Between Two Worlds Kafadar.pdf

who was no less than a descendant of the House of Chingis under the overlordship
of the House of Osman.[60]
Even though the century following the conquest of Constantinople may appear to
have continued to be a glorious time for the Balkan gazis as one reads the gests
(gazavatnames ) recording their deeds, it was a passing glory and was enjoyed
only at the cost of increasing subservience to the central state. In 1457, for
instance, when Mehmed II ordered a final assault on and capture of the Belgrade
fortress, the frontier warriors of the Balkans protested. "If Belgrade is
conquered," they said, according to Apz, "we will have to plow the land."[61]
These gazis were obviously aware of where the central state's policy was
leading. Even though they undertook numerous exploits and obtained substantial
booty in the next few decades, they were increasingly reduced to provincial
fief-holders, that is, agriculturalists, losing the last traces of their
ancestors' status as mobile and independent frontier warriors. Just as with the
nomads, the frontier warriors' activities were controlled and regularized, and
they were tied to designated pieces of land in accordance with the
administrative logic of the classical Ottoman order.
Unfortunately, the rich cultural traditions and considerable literary as well as
architectural patronage of the gazi milieu have not been sufficiently studied,
crippling our understanding of some very significant developments involving the
gazi circles in the fifteenth century.[62] Why did Prince Cem (1459-95)
commission the collection of gazi lore built around the vita of Sari Saltuk ?
His interest in things Turkish at a moment of an increasing turn to
cosmopolitanism in Ottoman cultural life does not seem coincidental if we
remember also that he named one of his sons Oguz . By that time, it was rare for
members of the Ottoman family to receive Turkic names, and a symbolically
charged name like Oguz stands out in particular.[63]
In the Saltukname compiled for Prince Cem, various passages suggest that the
book is intended to serve as a rapprochement between the Ottoman family, or that
particular prince, and the gazi circles. It is reported here, for instance, that
for four years the gazis of Rum struck coins and had the hutbe (Friday sermon)
read in Saltuk's name — ultimate symbols of sovereignty, reflecting an audacious
resistance to accepting Ottoman hegemony. Saltuk himself, however, is said to
have disapproved of
― 148 ―
such action, accepted the superior right of the House of Osman in these matters,
and invited all the gazis to gather around Osman's family. Saltukname suggests
that at the time of its composition, ca. 1474, the gazis felt they were not
getting a fair return for their services.
Once again, the conquest of Constantinople and the making of that city into the
capital, the seat of power, constitute the crucial moment in this regard became
they represent the crystallization of a political vision that marginalizes the
gazis. Much before the conquest, according to the narrative, which is written
after Edirne lost its role as the capital, Saltuk visits that region and warns
the Muslim rulers of the future:
Whoever wishes to conquer [all of] the land of Rum , must be stationed in
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