Esbak Anadolu hükümdârı Sultân İzzeddîn Keykâvus Hân'ın şehzâdesi olup 696 senesi ramazânında Simre hükümdârı olmuşdur. Amasya vâlîsi Azîzeddîn Mehmed Bey pervâne-i sultânî, Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Lâkûşî vezîr-i saltanat, Halifetzâde Celâleddîn Mehmed Bey nâib-i saltanat, Gümüşlüzâde Sirâceddîn İsmâ'il Bey atabeg, Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey emîrü'l-ümerâ ve Abdul'azîz bin İsrâ'il dahi müstevfi'l-memâlik olarak ta'ayyün etmişlerdir.
Amasya kâdı'l-kudâtı Nâsıreddîn Muhammed el-Bôrî azl olunup Şemseddîn Ahmed bin el-Verdî dâru's-saltana Simre kâdı'l-kudâtı [440] olmuş, Köprü kazâsında el-yevm "Yeşbegi Karyesi" demekle meşhûr olan çiftliğinde mukîm İşboğa Noyin dahi Simre hükûmeti nâzırı olarak Amasya'da imtiyâz-ı mahsûs kazanmışdır. Kedağralı Şücâ'eddîn Kaplan Bey bin Şemseddîn Tutaş Bey bunun vekîl-i umûru idi.
Lâkin Azîzeddîn Mehmed Pervâne Bey'in eski istibdâdını, eski mezâlimini, eski tahsîlâtını durdurmak ve şikâyât ile makâmından dahi kaldırmak kâbil olmadığı cihetle Câmiu'd-Düvel'in ta'bîri üzere elsine-i âmme, şikâyâtını rûz u şeb Cenâb-ı Müntakim-i Kahhâr'a i'lâ ve bir an evvel vücûdunun izâlesi husûsunda bütün halk bârgâh-ı Ulûhiyyete ilticâ etmişler idi.
Bîçâregânın şemşîr-i âh-ı derûnu Azîzeddîn Mehmed Bey'in cân evine isâbet etmekle 697 'de füc'eten vefât etmiş, Burma Minâre Câmii derûnunda Cumûdâr Hân'ın yanına defn edilmişdir. Kezâlik Türk beylerinin meşâhîr-i şüc'ânından Baltubay (Baltuk Bey) kesret-i mezâlimden isyân ederek başına toplanan mağdûrîn ile 698'de Anadolu nâzırı Togacar'ı katl ve Konya taraflarından Tatar ümerâsını tard eylediği esnâda Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh Bey soluğu Gazân Hân'ın yanında almışdır.
Azîzeddîn Mehmed Bey'in yerine meşâhîr-i ümerâdan Halifetzâde Celâleddîn Muhammed Bey pervâne-i sultânî olarak Simre hükûmeti nâzırı İşboğa Noyin ile akıl ve insâf dâ'iresinde hareket ve kulûb-ı münkesireyi cebre himmet ediyor, fakat Baltubay'ın isyânı Türkmen beylerinin muzâharetlerine istinâd ederek tevessu' etmeğe başlıyordu. [441]
Baltubay, saltanat-ı Selçûkiyye'nin inkısâmı Tatarlar'ın nüfûzuna hâdim olduğunu takdîr ederek iki hükûmeti tevhîd ve Tatarlar'ı Anadolu'dan tard etmeğe çalışıyor, Alâ'eddîn Keykubâd'ın sıgar-ı sinnine, kusûr-ı tedbîrine binâ'en onu ber-taraf ederek amcası olan Amasya hükümdârı Sultân Gıyâseddîn Mes'ûd'un müstakillen Anadolu hükümdârı olmasını tervîc ediyor, Anadolu ümerâsından bir kısmını elde edib cem'iyyetini teksîr ederek Amasya'dan Sultân Mes'ûd'u yanına alıyor, mâh-be-mâh hazîne-i İlhâniyye'ye verilegelen mebâliği kat' ederek sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin istiklâlini i'lân eyliyordu.
Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh gibi Tatar meclûbu olan Anadolu ümerâsı, Gazân Hân'ın nezdine gidip tecdîd-i ubûdiyyet ve Baltubay'ın harekâtından tebri'e-i zimmet etmeğe calışıyorlardı. Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, Baltubay'ın harekât-ı serkeşânesine hiddet ediyor, Anadolu'da ufak bir mağlûbiyyet bütün Türkmen beylerinin istiklâlini, yâhud hânedân-ı Selçûk'un ihyâ-yı ikbâlini intâc edeceğini idrâk etmekle tedâbîr-i şedîde ittihâzına karâr veriyordu.
Binâ'en-aleyh Mahmûd Gazân Hân, meşâhîr-i ümerâsından Kutlug Şâh'ı başkumandân nasb ederek ma'iyyetine verdiği büyük bir ordu ile 698 evâ'ilinde Anadolu'ya irsâl eyledi. Moğol serdârı Kutlug Şâh Erzurum üzerinden mayıs evâ'iline müsâdif şa'bânda Amasya'ya gelip pervâne-i sultânî Halifetzâde Celâleddîn Mehmed Bey'i kale zindânında habs ile Simre nâzırı [442] İşboğa Noyin'i yanına aldı. Ba'dehû cem'iyyet-i ihtilâliyyeyi ta'kîb ederek Kırşehri civârında harbe girdi.
Moğol serdârı Kutlug Şâh bi'l-muhârebe Baltubay'ı bozup cem'iyyet-i isyâniyyeyi perîşân ve Sultân Mes'ûd Hân'ı esîr ederek Gazân Hân'ın yanına gönderdi. Sâ'ir Anadolu beylerine ibret-i mü'essire olmak zu'muyla birtakım mezâlim-i menfûre irtikâb ederek şübhelendiği ümerâyı müsâdere ediyor, halkı kırıp geçiriyor, Baltubay'ın isyânında mu'âvenet-i mâddiyesi anlaşılan hükûmet-i Mısriyye üzerine gidiyordu.
Amasya hükümdârı Sultân Mes'ûd Hân, bir sefâlet içinde Tebrîz'e i'zâm edilip 698 ramazânında Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân'a mülâkî oldu. Baltubay'ın kendisini cebren aldığını ve yanında bi'l-mecbûriyye bulunduğunu beyân ederek arz-ı i'tizâr eyledi. Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh Bey'in ve ba'zı ümerânın şefâ'at ve istirhâmına binâ'en Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, Sultân Mes'ûd'un özrünü kabûl eylediği hâlde azl edib birkaç gün sonra Hemedân kalesine irsâl ve habs ve Simre eyâletini Sinop emîri olan Pervâne Beyzâde Mühezzebeddîn Mes'ûd Bey'e tevcîh eyledi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Sultan İzzeddin Keykâvus Khan, the former ruler of Anatolia, and became ruler of Simre in Ramadan 696 [1296-97]. Azîzeddin Mehmed Bey, governor of Amasya, was appointed the sultan's pervâne; Şemseddin Ahmed el-Lâkûşî, vizier of the sultanate; Halifetzâde Celâleddin Mehmed Bey, the sultan's deputy; Gümüşlüzâde Sirâceddin İsmail Bey, atabeg; Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddin Muhammed Bey, emîrülümerâ (chief of the emirs); and Abdülaziz bin İsrail, müstevfi of the realms (head of financial records and accounts).
Nâsıreddin Muhammed el-Bôrî, chief judge of Amasya, was dismissed, and Şemseddin Ahmed bin el-Verdî became chief judge of Simre, the capital. İşboğa Noyin, who lived on his farm in the district of Köprü, known today as "Yeşbegi Village", also gained a special privilege in Amasya as overseer of the government of Simre. Kedağralı Şücâeddin Kaplan Bey bin Şemseddin Tutaş Bey was the deputy who managed his affairs.
However, since it was impossible to stop the old tyranny, the old oppression and the old tax collection of Azîzeddin Mehmed Pervâne Bey, or to have him removed from office by complaint, the people, as Câmiu'd-Düvel tells it, raised their complaints day and night to God, the Avenger and Subduer, and all together took refuge in God that he might soon be removed.
The sincere sigh of the helpless struck Azîzeddin Mehmed Bey's life like a sword; he died suddenly in 697 [1297-98] and was buried beside Cumûdâr Khan inside the Burmalı Minare Mosque. Likewise Baltubay (Baltuk Bey), one of the famed warriors among the Turkish beys, rose in revolt against the abundance of tyranny and, with the wronged who gathered around him, killed Togacar, the overseer of Anatolia, in 698 [1298-99] and drove the Tatar emirs out of the region of Konya. Meanwhile Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh Bey hurried to Ghazan Khan.
In place of Azîzeddin Mehmed Bey, Halifetzâde Celâleddin Muhammed Bey, one of the famed emirs, became the sultan's pervâne. He acted with İşboğa Noyin, overseer of the government of Simre, within the bounds of reason and fairness and tried to mend broken hearts; but Baltubay's revolt, relying on the support of the Turkmen beys, was beginning to spread.
Baltubay, seeing that the division of the Seljuk sultanate served Tatar influence, tried to unite the two governments and drive the Tatars out of Anatolia. Because of Alâeddin Keykubâd's youth and imprudence, he set him aside and put forward his uncle, Sultan Gıyâseddin Mesud, the ruler of Amasya, as sole ruler of Anatolia. Winning over some of the Anatolian emirs and increasing his following, he took Sultan Mesud from Amasya to his side, stopped the monthly payments that had been made to the Ilkhanid treasury, and declared the sultan's independence.
Tatar-allied Anatolian emirs such as Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh went to Ghazan Khan to renew their allegiance and to clear themselves of Baltubay's actions. Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan was enraged at Baltubay's rebellion; understanding that a small defeat in Anatolia could lead to the independence of all the Turkmen beys or to the return of the old power of the Seljuk dynasty, he resolved to take severe measures.
Thereupon Mahmûd Ghazan Khan appointed Kutlug Shah, one of his famed emirs, as commander-in-chief and sent him into Anatolia in early 698 with a great army placed under his orders. The Mongol commander Kutlug Shah came to Amasya by way of Erzurum in the month of Sha'ban, which fell at the beginning of May, imprisoned the sultan's pervâne Halifetzâde Celâleddin Mehmed Bey in the castle dungeon, and took İşboğa Noyin, the overseer of Simre, along with him. Then he pursued the rebel band and gave battle near Kırşehir.
The Mongol commander Kutlug Shah defeated Baltubay in the battle and scattered the rebel band; he also took Sultan Mesud Khan captive and sent him to Ghazan Khan. As a lesson to the other Anatolian beys he committed some loathsome cruelties, seized the property of emirs he suspected, slaughtered the people, and marched against the government of Egypt, whose material help to Baltubay's revolt had become evident.
Sultan Mesud Khan, ruler of Amasya, was sent to Tabriz in great misery and appeared before Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan in Ramadan 698. He apologized, explaining that Baltubay had taken him by force and that he had been with him only under compulsion. Through the intercession and request of Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh Bey and some of the emirs, Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan accepted Sultan Mesud's excuse but nevertheless removed him from office; a few days later he sent him to the castle of Hamadan and imprisoned him, and gave the province of Simre to Pervâne Beyzâde Mühezzebeddin Mesud Bey, the emir of Sinop.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Simre: in Hüsameddin, the name of the Seljuk-Ilkhanid administrative region in and around Amasya; mentioned together with Eyâlet-i Rûmiyye
- atabeg: the tutor and deputy at the head of the prince's and the sultanate's affairs, a high-ranking official
- emîrü'l-ümerâ: emir of emirs, chief of the army and the emirs
- müstevfi'l-memâlik: the keeper of the state's financial records and accounts, treasurer
- kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
- dâru's-saltana: seat of the sultanate, capital
- nâzır: overseer; here, the Mongol commander who watched over the region on behalf of the Ilkhanids
- vekîl-i umûr: deputy who manages affairs
- mezâlim: acts of tyranny
- istibdâd: arbitrary and oppressive rule
- kulûb-ı münkesire: broken hearts
- mâh-be-mâh: month by month
- mağdûrîn: those who have been wronged
- serdâr: commander
The Burmalı Minare and the Tomb of Cumûdâr
Hüsameddin says that Azîzeddin Mehmed Bey was buried inside the Burmalı Minare Mosque beside Cumûdâr Khan. According to its inscription, the mosque was built in 1242 by the Seljuk vizier Necmeddin Ferruh Bey and his brother Haznedar Yusuf. The Tomb of Cumûdâr, with its octagonal body to the left of the door, belongs in fact to Ferruh Bey and his son; it is called by that name because Cumûdâr's mummy was kept here until it was placed in the Amasya Museum. Museum officials state that the mummies remained in the tomb until 1855. In the museum, alongside Cumûdâr, there is also the mummy of İşboğa Noyin, emir of Amasya. Among the mummies in the museum there is also one attributed to Pervâne Bey; however, the sources do not say whether it belongs to Azîzeddin Mehmed Bey.
The mosque's minaret was originally made of wood. It was damaged in the earthquake of 1590 and the fire of 1602 and was destroyed completely in the great fire of 1730; the present twisted minaret was built of stone in its place, and for this reason the mosque is called the Burmalı Minare (Twisted Minaret) Mosque.
The Position of Sultan Mesud
Hüsameddin refers to Mesud as "ruler of Simre" after Ghazan Khan's partition. In the encyclopedia entry, however, Mesud II returned from Tabriz in 1284 as sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks, a ruler who remained in the shadow of the Ilkhanid sovereign; his first reign lasted until 1296. According to the entry, the country in Anatolia at that time was in the hands of Mongol commanders and governors ruling on behalf of the Ilkhanids, and Mesud never got beyond being a "shadow sultan". The picture of a sultanate centered on Amasya that Hüsameddin relates can be read as a local reflection of this general situation.
Kutlug Shah and Baltu's Revolt
Baltu's revolt also appears in the encyclopedia entries, but the dates differ. According to the entries, Ghazan Khan sent Baltu and the Arab noyans to punish Togaçar, but Baltu made excuses to avoid going to Tabriz when Ghazan summoned him several times, and prevented Sultan Mesud from going as well. An army under Kutluğ Shah was then sent; Baltu was defeated on the Malya plain in the Kırşehir region, took refuge with the Armenian king, was captured and sent to Tabriz, and was executed in the city square on 25 Dhu'l-Hijja 696 (14 October 1297). Hüsameddin places this campaign in early 698; the encyclopedia entry ties it to 695 (1296). In this respect the date in the book runs a year or two late. On the other hand, Kutluğ Shah's arrival in Anatolia around May 1299 (Sha'ban 698) is recorded in the encyclopedia entries not for Baltu but for the revolt of Sülemiş; it is possible that Hüsameddin merged two separate campaigns of the same commander into one narrative, but this could not be verified.
As for Sultan Mesud's being with Baltu, Hüsameddin and the encyclopedia entries tell the same story: Mesud apologizes, saying that Baltu kept him at his side by force; Ghazan does not find this excuse sufficient, deposes him and compels him to live in Hamadan. Two years later his nephew Alâeddin Keykubad III is placed on the throne in his stead (1298).
Matters That Could Not Be Verified
The present-day name of the place Hüsameddin calls "the village of Yeşbegi in the district of Köprü at present" could not be verified from the sources. No written source other than Hüsameddin's work was found on Kedağralı Şücâeddin Kaplan Bey and Şemseddin Ahmed bin el-Verdî.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 370–371. 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
Official sources
Other sources