn Alî bin Kıvâmeddîn Muhammed Isfahânî, was a man trusted by Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan.

However, Tâceddîn Toganşâh, emir of Niksar, who ruled the eastern side of Tokat, was Ulu Bey's rival. In the "Mesâlikü'l-Ebsâr" he is called "Emîr Togancık". His opponent was his own brother Nûreddîn Alp Arslan Bey. He lived in the Ladik nahiye of Niksar and fought with his brother whenever he found an opportunity. Their father Alâeddîn Savcı Bey was among the emirs of Amasya.

It is worth noting that even the tombs of these two brothers, which I found at Niksar on the road to the Tomb of Melik Dânişmend Gâzi, beside a stream, were built side by side in opposition to each other.

The emir of Şarkî Karahisar in the east of Amasya, Mübârizeddîn Bayramşâh bin Dâvud Bey, regarded himself as descended from the Abbasids. In his waqf deed, in which he endowed fields to the Sheikh Mu'îneddîn Süleyman Lodge, he had it written with great importance that he was an "Abbasid".

The emir of Samsun, Zeyneddîn Tüli Bey, son of Hâbil, was very famed with the title "emir of the coasts" (emîrü's-sevâhil). Because he was the brother-in-law of Eretna Bey, emir of Sivas, he was a person whose word counted for much. The judge of Samsun, Mecdeddîn İshâk Çelebi, was the brother of Nûreddîn Osmân, deputy of Amasya.

While the province of Sinop, north of Amasya, was under the administration of Mu'îneddîn Süleyman Pervâne Beyzâde Emîr Nâsıreddîn Ahmed Gâzi Çelebi bin Mühezzebeddîn Mes'ûd Çelebi, on his death in 728 [1327-28] his son İlmeddîn Süleyman Bey became emir in his place. But he was not safe from Hüsâmeddîn Süleyman Pasha, son of Şemseddîn Timur Cândar, bey of Kastamonu.

Devletşâh, emir of Ankara, the opponent and rival of Süleyman Pasha, was also among the famed emirs. Reşîdeddîn Eretna Bey, emir of Sivas, who had more authority and influence than these beys, was also a very worthy Turk. His adviser and capable army commander was Şerefeddîn Ahmed Bey bin Celâdet bin Çakır Khan.

Until the death of Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan, the province of Anatolia consisted of Erzurum, Sivas, Ankara, Kastamonu and the dependent places and, under the name "Eyâlet-i Rûmiyye", was under the administration of the great emir of Iraq, Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr Celâyirî. For this reason the beys listed above were deputies of Hasan-ı Kebîr, the governor-general.

Nevertheless, in the reign of Bahâdır Khan these Turkish beys had reached a distinguished position in which they could preserve their existence. Each ruled as emir independently in his own surroundings. The noses of the Mongol and Tatar beys had been considerably broken.

As related in "Câmiu'd-Düvel", in place of the deceased Sultan Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan, Sultan Mu'izzeddîn Arpa Khan bin Şa'bân bin Melik Timur bin Artuk Boga bin Tuli Khan bin Genghis Khan came to the Ilkhanid throne in the middle of Rabî' al-âkhir 736 [1335-36] in the city of Sultâniyye, with the help of the grand vizier Hâce Gıyâseddîn Muhammed bin Hâce Reşîdeddîn Hemedânî.

This change of sultanate greatly pleased the Turks and beys in Anatolia, especially in the province of Sivas. For dispute and enmity, ambition for office and state, had suddenly flared up among the Mongol beys on whom the Azeris and Iranians relied; the position of the Azeris and Iranians was badly shaken, and the Turkish beys had found more strength.

Arpa Khan was a very cruel and merciless man. Since he was not of the line of Hülâgû, he tried to crush the supporters of the Hülâgû dynasty in order to protect his throne. Thereupon the emir Alâeddîn Alî Pâdişâh bin Sülemiş bin Tengir-i Gürgân, maternal uncle of Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan and governor of Diyarbekir, rose up and marched on Tabriz with all his force.

Arpa Khan met Ali Pâdişâh. He was killed in the bloody battle that took place between them. Mûsâ Khan bin Alî bin Bâyed and Khan bin Turagay bin Hülâgû Khan, under the protection of Emîr Alî, came to the Ilkhanid throne on the seventeenth of Ramadan 736 [1335-36] (according to Câmiu'd-Düvel, at the beginning of Shawwal). All the governing power of the state passed into Alî Pâdişâh's hand.

Emîr Alî Pâdişâh was of the Mongol race and of the Oyrat (Hoyrat) people, ugly in face, oppressive and selfish in character. His tyranny and pressure suppressed even Arpa Khan's compulsion. He united the Anatolian beys around Emîr Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr, governor of the provinces of Iraq and Rûm, and Hacı Togay (Togacar), who had seized the province of Diyarbekir.

These two great emirs of Anatolia, uniting with the forces they could gather from Diyarbekir and Iraq, rose up and went to war with Ali Pâdişâh. In the battle fought around Aladağ Emîr Ali was killed, and Mûsâ Khan too was forced to flee. Muhammed Khan bin Yüzi bin Kutlug bin et-Temûr bin İbarcı bin Mengü Temrin Hülâgû Khan, under the protection of Emîr Hasan-ı Kebîr, came to the Ilkhanid throne on the tenth day of Dhu'l-Hijja 736 [1335-36]. Because of this the Anatolian beys gained a little more strength.

During this turmoil the sons of Emîr Çoban and his son Timurtaş, who had taken a path of good intention toward the Turks, came out of the places where they had been hiding since 727 [1326-27], rose up and tried to win the Turkish beys. The Turks and beys who had stood with Timurtaş were also joining them.

For Emîr Timurtaş bin Emîr Çoban, as written in "A'yânu'l-Asr ve A'vânu'n-Nasr", had been killed by strangulation in Egypt in 728 [1327-28]. His children were these: Şeyh Hasan, Mısır Melik, Cemdoğan, Pîr Hasan, Şeydûn, Melik Eşref, Eşter. All of them had hidden in corners of Anatolia.

Şeyh Hasan was the eldest of Timurtaş's sons. He was called "Küçük Hasan, Şeyh Hasan-ı Sagîr". He was a very cunning, intelligent man who understood politics. First he proclaimed an unknown person who greatly resembled his father to be his father Timurtaş and drew his father's close men to himself. Hamza and Ya'kûb Beys gave great help to Küçük Hasan Bey's influence and cause. Indeed Emîr Hamza-i Rûmî, who was with Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr, confirmed this and threw Hasan-ı Kebîr into great alarm.

For this reason the positions of Şâdî Bey, governor of Amasya, and of the Azeris who admired the Mongols became very difficult. By his position Şâdî Bey was obliged to help Emîr Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr, governor of Iraq and Anatolia, with property and life. For he was the said emir's deputy and kaymakam in Amasya.

Yet the Anatolian beys were giving great help and strength to Şeyh Hasan-ı Sagîr, son of Timurtaş. At their head was Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Şâh, son of Torumtay, notable of the notables of Amasya. On the day Hasan-ı Kebîr was defeated, Şâdî Bey's fall was certain.

Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Şâh was counted among Emir Timurtaş's closest men. For this reason he helped and strengthened Timurtaş's son Küçük Şeyh Hasan Bey and became his army commander and manager of his affairs. Emîr Şeyh Hasan-ı Sagîr, thanks to a war stratagem he arranged, prevailed over Emîr Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr. After this victory Şâdî Bey departed from the world.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• a'yân: notables of a city, influential families
• emîrü'l-ümerâ: emir of emirs, commander-in-chief
• sipehsâlâr: army commander
• müstevfî: treasurer, head of financial affairs
• muhtesib: official who inspected the market and attended to police matters
• kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
• sadru'l-ulemâ: head of the scholars; here, the city's mufti
• candâr: guard, official responsible for city security
• dizdâr: castle commander
• kethüdâ: steward, deputy manager
• mültezim: here, a person who takes a candidate under his protection and supports him
• serîr-i İlhânî: the Ilkhanid throne
• hud'a-i harbiyye: war stratagem
• ihtifâ: going into hiding
• oymak, aşiret: nomadic Turkmen community
• ceberût: tyranny, compulsion

Abu Sa'id's Death and the Vacancy of the Throne

Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan was born at Ucan on 2 June 1305 and died in Karabakh on 30 November 1335. He left no heir behind and designated no successor. All the events Hüsameddin relates in this section arise from this vacuum. Arpa Khan, of the line of Tolui, took over the government and, claiming that Bağdad Hatun had had Ebû Sa'îd killed, had her executed. Hüsameddin does not go into this detail. The sources write that after Ebû Sa'îd's death the Ilkhanid state was fragmented in the struggle of powerful families, especially the Chobanids and the Jalayirids, and divided into small governments ruled by Mongols, Turks and Persians.

Hüsameddin's depiction of Ebû Sa'îd as a just ruler close to the Turks is an interpretation. According to the sources Çoban and his sons spent the state treasury as they wished in the first years of the reign. Çoban's opposition to Ebû Sa'îd's marriage to Bağdad Hatun had also broken relations between them. In 1327 Ebû Sa'îd moved against Çoban and his sons; he had Çoban killed by sending an order to the governor of Herat, with whom he had taken refuge. His son Timurtaş, who had taken refuge in Egypt, was also killed by the Mamluk sultan Nâsır Muhammed at Ebû Sa'îd's request. The "execution of Çoban" and "Timurtaş's being killed in Egypt" in the text are these events.

Hasan-ı Büzürg and Küçük Hasan

"Şeyh Hasan-ı Kebîr" in the text appears in the sources as the Jalayirid Hasan-ı Büzürg; büzürg means "great" in Persian. He married Çoban's daughter Bağdad Hatun in 1323, and became governor of Anatolia when, on Çoban's death, Bağdad Hatun divorced her husband and married Ebû Sa'îd. Because of an assassination rumor he was sentenced to death in 1332, was imprisoned in Kemah Castle through the intercession of Ebû Sa'îd's mother, and when his innocence was understood was appointed governor-general of Anatolia again in 1333. When Ebû Sa'îd died without an heir, he set Muhammed Khan, of the line of Hülâgû, on the throne. In 1336 Muhammed Khan's forces met the forces of Mûsâ Khan and Alî Pâdişâh; Mûsâ was defeated and Alî Pâdişâh died. This is the event Hüsameddin describes as the battle around Aladağ.

"Küçük Hasan" in the text, that is, Hasan Kûçek, is the son of Timurtaş, born in Anatolia in 1319. When his father was killed at the hands of the Mamluks in 1328 he had to hide for a time from his father's rivals. According to the sources he claimed that his father was alive and put in Timurtaş's place a slave named Kara Cerî, said to be a probable child of Çoban. Hüsameddin refers to this person as "an unknown man"; in his footnote he writes that his name is given as "Ebûbekir" in Safadî's "A'yânu'l-Asr". Whether the Kara Cerî in the sources and the name Ebûbekir that Hüsameddin gives are the same person could not be verified.

The clash in which Hasan Kûçek defeated Hasan-ı Büzürg is placed in the sources on 16 July 1338, in the Alatak region near Van; Hasan Kûçek was then nineteen years old. According to the same sources Hasan Kûçek in the summer of 1338 enthroned Çoban's widow Satıbey Hatun, in May 1339 found Süleyman Khan, and on 26 June 1340 defeated the Jalayirids in the Zerrinrud valley near Maragha. The events Hüsameddin gives in the next entry with the dates 739-740 fit into this sequence. In 1343 Hasan Kûçek was killed.

There is a conspicuous contradiction in this section. According to the encyclopedia entry, Hüsameddin writes in the second volume that Şâdî Bey, governor of Amasya, died in 736 (1335). At the end of this section, however, Şâdî Bey's death is tied to the day Küçük Hasan prevailed over Hasan-ı Büzürg. In the sources this victory is in 1338. The two accounts do not agree; Şâdî Bey's death date could not be determined in this study.

Eretna

Eretna, who is mentioned in the text as the "emir of Sivas", appears in the sources as a commander of Uighur origin. He served under Timurtaş, the Ilkhanid governor of Anatolia, and established a bond of kinship by marrying his sister to Timurtaş. Taking Timurtaş's going to Egypt as an opportunity, he rose against the Mongols and had coins struck and the khutba read in the name of the Mamluk sultan. He defeated Hasan-ı Büzürg's army at the place Karanbük between Sivas and Erzincan, and then declared his independence. The Eretna principality ruled between 1335 and 1381 and at its greatest extent included Sivas, Kayseri, Amasya, Tokat, Çorum, Niksar and Erzincan. The matter of the khutba and coin that Hüsameddin relates in later pages is a continuation of these events.

The Beys and Place Names Around Amasya

In this section Hüsameddin lists dozens of beys in and around Amasya, the places where they lived, and the origins of village, mountain and nahiye names. Some names live on today: the villages of Kayı, Kayı Kürtler and Sevincer, İrmiş (Vermiş), Hakala, Taşan Mountain, Bayındır, Mecidözü, Varay and Şerefder (Şerefler). There are many places for which Hüsameddin does not give a source. The encyclopedia entry also notes as criticized aspects that he mostly does not show the sources he consulted and that on some subjects he resorts to excessive etymological analogies. For this reason footnote explanations such as "the old name of Çorum was Çorumlu", "the word Kürt is Turkish, meaning beech tree" and "the lor in Lor Ömer means bastard and rake" should not be regarded as firm information unless verified separately. No source in which these are confirmed was found.

One of the footnotes states that the Beyler Çelebi Mosque in Osmancık and the Bey Mosque in Çorum are works of Şerefeddîn Osmân Bey. Another says that the gravestone of Ahmed Gâzi Çelebi, emir of Sinop, states that he died in 728, and that this person, who lies in Şeyh Savcı Village near Havza, is Altunbaş, son of the Seljuk Sultan Mes'ûd. Yet the next entry relates that Altunbaş was proclaimed sultan in Amasya in 739-740; present-day studies place his death in 1356-57 and write that he was buried in Umurbey Village, attached to Havza. The identification in the footnote does not agree with these dates.

Note for the Reader

The sharp distinction Hüsameddin draws between "Azeris" and "Turks" is his interpretation. His presenting Şâdî Bey as a Yazarlu Turkmen of Hoy origin also shows that he himself accepts that the Azeris are Turks. That Şâdî Bey's waqf deed was written in Persian and drawn up in Ankara in 725 and confirmed in Amasya in 735 is also in the text; the waqf deed itself was not found in other sources. The names of the notables of Amasya, the muftis and the professors in the text also rest largely on Hüsameddin's own record and could not be verified in other sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 394–399. amasya.bel.tr
• "Amasya Tarihi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/amasya-tarihi

Academic studies

• "Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır'ın Ölümü Üzerine Bazı Mülahazalar", Genel Türk Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/gttad/article/1647931
• Doğan Koşan, "Son Anadolu Selçuklu Meliki Taceddin Altunbaş'ın Amasya'daki Medresesi ve Türbesi", Gaziantep Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 22/3, 2023, p. 802–819.

Other sources

• "Ebû Said Bahadır", Vikipedi, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebû_Said_Bahadır
• "Hasan-ı Büzürg", Vikipedi, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasan-ı_Büzürg
• "Hasan Kûçek", Vikipedi, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasan_Kûçek
• "Eretna Beyliği", Vikipedi, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eretna_Beyliği