Sultân Murâd-ı Sânî'nin dördüncü şehzâdesi olan Fâtih Sultân Mehmed Hân-ı Sânî'dir. Kemâl Paşazâde Şemseddîn Ahmed Efendi'nin târîhinde yazıldığı üzere 841 senesi zilhiccesinde Amasya vâlîsi oldu.
Lalası, müdebbir-i umûru, Amasya muhâfızı olmak üzere Sultân Murâd'ın âzâdlı kölelerinden Hayreddîn Hızır Paşa geldi.⁵⁶⁴ Mu'allimi Amasyalı İlyâs Fakîh oğlu Hayreddîn Hızır Çelebi oldu.
İstanbul fâtihi olan Sultân Mehmed-i Sânî, Edirne'de 833 senesi recebinde doğdu. Sekiz yaşında iken Amasya vâlîsi oldu. Amasya, Fâtih'in ilk ta'lîm ve terbiye gördüğü yerdir. Kemâl Paşazâde diyor ki: "Sultân Mehmed dahi bir zamân ol makâm-ı mübârekde ârâm etdi".
Sultân Mehmed'in ser-askeri Amasya ümerâsından Şâdî Beyzâde Burak Bey'dir. Amasya'da buna "Küçük Çeribaşı" dendi. Çeribaşı Mahallesi'nde ikâmet ederdi. Büyük Çeribaşı Mehmed Çelebi'nin kerîmezâdesiydi.
842 senesinde Şeyh Cû'î Mevlevî-hânesi şeyhi "Pir Yoğurtcu" demekle meşhûr Şemseddîn Ahmed Dede bin Ömer bin Mukbil Bey ve Sultâniyye-i Merzifon müderrisi Ferîdeddîn Mehmed Devvânî vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i fuzalâdan [210] Şücâ'eddîn İlyâs Merzifônî Sultâniyye müderrisi oldu.
Fakat Edirne içinden kaynıyordu. Çünkü İshâk Paşa'nın vezâret-i uzmâya ta'yîni devşirmeleri pek ziyâde yüze çıkarmışdı. Türkler bundan pek ziyâde müte'essir olmuşlardı. Türklerle devşirmeler arasında ufak tefek arbedeler oluyordu.
Bundan dolayı Sultân Murâd bî-huzûr olmuşdu. Nihâyet 843 senesi evâ'ilinde İshâk Paşa vezâret-i uzmâdan azl edilerek yerine Türkler'den Candârlızâde Halîl Paşa vezîr-i a'zam, İshâk Paşa vezîr-i sânî, devşirmelerden Zağnos Paşa vezîr-i sâlis oldu. Dîvân-ı hümâyûnda iki Türk kazaskerle muvâzene hâsıl oluyordu.
Sultân Murâd Engürüs harbini açıp dedikoduların önünü aldı. Muzafferiyyetle avdetinde tahtı resânet buldu. Âlî bir sûr-ı hıtân tertîb etdi. Amasya vâlîsi şehzâde Sultân Mehmed Amasya'dan ve Sultân Alâ'eddîn Manîsâ'dan celb edilerek Sultân Mehmed'in hıtânı icrâ edildi.
Ancak sünnet düğününde şehzâde Alâ'eddîn Bey'in gâyet gürbüz bir hâlde arz-ı endâm etmesi Türklerin nazar-ı dikkatlerini celb etmiş, devşirmeler de huylanmışlardı. Çünkü Türkler İshâk Paşa'yı ve etvârını çekemiyorlardı.
Alâ'eddîn Bey'in harekâtı Sultân Murâd'ı bile vehme düşürmüşdü. Bunun için şehzâdelerin yerlerini değişdirdi. Alâ'eddîn Bey'i Amasya [211] vâlîliğine ta'yîn ederek uzaklara atdı. Sultân Mehmed'i de Manîsâ'ya vâlî gönderdi.
Kemâl Paşazâde diyor ki: "Sultân Mehmed dahi ol makâm-ı mübârekde ârâm etdi. Sonra maslahat iktizâ edib atasının fermânıyla Manîsâ'ya gitdi".
In Modern English
He is Sultan Mehmed Han II, fourth prince of Sultan Murad II, the conqueror of Istanbul. As written in the history of Kemâlpaşazâde Şemseddîn Ahmed Efendi, he became governor of Amasya in Zilhicce 841 [1437-38].
Hayreddîn Hızır Pasha, one of Sultan Murad's freed slaves, came as his lala, administrator of his affairs, and guardian of Amasya. His teacher was Hayreddîn Hızır Çelebi, son of the Amasyan İlyâs Fakih.
Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Istanbul, was born in Edirne in Rajab 833 [1429-30]. At the age of eight he became governor of Amasya. Amasya is the place where Fatih received his first education and upbringing. Kemâlpaşazâde says: "Sultan Mehmed too took his rest (stayed) for a time in that blessed place."
Sultan Mehmed's military commander was Burak Bey, son of Şâdî Bey, one of the beys of Amasya. In Amasya he was called "Küçük Çeribaşı" (the Lesser Çeribaşı). He lived in the Çeribaşı quarter. He was the son of the daughter of the Great Çeribaşı Mehmed Çelebi.
In 842 [1438-39] Şemseddîn Ahmed Dede, grandson of Mukbil Bey, son of Ömer, famous as "Pir Yoğurtçu," sheikh of the Şeyh Cû'î Mevlevi Lodge, and Ferîdeddîn Mehmed Devvânî, professor of the Sultâniyye Madrasa in Merzifon, died. Şücâ'eddîn İlyâs Merzifonî, one of the famous scholars, became professor of the Sultâniyye.
But Edirne was seething inwardly. For İshak Pasha's appointment to the grand vizierate had brought the devshirmes very much to the fore. The Turks had been greatly affected by this. There were small-scale fights between the Turks and the devshirmes.
For this reason Sultan Murad had become uneasy. In the end at the beginning of 843 [1439-40] İshak Pasha was removed from the grand vizierate and in his place Çandarlızâde Halîl Pasha of the Turks became grand vizier, İshak Pasha second vizier, and Zağnos Pasha of the devshirmes third vizier. Balance was maintained in the imperial divan with two Turkish chief military judges.
Sultan Murad set out on the Hungarian campaign and forestalled the gossip. When he returned in victory his throne was strengthened. He had a splendid circumcision wedding prepared. Prince Sultan Mehmed, governor of Amasya, was summoned from Amasya and Sultan Alâeddin from Manisa, and Sultan Mehmed's circumcision was performed.
But Prince Alâeddin Bey's appearing at the circumcision wedding with a very robust look drew the attention of the Turks, and the devshirmes also became suspicious. For the Turks could not bear İshak Pasha and those like him.
Alâeddin Bey's bearing had made even Sultan Murad suspicious. For this reason he changed the princes' posts. Appointing Alâeddin Bey to the governorship of Amasya, he sent him far away. He sent Sultan Mehmed to Manisa as governor.
Kemâlpaşazâde says: "Sultan Mehmed too took his rest in that blessed place. Then a necessity arose and, by his father's decree, he went to Manisa."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- vâlî: head of the sanjak to which the prince was assigned, governor
- lala: a prince's tutor and adviser in administration
- müdebbir-i umûr: one who runs affairs and takes measures
- âzâdlı: freed (released from slavery)
- mu'allim: teacher
- ser-asker: commander
- kerîmezâde: daughter's son, grandson
- hıtân: circumcision
- ârâm etmek: to stay, to lodge
Was Fatih Governor in Amasya
The most striking point in Hüsameddin's text is Fatih's appointment as governor of Amasya at the age of eight. A study listing the princes who served as sanjak bey in Amasya relays this information: after Ahmed's death, in 1438, Mehmed, the eight-year-old fourth prince of Murad II, was assigned to Amasya. The same study also mentions an account Hammer relays and says that Mehmed's presence in Amasya is understood from it. But Halil İnalcık notes that this assignment is doubtful. According to İnalcık, it is known that in the spring of 1443 Mehmed was sent from Edirne to Manisa as governor with his two lalas, Kassabzâde Mahmud and Nişancı İbrahim Bey. Uzunçarşılı, too, in his article examining the sending of princes to the sanjaks, does not speak of Mehmed's being sanjak bey in Amasya after Ahmed.
That is, there is a clear disagreement between Hüsameddin and these sources. Hüsameddin makes Fatih governor of Amasya in Zilhicce 841 and bases this information on a sentence in Kemâlpaşazâde's history: "Sultan Mehmed too took his rest for a time in that blessed place." This sentence shows that the prince stayed in Amasya for a time; that it points to an official sanjak bey post is not certain in our interpretation, and İnalcık's doubt gains meaning at this point.
On the date of Fatih's going to Manisa the sources also do not fully agree. According to one article, Mehmed came to Manisa in 1442, at the age of ten; the article notes that there are many who defend the date 1443. In Hüsameddin's text, the going to Manisa is narrated as a change of post after the circumcision wedding. As for the birth date, Hüsameddin gives Rajab 833 [1429-30]. Another article notes that the sources mention the dates 1430, 1431, and 1432, and that 29-30 March 1432 is generally accepted. This is again a place where Hüsameddin's date does not agree with the other sources.
The Çeribaşıs and the Mevlevi Lodge
The local details of the text concerning Amasya, such as the title "Küçük Çeribaşı" of Şâdî Beyzâde Burak Bey and the Çeribaşı quarter, Şemseddîn Ahmed Dede, nicknamed "Pir Yoğurtçu," sheikh of the Şeyh Cû'î Mevlevi Lodge, and the professors of the Sultâniyye Madrasa in Merzifon, are such information. No additional information on these names was found in the sources we read; the basis of the details is Hüsameddin's own records.
The Throne Dispute and the Circumcision Wedding
The text briefly narrates the Turk-devshirme contention that marked the last years of Murad II. Çandarlı Halil Pasha became grand vizier with the change of post Hüsameddin places at the beginning of 843; Zağanos Pasha was counted third vizier at this time. In the entry on Zağanos Pasha, however, it is written that the information that he was made third vizier in 1439 is wrong, that his name came to the fore mainly in the period of Murad II's withdrawal from the throne, and that in 1440 he went out to a provincial post as sanjak bey of Albania. Hüsameddin's record of "third vizier" does not agree with this information. Hüsameddin mentions these names in the context of events reflected in Amasya.
The narrative that Alâeddin Ali's bearing made Murad II suspicious and that for this reason the princes' posts were changed is preparation for the next entry. Alâeddin is regarded as having been brought to the sanjak bey post of Amasya in 1440 at the age of fifteen; some sources give his Amasya post as 1442-1443. The details are taken up in the next entry.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 470–471. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources