Anadolu'da hükûmet eden Selçûk (Selçuklu) hânedânının son pâdişâhı olan Sultân Mes'ûd bin İzzeddîn Keykâvus'un şehzâdesidir. Vâlidesi Tokat'da Ahmed Paşa Câmii ve Sünbül Baba Tekkesi kapılarının üzerinde mahkûk olan kitâbelerden⁴⁶⁷ müstebân olduğu üzere meşhûr Mu'îneddîn Süleyman Pervâne Bey'in kerîmesidir.⁴⁶⁸
Sultân Altunbaş, Amasya'da 739 senesi evâhirinde ikinci def'a serîr-i Selçûkî'ye oturdu. Resmen pâdişâh-ı Selçûkî olarak Emîr Celâleddîn Taşan Bey atabeyi, Emîr Bahâ'eddîn Kürt Bey beylerbeyi, Pervâne Beyzâde Alameddîn Süleyman Bey vezîri, Gümüşlüzâde Celâleddîn Abdullah Çelebi de müstevfî oldu.
Bu sene kibâr-ı fuzalâdan Amasya'da sadru'l-ulemâ olan müftü Rükneddîn Ahmed bin Muhammed es-Sinôbî ile Amasya hânkâhı şeyhi ve müderrisi iken Sivas [24] kadısı olan Mevlânâ Cemâleddîn İbrâhim el-Aksarâyî vefât etdiler. Kibâr-ı ulemâdan Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Muhammed el-Herevî Amasya'da sadru'l-ulemâ ve müftî-i memleket oldu.
Lâkin Sultân Altunbaş, yirmi iki yıldan beri gâh Taşan Bey'in, gâh Kürt Bey'in çiftliklerinde ve sonra Sultân Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Hân tarafından kendisine tahsîs ve temlîk edilen Simre Çiftliği'nde münzeviyâne yaşamışdı. Bîçâre ihtiyârlamış, fa'âliyet-i dimâğiyye ve bedeniyyesi durmuş, bütün işlerini Taşan ve Kürt Beyler'in ellerine vermişdi. Saltanatı kuru bir unvândan ibâret idi. Kendisine "Gâzi Çelebi" ve "Şâh Melik Çelebi" denirdi.
Binâ'en-aleyh Amasya vilâyetinde nüfûz-ı emâret Taşan ve Kürt Beyler'e intikâl ederek Amasya vilâyeti bu târîhden i'tibâren Sivas emîri Eretna Bey'in nüfûzu altına girdi, Emîr Timurtaş oğlu Küçük Şeyh Hasan Bey'in nüfûzundan ve Hacı Ya'kûb Şâh elinden çıkdı.
Emîr Kemâleddîn İsmâ'il Sunkurî, Sultân Altunbaş'ın saltanatını ümerâ-yı etrâfa teblîğe me'mûr edilerek Türk beylerini müşârün-ileyhin kuvvetden ârî olan kuru unvânına bey'at etdirmeye çalışıyordu. Bunların muzâhiri ve müdebbiri Eretna Bey idi. Tokat Emîri Ulu Bey de Eretna Bey'in mürevvic-i efkârıydı.
Sultân Altunbaş, fırsat elde iken kendisine mukaddemen taraf-ı sultânîden tahsîs ve temlîk edilen arâzî ve emlâkini 740 senesinde Amasya'da vakf ve hâsılât-ı vakfiyesini neslen-ba'de-neslin evlâd-ı zükûruna tahsîs [25] ederek kendisinden sonra evlâdını ihtiyâcdan tahlîse himmet etdi. Mükemmel bir vakfiye tanzîm etdirdi. Vakfiyeyi tescîl eden Amasya kâdı'l-kudâtı Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Ömer ve şâhidleri de yukarıda isimleri yazılan zevât idi.⁴⁶⁹
Bu vakfiyenin unvânında "Seyyidü'l-Mülûk ve's-selâtîn es-sadru'l-a'lâ el-kudvetü'l-mu'allâ e'azzü'd-devleti ve'd-dîn" evsâfıyla "Tâceddîn Altunbaş bin es-Sultân Mes'ûd bin Keykâvus es-Selçûkî" tavsîf, ba'dehû vakf etdiği Simre Çiftliği müştemilâtı olan kurâ, mezâri', arâzî zikr ve ta'dâd edilmişdir.
Şu evsâf-ı âliye kemâl-i sarâhatle ifâde ediyor ki, Tâceddîn Altunbaş Amasya'da 740 senesinde resmen sultân idi. Müşârün-ileyh eğer sultân olmasaydı yalnız "Sülâletü'l-mülûk ve's-selâtîn" denirdi. "Seyyidü'l-mülûk ve's-selâtîn, es-sadru'l-a'lâ, el-kudvetü'l-mu'allâ" denemezdi. Bu sıfatlar anlatıyor ki Sultân Altunbaş, serîr-i a'lâda câlis bir metbû'-ı mu'allâ idi.
Fakat müşârün-ileyhin saltanatı, Eretna Bey'in bir hud'a-i siyâsiyyesinden ibâretdi. Eretna Bey, bu hud'a sâyesinde Amasya vilâyetinden Şeyh Hasan ve Hacı Ya'kûb Şâh'ın nüfûzunu kaldırdı. Tokat, Kayseriyye ve Samsun emîrlerini kendisine rabt ederek mevki'ini tahkîm etdi. Mısır hükümdârına karşı ta'ahhüd eylediği hutbe ve sikke mes'elesini bile unutdu.
Bundan dolayı Mısır hükümdârı Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun, Eretna Bey'den dil-gîr oldu. Verdiği emir üzerine Eretna Bey'in zîr-i [26] idâresinde olan Tarende (Derende) şehrini Dulkadir oğlu Karaca Bey'e işgâl etdirdi.
Makrîzî, "Kitâbü's-Sülûk"unda diyor ki: "740 senesinde Derende kalesinin muhâfızı Eretna tarafından hâdim Mercân idi. Mercân bir maslahat-ı mühimme için Eretna'nın nezdine gitmişdi. Bunu haber alan Eblestîn emîri Zeyneddîn Karaca bin Dulkadir, Türkmen beylerinden Gergerli oğlu Alî, Gündlük (Gündük) oğlu İbrâhim, Bugadaş oğlu Halîl Beyler'i kırk nefer bahâdırla Derende üzerine gönderdi.
Bu beyler, Derende kalesi içinde bir adamı elde etdiler. Bu adam kırk neferi ve beyleri kale bedeninden iplerle çekip içeriye aldı. Bunlar Eretna Bey'in adamlarını katl edib kaleyi Mısır sultânı nâmına zabt ederek Dulkadir oğlu Karaca'ya teslîm etdiler.
Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun, bununla kanâ'at etmedi. Haleb vâlîsine verdiği emir üzerine Sivas havâlîsini gâret ve yağmâ etdirdi. Eretna Bey'in mükerrer mürâca'atlarına cevâben hutbe ve sikke mes'elesi ihtâr edilerek Eretna Bey hükûmet-i Mısriyye tarafından tazyîk edilmekde idi.
Diğer tarafdan Emîr Timurtaş oğlu Şeyh Hasan Bey'le Ya'kûb Şâh, Amasya vilâyetinde nüfûzlarının zayâ'ından dolayı pek müte'essir olmuşlardı. Fakat Irâk emîri Büyük Şeyh Hasan Bey'le pek meşgûl oldukları münâsebetle Erzincân ve Karahisâr-ı Şarkî beylerini ve hâssaten Amasya'nın yanı başında olan Niksâr emîri Tâceddîn Togan Şâh'ı tahrîk ederek bir tarafdan Eretna Bey'i, diğer tarafdan Amasya beylerbeyi Kürt Bey'i tehdîd ediyorlardı.
[27] Bununla beraber Sultân Altunbaş'ın ümerâsı arasına giren nifâk ve hased belâsıyla Amasya beyleri de birbirine girmişlerdi. Halifet Gâzi ve Gül Bey oğulları, Kürt ve Taşan Beyler'in nüfûzunu bir türlü hazm edemiyorlar, cür'et-kârâne hareketlerini çekemiyorlardı. Sultân Altunbaş, bunları hüsn-i idâre edecek akıl ve tedbîre mâlik değildi.
Bu esnâda Büyük ve Küçük Şeyh Hasan Beyler, büyük bir arbedeye girmişlerdi. Cihân Timur Hân ile Büyük Şeyh Hasan, Süleyman Hân ile Küçük Şeyh Hasan üzerine yürümüşdü. "Câmiud-Düvel"de tafsîl edildiği üzere Küçük Hasan Bey, 740 zilhiccesi âhirinde galebe etdi. Nüfûz ve şöhreti fevkalâde artdı.
Eretna Bey, hükûmet-i Mısriyye'nin gönderdiği gâret-gerân ile, Amasya beyleri de birbirleriyle meşgûl oldukları esnâda Niksar emîri Togan Şâh, Emîr Timurtaş oğlu Hasan Bey'den aldığı ve kendisinin tedârik etdiği bir kuvve-i mühimme ile Niksâr'dan kalkıp Amasya üzerine yürüdü. Taşova harbinde Kürt ve Taşan Beyler'i mağlûb ederek gâlibâne Amasya'ya 741 senesi evâ'ilinde girdi. Amasya vilâyetini işgâl etdi.
In Modern English
He was the prince, son of Sultan Mes'ûd bin İzzeddîn Keykâvus, the last sultan of the Seljuk dynasty that ruled in Anatolia. His mother, as is understood from the inscriptions over the doors of the Ahmed Pasha Mosque and the Sünbül Baba Lodge in Tokat, was the daughter of the famed Mu'îneddîn Süleyman Pervâne Bey.
Sultan Altunbaş sat on the Seljuk throne at Amasya for the second time at the end of 739 [1338-39]. As the formal Seljuk sultan, Emîr Celâleddîn Taşan Bey became atabey, Emîr Bahâeddîn Kürt Bey beylerbeyi, Pervâne Beyzâde Alameddîn Süleyman Bey vizier, and Gümüşlüzâde Celâleddîn Abdullah Çelebi müstevfi.
This year the mufti Rükneddîn Ahmed bin Muhammed es-Sinôbî, one of the great scholars and sadru'l-ulemâ in Amasya, and Mevlânâ Cemâleddîn İbrâhim el-Aksarâyî, who, while sheikh and professor of the Amasya hânkâh, had become judge of Sivas, died. Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Muhammed el-Herevî, one of the great scholars, became sadru'l-ulemâ and mufti of the country in Amasya.
But Sultan Altunbaş had lived quietly for twenty-two years, now on Taşan Bey's farms, now on Kürt Bey's, and then on the Simre Farm that had been allotted to him and given to him as property by Sultan Ebû Sa'îd Bahâdır Khan. The poor man had grown old, his mental and bodily activity had ceased, and he had left all his affairs in the hands of Taşan and Kürt Beys. His sultanate consisted of a dry title. He was called "Gâzi Çelebi" and "Şâh Melik Çelebi".
Thereupon emirate influence in the province of Amasya passed to Taşan and Kürt Beys. From this date the province of Amasya came under the influence of Eretna Bey, emir of Sivas; it slipped out of the influence of Emîr Timurtaş's son Küçük Şeyh Hasan Bey and the hand of Hacı Ya'kûb Şâh.
Emîr Kemâleddîn İsmâ'il Sunkurî, charged with announcing Sultan Altunbaş's sultanate to the surrounding emirs, was trying to make the Turkish beys swear allegiance to this dry title without power. Their supporter and director was Eretna Bey. Ulu Bey, emir of Tokat, was the person who spread Eretna Bey's ideas.
While the opportunity was in his hands, Sultan Altunbaş in 740 [1339-40] endowed in Amasya the lands and property that had earlier been allotted to him by the sultan and given as property. He set aside the income of the waqf from generation to generation for his male children, striving to free his children from need after him. He had a complete waqf deed drawn up. The chief judge (kadı'l-kudât) of Amasya, Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Ömer, who recorded the deed, and its witnesses were the persons whose names were written above.
In the heading of this waqf deed the name "Tâceddîn Altunbaş bin Sultan Mes'ûd bin Keykâvus es-Selçûkî" is written with the Arabic epithets "Seyyidü'l-Mülûk ve's-selâtîn es-sadru'l-a'lâ el-kudvetü'l-mu'allâ e'azzü'd-devleti ve'd-dîn", meaning "lord of the meliks and sultans, the loftiest authority, exalted leader, strength of the state and religion"; then the villages, fields and lands of the Simre Farm he endowed are enumerated.
These exalted epithets clearly show that Tâceddîn Altunbaş was formally sultan in Amasya in 740 [1339-40]. Had the said person not been sultan, he would only have been called "Sülâletü'l-mülûk ve's-selâtîn", meaning "of the line of meliks and sultans". It would not have been possible to say "Seyyidü'l-mülûk ve's-selâtîn, es-sadru'l-a'lâ, el-kudvetü'l-mu'allâ". These attributes express that Sultan Altunbaş was a respected ruler sitting on an exalted throne.
But the said person's sultanate was nothing more than a political ruse of Eretna Bey. Through this ruse Eretna Bey removed the influence of Şeyh Hasan and Hacı Ya'kûb Şâh from the province of Amasya. By binding the emirs of Tokat, Kayseri and Samsun to himself he strengthened his position. He even forgot the promise of khutba and coin he had given to the Egyptian ruler.
For this reason the Egyptian ruler Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun took offense at Eretna Bey. On his order, he had Karaca Bey, son of Dulkadir, occupy the city of Darende, which was under Eretna Bey's administration.
Maqrizi says in his "Kitâbü's-Sülûk": "In the year 740 the guard of Darende Castle was the servant Mercân, appointed by Eretna. Mercân had gone to Eretna on an important matter. Learning this, Zeyneddîn Karaca bin Dulkadir, emir of Elbistan, sent among the Turkmen beys Alî, son of Gergerli, İbrâhim, son of Gündlük (Gündük), and Halîl, son of Bugadaş, Beys with forty brave men against Darende."
These beys won over a man inside Darende Castle. This man pulled forty men and the beys in over the castle wall with ropes. They killed Eretna Bey's men, took the castle in the name of the Egyptian sultan and handed it over to Karaca, son of Dulkadir.
Melik Nâsır Muhammed bin Kalavun was not satisfied with this. On the order he gave to the governor of Aleppo, he had the surroundings of Sivas plundered. In answer to Eretna Bey's repeated applications, the matter of khutba and coin was recalled, and Eretna Bey was being pressed by the Egyptian government.
On the other hand, Emîr Timurtaş's son Şeyh Hasan Bey and Ya'kûb Şâh were very grieved at the loss of their influence in the province of Amasya. But since they were very busy with Büyük Şeyh Hasan Bey, emir of Iraq, they incited the beys of Erzincan and Şarkî Karahisar and especially Tâceddîn Togan Şâh, emir of Niksar, right next to Amasya, and so threatened on one side Eretna Bey and on the other Kürt Bey, beylerbeyi of Amasya.
Besides this, through the plague of disagreement and jealousy that entered among the emirs of Sultan Altunbaş, the beys of Amasya too had fallen upon one another. The sons of Halifet Gâzi and Gül Bey could not digest the influence of Kürt and Taşan Beys in any way and could not bear their bold conduct. Sultan Altunbaş did not have the intelligence and care to govern them well.
At this time Büyük and Küçük Şeyh Hasan Beys had fallen into a great turmoil. Cihân Timur Khan and Büyük Şeyh Hasan had marched against Süleyman Khan and Küçük Şeyh Hasan. As is related in detail in "Câmiu'd-Düvel", Küçük Hasan Bey won at the end of Dhu'l-Hijja 740 [1339-40]. His influence and fame grew extraordinarily.
While Eretna Bey was busy with the plunderers sent by the Egyptian government and the beys of Amasya with one another, Togan Şâh, emir of Niksar, with an important force he had received from Emîr Timurtaş's son Hasan Bey and had prepared himself, set out from Niksar and marched on Amasya. Defeating Kürt and Taşan Beys in the battle of Taşova, he entered Amasya in victory in early 741 [1340-41]. He seized the province of Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- serîr-i Selçûkî: the Seljuk throne
- atabey: the tutor of the ruler, chief adviser in affairs of state
- beylerbeyi: highest-ranking commander and governor
- müstevfî: treasurer, head of financial affairs
- hânkâh: lodge, a building in which dervishes and men of learning were housed
- münzeviyâne: withdrawn into one's corner, alone
- tahsîs ve temlîk: setting a property aside for a person and giving it as property
- neslen-ba'de-neslin: from generation to generation
- vakfiye: waqf deed
- kudvetü'l-mu'allâ, es-sadru'l-a'lâ: exalted leader, loftiest authority; honorific titles given to rulers
- sülâle: lineage, line
- hud'a-i siyâsiyye: political ruse
- gâret: plunder, raid
- hutbe ve sikke: having one's name read in the Friday khutba and coins struck in one's name
Who Is Taceddin Altunbaş
Taceddin Altunbaş was the son of Gıyaseddin Mesud II, one of the last sultans of the Anatolian Seljuk state. The waqf deed that Hüsameddin relates is also the main basis of present-day studies. It is understood from this waqf deed that Altunbaş ruled in and around Amasya as ruler of Simre. According to the same study the sultan died in 1356-57 and was buried in Umurbey Village, attached to Havza. Hüsameddin's expressions "had lived hidden on farms for twenty-two years" and "had grown old" seem consistent with this long life; but since Altunbaş's birth date is not given in other sources, nothing definite can be said about his age.
The Identity of His Mother
Hüsameddin shows Altunbaş's mother as the daughter of Mu'îneddîn Süleyman Pervâne and bases this on the inscriptions of the Ahmed Pasha Mosque and the Sünbül Baba Lodge in Tokat. In the footnote he adds that these inscriptions are written in İsmâil Hakkı's work called "Kitâbeler" and that the mother's name was deduced from the records as "İldi Hund Hâtun". This work of İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı is one of the few sources used by Amasya Tarihi. In the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi there is a separate entry on the Pervâneoğulları; Koşan's article also refers to this entry. No independent confirmation of Altunbaş's mother was found in this study.
The Taceddin Tomb and Madrasa
The structure in Amasya attributed to Taceddin Altunbaş is today the Taceddin Madrasa and Tomb, located in the city center near the Bakırcılar Bazaar in the Dere quarter. The tomb has no original building inscription or cenotaph; the plaque placed on the tomb states that Sultan Taceddin Altunbaş is buried here. It consists of an octagonal body on a square-plan base; its regular facing stones, oval corner moldings and chain (zencirek) motifs bear the characteristics of 13th-century Seljuk tomb architecture. The madrasa adjoining the tomb was partly uncovered in a research excavation in 1989. Although part of the tomb's walls preserves its original condition, it remained hidden among workplaces for many years. According to the same article, it very closely resembles the nearby Cumudar Tomb dated 1242 in material, decoration and plan. For this reason it can be said that those who had the two tombs built were the same persons or relatives.
A noteworthy conclusion of the article is this: although, according to the waqf deed, Sultan Altunbaş was buried in Umurbey Village, the tomb in Amasya may have been built in his name after his death. That is, it is not certain that the structure in Amasya is his actual grave. In the footnotes for this entry Hüsameddin does not enter into such a debate on the grave.
On the Waqf Deed
From the titles in the waqf deed, Hüsameddin concludes that Altunbaş was formally sultan in Amasya in 740 [1339-40]. He grounds this interpretation on the Arabic expressions of the waqf deed and on the claim that the same titles were not used for non-rulers. In a footnote he states that he translated and published this Arabic waqf deed in the Türk Tarih Encümeni Mecmuası. In this study the article in which the waqf deed was published itself could not be reached. Whether Hüsameddin's interpretation based on the waqf deed has been tested by an independent study could not be determined either. For the later situation of Altunbaş's descendants, there is a study reporting that the paternal grandmother of Hacı Şadgeldi, emir of Amasya, was Altunbaş's daughter.
Eretna, Egypt and Darende
The text presents Eretna as one who used Altunbaş as a political tool and was then squeezed by Egyptian pressure. That Eretna promised the Mamluk Sultan Nâsır Muhammed khutba and coin, accepted allegiance in 738 [1337-38], gave this up in 740 [1339-40], and that the Mamluk sultan had raids carried out as far as Sivas through the governor of Aleppo is also written in an academic study. This information agrees with Hüsameddin's account. The details of the giving of Darende to Karaca Bey, son of Dulkadir, could not be separately verified in this study; the text rests on the lines it relates from Maqrizi.
The Battle of Taşova and the Change of Hands of Amasya
The entry ends with Togan Şâh, emir of Niksar, defeating Kürt and Taşan Beys at Taşova and entering Amasya in early 741 [1340-41]. No detail on this event was found in other sources. One study writes that after the Seljuk administration was completely erased the Eretna principality ruled the city, and that later Hacı Şadgeldi, taking advantage of Eretna's weakening, governed the city independently.
Note for the Reader
In this entry Hüsameddin says two things together: that, judging by the titles in the waqf deed, Altunbaş was formally sultan in 740 [1339-40], but that this sultanate was in reality a political ruse of Eretna Bey and a "dry title". The two judgments do not contradict each other; the waqf deed document shows that the office was recognized, while the interpretation in the narrative shows that power lay with forces such as Kürt, Taşan and Eretna. The second half of this interpretation belongs to Hüsameddin and could not be verified in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies
- 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/en/pub/jss/article/1258201
- "Eretnalı Beyliğinin Paraları", Belleten, https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/2557/tur
- Amasya Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Uluslararası Amasya Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Sempozyumu Bildirileri, Amasya Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2024, https://www.amasya.edu.tr/media/e2rm5hum/sosyal-bilimler-arastirmalari-13.pdf
Other sources