Esbak Amasya hükümdârı Sultân Şâhenşâh'ın ikinci şehzâdesi ve Argun Hân'ın küçük birâderi olup amcası zamânında Ankara hükûmetinden Ereğli emâretine kaldırılmış olup Sultân Süleyman Konya'da makâmını tahkîm etdikden sonra Argun Hân'ı Amasya hükûmetinden kaldırdıkda yerine 594 hudûdunda Amasya hükümdârı olmuşdur. [346]
Sâbık Amasya hükümdârı Argun Hân, Kılıç Arslan şehzâdelerinin yek-diğeriyle uğraşdığı esnâda Bizans imparatorluğunun ahvâlini nazar-ı dikkate alarak Erzincân ve Erzurum hükkâmıyla akd-i ittifâk edib bir gurub teşkîl ediyordu. Çünkü bu esnâda Latinler, Bizans imparatorluğunu zabt eyledikleri cihetle imparator Andronikus Komennus evlâdından Aleksiyus, Ereğli'den Kafkasya'ya kadar Karadeniz sevâhilini istîlâ ederek Trabzon'da bir Rûm kırallığı teşkîl ettiği gibi birâderi David Komennus dahi Kastamonu ve Bolu taraflarını zabt ederek İzmid'i tehdîd ve Te'odor Laskaris dahi İznik'de diğer bir Rûm kırallığını teşkîl ediyordu.
Trabzon kıralı Aleksiyus, dedesi Amasyalı olduğu cihetle Pont kıt'asını tamâmiyle kurtarmak azmine düşüyor, birâderi Davidus dahi Kastamonu taraflarından Amasya hükûmetini iz'âc ediyor, Laskaris de bunların tehdîdâtından ve ehl-i salîbin muhâcemâtından korkup Selçûkîler ile ittifâk etmeğe çalışıyordu.
Tevârîh-i umûmiyyede mestûr olan şu ahvâle karşı Amasya hükümdârı Argun Hân kendi mevki'ini tahkîm, hudûd-ı hükûmeti muhâfaza için Erzincân hâkimi Melik Muzaffereddîn Muhammed ve Erzurum hâkimi Melik Alâ'eddîn Alî Beyler ile ittifâka mecbûr olmuş idi. Fakat Konya hükümdârı Sultân Süleyman Hân, Argun Hân'ın Rûmlar'a karşı za'fını, yâhud kendi aleyhine hareket edeceğini istihbâr [347] etmiş olmalıdır ki Argun Hân'ı Amasya'dan kaldırdıkdan sonra Erzincân ve Erzurum Beyleri'nin hükûmetlerine dahi 597'de harben hıtâm verip birâderi yâhud ammizâdesi Rükneddîn Tuğrul (Tuğrûl) Hân'ı Erzincân ve Erzurum hükûmetine nasb etmişdir.³⁶⁸
Amasya hükümdârı Sencer Hân devrinde Amasya kâdı'l-kudâtı Sadreddîn İsmâ'il el-Malatî ve müderris-i Mes'ûdiyye Şemseddîn Ahmed bin Esfâr el-Herevî ve müderris-i Gıyâsiyye Evhadeddîn Mahmûd el-Kîmârî ve hânkâh-ı Mes'ûdî şeyhi Alâ'eddîn Muhammed oldukları tetebbu'ât-ı kaydiyyeden anlaşılıp ümerâdan atabegi Sa'deddîn Suli bin İbrâhim ve Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir bin Muhammed bin Hasan bin İltigin ve Şücâ'eddîn Tuli bin Türkanşâh bin Güdül ve subaşı Mübârizeddîn Mûsâ bin Sevindük beyler pek meşhûr idiler.
Konya hükümdârı Sultân Süleyman Hân 600 hudûdunda vefât edib yerine câlis olan şehzâdesi Üçüncü Kılıç Arslan Hân 601'de hal' olunarak birâderi Keyhusrev bin Kılıç [348] Arslan-ı Sânî Konya pâdişâhı olduğu esnâda memleket-i Selçûkiyye oldukça bir fırtına geçiriyordu.
Bu fırtına zamânında Kastamonu tarafından David Komennus Amasya hükûmeti hudûdunu tecâvüz eylediyse de Amasya hükümdârı Sencer Hân bu tecâvüzâtı def' etmekle Keyhusrev Hân hudûd-ı şarkiyyeyi Erzurum hükümdârı Tuğrul Hân ve Amasya hükümdârı Sencer Hân kuvvetleriyle taht-ı emniyyete alıp hudûd-ı garbiyyeyi tevsî'e azm ederek 604'de Antalya'yı Rûmlar'dan 605'de Mar'aş'ı Ermenîler'den zabt eylediği esnâda hudûd-ı şimâliyye üzerinde te'sîs-i hükûmet eden David Komennus Amasya hudûdunu tazyîk ediyordu. Çünkü Komennus hânedânının vatanı olan Amasya'yı müslim Türkler'den almak hayâli bu hânedân efrâdının efkârını pek ziyâde sarmış idi.
Sultân Gıyâseddîn Keyhusrev bunu istihbâr eyledikde aldığı bir kuvve-i askeriyye ile Konya'dan gelip Rûmlar'ın tecâvüzâtını 605 yâhud 606'da def' eylediği hâlde kendisi şehîd olmuşdur. Amasya hükümdârı Sencer Hân dahi bu muhârebede şehîd olduğu zann olunmakdadır. Çünkü Keyhusrev Hân'ın büyük şehzâdesi İzzeddîn Keykâvus Hân'ın cülûsunda Sencer Hân'ın şehzâdesi Süleyman Hân'ın Amasya hükümdârı olduğu Gülşen-i Tevârîh'de mezkûrdur.
In Modern English
He was the second son of Sultan Şâhenşâh, who had earlier been ruler of Amasya, and the younger brother of Argun Hân. In his uncle's time he had been moved from the government of Ankara to the emirate of Ereğli. After Sultan Süleyman had consolidated his position in Konya and removed Argun Hân from the government of Amasya, he became ruler of Amasya in his place, around 594.
Argun Hân, the previous ruler of Amasya, had taken into account the condition of the Byzantine Empire while the sons of Kılıç Arslan were quarrelling with one another, and had formed a bloc by allying with the rulers of Erzincan and Erzurum. For at this time the Latins had seized the Byzantine Empire. Alexios, one of the children of Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, had taken the Black Sea coast from Ereğli to the Caucasus and founded a Greek kingdom in Trebizond; his brother David Komnenos had likewise taken the Kastamonu and Bolu regions and was threatening İzmit. Theodore Laskaris had founded yet another Greek kingdom in İznik.
Alexios, the king of Trebizond, was resolved to recover the whole of the Pontus region, since his grandfather had been a man of Amasya. His brother David, for his part, was harassing the government of Amasya from the direction of Kastamonu. Laskaris, fearing their threats and the attacks of the crusaders, was trying to ally himself with the Seljuks.
Faced with this situation, which is recorded in the general histories, Argun Hân, the ruler of Amasya, had been obliged to ally himself with Melik Muzafferüddîn Muhammed, the ruler of Erzincan, and Melik Alâeddîn Ali, the ruler of Erzurum, in order to secure his own position and protect the borders of his government. Yet Sultan Süleyman Hân, the ruler of Konya, must have learned that Argun Hân was weak against the Greeks, or that he would act against him; after removing Argun Hân from Amasya, he put an end by war in 597 to the governments of the Beys of Erzincan and Erzurum as well, and appointed Rükneddîn Tuğrul (Tuğrûl) Hân, his brother or his cousin, to the government of Erzincan and Erzurum.
During the time of Sencer Hân, ruler of Amasya, the chief judge of Amasya was Sadreddîn İsmail el-Malatî, the professor of the Mesûdiyye Madrasa was Şemseddîn Ahmed bin Esfâr el-Herevî, the professor of the Gıyâsiyye Madrasa was Evhadeddîn Mahmud el-Kîmârî, and the sheikh of the Mesûdî khanqah was Alâeddîn Muhammed. These persons are known from an examination of the records. Among the emirs, the atabeg Sa'deddîn Suli bin İbrahim, Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir bin Muhammed bin Hasan bin İltigin, Şücâeddîn Tuli bin Türkanşâh bin Güdül, and the subaşı Mübârizeddîn Musa bin Sevindük Bey were very famous.
Sultan Süleyman Hân, the ruler of Konya, died around 600; his son and successor Kılıç Arslan Hân III was deposed in 601, and his brother Keyhusrev bin Kılıç Arslan-ı Sânî became sultan at Konya. The Seljuk realm was then going through a rather violent storm.
During this storm David Komnenos crossed the border of the government of Amasya from the direction of Kastamonu, but Sencer Hân, the ruler of Amasya, repelled these attacks. Keyhusrev Hân decided to secure his eastern border with the forces of Tuğrul Hân, ruler of Erzurum, and Sencer Hân, ruler of Amasya, and to extend his western border. While he took Antalya from the Greeks in 604 and Maraş from the Armenians in 605, David Komnenos, who had set up a government on the northern frontier, was pressing hard on the border of Amasya. For the dream of recovering Amasya, the homeland of the Komnenos dynasty, from the Muslim Turks had taken a very strong hold on the minds of the members of this dynasty.
When Sultan Gıyâseddîn Keyhusrev learned of this, he came from Konya with a military force and repelled the Greek attacks in 605 or 606, but was himself martyred. It is thought that Sencer Hân, ruler of Amasya, was also martyred in this battle. For it is written in the Gülşen-i Tevârîh that when Keyhusrev Hân's eldest son İzzeddîn Keykâvus Hân came to the throne, Süleyman Hân, the son of Sencer Hân, was ruler of Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kıt'a: region, piece of land
- kırallık: kingdom
- iz'âc: to disturb, to alarm
- tecâvüz: crossing a border, aggression
- def' etmek: to repel
- sevâhil: coasts
- istihbâr etmek: to learn, to receive news
- hal': deposition from the throne
- tahrîr, mestûr: writing; written
- hudûd-ı şarkiyye, garbiyye, şimâliyye: the eastern, western and northern borders
- tevsî': extension, expansion
- hıtâm vermek: to put an end to
- eser-i zühûl: an error made through absent-mindedness or forgetfulness
Sencer Şah and Amasya
In the division among his sons made by Kılıç Arslan II, probably in 1184-85, Amasya was given to Argun and Ereğli to Sencer Şah. Hüsameddin's statement that "he had been moved from Ankara to Ereğli in his uncle's time" does not agree with this division in the source; it is recorded that Sencer was appointed to Ereğli by Kılıç Arslan. In a footnote Hüsameddin writes that Ibn Bībī counts Argun, Sencer and Tuğrul as sons of Kılıç Arslan, while he himself, relying on the Câmiu'd-Düvel and the Gülşen-i Tevârîh, counts Argun and Sencer as sons of Şâhenşâh and Tuğrul as a son of Gıyâseddin Muhammed. Present-day sources, however, count Argun, Sencer and Tuğrul Şah among the sons of Kılıç Arslan, and report that Elbistan was given to Tuğrul Şah. So the generally accepted view is close to Ibn Bībī's account. To regard Kılıç Arslan as someone "imitating Iran", and to suppose that the sons with Turkish names were wrongly attributed to him for that reason, is Hüsameddin's own interpretation.
Süleyman Şah, Erzurum and Erzincan
Hüsameddin writes that Sultan Süleyman ended the governments of Erzincan and Erzurum in 597 and appointed Rükneddin Tuğrul Hân there. The encyclopedia entries state that Süleyman Şah entered Erzurum in 598 (25 June 1202), imprisoned the Saltukid ruler Melikşah, ended the Saltukid dynasty, and gave Erzurum to his brother Tuğrul Şah; Tuğrul Şah had earlier, as ruler of Elbistan, declared his allegiance to Süleyman (1197). Erzincan, it is noted, was in the hands of the Mengujekid Behram Şah, who obeyed Süleyman Şah; that is, the source speaks not of Erzincan being "brought to an end" but of its submission. Süleyman Şah was defeated by the Georgians shortly afterwards (July 1202) and died in 1204.
Keyhusrev and the Greeks of Trebizond
Present-day sources too record that after the Latin occupation of Constantinople, Alexios and David of the Komnenos family founded a state on the Black Sea coast centred on Trebizond, and that Laskaris founded another in İznik. The same source relates that Keyhusrev took action when Alexios attempted to occupy Samsun, defeated him, and brought the Samsun region back within the Seljuk borders. This agrees with Hüsameddin's account that Keyhusrev was dealing with the Komnenos dynasty on his northern frontier. The conquest of Antalya in 604 that Hüsameddin gives could not be verified; the capture of Maraş from the Armenians in 605 (1208-1209) is recorded. According to the encyclopedia entries, Keyhusrev's death was in 608 (1211): near Antioch between Denizli and Lâdik, in the war against Laskaris, as victory was within reach, his soldiers fell to plundering and a Greek soldier killed him. Hüsameddin's statement that "he was martyred in the war with the Greeks in 605 or 606" does not agree with this record.
The End of Sencer and Süleyman
Hüsameddin writes that Sencer Hân is "thought" to have been martyred together with Keyhusrev, and bases his son Süleyman's rule of Amasya on the Gülşen-i Tevârîh. No other source was found to confirm this: the sources read contain no clear record of the year of Sencer's death or of his rule in Amasya. It is recorded that after Keyhusrev's death his son İzzeddin Keykâvus was placed on the throne in 1211.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 338–339. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies