Known in Amasya as "Tavlacı Sâlim Bey", Sâlim Bey the backgammon player, Alaybeyizâde Sâlim Ali Bey was an alaybeyi, commander of the timar-holding cavalry of the sanjak; he was also a poet who played the saz, excelled at chess and backgammon and enlivened every gathering with his conversation. He rose during the Russian wars, but because he could not get along with the Caniklizâdes, who dominated the region, he withdrew into private life, occupied himself with literature and died in 1221 (1806-07). He had a small collection of his poems; Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar notes with regret that part of this divançe had survived but was burned. Not a single couplet of his is known today.

His Biography in the Source

The entry Sâlim Ali Bey-Alaybeyizâde of Amasya Tarihi, vol. 10, reads as follows:

Amasyalıdır. Alaybeyilerden Fethullâh Ağa'nın mahdûmu ve Abdullah Bey'in birâderidir. Züamadan iken tahsîl-i ilm ü irfân edib üdebâdan oldu. Ba'dehû Amasya alaybeyi olup Rus muhârebelerine iştirâk ederek terakkî gördü. Ancak Caniklizâdelerle iştirâk-i mesâ'î edemediğinden ihtiyâr-ı uzlet ve edebiyât ile iştigâl ederek 1221'de vefât etdi. Şâ'ir, hoş-sohbet, meclis-ârâ bir kimse idi. Sâz ve satranç ve tavla oyunlarında mâhir olduğundan "Tavlacı Sâlim Bey" demekle meşhûr oldu. Dîvânçe-i eş'ârı kısmen bulunduğu hâlde ma'alesef yandı.

In plain English: Born in Amasya, he was a son of Fethullah Ağa of the alaybeyis and brother of Abdullah Bey. While holding a zeamet (a large military fief) he acquired learning and culture and became one of the men of letters. Later he became alaybeyi of Amasya, took part in the Russian wars and advanced. But since he could not work together with the Caniklizâdes, he chose seclusion, occupied himself with literature and died in 1221. He was a poet, a pleasant talker and the life of every gathering. Because he was skilled at the saz and at chess and backgammon, he became known as "Tavlacı Sâlim Bey". His small divan of poems, though partly extant, was unfortunately burned.

Son of an Alaybeyi Family

The alaybeyi was the commander of the timar-holding cavalry of a sanjak; on campaign he led them to the sanjak governor, and in peacetime he was responsible for the military order of the sanjak. Both his father and his brother held this post. In the chronicle section of Hüsameddin's work, "Fethullâh Ağa of the zeamet holders" is recorded as alaybeyi of Amasya in 1150 (1737), 1153 (1740) and 1163 (1750). At the beginning of 1195 (late December 1780), when the previous alaybeyi was made voyvoda of Köprü, "Fethullâh Ağazâde Abdullâh Bey" took his place; this is the Abdullah Bey of the entry.

Another alaybeyi named Fethullah Ağa appears in Hüsameddin's book: "Amasya alaybeyi Fethullâh Ağa bin Yahyâ Çelebi", father of Abdülhâdî Efendi of the Hâbilzâde family. Two men of the same name holding the same office in the same century is not very likely; if they are one and the same, Sâlim Ali Bey came from a branch of the Hâbilzâdes and the scholar Abdülhâdî Efendi was his brother. Hüsameddin does not make this connection, so the conclusion remains a conjecture. The next generations of the family, by contrast, can be traced clearly: the father of Alay Beyzâde Hâlid Bey was "Ali Bey bin Abdullah Bey bin Alaybeyi Fethullah Ağa", and Hâlid in 1248 (1832-33), at the age of twelve, succeeded on his father's death to a zeamet of 17,450 akçe. The fief was thus still in the family's hands in 1832.

Conflict with the Caniklizâdes

The most telling sentence of the entry is that Sâlim "could not work together with the Caniklizâdes". On 30 May 1772 the sanjak of Amasya had been granted as a life-term revenue farm to Hacı Ali Paşa, the notable of Canik, and for the next thirty years his family was the strongest dynasty of the region stretching from the Black Sea coast into inner Anatolia. Pressure on Amasya began in these years: unable to bear the pressure of Mikdad Ahmed Paşa, Hacı Ali Paşa's younger son, the notables of Amasya took refuge at the end of 1778 with the rival Çapanoğlu Mustafa Bey. In 1781 the sanjak of Amasya was again given to Mikdad Ahmed Paşa as an arpalık; in 1799 it passed to Hacı Ali Paşa's grandson Tayyar Mahmud Paşa. The alaybeyi of the sanjak was the man who raised troops under these governors. The entry does not say with which Caniklizâde, or in which year, Sâlim fell out; his withdrawal falls somewhere within these thirty years. When he died in 1221, Amasya was caught in the middle of the struggle between Tayyar Mahmud Paşa and the Çapanoğulları.

Poetry and the Lost Divançe

Every poem of Sâlim Ali Bey is lost. According to the entry, part of the divançe still existed in Hüsameddin's day and was afterwards burned. When and where it burned is not stated. Hüsameddin quotes not a single couplet from it, and whether he saw the text himself is unclear.

Sâlim's poetry is described as part of the world of conversation and convivial gatherings: the saz, chess, backgammon and verse. The word "meclis-ârâ", adorner of gatherings, suggests that for him poetry was to some extent part of the art of conversation. His nickname came neither from his command nor from his poems but from the backgammon board. Among the poets of Amasya the name Sâlim was not his alone. Muîdzâde Sâlim Ömer Çelebi, teacher at Prince Mustafa's palace in the sixteenth century, and Necmîzâde Sâlim Ahmed Efendi of the seventeenth lived before him, while the judge Kırmacızâde Sâlim Mustafa Efendi shared his years.

Chronology

1150, 1153, 1163 (1737-1750): His father Fethullah Ağa is recorded as alaybeyi of Amasya.

30 May 1772: The sanjak of Amasya is granted to Canikli Hacı Ali Paşa as a life-term revenue farm.

End of 1778: The notables of Amasya take refuge with Çapanoğlu Mustafa Bey because of Mikdad Ahmed Paşa's pressure.

Muharram 1195 (late December 1780): His brother Abdullah Bey becomes alaybeyi of Amasya.

1221 (1806-07): Sâlim Ali Bey dies.

1248 (1832-33): His great-nephew Hâlid Bey succeeds to the family's zeamet.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Online sources