Sultân Gıyâseddîn Keyhusrev'in zamânında dîvân-ı sultânîde çavuşbaşı iken 676'da Pervâne Bey'le beraber maktûl olan Seyfeddîn Alakuş Bey'in [450] oğlu olup 699 recebinde Simre vâlîsi olmuşdur. Pederi Alakuş (Lâkûş) demekle meşhûr olduğundan ona nisbetle Şemseddîn Ahmed Bey'e "Lâkûşî" denmişdir.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, Sultân Mes'ûd'un i'zâmından sonra Amasya'da kâ'in darb-hâne-i sultânîde altın ve gümüş sikke kesdirdiği Meskûkât-ı Atîka Kataloğu'ndan nümâyândır. Hattâ müşârün-ileyhin meskûkâtından Ahmed Tevhîd Beyefendi hazretlerinin bana lutfen hediyye etdiği bir gümüş sikkesi müşâhede olundu. Bu sikkenin yüzü ortasında "Lâ'ilâhe İllallâh Muhammedün Resûlullâh" ve kenârında "Duribe bi-Amâsiyye senete tis'in ve tis'îne ve sitti-mi'e" ibâreleri güzelce okunmakda ve arkasında Moğol hattıyla muharrer bir ibâre olup "Gazân Mahmûd" açıkça görülmekdedir.
699 şa'bânında Amasya vâlîsi Şemseddîn Ahmed Bey, kâdı'l-kudâtı Şemseddîn Ahmed İbnü'l-Verdî, me'zûn bi'l-iftâ Mecdeddîn Muhammed bin Alî er-Rûmî, e'âzım-ı ulemâdan Cemâleddîn Yûsuf bin Hasan, Mecdeddîn Îsâ es-Salgarî, Bedreddîn Mahmûd bin Alî ve ulemâdan Pîr Şihâbeddîn Ahmed bin Muhammed, Alâ'eddîn Alî bin Dâvud, Cemâleddîn İbrâhim bin İlyâs el-Aksarâyî, Muhyiddîn Muhammed bin Ya‘kûb, Mecdeddîn Ömer bin el-Hakkârî, Nasreddîn Muhammed bin el-Garmînî ve meşâhîr-i ümerâdan Alâ'eddîn Savcı, Nâsıreddîn Muhammed bin Mûsâ bin Torumtay olup Simre eyâleti nâzırı İşboğa Noyin idi.
Devletşâh oğlu Sultân Gıyâseddîn İbrâhim Hân'ın dâ'ire-i nüfûzu tevessu' [451] ederek Kastamonu ve Ankara vilâyetlerini kâmilen istîlâ etmiş idi. Hattâ Bafra kasabasını alıp Simre eyâletini tehdîd etmekle beraber Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân'a karşı mutâva'atkârâne bir meslek ta'kîb ederek te'mîn-i mevki' ediyordu. Muhârebât-ı Mısriyye ile pek fuzûlî meşgûl olan Gazân Hân, bunun harekâtından ve sâ'ir uç beylerinin müstakilâne mücâhedâtından igmâz-ı ayn etmeğe mecbûr idi.
Çünkü Gazân Hân saltanat-ı Selçûkiyye'yi Anadolu'dan kaldırdığı hâlde yerine nasb eylediği ümerânın mezâlim ve seyyi'âtı Anadolu sükkânını Gazân Hân'ın idâresine bir türlü ısındıramıyordu. Husûsiyle Moğol hükûmetinin nüfûzu eski kuvvetini gâ'ib eylediği cihetle Türkmen beyleri Gazân Hân'a karşı birer mevki'-i nüfûz edinmişler idi.
Gazân Hân, Sultân İbrâhim Devletşâhî gibi uç beylerinin istiklâl harekâtını ref'e kıyâm eylediği takdîrde Anadolu ümerâsını hükûmet-i Mısriyye'nin dâ'ire-i ittifâkına atmış olacağı cihetle hükûmet-i İlhâniyye'nin inkırâzını Anadolu'da tesrî' etmekden başka bir netîce veremezdi. Binâ'en-aleyh gâzî-i âlî-şân Sultân Muzaffereddîn Osmân Hân hazretleri Gazân Hân'ın siyâsetinden korkacak bir mevki'de değil idi.
Mısır hükümdârı Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun, Gazân Hân'ın Şâm vâlîsi nasb eylediği Kıbçak Bey'i elde ederek 699 recebinde istirdâd eylediği haberini alan Gazân Hân sâniyen bir kuvve-i külliye alarak 700 senesi evâ'ilinde Anadolu'ya gelmiş, rebî'ulevvelinde diyâr-ı Haleb üzerine gitmişdi. [452]
Fakat mütevâliyen yağan yağmurdan her taraf çamur olduğu münâsebetle ne hükûmet-i Mısriyye mukâbele edebilmiş ne de Gazân Hân ileriye gidebilmiş idi. Bununla beraber Gazân Hân'ın ordusu çamur içinde dehşetle zâyi'âta tesâdüf ederek kuvvetini gâ'ib etmiş idi. Bi'z-zarûre 700 senesi cumâdel-ûlâsında Haleb'den avdet edib Anadolu ahvâlini tedkîk ve tecessüs eylediği esnâda Türkmen efkâr-ı umûmiyyesi Sultân Mes'ûd'un afvıyla beraber makâm-ı saltanata iclâsı lehinde olduğunu anlıyordu.
Târîh-i Âl-i Selçûk, Câmiu't-Tevârîh, Târîh-i Mîrhand'da mezkûr olduğu üzere Sultân Gazân Hân, efkâr-ı umûmiyyeyi kendi tarafına celb etmek ilcâsıyla Hemedân kalesinde mahbûs olan Sultân Mes'ûd'u 700 senesi recebinde ıtlâk ve şa'bân-ı şerîfin on dördüncü günü sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhe Simre hükûmetini tevcîh ve teşrîfât-ı sultâniyye ile ikâmet etmesine müsâ'ade etmişdir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Seyfeddin Alakuş Bey, who, while chief of the çavuşes in the sultanate's divan in the time of Sultan Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev, was killed together with Pervâne Bey in 676 [1277-78]; in Rajab 699 [1299-1300] he became governor of Simre. Because his father was known as Alakuş (Lâkûş), Şemseddin Ahmed Bey was called "Lâkûşî" after him.
It is understood from the Meskûkât-ı Atîka Catalogue that Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan, after Sultan Mesud was sent away, had gold and silver coins struck at the sultanate's mint in Amasya. Indeed, among the said khan's coins, a silver coin that His Excellency Ahmed Tevhîd Bey kindly gave me as a gift was also seen. On the face of this coin, in the center, "Lâ ilâhe illallâh Muhammedün Resûlullâh" and on the rim "Duribe bi-Amâsiyye senete tis'in ve tis'îne ve sitti-mi'e" (an Arabic phrase meaning "struck at Amasya in the year ninety and ... and six hundred") can be read clearly; on the back there is an inscription in Mongol script, in which "Gazan Mahmûd" is clearly visible.
In Sha'ban 699, those present were Şemseddin Ahmed Bey, governor of Amasya; the chief judge Şemseddin Ahmed İbnü'l-Verdî; Mecdeddin Muhammed bin Ali er-Rûmî, who had been authorized to issue fatwas (me'zûn bi'l-iftâ); among the great scholars Cemâleddin Yusuf bin Hasan, Mecdeddin İsa es-Salgarî and Bedreddin Mahmud bin Ali; and among the scholars Pîr Şihâbeddin Ahmed bin Muhammed, Alâeddin Ali bin Davud, Cemâleddin İbrahim bin İlyas el-Aksarâyî, Muhyiddin Muhammed bin Ya'kub, Mecdeddin Ömer bin el-Hakkârî and Nasreddin Muhammed bin el-Garmînî; and among the famed emirs Alâeddin Savcı and Nâsıreddin Muhammed bin Musa bin Torumtay; the overseer of the province of Simre was İşboğa Noyin.
The sphere of influence of Sultan Gıyâseddin İbrahim Khan, son of Devletşâh, had expanded and he had completely seized the provinces of Kastamonu and Ankara. Indeed, while he took the town of Bafra and threatened the province of Simre, he secured his position by following an obedient course toward Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan. Ghazan Khan, needlessly occupied with the Egyptian wars, had to turn a blind eye to his actions and to the independent struggles of the other frontier beys.
For although Ghazan Khan had abolished the Seljuk sultanate in Anatolia, the cruelties and evils of the emirs he put in its place could never make the people of Anatolia warm to Ghazan Khan's rule. Especially since the influence of the Mongol government had lost its former strength, the Turkmen beys had each acquired a position of influence against Ghazan Khan.
Had Ghazan Khan attempted to put down the independence movements of frontier beys such as Sultan İbrahim Devletşâhî, he would have thrown the Anatolian emirs into the circle of alliance of the Egyptian government, which could have had no result other than hastening the collapse of Ilkhanid rule in Anatolia. For this reason the Gazi, the glorious Sultan Muzaffereddin Osman Khan, was in no position to fear Ghazan Khan's policy.
Learning that the Egyptian ruler Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun, by winning over Kıbçak Bey, whom Ghazan Khan had appointed governor of Damascus, had taken the city back in Rajab 699, Ghazan Khan took a great force a second time and came to Anatolia in early 700 [1300-01], and in Rabî' al-awwal went toward Aleppo.
But since everywhere had turned to mud from the continual rain, the Egyptian government could not resist and Ghazan Khan could not advance. Ghazan Khan's army, however, suffered terrible losses in the mud and lost its strength. Of necessity he turned back from Aleppo in Jumada al-awwal 700 and, while examining and investigating the situation in Anatolia, understood that Turkmen public opinion was in favor of pardoning Sultan Mesud and seating him in the sultanate.
As recorded in Târîh-i Âl-i Selçuk, Câmiu't-Tevârîh and Târîh-i Mîrhand, Sultan Ghazan Khan, in order to draw public opinion to his side, released Sultan Mesud, who was held prisoner in the castle of Hamadan, in Rajab 700; on the fourteenth day of Sha'ban he gave the said sultan the government of Simre and allowed him to sit with the honors (ceremonies) of a sultan.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- çavuşbaşı: chief of the çavuşes who conveyed ceremonies and orders in the sultanate's divan
- maktûl: killed
- darb-hâne: mint, the place where coins are struck
- meskûkât: coins, metal money
- me'zûn bi'l-iftâ: having received permission to issue fatwas
- mutâva'atkârâne: obediently
- igmâz-ı ayn: turning a blind eye, overlooking
- inkırâz: ending, extinction
- ıtlâk: release
- teşrîfât-ı sultâniyye: sultanic honors, robes of honor and ceremonies
- efkâr-ı umûmiyye: public opinion
Şemseddin Ahmed Lâkûşî
According to the encyclopedia entry, Şemseddin Ahmed Lâkûşî is the man whom Sa'düddevle, the vizier of Arghun Khan, who was of Jewish origin, sent to Anatolia as vizier; the band called the Kılavuzoğulları that was with him committed great cruelties in Anatolia. The "Alakuş" origin Hüsameddin gives, and his father's being killed together with Pervâne Bey in 676, could not be verified in other sources. At the accession of Alâeddin Keykubad III, however, Şemseddin Lâkuşî is said to have been appointed once more to the vizierate of Anatolia (1298). According to Hüsameddin his becoming governor was in 699.
The Ghazan Coin Struck at Amasya
Hüsameddin writes that he saw with his own eyes a silver coin presented to him as a gift. The profession of faith at the center of the coin, the place of minting and year on the rim, and the Mongol script on the back are read as "Gazan Mahmûd". The present condition and location of the same coin are not stated. According to the encyclopedia entry, Ghazan's coins bear the Mongolian phrase "Tengriyin küçündür" (by the power of Heaven) together with Arabic and Tibetan inscriptions. The Mongolian inscription on Hüsameddin's coin is on the reverse. The year could not be verified in the research, since the Arabic phrase in the text cannot be read in full.
Ghazan's Syrian Campaigns
The event Hüsameddin relates, the passing of Damascus into the hands of the Mamluk sultan Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun and Ghazan's setting out on a new campaign, is also in the encyclopedia entry: Kıpçak, commander of the forces Ghazan had left in Damascus, offered obedience to the Mamluks, and after a break of a hundred days the khutba in the city began to be read again in the name of Nâsır. The same entry writes that Syria suffered a new Mongol attack before five months had passed, but that nothing came of it because of severe cold. Hüsameddin, for his part, attributes the failure of the campaign to rain and mud. Ghazan's coming to Anatolia "in early 700" could not be verified in another source.
The Release of Sultan Mesud
According to Hüsameddin, Mesud was released from Hamadan in Rajab 700 and the government of Simre was given to him. According to the encyclopedia entry, Mesud was deposed in 1296 and compelled to live in Hamadan, Alâeddin Keykubad III was put in his place, but after Keykubad's removal Mesud II was seated on the throne a second time (702/1302). The entry has no record of a release in the year 700; the two-year difference should be considered together with the Keykubad discussion above. Whether the works Târîh-i Âl-i Selçuk, Câmiu't-Tevârîh and Târîh-i Mîrhand, on which Hüsameddin relies, agree with his account could not be checked in this study.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 374–375. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Muharrem Kesik, "Mesud II", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 29, 2004, p. 342–344. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mesud-ii
- Faruk Sümer, "Keykubad III", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 25, 2022, p. 359–361. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/keykubad-iii
- "Gāzân Han", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gazan-han