Erzurum hükümdârı Tuğrul Hân'ın şehzâdesi olup 606'da pederi tarafından Amasya vâlîsi olduğu Gülşen-i Tevârîh'de mezkûrdur. Yüz elli sene kadar istiklâl-i idâreye mâlik olan Amasya, bu târîhden i'tibâren istiklâlini gâ'ib edib bir vilâyet i'tibâriyle Erzurum hükûmet-i Selçûkiyye'sine iltihâk etmiş ise de bu iltihâk gayr-i tabî'î olduğu cihetle pek çok devâm etmemişdir.
Çünkü Amasya ümerâsı Keykâvus Hân tarafını ya'nî Konya hükûmetine iltihâk etmeği iltizâm ediyorlardı. Keykâvus Hân, kıyâm eden birâderi Alâ'eddîn Keykubâd'ı ahz ve Tuğrul Hân'ı avdete icbâr etdiği cihetle Amasya ümerâsı, vâlîleri bulunan Mes'ûd Hân'ı Erzurum'a i'âde ederek Keykâvus Hân'a arz-ı mutâva'at etdiklerine binâ'en Amasya [350] vâlîliği Amasya ümerâsından Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir bin Muhammed nâm zâta tevcîh edildiği kuyûd-ı mazbûtadan anlaşılmakdadır.
In Modern English
He was the son of Tuğrul Hân, the ruler of Erzurum. The Gülşen-i Tevârîh mentions that in 606 [1209-10] he was made governor of Amasya by his father. Although Amasya, which had enjoyed independent rule for some hundred and fifty years, lost its independence from this date and was joined as a province to the Erzurum Seljuk government, this union was not natural and so did not last very long.
For the beys of Amasya wanted to side with Keykâvus Hân, that is, to join the government of Konya. Because Keykâvus Hân had captured his rebellious brother Alâeddîn Keykubad and forced Tuğrul Hân to turn back, the beys of Amasya sent their governor Mesud Hân back to Erzurum and offered their allegiance to Keykâvus Hân. It is understood from the records that the governorship of Amasya was then given to one of the beys of Amasya, named Bedreddîn Ebû Bekir.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- istiklâl-i idâre: independent rule
- iltihâk: joining, attachment
- gayr-i tabî'î: unnatural
- ümerâ: beys, emirs
- iltizâm etmek: to hold to, to adopt
- icbâr: compulsion
- arz-ı mutâva'at: offering obedience, declaring allegiance
- tevcîh: assignment to an office
- kuyûd-ı mazbûta: recorded documents
The Problem of Dating
Hüsameddin presents Amasya as an object of contention between the Erzurum and Konya Seljuks. In the sources examined, the actual conflict between the Erzurum and Konya branches is described around the struggle for the throne between Keykubad and Keykâvus after Keyhusrev's death (1211). In that struggle Tuğrul Şah, the melik of Erzurum, first joined Keykubad and then abandoned the siege and returned to his own land. The date 606 that Hüsameddin gives does not agree with these events; as to dating, the record in the Gülşen-i Tevârîh on which the author relies is decisive, and it could not be verified from another source.
No further information was found in the sources examined about this prince named Mesud and his short governorship in Amasya. The inscription that Bedreddin Ebû Bekir left in Sinop in later years in the capacity of governor of Simre is treated in the next entry.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 339–340. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources