Kânûnî Sultân Süleyman'ın şehzâdesidir. 965 senesi muharreminde Amasya vâlîsi oldu. Fakat kendisi velî-ahd-ı saltanat olduğu münâsebetle merkez-i saltanatdan uzaklaşmak istemiyordu. Bu yüzden Amasya'ya gelmedi. Gidemeyeceğini de pederine bildirdi.
Sultân Süleyman, şehzâdesini iknâ' için dördüncü vezîr olan Pertev Paşa'yı Kütahya'ya gönderdi. Pek çok öğütlerden sonra şehzâde Bâyezîd yola geldi. Safer evâhirinde Kütahya'dan hareket etdi. Anadolu beylerbeyi Cenâbî Ahmed Paşa Ankara civârında ve Sivas beylerbeyi Alî Paşa da Çorum'da istikbâl ederek muhteşem bir alayla rebî'ulevvelde Amasya'ya geldi.
Amasya beyi Ferruh Bey, kadısı Müslim Efendi, müftüsü Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi, nakîbü'l-eşrâf kâ'im-makâmı es-Seyyid Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi, şeyhu'l-meşâyihi Hayreddîn Hızır Îcâdî Efendi, hâslar emîni Mustafa Efendi, kale dizdârı Kâsım Ağa idi.
Şehzâdenin dâmâdı olan Muzaffer Paşa, vezîri makâmında muhâfız-ı vilâyet, Ferruh Bey lalası oldu. Abdulcebbâr Efendi mu'allim olarak İstanbul'dan gönderildi. Amasya ulemâsından Hüseyin Ağa [317] müderrisi Recebzâde Bayrâm Efendi Amasya'da re'îsü'l-ulemâ sayılırdı.
Şehzâde Amasya'ya geldikden sonra Turgudoğlu Hüseyin Bey silahdâr ağası, Dulkadiroğlu Ahmed Bey kapıcılar kethüdâsı, Akpınarlı Abdulganîzâde Mehmed Ağa çavuşbaşı, Karamanlı Deli Seyfeddîn Bey azablar ağası, bendegândan Alî Ağa sekbânbaşı, Kuduz Ferhâd Ağa sipâhîler ağası, Trabzonlu Mehmed Ağa da mîrâhûr olmuşdu.
Kezâlik şehzâdenin vusûlünü müte'âkib büyük şehzâdesi Orhân Bey'e Çorum, Murâd Bey'e Canik, Osmân Bey'e de Karahisâr-ı Şarkî sancakları verildi. Lalalarına ellişer bin, defterdârlarına otuzar bin akçe terakkîler ihsân edildi. Orhân Bey'in lalası Candârlızâde Halîl Bey bin Îsâ Paşa ve mu'allimi Abdurrahmân Gubârî Efendi idi.
Fakat şehzâdenin medâr-ı istinâdı olan vâlidesi Hürrem Sultân ölmüş, sadr-ı a'zam Rüstem Paşa Sultân Selîm tarafına dönmüşdü. Kezâlik Karahisâr-ı Sâhib'de mîrâhûru olan Kara Mustafa Ağa, birâderi Sultân Selîm'e yamanıp vezîri Kara Mustafa Paşa olmuşdu.
Sultân Bâyezîd, Kütahya'da fermân-ı pâdişâhîye karşı durduğundan dolayı pederine bir niyâz-nâme göndermiş, isti'fâ-yı kusûr etmişdi. Rüstem Paşa, Kara Mustafa Paşa'ya ta'lîmât-ı mahsûsa vermekle beraber şehzâdenin bu niyâz-nâmesini pâdişâha takdîm etmedi. Şehzâde Mustafa'ya oynadığı oyunu tekrâr ediyordu.
Üç ay kadar niyâz-nâmesinin cevâbına intizâr eden Sultân Bâyezîd, [318] bir daha istirhâm-nâme gönderdi. Buna da Kara Mustafa Paşa'nın ta'yîn etdiği gözcüleri hâ'il oldu. İstirhâm-nâmenin şekil ve müfâdı tamâmiyle değişdirildi. Müzevver istirhâm-nâme pâdişâha takdîm için olanca sâhtekârlık irtikâb, pâdişâh iğzâb edildi.
Sultân Bâyezîd, Amasya müftüsü Molla Muhyiddîn Efendi ile şeyhü'l-meşâyihi Îcâdî Hayreddîn Efendi'yi İstanbul'a gönderdi. Bunlar şehzâdenin ahvâlini, istirhâmâtını pâdişâha arz edeceklerdi. Rüstem Paşa bunun da önüne durdu. Bîçârelerin ikisini de Yedi Kule'ye habs etdirdi. Habs eden pâdişâhdı.
966 muharreminde şehzâdenin kapıcılar kethüdâsı Ahmed Bey dîvân ümerâsından olup bendegânından Mahmûd Ağa kapıcılar kethüdâsı oldu. Bundan sonra gönderdiği elçilerinin habs edildiğini duyan şehzâde bütün köpürdü. Birâderi Sultân Selîm'e karşı vaz'iyyet aldı.
Sultân Bâyezîd, sayd ü şikâr bahânesiyle 966 senesi evâ'ilinde Kazâbâd'a doğru gitdi. Maksadı Sivas'ı zabt etmekdi. Sivas vâlîsi Alî Paşa şehzâdenin maksadına vâkıf oldukda müdâfa'aya kıyâm etdi.
966 rebî'ulâhirinde Amasya kalesini tahkîm edib Amasya, Çorum, Canik, Tokat, Sinop, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî ve mülhakâtından on beş bin kadar asker topladı. 966 şa'bânında ma'iyyet-i mevcûdesiyle Amasya'dan [319] hareket ve birâderi Sultân Selîm'e i'lân-ı harb ederek Konya sahrâsına doğru yürüdü.
Bu esnâda şehzâde mu'temedi olan Amasya a'yânından İbâdullâhzâde Mehmed Çelebi, mahdûmu Mustafa Efendi'yle beraber harbin vukû'undan evvel Hicâz'a gidip orada mücâveretle kaldı. Şehzâdenin mu'allimi Abdulcebbâr Efendi'ye nüzûl isâbetiyle vefât etdi. Şehzâdenin yerine dâmâdı Muzaffer Paşa Amasya muhâfazasında kaldı.
Anadolu beylerbeyi Ahmed Paşa, Mar'aş beylerbeyi Alî Paşa, Adana beylerbeyi Ramazânzâde Pîrî Paşa, Karaman beylerbeyi Solak Ferhâd Paşa kuvve-i mevcûdeleriyle beraber Sultân Selîm'e mu'âvenet etmeğe me'mûr oldular. Muhârebede tabî'î Sultân Bâyezîd mağlûb oldu. Şehzâdesi Sultân Orhân ile Amasya'ya geldi.
Sultân Bâyezîd, Lala Mustafa Paşa'nın kendisine yapdığı gadr ve hıyânetini pederine yazıp afvını niyâz etdi. Fakat ne istihsâl-i afva ne de Amasya'da ârâma imkân göremediğinden dört şehzâdesini alıp dâ'iresi halkıyla beraber 966 gurre-i şevvâlinde ale's-sabâh Amasya'dan çıkıp Îrân'a gitdi.
Çünkü Silistre beylerbeyi Arnavut Sinan Paşa'nın Amasya'yı zabta me'mûren Üsküdâr'dan hareket etdiğini haber almış, Sivas beylerbeyi Alî Paşa'nın da kendisini ahza me'mûr olduğunu duymuşdu. Binâ'en-aleyh Amasya'da fazla kalması hayâtının tehlikede olduğunu anlatıyordu. [320]
In Modern English
He was a prince, son of Süleyman the Magnificent. In Muharram of the year 965 [1557–58] he became governor of Amasya. But since he was heir to the throne, he did not want to move away from the seat of the sultanate. For this reason he did not come to Amasya. He also informed his father that he could not go.
To persuade his son, Sultan Süleyman sent Pertev Pasha, the fourth vizier, to Kütahya. After much advice, Prince Bayezid came around. He set out from Kütahya at the end of Safar. The beylerbeyi of Anatolia, Cenâbî Ahmed Pasha, met him near Ankara and the beylerbeyi of Sivas, Ali Pasha, at Çorum, and in a splendid procession he arrived in Amasya in Rabi al-Awwal.
The bey of Amasya was Ferruh Bey, the judge was Müslim Efendi, the mufti was Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi, the deputy head of the descendants of the Prophet was es-Seyyid Muhyiddin Mehmed Çelebi, the chief of the sheikhs was Hayreddin Hızır Îcâdî Efendi, the steward of the crown estates (hâslar emini) was Mustafa Efendi, and the castle warden (dizdar) was Kâsım Ağa.
The prince's son-in-law Muzaffer Pasha became his vizier and guardian of the province, and Ferruh Bey became his tutor (lala). Abdülcebbâr Efendi was sent from Istanbul as his teacher. Among the scholars of Amasya, Recebzâde Bayram Efendi, professor of the Hüseyin Ağa Madrasa, was regarded as the head of the scholars in Amasya.
After the prince came to Amasya, Turgudoğlu Hüseyin Bey became silahdar ağa (sword-bearer), Dulkadiroğlu Ahmed Bey kapıcılar kethüdası (steward of the gatekeepers), Akpınarlı Abdülganizâde Mehmed Ağa çavuşbaşı (chief of the couriers), Karamanlı Deli Seyfeddin Bey azaplar ağası (commander of the azaps), his servant Ali Ağa sekbanbaşı (chief of the sekbans), Kuduz Ferhad Ağa sipahiler ağası (commander of the cavalry), and Mehmed Ağa of Trabzon seyisbaşı (chief of the grooms).
In the same way, following the prince's arrival, his elder sons were given sanjaks: Çorum to Orhan Bey, Canik to Murad Bey, and Karahisâr-ı Şarkî to Osman Bey. Their tutors were granted fifty thousand akçe each, and their treasurers thirty thousand akçe each, as terakki (additional income). Orhan Bey's tutor was Candarlızâde Halil Bey ibn Îsâ Pasha, and his teacher was Abdurrahman Gubârî Efendi.
But the prince's mainstay, his mother Hürrem Sultan, had died, and the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha had turned to Sultan Selim's side. Likewise Kara Mustafa Ağa, who had been chief of the grooms at Karahisâr-ı Sâhib, had drawn close to the prince's brother Sultan Selim and had become his vizier as Kara Mustafa Pasha.
Because he had stood against the imperial decree at Kütahya, Sultan Bayezid sent his father a letter of supplication, asking that his fault be forgiven. Rüstem Pasha gave Kara Mustafa Pasha special instructions, and did not present the prince's letter to the sultan. He was repeating the game he had played against Prince Mustafa.
Waiting about three months for an answer to his letter, Sultan Bayezid sent a petition again. This too was blocked by watchers appointed by Kara Mustafa Pasha. The form and content of the petition were completely changed. Every trick was used to present the forged petition to the sultan, and the sultan was made angry.
Sultan Bayezid sent the mufti of Amasya, Molla Muhyiddin Efendi, and the chief of the sheikhs, Îcâdî Hayreddin Efendi, to Istanbul. They were to present the prince's situation and wishes to the sultan. Rüstem Pasha blocked this too. He had both of the poor men imprisoned in Yedikule. The one who imprisoned them was the sultan.
In Muharram 966 [1558–59], Ahmed Bey, the prince's steward of the gatekeepers, was among the beys of the council; his servant Mahmud Ağa became steward of the gatekeepers. Hearing afterwards that his envoys had been imprisoned, the prince was extremely angry. He took a hostile stance toward his brother Sultan Selim.
Under the pretext of hunting, Sultan Bayezid went toward Kazâbâd in the early part of the year 966. His aim was to seize Sivas. Ali Pasha, the governor of Sivas, understood the prince's aim and prepared to defend.
In Rabi al-Akhir 966 he fortified Amasya Castle and gathered about fifteen thousand soldiers from Amasya, Çorum, Canik, Tokat, Sinop, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî and their dependencies. In Shaban 966 [May 1559] he set out from Amasya with the force he had with him, declared war on his brother Sultan Selim, and marched toward the plain of Konya.
At this time İbâdullâhzâde Mehmed Çelebi, one of the notables of Amasya whom the prince trusted, went with his son Mustafa Efendi to the Hejaz before the battle and stayed there as a neighbor of the holy places. The prince's teacher Abdülcebbâr Efendi caught a catarrhal illness and died. In the prince's place, his son-in-law Muzaffer Pasha remained to protect Amasya.
The beylerbeyi of Anatolia Ahmed Pasha, the beylerbeyi of Maraş Ali Pasha, the beylerbeyi of Adana Ramazanzâde Pîrî Pasha, and the beylerbeyi of Karaman Solak Ferhad Pasha were charged with assisting Sultan Selim with the forces they had. In the battle, naturally, Sultan Bayezid was defeated. He came to Amasya with his son Sultan Orhan.
Sultan Bayezid wrote to his father about the injustice and betrayal done to him by Lala Mustafa Pasha and asked for forgiveness. But seeing no possibility either of obtaining pardon or of resting in Amasya, he took his four sons and, with the people around him, left Amasya toward dawn at the beginning of Shawwal 966 [July 1559] and went to Iran.
For he had learned that Arnavut Sinan Pasha, the beylerbeyi of Silistra, had set out from Üsküdar charged with seizing Amasya, and he had heard that Ali Pasha, the beylerbeyi of Sivas, was charged with capturing him. He therefore understood that staying long in Amasya would endanger his life.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- velî-ahd: heir to the throne, crown prince
- istikbâl: welcoming, receiving
- re'îsü'l-ulemâ: head of the scholars
- silahdâr ağası: palace official who carried the sultan's weapons
- çavuşbaşı: chief of the çavuşes (couriers)
- azablar ağası: commander of the infantry troops called azaps
- sekbânbaşı: head of the Janissary regiments called sekbans
- mîrâhûr: chief of the grooms (seyisbaşı)
- terakkî: additional income, advancement
- niyâz-nâme, istirhâm-nâme: petition, letter of supplication
- isti'fâ-yı kusûr: asking for forgiveness of a fault
- müzevver: forged
- sayd ü şikâr: hunting
- tahkîm: fortification
- ahza me'mûr: charged with capturing
- ale's-sabâh: toward dawn
Appointment to Amasya and Arrival
According to the encyclopedia entry, when Hürrem Sultan died on 15 April 1558, Bayezid's most powerful protector was gone. To separate his sons from each other, Süleyman transferred Selim to Konya and Bayezid to Amasya; this date is 6 September 1558. Bayezid said this transfer was a journey "from heaven to hell" for him and tried to remain in Kütahya; at his father's insistence he set out on 28 October, and after a journey of fifty-five days he reached Amasya on 21 December 1558. Hüsameddin's record, "he set out from Kütahya at the end of Safar and came to Amasya in Rabi al-Awwal," agrees with the general outline of this course. But the statement at the start of the entry, "he became governor in Muharram 965," falls before the September 1558 date in the encyclopedia. In addition, the change of steward of the gatekeepers, dated "Muharram 966," falls in Hüsameddin's own narrative to a month before the prince's departure from Kütahya. These two dates should be read with caution because they do not agree with the order of the narrative.
Pertev Pasha's being sent to Kütahya and persuading the prince also appears in another account. The paragraphs listing the administrative staff in Amasya are peculiar to Hüsameddin; it was not possible to find the names and duties of the beys, the judge and mufti, and the aghas in another source.
The Prince's Sons
Hüsameddin writes that Orhan Bey was appointed to Çorum, Murad Bey to Canik, and Osman Bey to Karahisâr-ı Şarkî. That Orhan's tutor was Candarlızâde Halil Bey and his teacher Abdurrahman Gubârî also appears in another source; the same source shows Orhan as governor of Çorum in 1558–59. However, the same source gives the governor of Canik as Mahmud, and the governor of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî and Canik as Osman. A son named Murad is mentioned as a child born in Amasya around 1559. The name "Murad Bey" in Hüsameddin may therefore be a misreading or a name written in place of "Mahmud"; this is a conjecture. The four sons who went to Iran are listed in the encyclopedia entry as Orhan, Osman, Mahmud and Abdullah, and Hüsameddin's "four princes" agrees with this.
Lala Mustafa Pasha and Rüstem Pasha
The person Hüsameddin calls by the names "Kara Mustafa Pasha" and "Lala Mustafa Pasha" is most probably the figure treated in the encyclopedia as Lala Mustafa Pasha. That entry writes that in 1557 he became tutor (lala) to Prince Selim, that he played an influential role in the struggle for the throne between Selim and Bayezid, that he reported to Istanbul the threatening letters Bayezid wrote to Selim, and that he intercepted the letters of advice Süleyman sent to Bayezid and prevented them from reaching the prince. This information coincides with Hüsameddin's account of the petition being altered into a forgery. As for Rüstem Pasha, the encyclopedia entry on him states that he at first favored Bayezid but could do nothing against Lala Mustafa Pasha's scheming, and that when Bayezid fell into the position of a rebel he went over to Selim's side. Hüsameddin, however, presents Rüstem Pasha as the person who blocked the petitions. The two accounts differ in emphasis, but they do not exclude each other.
The Mufti's Mission
Hüsameddin writes that the mufti of Amasya and the chief of the sheikhs were sent to Istanbul before the Battle of Konya and were imprisoned in Yedikule. The encyclopedia entry, however, says the mufti Muhyiddin Cürcânî was sent to his father to ask for forgiveness after the defeat at Konya. These two accounts may be different datings of the same mission, or two separate missions may be in question; with the sources at hand this could not be decided.
The Battle of Konya
According to the encyclopedia entry, Bayezid arrived before Konya on 29 May 1559 with a force of thirty thousand. In the two days of fighting that began on 30 May he was defeated because his men were untrained compared with the regular forces. Hüsameddin, however, writes that about fifteen thousand soldiers were gathered from Amasya; the reason for the difference between the two numbers could not be determined in this study. The same entry writes that Bayezid's leaving his sanjak was counted as rebellion, that Şeyhülislam Ebüssuûd Efendi and some clerics issued fatwas describing him as a rebel who had cast off obedience to the sultan, and that his killing was deemed necessary.
Departure from Amasya and Afterward
According to the encyclopedia entry, Bayezid left Amasya on 7 July 1559 with his sons Orhan, Osman, Mahmud and Abdullah; Hüsameddin's record "at the beginning of Shawwal 966" agrees with this date. As he approached the eastern frontier he fought and defeated the sanjak beys who caught up with him, but, understanding that he could not find shelter in Ottoman lands, he took refuge in Iran in mid-August 1559. He reached Qazvin on 23 October and was received by Shah Tahmasb with a magnificent ceremony, but on 16 April 1560 he was imprisoned with his sons. At the end of the bargaining between Süleyman and Tahmasb, Bayezid and his sons were handed over and strangled. The encyclopedia entry gives this as 23 July 1562; another source gives the date 25 September 1561. The difference between the two dates could not be resolved in this study. The bodies were brought to Sivas and buried outside the walls; this structure, called the Tomb of Melik-i Acem, has according to the encyclopedia not survived to the present, while another source writes that the tomb is inside a mosque in Sivas. That Bayezid wrote poetry and left a divan of 1443 couplets under the pen name Şâhî is also recorded in the same encyclopedia.
As for Amasya, after this flight in 1559 the city was removed from being a princely sanjak, and no prince held office here afterward. It may be said that the princes' period in Amasya closed with this entry. The information that Muzaffer Pasha was "the prince's son-in-law" appears differently in another source, which writes that Bayezid's daughter Mihrimah married Muzaffer Pasha in 1562; it must be noted that the two accounts do not agree.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, pp. 510–511. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Şerafettin Turan, "Bayezid, Şehzade", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 5, İstanbul 1992, pp. 230-231 (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayezid-sehzade).
- Bekir Kütükoğlu, "Lala Mustafa Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 27, İstanbul 2003, pp. 73-74 (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/lala-mustafa-pasa).
- Erhan Afyoncu, "Rüstem Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 35, İstanbul 2008, pp. 288-290 (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/rustem-pasa).
Official sources
Other sources