Sultân İzzeddîn Keykâvus'un birinci şehzâdesi olup arz edildiği üzere 700 senesi şa'bânında üçüncü def'a Simre hükümdârı olarak ma'iyyet me'mûru olan ümerâ-yı İlhâniyye'den Hâce Nizâmeddîn Yahyâ bin Hâce Vecîh-i Horasânî ile sene-i mezbûre şevvâlinde Hemedân'dan hareket ve Diyârbekir, Sivas, Tokat tarîkiyle merkez-i saltanatı olan [453] Simre'ye zilka'de evâhirinde muvâsalat etmişdir.
700 zilhiccesinde Amasya vâlisi Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Lâkûşî sâhib-i a'zam, meşâhîr-i ümerâdan Alâ'eddîn Savcı Bey pervâne-i sultânî, Hâce Nizâmeddîn Yahyâ el-Horasânî müstevfi'l-memâlik, Ataluoğlu Nâsıreddîn Ahmed Bey atabeg-i saltanat, Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey beylerbeyi, Pervâne Beyzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey nişâncı olup eyâlet-i Rûmiyye nâzırı İşboğa Noyin idi.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, Anadolu'da mütezelzil olan nüfûzunu, hükûmet-i Mısriyye ile bir daha harb ederek ihrâz-ı galebe etmekle te'mîn edebileceğini zann ediyor, Anadolu efkâr-ı umûmiyyesini kendi lehine celb etmek için Sultân Mes'ûd Hân'a ibrâz-ı teveccüh etmek üzere 701 evâ'ilinde bütün Anadolu hükûmetini müşârün-ileyhe i'tâ ediyor, Konya kısmı emîri olan Babazâde Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh Bey dahi Konya'da nâib-i saltanat olup bu husûsu teblîğ için müstevfî-i dîvân-ı Gazânî Babazâde Hâce Ziyâ'eddîn Mes'ûd-ı Rûmî Simre'ye geliyordu.
Fakat Anadolu defterdârı olan Hâce Nizâmeddîn Yahyâ, tedârikât-ı harbiyyeyi ikmâl etmek bahânesiyle pek zâlimâne hareket ederek halkı üzüyor, nâib-i saltanat Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh dahi bunun harekât-ı zâlimânesini tevkîf, kendi nüfûzunu ibrâz etmek için mâni' olmak istiyor, bu men'i Tatar beyleri Emîr Şâh'ın hükûmet-i Mısriyye ile te'sîs-i muvâfakat ve tedârikât-ı harbiyyeyi ikmâle mümâna'at etdiğine delîl tutarak müşârün-ileyhi [454] Tarnak (Tarende olacak) şehrine celb ve tesmîm ediyorlardı.
701 senesi recebinde Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh'ın mesmûmen vefât etdiğini duyan kesretli tarafdârânı kıyâm etmekle Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân bu gibi ahvâl-i nâ-revâya bâ'is olan Hâce Nizâmeddîn Yahyâ'yı Tebrîz'e celb ederek i'dâm ediyor, Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddîn Muhammed Bey müstevfi'l-memâlik, ya'nî Anadolu defterdârı ve Alâ'eddîn Savcı Bey dahi nâib-i saltanat oluyordu.
701 şa'bânında muvakki'-i dîvân-ı sultânî Pervâne Beyzâde Alâ'eddîn Alî Bey pervâne-i sultânî ve şu'arâdan Zeyneddîn Abdurrahîm es-Simrî dahi muvakki'-i dîvân-ı âlî oldukdan sonra Hânkâh-ı Mes'ûdî şeyhi Şemseddîn Ahmed Baba azl edilerek meşâhîr-i ulemâdan eş-Şeyh Mecdeddîn Îsâ es-Salgarî Mes'ûdiyye şeyhi ve müderrisi olmuşdur.
Anadolu hükümdârı olan Sultân Gıyâseddîn Mes'ûd Hân eski mevki'ini bulduysa da nüfûz-ı hükûmet tamâmiyle sâhib-i a'zam Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Lâkûşî ile nâib-i saltanat Alâ'eddîn Savcı Beyler'e münhasır olduğu hâlde bunların nâzım-ı umûru dahi memleket-i Selçûkiyye nâzırı olan İşboğa Noyin olduğu münâsebetle sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin hükûmeti Tatar nüfûzuyla kâ'im bulunuyordu. Binâ'en-aleyh adı sultân olan Mes'ûd Hân mahkûm bir hâlde yaşıyordu.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, hükûmet-i Mısriyye ile tasmîm eylediği harbi yapmak için 702 senesi rebî'ulâhirinde Tebrîz'den hareket ediyor, [455] ser-askeri Kutlug Şâh idâresinde ictimâ' eden Tatar ümerâsından Sutay Aktâcî, "Emîr Çoban" demekle meşhûr olan Sildüz bin Tudavuk, Kutlug Şâh oğlu Sebuşi, İlikan ve Taytuk Noyinler ile Anadolu bilâdında mukîm olan nâzır İşbuka (İşboğa) birâderi Ulay, Alıcak Noyin oğlu Kurumsi, Acay oğlu Tagril Noyinler bulunuyordu.
Bunlardan mâ-adâ Anadolu ümerâsından Tatar nüfûzu altında bulunan beyler Gazân Hân'ın bu seferinde isbât-ı vücûd etmişler ise de Türkmen beylerinin kısm-ı a'zamı gitmiyorlar idi. Sultân Mes'ûd vezîr-i a'zamı Şemseddîn Ahmed el-Lâkûşî ile nâib-i saltanatı olan Alâ'eddîn Savcı Beyler gibi ümerâ Tatar ordusuyla beraber Mısır'a müteveccihen gitmişlerdir.
Hulâsa Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân ile Mısır'a giden Tatar ordusu Hama'ya kadar bilâd-ı Halebiyye ve Şâmiyye'yi gâret ve 702 senesi ramazânının ikinci günü Hama civârında harbe mübâşeret etdiler. İşte bu son muhârebe Gazân Hân'ı son derece müte'essir edecek hezîmetle hitâm bulduğundan Tatar firârîleri Anadolu diyârını talân etmeğe koyulmuşlar idi. Bunların gâretinden memleketi kurtarmak için Türkmen beyleri harekete başladılar.
İşte bu fırsatdan bi'l-istifâde Karaman Beyzâde Bedreddîn Mahmûd Bey Konya'da yirmi sene kadar emâret edib halkın mazhar-ı teveccühü olan Babazâde Mücîreddîn Emîr Şâh'ın vefâtıyla bu teveccüh-i umûmî emîr-i müşârün-ileyhin amcası Babazâde Muhliseddîn Mûsâ (Muhlis Paşa)'ya [456] intikâl etdiğini takdîr ederek bu Muhlis Paşa'yı dâ'ire-i ittihâdına alıyor, bunun nüfûzundan bi'l-istifâde derhâl Muhlis Paşa nâmına hareket ederek Tatar firârîlerini tenkîle koyuluyordu.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân'ın münhezimen Tebrîz'e avdetinden sonra takrîben 702 zilhiccesinde Konya'yı zabt ve istîlâ ederek Türkmenler'in lehine isyân eden Sülimiş Bay'ın kâtib-i dîvânı ve müdîr-i umûru olmakla iştihâr eden Babazâde Muhlis Paşa'yı taht-ı Selçûk'a iclâs ediyor ve Selçûkîler'e teşbîhen emîr-i müşârün-ileyhe Muhliseddîn Mûsâ Hân unvânı veriliyordu.⁴²⁷
Sultân Gazân Hân'ın bu mağlûbiyeti Türkmen beylerinin istiklâl harekâtını intâc etmekle her biri bir tarafda i'lân-ı istiklâl ediyor, Sultân Mes'ûd'un dâ'ire-i hükûmeti eyâlet-i Rûmiyye'ye münhasır kaldığı hâlde kendisi de Türk Ahmed Bey ve Savcı Bey demekle meşhûr olan Şemseddîn Ahmed Lâkûşî ve Alâ'eddîn Savcı Beyler'in tahakkümleri altında mahsûr kaldığına son derece müte'essir olarak mübtelâ-yı felc oluyordu.
Sultân Mahmûd Gazân Hân, Konya ahvâlinden haberdâr oldukda Sutay Aktacî Noyin'i Konya hükümdârı Muhliseddîn Mûsâ Hân [457] aleyhine irsâl edib 703 evâsıtında Muhlis Paşalılar, Karamânîler mağlûb olmakla Emîr Muhliseddîn er-Rûmî ve yeğenleri ya'nî birâderi Şemseddîn Mahmûd bin Baba'nın oğulları Seyfeddîn Mengli, Cemâleddîn Fîrûz, Nûreddîn Kutlu Beyler ve bunların evlâd ü ayâli Mısır'a firâr etmişlerdir.
Fakat Gazân Hân'ın hezîmeti ve müte'âkiben Anadolu ve Tatar ümerâsının istiklâl ve isyânı kendisine pek te'sîr etmiş olduğundan 703 şevvâlinde vefât etmiş, birâderi olup Olcaytu Hân demekle meşhûr olan Sultân Mahmûd Hudâbende Hân Tebrîz'de câlis-i taht-ı İlhânî olmuşdur.
İkinci Sultân Gıyâseddîn Mes'ûd meflûc bir hâlde Simre (Amasya)'de kâ'in sarâyında ikâmet etmekde iken 704 senesi ilkbahârında Havza dâhilindeki çiftliğine gidip Tatar Köyü civârında takrîben sene-i mezbûrenin ramazânında irtihâl⁴²⁸ etmekle oraya defn edilmişdir.⁴²⁹ Şehzâdesi olup "Gâzi Çelebi" demekle meşhûr olan Tâceddîn Altunbaş mu'ahharan üzerine bir türbe binâsıyla eczâ-yı şerîfe tilâvetine mahsûs olarak Mukaddime'nin sonunda ta'dâd edilen karyeleri vakf etmişdir.
Amasya'da hükûmet eden Selçûkîler'in birincisi, Birinci Sultân [458] Mes'ûd Hân olduğu gibi sonuncusu dahi İkinci Sultân Mes'ûd Hân olduğu tesâdüfât-ı garîbedendir. Bu ikisinin arasında geçen 538-704 târîhlerine nazaran Selçûkîler'in Amasya'da hükûmeti 166 yıldan ibâret olduğu sâbit olur.
Sultân Mes'ûd'un vefâtından sonra uç beylerinin taht-ı istiklâlinde olan memâlik müstesnâ olarak bütün memâlik-i Selçûkiyye Anadolu, Âmid, Rûm, Karamâniyye, Kastamoniyye nâmlarıyla beş eyâlete münkasim olup bunlardan eyâlet-i Karamâniyye Karamânzâde Sultân Bedreddîn Mahmûd Bey'in ve eyâlet-i Kastamoniyye dahi Devletşâhzâde Gıyâseddîn İsmâ'il Bey'in taht-ı istîlâ ve hükûmetlerinde müstakil ve Anadolu, Âmid, Rûm eyâletleri de doğrudan hükûmet-i İlhâniyye idâresine müntakil olmuşdur.
Anadolu eyâleti Amasya, Tokat, Canik, Çorum, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî, Kırşehri, Kayseriyye, Yozgat livâlarıyla mülhakâtından ibâret olup merkezi Amasya şehri ve Rûm eyâleti dahi Erzincân, Erzurum, Elbistân, Bayburd, Bâyezîd, Sivas, Arabgir, Malatya livâlarıyla mülhakâtından ibâret olup merkezi Sivas şehri ve Âmid eyâleti de Diyârbekir ve havâlîsi ve mülhakâtından ibâret olup merkezi Diyârbekir şehri idi.
Binâ'en-aleyh Tebrîz hükümdârı Sultân Gıyâseddîn Muhammed Olcaytu Hân, Anadolu eyâletini Sultân Mes'ûd'un sâhib-i devleti ya'nî vezîr-i a'zamı olan Şemseddîn Ahmed Bey'e ve Rûm eyâletini de sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin [459] nâib-i saltanatı olan Alâ'eddîn Savcı Bey'e tevcîh ve Amasya ulemâsından Şemseddîn Muhammed bin el-Halâtî'yi Anadolu kâdı'l-kudâtı ve Sivas ulemâsından Necmeddîn İbrâhim el-Kırşehrî'yi eyâlet-i Rûmiyye kâdı'l-kudâtı ta'yîn etmişdir.
In Modern English
He was the first son of Sultan İzzeddin Keykâvus. As related, in Sha'ban 700 [1300-01], as ruler of Simre for the third time, he set out from Hamadan in Shawwal of the same year with Hâce Nizâmeddin Yahyâ bin Hâce Vecîh-i Horasânî, one of the Ilkhanid emirs who had been given the duty of accompanying him; by way of Diyarbekir, Sivas and Tokat he reached Simre, the seat of the sultanate, at the end of Dhu'l-Qa'da.
In Dhu'l-Hijja 700 Şemseddin Ahmed el-Lâkûşî, governor of Amasya, was sâhib-i a'zam (chief vizier); Alâeddin Savcı Bey, one of the famed emirs, was the sultan's pervâne; Hâce Nizâmeddin Yahyâ el-Horasânî was müstevfi'l-memâlik; Ataluoğlu Nâsıreddin Ahmed Bey was atabeg of the sultanate; Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddin Muhammed Bey was beylerbeyi; Pervâne Beyzâde Alâeddin Ali Bey was nişancı; and İşboğa Noyin was overseer of the province of Rûm.
Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan thought he could restore his shaken influence in Anatolia by fighting the Egyptian government once more and winning. To draw Anatolian public opinion to his side by showing favor to Sultan Mesud Khan, in early 701 [1301-02] he gave him the whole administration of Anatolia. Babazâde Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh Bey, emir of the Konya division, was to be the sultan's deputy in Konya; to announce this, Babazâde Hâce Ziyâeddin Mesud-ı Rûmî, Ghazan's divan müstevfi, was coming to Simre.
But Hâce Nizâmeddin Yahyâ, the treasurer of Anatolia, under the pretext of completing the preparations for war, acted very cruelly and distressed the people. The sultan's deputy Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh wished to stop his cruel actions and to obstruct him in order to show his own influence. The Tatar beys took this obstruction as proof that Emîr Şâh had come to an understanding with the Egyptian government and was hindering the completion of the war preparations; they summoned him to the city of Tarnak (probably Tarende) and poisoned him.
When his many supporters, hearing that Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh had died by poison in Rajab 701, rose up, Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan summoned to Tabriz Hâce Nizâmeddin Yahyâ, who had caused such improper situations, and had him executed. Torumtayzâde Nâsıreddin Muhammed Bey became müstevfi'l-memâlik, that is, treasurer of Anatolia, and Alâeddin Savcı Bey became the sultan's deputy.
In Sha'ban 701 Pervâne Beyzâde Alâeddin Ali Bey, muvakki' of the sultanate's divan (who recorded official documents), became the sultan's pervâne, and Zeyneddin Abdurrahîm es-Simrî, among the poets, became muvakki' of the high divan. After this Şemseddin Ahmed Baba, sheikh of the Hânkâh-ı Mesûdî, was dismissed, and Sheikh Mecdeddin İsa es-Salgarî, one of the famed scholars, became sheikh and professor of the Mesûdiyye.
Although Sultan Gıyâseddin Mesud Khan, ruler of Anatolia, regained his former position, the power of government was entirely concentrated in the chief vizier Şemseddin Ahmed el-Lâkûşî and the sultan's deputy Alâeddin Savcı Bey. Since İşboğa Noyin, overseer of the Seljuk country, arranged their affairs, the sultan's government stood on Tatar influence. For this reason Mesud Khan, sultan in name, lived with his authority in the hands of others.
Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan set out from Tabriz in Rabî' al-âkhir 702 [1302-03] to fight the war he had decided on with the Egyptian government. Among the Tatar emirs gathered under the commander-in-chief Kutlug Shah were Sutay Aktâcî; Sildüz, son of Tudavuk, famed as "Emîr Çoban"; Sebuşi, son of Kutlug Shah; the noyins İlikan and Taytuk; Ulay, brother of İşbuka (İşboğa), the overseer living in Anatolia; Kurumsi, son of Alıcak Noyin; and Tagril Noyin, son of Acay.
Besides these, the Anatolian emirs under Tatar influence took part in this campaign of Ghazan Khan; however, the great majority of the Turkmen beys did not go. Emirs such as Sultan Mesud's chief vizier Şemseddin Ahmed el-Lâkûşî and the sultan's deputy Alâeddin Savcı went toward Egypt together with the Tatar army.
In short, the Tatar army that went to Egypt with Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan plundered the regions of Aleppo and Damascus as far as Hama and on the second day of Ramadan 702 gave battle near Hama. Since this last battle ended in a rout that deeply affected Ghazan Khan, the Tatar fugitives began to plunder the land of Anatolia. The Turkmen beys moved to save the country from their plunder.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Karaman Beyzâde Bedreddin Mahmud Bey, understanding that with the death of Babazâde Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh, who had been emir in Konya for some twenty years and won the people's affection, this general affection had passed to the said emir's uncle Babazâde Muhliseddin Musa (Muhlis Pasha), brought this Muhlis Pasha into his circle of alliance. Exploiting his influence, he at once acted in Muhlis Pasha's name and set about punishing the Tatar fugitives.
After Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan returned to Tabriz in defeat, around Dhu'l-Hijja 702 he seized and occupied Konya and seated on the Seljuk throne Babazâde Muhlis Pasha, known as the divan secretary and manager of the affairs of Sülimiş Bay, who had rebelled in favor of the Turkmens; in imitation of the Seljuks, the said emir was given the title Muhliseddin Musa Khan.
Since this defeat of Sultan Ghazan Khan gave rise to the independence movements of the Turkmen beys, each was proclaiming independence in a different place. Although Sultan Mesud's sphere of rule was squeezed into the province of Rûm, he himself, deeply grieved at being confined under the pressure of Şemseddin Ahmed Lâkûşî, famed as Türk Ahmed Bey and Savcı Bey, and of Alâeddin Savcı Bey, was struck with paralysis.
When Sultan Mahmûd Ghazan Khan learned of the situation in Konya, he sent Sutay Aktacî Noyin against Muhliseddin Musa Khan, ruler of Konya; when the Muhlis Pashas and the Karamans were defeated in mid-703 [1303-04], Emîr Muhliseddin er-Rûmî and his nephews, that is, the sons of his brother Şemseddin Mahmud bin Baba, the beys Seyfeddin Mengli, Cemâleddin Fîrûz and Nûreddin Kutlu, together with their families, fled to Egypt.
But since Ghazan Khan was deeply affected by his defeat and then by the independence and revolt of the Anatolian and Tatar emirs, he died in Shawwal 703; his brother Sultan Mahmûd Hudâbende Khan, known as Olcaytu Khan, took the Ilkhanid throne in Tabriz.
The second Sultan Gıyâseddin Mesud, while sitting paralyzed in his palace at Simre (Amasya), went in the spring of 704 [1304-05] to his farm within the borders of Havza; around Ramadan of the same year he died near Tatar Village and was buried there. His son, known as "Gâzi Çelebi", Tâceddin Altunbaş, later had a tomb built over him and endowed the villages listed at the end of the Introduction to be set aside for the reading of the Quran's parts.
It is among the curious coincidences that the first of the Seljuks who ruled in Amasya was the First Sultan Mesud Khan and the last was the Second Sultan Mesud Khan. From the dates 538-704 between these two, it is understood that Seljuk rule in Amasya lasted 166 years.
After Sultan Mesud's death, apart from the places where the frontier beys were independent, all the Seljuk lands were divided into five provinces named Anatolia, Âmid, Rûm, Karamaniyye and Kastamoniyye. Of these, the province of Karamaniyye remained independent under the sovereignty and administration of Karamanzâde Sultan Bedreddin Mahmud Bey, and the province of Kastamoniyye under Devletşâhzâde Gıyâseddin İsmail Bey; the provinces of Anatolia, Âmid and Rûm passed directly to Ilkhanid administration.
The province of Anatolia consisted of the sanjaks of Amasya, Tokat, Canik, Çorum, Şebinkarahisar (Karahisâr-ı Şarkî), Kırşehir, Kayseri and Yozgat with their dependencies, and its center was the city of Amasya. The province of Rûm consisted of the sanjaks of Erzincan, Erzurum, Elbistan, Bayburt, Bayezid, Sivas, Arapgir and Malatya with their dependencies, and its center was the city of Sivas. The province of Âmid consisted of Diyarbekir and its surroundings with its dependencies, and its center was the city of Diyarbekir.
Thereupon Sultan Gıyâseddin Muhammed Olcaytu Khan, ruler of Tabriz, gave the province of Anatolia to Şemseddin Ahmed Bey, Sultan Mesud's sâhib-i devlet, that is, chief vizier, and the province of Rûm to Alâeddin Savcı Bey, the said sultan's deputy; he appointed Şemseddin Muhammed bin el-Halâtî, one of the scholars of Amasya, as chief judge of Anatolia, and Necmeddin İbrahim el-Kırşehrî, one of the scholars of Sivas, as chief judge of the province of Rûm.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sâhib-i a'zam, sâhib-i devlet: chief vizier
- pervâne-i sultânî: the official who carried the seal in the sultan's name and headed correspondence and financial affairs
- müstevfi'l-memâlik: keeper of the state's financial records, treasurer
- atabeg: high official regarded as chief deputy and tutor in the affairs of the sultanate
- beylerbeyi: chief of the emirs, high-ranking commander and administrator
- nişancı: official who prepared the sultan's tughra and official documents
- muvakki': scribe who kept official documents and records
- nâib-i saltanat: deputy of the sultan
- tesmîm: poisoning
- defterdâr: head of financial affairs
- hânkâh: lodge where dervishes and sheikhs lived
- müderris: madrasa professor
- meflûc: paralyzed
- gâret: plunder
- hezîmet: rout
- mübtelâ-yı felc: struck by paralysis
- eczâ-yı şerîfe: parts of the Quran
- livâ: sanjak, administrative division
- kâdı'l-kudât: chief judge
- müverrih: historian
Gıyâseddin Mesud II
Gıyâseddin Mesud II, at the center of the entry, was the son of İzzeddin Keykâvus II. According to the encyclopedia entry, his father chose him as heir while he was in the Crimea; Mesud came to Sinop in 1280, was appointed sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks by Arghun Khan, and ascended the throne in 1284 in Kayseri and then in Konya. The same entry refers to Mesud as a "shadow sultan": the country is in the hands of Mongol commanders and of governors ruling on behalf of the Ilkhanids, and the Seljuk state pays tribute to the Ilkhanids and meets the needs of the Mongol armies in Anatolia. The picture Hüsameddin writes, "sultan in name, with authority in the hands of others", agrees with this assessment.
According to the encyclopedia entry, Mesud's first reign lasted until 1296; he was then compelled to live in Hamadan and was seated on the throne a second time after the deposition of Alâeddin Keykubad III in 1302. The sources show small differences in some dates; according to Niğdeli Kadı Ahmed, this second reign began in Kayseri on 19 May 1303. Hüsameddin's account "in Sha'ban 700 he became ruler of Simre for the third time" falls about two years before this date. The same difference is seen in entry 2-56.
Mesud's Death and Grave
Hüsameddin writes that Mesud died paralyzed in 704 (1304-05) on his farm in Havza and was buried near Tatar Village. According to the encyclopedia entry, however, Mesud died in Kayseri in 708 (1308) after a long illness; it is also reported that, overwhelmed by his debts and the Mongols' endless demands, he poisoned himself. The entry also notes that the view of Mesud as the last Anatolian Seljuk ruler is disputed, that Kılıçarslan b. Keyhusrev III, although placed on the throne in 1310, was not recognized in the country or by the Mongols; the last Seljuk coins also belong to Mesud II. One further source draws attention to Maqrizi's giving 718 (1318) as the end of the Seljuk state.
The place of the grave is disputed. Relying on the record "Türbe-i Sultân Mes'ûd bin Keykâvus Der-Karye-i Tatar Kalesi" in the waqf records, Hüsameddin maintains that Mesud's tomb is in the village of Tatar Kalesi in the nahiye of Havza, and that the tomb of his son Gâzi Çelebi is in the village of Umur Bey (Şeyh Savcı). In 2015 officials of the Samsun Museum Directorate, relying on records in the waqf registers and on Hüsameddin's work, announced that Mesud's burial place was in the village of Tatar Kalesi in the Vezirköprü district. Hüsameddin shows the village as belonging to Havza, while the museum announcement mentions Vezirköprü; both districts are today within the borders of Samsun. This information cannot be reconciled with the encyclopedia record that Mesud died in Kayseri. Osman Turan too wrote that there is uncertainty about the date and place of Mesud's death. A photograph of the tomb in Havza has also been wrongly attributed to Mesud in some posts; the gravestone in the photograph, however, belongs to his son Taceddin Altunbaş, bearing the name "Melik-i Amasya, Sultan Taceddin Altunbaş bin Gıyaseddin Mesud bin Keykavus".
Taceddin Altunbaş and the Tomb in Amasya
Taceddin Altunbaş, whom Hüsameddin calls "Gâzi Çelebi", was Mesud's son. According to an academic article, it is understood from his waqf deed that he ruled in and around Amasya as ruler of Simre; when he died in 1356-57 he was buried in Umurbey Village, attached to Havza. In the Dere quarter of Amasya's city center, near the Bakırcılar Bazaar, stand the Taceddin Tomb and Madrasa. The tomb has no original building inscription or cenotaph; the plaque placed on it states that Sultan Taceddin Altunbaş is buried there. The tomb, with an octagonal body on a square base, bears the characteristics of 13th-century Seljuk tomb architecture; the madrasa was partly uncovered in a rescue excavation in 1989. It closely resembles the Cumudar Tomb (1242), some 90 meters away, in material, decoration and plan. The article considers it probable that the tomb in Amasya was built in the sultan's name when Altunbaş died. Whether the tomb in Hüsameddin's sentence "had a tomb built over him" is the same as this structure is not stated.
The Last Years of Ghazan Khan
What Hüsameddin relates about Ghazan's end largely coincides with the encyclopedia entry. The battle between the Mongol army and the Mamluk forces near Damascus on 2 Ramadan 702 (20 April 1303) ended in a Mamluk victory; Ghazan grieved greatly over this defeat and died near Qazvin on 11 Shawwal 703 (17 May 1304); his brother Olcaytu succeeded him. Hüsameddin gives the dates correctly, but places the battle near Hama and says that Ghazan was personally at the head of the army. The encyclopedia entry mentions the battle as one fought near Damascus and won by the Mamluks. That after the defeat Tatar fugitives plundered in Anatolia and the Turkmen beys moved is a detail peculiar to Hüsameddin; it could not be verified in another source.
Matters That Could Not Be Verified
Events such as the seating of Muhlis Pasha on the throne of Konya, the clash between Karamanzâde Bedreddin Mahmud and Sutay Aktacî Noyin, the poisoning of Mücîreddin Emîr Şâh, the Mesûdiyye lodge and the execution of Hâce Nizâmeddin Yahyâ could not be found in the sources examined. The calculation that Seljuk rule in Amasya lasted 166 years from 538 to 704 is arithmetically correct; but what the date 538 rests on for Mesud I could not be verified. The information on the division of Anatolia into five provinces and on the provincial centers is likewise peculiar to Hüsameddin.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 2, p. 375–377. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Muharrem Kesik, "Mesud II", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 29, 2004, p. 342–344. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mesud-ii
- "Gāzân Han", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gazan-han
- Faruk Sümer, "Keykubad III", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 25, 2022, p. 359–361. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/keykubad-iii
- Doğan Koşan, "Son Anadolu Selçuklu Meliki Taceddin Altunbaş'ın Amasya'daki Medresesi ve Türbesi", Gaziantep Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 22/3, 2023, p. 802–819. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/jss/issue/79149/1258201
Other sources