Esbak çavuşbaşı Seyfeddîn Alakuş Bey'in mahdûmu olup "Türk Ahmed Bey" ve "Şems Ahmed el-Lâkûşî" demekle meşhûrdur. 704'de Sultân Mes'ûd'un vefâtıyla Anadolu eyâleti vâlîsi olduğu Târîh-i Âl-i Selçûk'da mestûrdur. Amasya'da Tımarhâne kapısının şark sütûnu üzerinde "Emîr-i Anadolu Ahmed" ibâresinin 708'de mahkûk bulunduğu, şu ma'lûmât-ı târîhiyyenin sıhhatini iş'âr etmekdedir.
Eyâletlerden her birine birer nâzır ta'yîn olunduğu esnâda sâbık Simre nâzırı İşboğa Noyin kemâ-kân Anadolu nâzırı olup mevki'ini, nüfûzunu aslâ gayb etmemişdir. Belki unvân-ı me'mûriyyeti tebeddül edib fazla olarak rukabâsından birini ya'nî Savcı Bey'i Sivas'a atmış ve Ahmed Bey'i kolayca nüfûzu altına aldıkdan sonra teferrüd etmişdir.
705'de müstevfî-i Anadolu ya'nî Anadolu defterdârı Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey ve Amasya candârı ya'nî zâbıta kumandânı Pervâne Beyzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Pervâne Bey olup Tutaş oğulları [460] ya'nî Husrevşâhzâde Gıyâseddîn Mahmûd, Şihâbeddîn Ahmed ve Kaplan Beyzâde Sirâceddîn Umur ve Melik Arslan Beyzâde Şemseddîn Timur, Bedreddîn Mahmûd Beyler, Anadolu nâzırı İşboğa Noyin himâyesinde idiler.
Fakat Sultân Muhammed Hudâbende Hân, taht-ı İlhânî'ye cülûsundan i'tibâren Tâceddîn İbrâhim el-Alevî ile Şerefeddîn Muhammed et-Telâvî gibi izhâr-ı siyâdet eden şî'îlere pek ziyâde teveccüh eylediğinden bunların telkînâtıyla Şî'a mezhebini kabûl ederek her tarafda muharrem ayında icrâ-yı mâtem edilmesini emr ediyor, Ebûbekir ve Ömer ve Osmân radiyallâhu anhüm hazerâtına Mu'âviye ve emsâlini teşrîk ederek cümlesine la'netler yağdırıyor, bütün teba'a-i müslimenin vicdânlarına hücûm ederek Şî'a mezhebinin kabûlü husûsunda cebri pek meşrû' görüyordu.
Muhibb-i Âl-i Abâ olan Baba'îler'in nüfûzu tahaddüd ederek Amasya'da Mes'ûdiyye şeyhi ve müderrisi eş-Şeyh Mecdeddîn Îsâ azl olunarak yerine Şemseddîn Ahmed Baba nasb olunuyor, meşhûr İbik Baba'nın mürîd-i hâsı Tokatlı Burak Baba, Sultân Muhammed Hudâbende'nin yanında kibâr-ı evliyâdan add olunarak mu'tekid-i Tatar oluyor, bu sene Amasya'ya gelip halkı muhabbet-i Âl-i Abâ'ya da'vet ediyordu.
Ikdu'l-Cümân'da fâzıl-ı meşhûr Bedreddîn Mahmûd el-Aynî kavline ve tetebbu'âta nazaran Burak Baba, aslen Tokatlı olup takrîben 566 târîhinde tevellüd ederek küçük yaşında Amasya'ya gelip İbik ve Ahmed Babalar'ın hücre-i terbiyesinde [461] büyümüşdür. Babalar'dan bir mikdâr Arabî ve Fârisî lisânlarını ahz ve ta'allüm ederek mutasavvıfadan olmuş ve tab'an kalender-meşreb, lâ'ubâlî-mezheb olduğu münâsebetle seyâhate çıkıp köyden köye gezerek "Hân Elçisi" unvânıyla iştihâr etmişdir.
Burak Baba, uzun boylu, sert tüylü, kalın vücûdlu, söbü yüzlü, büyük gözlü, saçları kumral; kirpikleri, bıyığı, burnu gâyet uzun, kaşları kalın ve saçları umûmen kesâfetli, gövdesi son derece kıllı, karayağız idi. Manzara-i hâriciyyesi dağ adamı gibi olup saçları gâyet kirli ve müstekreh bir sûretde olduğundan başında, kaşlarında, bıyığında, sakalında, gövdesinde kehleler örümcek gibi ağ germiş bir hâlde idi.
Belinden yukarısı bütün çıplak olup aşağısına kırmızı bezden bir futa bağlamış, başına hafîf kırmızı bir sarık şeklinde dülbend sarmış ve iki taraflarına manda boynuzlarını rabt etmişdir. Elinde gâyet uzun ve büyük bir nefîr, kabakdan ma'mûl büyük ve siyâh bir keşkûl olup ayı gibi oynar, maymun gibi söyler, gâyet murdâr idi.
Aynı hâlde, aynı kıyâfetde sekiz on refîki olup bunların elinde fazla olarak "dâ'ire" dedikleri kasnağı büyük, kenârları zilli birer def olduğu hâlde gitdikleri şehirlerde, köylerde bir dâ'ire şeklinde durup bunlar çalar, Burak Baba oynar idi. Her ne tarafa gitseler çocuklar etrâfına koşar, mashara-i sıbyân olan Burak Baba hayvânâtın [462] sadâsını taklîd eder, hayvân gibi bağırır, çocukları eğlendirir ve bundan fevkalâde bir zevk-i mahsûs duyar idi.
Burak Baba, hulûli mu'tekid, âhireti münkir bir mülhid idi. Ferâ'iz ve muharremâtı inkâr edib esâs-ı ferâ'iz hubb-ı Alî der idi. Kâffe-i muharremâtı mübâh add eder, Cenâb-ı Hakk'ın ibtidâ Hazret-i Alî'ye hulûl, ba'dehû Sultân Olcaytu Muhammed Hudâbende Hân ile ittihâd etdiğini iddi'â eyler idi. Şehveti gâlib olup güzellere Tanrı der, önlerinde secde eder idi.
Burak Baba, Şâm'a gitdikde şu'arâ bunu hicv etmekle Şâm çocukları eş'âr-ı hicviyyeyi ezber edib Burak Baba'yı terzîl ve yüzüne karşı okuyarak temeshur ederlerdi. Bu eş'âr-ı hicviyyeden Sirâceddîn el-Haccâr'ın şu iki beyti Burak Baba'nın muvâfık-ı hâl ve kıyâfeti olduğu cihetle buraya nakl edildi:
عجم جائتنا من جو الروم / صور تحيرفيها األفكار
لهم قرون مثل الثيران / إبليس يصيح منهم زنهار⁴³⁰
Burak Baba, bu ahvâl-i garîbesiyle beraber şâir, darb-ı nutka kâdir, kalenderlikde misâli nâdir olduğu rivâyet edilmekde olup ba'zıları da merkûmu kibâr-ı mutasavvıfadan add etmekdedir. Müverrih-i müşârün-ileyhin nakl [463] etdiği şu ahvâl-i acîbe, karîn-i sıhhat olduğu takdîrde Burak Baba'nın evliyâdan değil, belki süfehâdan olduğu şübhesizdir.
Anadolu müslimleri, Tatarlar'ın kabûl-i İslâmına fevkalâde memnûn oldukları hâlde kesret-i mezâlimden dolayı onlara buğz u adâvet etmekde idiler. Bu def'a Olcaytu Hân'ın mezheb-i Şî'a'yı kabûl için vicdânlara kadar hücûmu çekilmez bir derd iken muhabbet-i Âl-i Abâ perdesi arkasında Burak Baba gibi her şenâ'ati irtikâb eden süfehânın tahakküm ve fesâhati halkı galeyâna getiriyordu.
Binâ'en-aleyh ulemâ-yı ehl-i sünnetden bir kısmı, pek çok salâbet-i dîniyye erbâbıyla beraber Anadolu ve Rûm eyâletlerinden çıkıp Tatarlar'ın nüfûzundan hâric olan uç beylerine ilticâ ediyorlardı. İşte bu mültecîlerden biri de sâbık Mes'ûdiyye şeyhi ve müderrisi olan Mecdeddîn Îsâ es-Salgarî olup 705'de evlâd u ıyâliyle beraber Söğüt hükümdârı Sultân Muzaffereddîn Osmân Hân hazretlerine ve Cemâleddîn el-Aksarâyî de Mısır'a ilticâ etmiş idi.
"Hân Elçisi" demekle meşhûr olan Tokatlı Burak Baba, Amasya'da bir müddet oturdukdan sonra rüfekâsıyla beraber 705'de Şâm'a müteveccihen gitmişdir. 706'da Sultân Muhammed Hudâbende Hân'ın dayısı ya'nî vâlidesi Togur Hâtun'un birâderi olan Uygur beylerinden Aydıncık Noyin⁴³¹ [464] bin Sarıca'ya Konya eyâleti tevcîh edilmekle gelip Karamânîler'i Konya'dan çıkardığı Târîh-i Yezdî'de mezkûrdur.
Burak Baba Şâm'a gidip Şâmîler'i Şi'îliğe da'vet etmekle ulemâ-yı Arab merkûmu ahz ve istintâk etmişler idi. Merkûmun İbâhiyye mezhebinde olduğu sâbit olduğu cihetle hadd-i şer'î vurulmuş, nihâyet yediği dayakdan müte'essiren 706 zilka'desi evâhirinde Şâm'da helâk olmuşdur.
Takrîben 707'de Kastamonu hâkimi Sultân Gıyâseddîn İsmâ'il Hân vefât edib yerine genç hafîdi Tâceddîn Devletşâh Bey bin el-merhûm Celâleddîn Muhammed Bey bin es-Sultân İsmâ'il Hân hâkim-i Kastamoniyye olmuş idi. Anadolu nâzırı İşboğa Noyin bu eyâleti dâ'ire-i nüfûzu altına almak için taht-ı himâyesinde olan sâbık Kastamonu vâlîsi melikü'l-ümerâ Arslan Beyzâde Şemseddîn Timur Paşa'yı teşvîk ediyordu.⁴³²
Çünkü Timur Paşa, Gıyâseddîn İsmâ'il Hân'ın kerîmezâdesi [465] ve sâbık Kastamonu vâlîsi ve vâlîzâdesi olduğu münâsebetle Kastamonu hükûmetine iki cihetden iddi'â-yı hukûk ediyordu. Bu def'a kendi kuvvetine nâzır-ı müşârün-ileyhin mu'âvenet-i mâddiyesi inzimâm etmekle 708'de eyâlet-i Kastamoniyye'yi harben zabt ve istîlâ ve hâkimi genç Devletşâh Bey'i ber-taraf etmiş, eyâlet-i mezbûre vâlîliğine Sultân Muhammed Olcaytu Hân tarafından nasb olunarak İşboğa Noyin'in dâ'ire-i nüfûzu altına idhâl edilmişdir.
708'de sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin halîlesi İldüş Hâtun Amasya'da binâ etdirmekde olduğu Dâru'ş-Şifâ'yı ya'nî şimdiki Tımâr-hâne'yi ikmâl etdiği Mukaddime'de zikr edilmiş idi. Bu Dârü'ş-Şifâ'nın ilk tabîbi olan hekîm-i meşhûr Reşîdeddîn Lokmân bin Hasan bin Mûsâ bin Sârug el-Harezmî ile sâ'ir etibbâ-i meşhûresinin terâcim-i ahvâli ikinci bâbda zikr edilecekdir inşâ'allâh.
Bu esnâda Şî'îler'in ahvâli kesb-i dehşet ederek Âl-i Abâ muhabbeti her tarafı kasıp kavuruyor, bir takım Acem müteseyyidleri Anadolu'ya gelip pek büyük hürmetler görüyor, hürmetle menfa'atler te'mîn ediyor, her birinin ashâb-ı Nebî rıdvânullâhi aleyhim ecma'în hakkındaki makâlâtı ve irtikâb etdiği denâ'etkârâne hâlâtı ehl-i İslâmı üzüyordu.
Bu mesâ'ib-i Şî'a'dan ba'zıları Ikdu'l-Cümân gibi tevârîh-i mühimmede mezkûr olduğu üzere ehl-i sünnet olan ulemâ ve efrâd-ı müslimîn, Şî'îler'e mümâşât ve terk-i i'tirâz etdikleri hâlde bunlardan oldukça [466] hâli düzgün olanları ednâ bir bahâne ile tecrîm olunarak hâneleri yağmâ ve servetleri ifnâ ediliyor, nâ-hak yere pek çok sünnîler âteşlere ihrâk olunuyor, hayvânlardan daha aşağı görülerek ufak bir şübhe üzerine öldürülüyor, bu cihetden pek çok ocaklar sönüyordu.
Bundan akdem Mısır'a firâr eden Amasyalı Babazâde Muhlis Paşa Kos şehrinde vefât etmekle oğulları Alî Âşık Paşa, Gıyâseddîn Mahmûd, Oğuz Çelebiler 709'da Amasya'ya gelip vatanlarına kavuşdular. Fakat Türkmen beylerinin bir derece sükûnet kesb eden harekâtı, bu kadar mezâlime karşı tugyân etmeğe başladığı cihetle 710'da taraf taraf isyânlar zuhûr ediyor, hükûmet-i Mısriyye, ehl-i sünnet olanların istimdâdına binâ'en müdâhale ediyordu.
Yine bu esnâda Rûm eyâleti vâlîsi Savcı Bey vefât etmekle eyâlet-i mezbûre dahi Anadolu eyâleti vâlîsi Şemseddîn Ahmed Bey'e tevcîh olunarak iki vilâyet birleşdirilmiş ve emîr-i müşârün-ileyhin, dolayısıyla Anadolu nâzırı İşboğa Noyin'in dâ'ire-i nüfûzu tevsî' edilmiş idi. Anadolu vilâyeti bu kadar tevessu' etdiği hâlde Ahmed Bey'in idâresi kesb-i nezâket ediyor, zuhûr eden isyânları basdırmakdaki aczi tezâyüd etmeğe başlıyordu.
Hükûmet-i Mısriyye'nin Anadolu ahvâline müdâhale etmesi esbâbı tedkîk olunmayarak hükûmet-i İlhâniyye'yi igzâb etmekle Sultân Muhammed Olcaytu Hân vezîri re'îsü'ş-Şî'a Sa'deddîn el-Kazvînî'nin ibrâmı [467] üzerine Kazancık (Arancık) Noyin'i altmış bin kadar Tatar askeriyle 711'de irsâl ve diyâr-ı Şâmiyye ve Mısriyye'yi vurup yakmağa me'mûr eyledi.
Kazancık Noyin, Anadolu'da pek çok bilâdı vîrân, hesâbsız ciğerleri büryân ederek Sis şehrine kadar vusûlünde uç beylerinden Karamânzâde Sultân Bedreddîn Mahmûd Bey ve Türkmen beylerinden "Tekeli" demekle meşhûr Antalya emîri Seyfeddîn Mahmûd bin Sârımeddîn Teke ve Kusun Oğlu Nûreddîn Altun bin İlamış⁴³³ Beyler gibi ümerâ müttahiden hücûm ederek Kazancık ordusunu fenâ hâlde perîşân, yağmâ ve pek çoklarını ifnâ etdiler.
İşte bu muvaffakiyet Karamânzâde Bedreddîn Mahmûd Bey'i enzâr-ı âmmede fevkalâde i'lâ etmekle Konya ve havâlîsini tekrâr zabt ve istîlâ ederek Tatar ümerâsını o tarafdan teb'îd, memleket-i Selçûkiyye'nin cihet-i garbiyyesinde nüfûzunu tahkîm ve Konya'da hükûmet-i Karamâniyye'nin esâsını vaz' ediyor, cihet-i şarkiyyesi de Türkmen beylerinin ittihâdıyla Tatar mezâliminden kurtuluyordu.
Çünkü Tutaş oğlu Gıyâseddîn Mahmûd, ammizâdesi Bedreddîn Mahmûd, Devletşâh oğlu Tâceddîn Devletşâh, Hâbil [468] oğlu İzzeddîn Hasan ve Savcı Bey oğlu Sirâceddîn Togan Şâh Beyler, Kazancık Noyin'in hezîmetinden bi'l-istifâde ittihâd ederek zulüm ve istibdâdından usandıkları Anadolu vâlîsi Alakuş oğlu Şemseddîn Ahmed Bey'in hânesini Amasya'da sarıp itlâf etdikden sonra Havza simresinde mukîm olan Sultân Mes'ûd'un şehzâdesi Tâceddîn Altunbaş'ı Amasya simresinde taht-ı Selçûk'a iclâs etmişlerdir.
Bu Türkmen beyleri, Sultân Altunbaş'ı taht-ı Selçûk'a iclâs etmekle beraber Sultân Muhammed Olcaytu Hân'a mürâca'at ve arz-ı mutâva'at ederek sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin Simre tahtında bekâsını taleb ediyorlardı. Bana öyle geliyor ki Anadolu nâzırı İşboğa Noyin bu beyleri Ahmed Bey'in aleyhine teşvîk ve tahrîk ederek kendi teferrüdünü te'mîne çalışıyordu. Çünkü Ahmed Bey, Sultân Olcaytu Hân'ın mu'temedi ve rü'esâ-yı Şî'a'nın müstenedi olduğu cihetle ba'zı ahvâlde İşboğa'yı dil-gîr ve etvârı da halkı tenfîr etmiş idi.
İşboğa Noyin halkın bu nefretinden bi'l-istifâde rakîbi olan Ahmed Bey'i ortadan kaldırıp şehzâde Altunbaş-ı Selçûkî câlis-i taht olduğu takdîrde söz sâhibi müstakillen kendisi olacağı cihetle şehzâdenin cülûsuna muvâfakat etmesinde menâfi'-i zâtiyyesi te'mîn edilmiş oluyordu. Kezâlik Sultân Muhammed Olcaytu Hân Anadolu ahvâlinin [469] sükûnet ve âsâyişini te'mîn için şehzâdenin cülûsunda menfa'at-i siyâsiyye olduğunu takdîr ediyordu.
In Modern English
He was the son of the former çavuşbaşı Seyfeddin Alakuş Bey; he is known by the names "Türk Ahmed Bey" and "Şems Ahmed el-Lâkûşî". It is written in the Seljuk History (Târîh-i Âl-i Selçûk) that he became governor of the province of Anatolia on the death of Sultan Mesud in 704 [1304-05]. That the phrase "Emir of Anatolia Ahmed" was carved in 708 [1308-09] on the east column of the gate of the Tımarhane in Amasya shows the accuracy of this historical information.
When an overseer (nazır) was appointed to each of the provinces, İşboğa Noyin, the former overseer of Simre, remained overseer of Anatolia as before, never losing his office or influence. Perhaps his official title changed; besides this, he sent one of his rivals, Savcı Bey, to Sivas, and after easily bringing Ahmed Bey under his influence he acted alone.
In 705 [1305-06] Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddin Muhammed Bey, müstevfi of Anatolia, that is, treasurer of Anatolia, and Pervâne Beyzâde Alâeddin Ali Pervâne Bey, candâr of Amasya, that is, commander of the police, were in office. The sons of Tutaş, that is, Hüsrevşahzâde Gıyâseddin Mahmud, Şihâbeddin Ahmed and Kaplan Beyzâde Sirâceddin Umur, together with Melik Arslan Beyzâde Şemseddin Timur and Bedreddin Mahmud Beys, were under the protection of İşboğa Noyin, overseer of Anatolia.
But since Sultan Muhammed Hudâbende Khan, from the day he came to the Ilkhanid throne, showed great favor to Shiites such as Tâceddin İbrahim el-Alevî and Şerefeddin Muhammed et-Telâvî, who claimed sayyid descent, he accepted the Shiite sect at their prompting; he ordered mourning to be observed everywhere in the month of Muharram, rained curses on Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (may God be pleased with them), adding Mu'awiya and the like, and, assaulting the conscience of all the Muslim people, regarded compulsion to accept the Shiite sect as quite legitimate.
The influence of the Babais, who bore love for the Ahl al-Bayt, sharpened. In Amasya Sheikh Mecdeddin Îsâ, sheikh and professor of the Mesûdiyye, was dismissed and Şemseddin Ahmed Baba was appointed in his place. Burak Baba of Tokat, the particular disciple of the famed İbik Baba, who was counted among the great saints in the eyes of Sultan Muhammed Hudâbende and became one whom the Tatars believed in and trusted, came to Amasya this year and called the people to the love of the Ahl al-Bayt.
According to the word of the famed learned man Bedreddin Mahmud el-Aynî in Ikdu'l-Cümân and to research, Burak Baba was originally from Tokat; he was born about the year 566 [1170-71], came to Amasya at a young age and grew up in the training hearth of the Babas İbik and Ahmed. Having learned a little Arabic and Persian from the Babas, he became one of the mystics; because by nature he was of a qalandar temperament, of an indifferent persuasion, he set out traveling, wandered from village to village and became famed with the title "Envoy of the Khan".
Burak Baba was tall, coarse-haired, thick-bodied, söbü-faced, large-eyed and sandy-haired; his eyelashes, mustache and nose were extremely long, his eyebrows thick, his hair generally dense and thick; his body was excessively hairy and his skin dark. His outward appearance was like that of a mountain man. Since his hair was extremely dirty and loathsome, lice had spun webs like spiders on his head, brows, mustache, beard and body.
He was entirely bare above the waist; below, he tied a red cloth apron, wound a light red turban-like cloth around his head, and fixed buffalo horns on both sides. In his hand he had an extremely long and large horn and a large black keşkül (beggar's bowl) made of gourd; he danced like a bear, spoke like a monkey and went about in an extremely filthy state.
He had eight or ten companions in the same state and the same garb. In their hands they also carried what they called "daire", tambourines with large frames and jingles on the edges. In the cities and villages they went to, they stood in a circle and played these while Burak Baba danced. Whichever way they went, children ran around them; Burak Baba, the object of the children's mockery, imitated the sounds of animals, cried out like an animal, amused the children and took from this an extraordinary, peculiar pleasure.
Burak Baba was an unbeliever who believed in the entering of God into man (hulûl) and denied the afterlife. He denied the obligations and prohibitions, saying that the foundation of the obligations is love of Ali. He regarded all that is forbidden as permitted, and claimed that the Almighty first entered Hazrat Ali and then united with Sultan Olcaytu Muhammed Hudâbende Khan. His lust dominated him; he called the beautiful "God" and prostrated before them.
When Burak Baba went to Damascus, since poets lampooned him, the children of Damascus memorized the satirical poems, belittled him and mocked him by reciting them to his face. Of these satires, two couplets by Sirâceddin el-Haccâr are given here because they suited Burak Baba's state and garb. The meaning of the two Arabic couplets is this: From within the land of Rûm some wild men resembling animals have come to Damascus; their garb astonishes the mind. They have horns like oxen; whenever the devil sees them, he widens his eyes in fear and flees crying out.
It is reported that Burak Baba, with these strange states, was also a poet able to say his word in its proper place and a man with few equals in qalandarism, and some even count him among the great mystics. If these strange states reported by the said historian are true, there is no doubt that Burak Baba was not of the saints but perhaps of the unreasoning.
Although the Muslims of Anatolia had been extremely pleased with the Tatars' acceptance of Islam, they bore resentment and enmity toward them because they had suffered so much cruelty. This time Olcaytu Khan's assault on consciences to force the acceptance of the Shiite sect was an unbearable affliction, and behind the veil of love for the Ahl al-Bayt the tyranny and vileness of unreasoning people like Burak Baba, who committed every ugliness, stirred the people up.
Thereupon some of the Sunni scholars, together with many people who showed firmness in religion, left the provinces of Anatolia and Rûm and took refuge with the frontier beys who remained outside Tatar influence. One of these refugees was the former sheikh and professor of the Mesûdiyye, Mecdeddin Îsâ es-Salgarî; in 705 he took refuge with his wife and children with His Majesty Sultan Muzafferüddin Osman Khan, ruler of Söğüt, and Cemâleddin el-Aksarâyî took refuge in Egypt.
Burak Baba of Tokat, known as the "Envoy of the Khan", after staying in Amasya for a while, went with his companions toward Damascus in 705. It is written in the Yezdî history that in 706 [1306-07] Aydıncık Noyin, son of Sarıca, one of the Uighur beys and maternal uncle of Sultan Muhammed Hudâbende Khan, that is, brother of his mother Togur Hatun, was given the province of Konya, came, and drove the Karamanoğulları out of Konya.
When Burak Baba went to Damascus and called the people of Damascus to Shiism, the Arab scholars seized and interrogated him. When it was established that he was of the Ibahiyya sect, which regards everything as permitted, the legal penalty was inflicted, and in the end, from the effect of the beating he received, he died in Damascus at the end of Dhu'l-Qa'da 706.
Around 707 [1307-08] Sultan Gıyâseddin İsmail Khan, ruler of Kastamonu, died, and his young grandson Tâceddin Devletşah Bey bin the late Celâleddin Muhammed Bey bin Sultan İsmail Khan became ruler of Kastamonu. İşboğa Noyin, overseer of Anatolia, in order to bring this province into his sphere of influence, was inciting Şemseddin Timur Pasha, the former governor of Kastamonu and melik of the emirs, son of Arslan Bey, who was under his protection.
Because Timur Pasha was a grandson through the daughter of Gıyâseddin İsmail Khan, a former governor of Kastamonu and the son of a governor, he claimed rights in the government of Kastamonu on two counts. When the said overseer's material help was added this time to his own strength, in 708 he seized the province of Kastamonu by war and removed its ruler, the young Devletşah Bey; appointed to the governorship of the said province by Sultan Muhammed Olcaytu Khan, he was brought into İşboğa Noyin's sphere of influence.
It was mentioned in the Introduction that in 708 İldüş Hatun, wife of the said sultan, completed the Darüşşifa, that is, the present Tımarhane, which she was having built in Amasya. The biographies of the famed physician Reşîdeddin Lokman bin Hasan bin Musa bin Sârug el-Harezmî, the first physician of this Darüşşifa, and of the other famed physicians will, God willing, be given in the second part.
At this time the situation of the Shiites took on a frightening aspect. Love for the Ahl al-Bayt was sweeping everywhere; a number of Persian would-be sayyids came to Anatolia, were shown very great respect, took advantage of this respect, and the words each of them spoke about the Companions of the Prophet (may God be pleased with them all) and the base acts they committed grieved the Muslims.
Some of these Shiite plagues, as recorded in important histories such as Ikdu'l-Cümân, were as follows: Although the Sunni scholars and the Muslim people conformed to the Shiites and gave up objecting, even those among them who were in quite good standing were declared guilty on a small pretext, their houses were plundered, their wealth destroyed, many Sunnis were burned in fire without cause, and they were killed on a slight suspicion, regarded as lower than animals; many hearths were extinguished as a result.
When Babazâde Muhlis Pasha of Amasya, who had earlier fled to Egypt, died in the city of Kos, his sons Ali Âşık Pasha, Gıyâseddin Mahmud and Oğuz Çelebi came to Amasya in 709 [1309-10] and regained their homeland. But since the actions of the Turkmen beys, which had calmed to some extent, began to overflow against so much cruelty, in 710 [1310-11] revolts broke out everywhere, and the Egyptian government intervened at the Sunnis' request for help.
Again at this time, when Savcı Bey, governor of the province of Rûm, died, the said province was also given to Şemseddin Ahmed Bey, governor of the province of Anatolia, and the two provinces were united; thus the sphere of influence of the said emir, and consequently of İşboğa Noyin, overseer of Anatolia, was extended. Although the province of Anatolia had grown so large, Ahmed Bey's administration became difficult and his incapacity to suppress the revolts that broke out began to increase.
Without examining the reasons for the Egyptian government's intervention in Anatolian affairs, the Ilkhanid government became enraged. At the insistence of the vizier and head of the Shiites, Sa'deddin el-Kazvînî, Sultan Muhammed Olcaytu Khan in 711 [1311-12] sent Kazancık (Arancık) Noyin with some sixty thousand Tatar soldiers, commissioning him to strike and burn the land of Damascus and Egypt.
When Kazancık Noyin, having left many places in Anatolia in ruins and countless hearts burning, reached the city of Sis, emirs such as Karamanzâde Sultan Bedreddin Mahmud Bey, one of the frontier beys, and, among the Turkmen beys, Seyfeddin Mahmud bin Sârımeddin Teke, emir of Antalya, known as "Tekeli", and Kusun Oğlu Nûreddin Altun bin İlamış united and attacked; they scattered Kazancık's army badly, plundered it and killed very many of them.
It was this success that raised Karamanzâde Bedreddin Mahmud Bey extraordinarily in the eyes of the people, so that he again seized Konya and its surroundings, drove the Tatar emirs away from that side, secured his influence on the western side of the Seljuk country and laid the foundation of the Karamanoğulları government in Konya. The eastern side too was being freed from Tatar tyranny by the unity of the Turkmen beys.
For Gıyâseddin Mahmud, son of Tutaş, his cousin Bedreddin Mahmud, Tâceddin Devletşah, son of Devletşah, İzzeddin Hasan, son of Hâbil, and Sirâceddin Togan Şah, son of Savcı Bey, took advantage of Kazancık Noyin's defeat and united. After besieging and destroying in Amasya the house of Şemseddin Ahmed Bey, son of Alakuş, governor of Anatolia, whose cruelty and tyranny they were weary of, they seated Tâceddin Altunbaş, prince of Sultan Mesud, who lived in the Simre of Havza, on the Seljuk throne in the Simre of Amasya.
While seating Sultan Altunbaş on the Seljuk throne, these Turkmen beys applied to Sultan Muhammed Olcaytu Khan, presented their allegiance and asked that the said sultan remain on the throne of Simre. It seems to me that İşboğa Noyin, overseer of Anatolia, was inciting these beys against Ahmed Bey and setting them in motion in order to make himself independent. For since Ahmed Bey was the man Sultan Olcaytu Khan trusted and the support of the Shiite chiefs, in some cases he had offended İşboğa, and by his conduct had also turned the people against him.
If İşboğa Noyin, taking advantage of this hatred of the people, removed his rival Ahmed Bey, and the Seljuk prince Altunbaş sat on the throne, he alone would hold the say; by consenting to the prince's accession, he thus secured his personal interests. In the same way Sultan Muhammed Olcaytu Khan too judged that there was political benefit in the prince's accession for securing the calm and peace of Anatolian affairs.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- esbak: former, previous
- mahdûm: son
- nâzır: official who oversaw the affairs of a region under Mongol rule
- candâr: commander of the police, the sultan's guard and security official
- müstevfî: treasurer, head of financial affairs
- Âl-i Abâ: the family of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt; "muhibb-i Âl-i Abâ" means lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt
- Baba'îler: dervish community arising from the Baba İshak movement of the mid-13th century
- kalender-meşreb: indifferent dervish of free way of life, who has withdrawn from show and the world
- nefîr: long horn, a wind instrument accompanying the sound of drums
- keşkül: bowl carried by dervishes and beggars
- hulûl: the belief that God enters and takes up residence in a human being
- İbâhiyye: the view that abolishes the prohibitions of religion and regards everything as permitted
- hicv: satirical poem
- hafîd: grandson
- simre: in Hüsameddin's usage, the Seljuk frontier region around Amasya and Havza
- söbü: an old word describing the shape of the face, whose exact meaning could not be verified
Who Was Burak Baba
Burak Baba is generally found in the sources under the name Barak Baba. It is related that the word Barak means dog, and that his sheikh Sarı Saltuk gave him this name. He is accepted to have been born into a wealthy family in a village near Tokat; in his youth he attached himself to Sarı Saltuk and, after wandering all of Anatolia, passed into Iran. It is known that he found a place at the court of the Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan, kept his standing in Olcaytu's time after Ghazan's death, and even joined the embassy Olcaytu sent to the Mamluk sultan in Damascus. This delegation, which the Arabic sources write came to Damascus with about a hundred of his dervishes, is reported to have consisted of people with shaven hair and beards, felt caps with horns on both sides on their heads, and bells and necklaces of painted knucklebones around their necks, who danced to the drum making animal sounds. The description of dress and behavior Hüsameddin gives largely coincides with this account.
There are two separate accounts of his death. Hüsameddin writes that Burak Baba was interrogated in Damascus and died of a beating. According to a present-day study, however, he was sent to the Gilan region to spread Shiism, was killed there together with his disciples by the emir of Gilan, and Olcaytu had a tomb and lodge built in his memory at Sultaniyya. The two accounts cannot be directly reconciled; which is correct could not be decided in this study. It is also recorded that a treatise attributed to this person, called "Kelimât-ı Barak Baba", was copied in Amasya in 853 [1449]. This is a detail showing Amasya's importance for the Babai circles.
Hüsameddin describes Burak Baba in harsh language and does not count him among the saints. These expressions are the author's own assessment; the author also qualifies what the historian al-Aynî reports with "if it is true" and notes that some count him among the great mystics. The reader should read the text as a judgment as much as a report of fact.
Olcaytu and Shiism
Olcaytu was the brother of Ghazan Khan and ruled as Ilkhan between 1304 and 1316. It is known that he was born a baptized Christian, then became a Buddhist, then a Sunni Muslim, took the name Muhammed Hudâbende, and finally adopted Shiism. The declaration of Shiism as the official sect among the Ilkhanids is given as 1309. It is related that after he changed sect the Sunnis referred to him as "Harbende" (donkey's servant) instead of "Hudâbende" (servant of God). The pressure and unrest Hüsameddin describes for Anatolia should be read in this context. Olcaytu's death is placed at the end of 1316; this agrees with the year 716 [1316-17] that Hüsameddin gives in the next entry.
The Karamanoğulları and the Defeat of Kazancık
Hüsameddin places Kazancık Noyin's defeat in Anatolia in 711 [1311-12] and relates that this success enabled Karamanzâde Bedreddin Mahmud Bey to retake Konya. In the encyclopedic study on the Karamanoğulları, however, it is written that Kazancuk's heavy defeat in the Taurus passes took place in the time of Mecdüddin Mahmud Bey, who died in 1307-08. The same study relates that Yahşi Bey, Mahmud Bey's son, seized Konya in 1314 by killing Ahî Mustafa, that Olcaytu then sent Emir Çoban to Anatolia, and that Çoban returned to Iran leaving his son Demirtaş as governor-general of Anatolia. That is, the order of events and the persons do not fully coincide in the two accounts; this distinction should be kept in mind when the dates and names Hüsameddin gives are compared with the present academic arrangement.
Ahmed Bey and İşboğa
No information was found in other sources on Şemseddin Ahmed Bey and the inscription "Emir of Anatolia Ahmed" at the Tımarhane gate. İşboğa Noyin's later position and death are treated in detail in the next entry.
The Enthronement of Altunbaş
According to Hüsameddin, the Turkmen beys' seating of Altunbaş in Amasya was an arrangement that suited both İşboğa Noyin and the Ilkhanid ruler. Information from other sources on Altunbaş's rule around Amasya is given in the notes of the next entry.
Bibliography
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