TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

the ground; further natural disasters and climate deterioration would appear and that all
of these catastrophic events would take place in order to punish human beings. 1163 The
account of Solakzāde is more interesting. He summoned viziers and generals and spoke
as follows: ‘It is the lament of the oppressed, which is a result of your oppression and
corruption that reached God and ignited his wrath. This disaster is nothing other than the
result of your oppression!’ 1164 While the Ottoman horizons were filled with dark clouds,
the star of Ismail was rising day by day. 1165
Indeed, for the rebels’ thoughts, attitudes, and sentiments, unfortunately there is a
scarcity of sources. We can only get an idea through the writings of their opponent. For
example, a short passage in the conversation between Ismail and the rebels 1166 , which
was cited in Hoca Saadeddin’s history, gives an idea of their sentiments and incentives.
When answering Ismail’s question about the reasons of their uprising, the leader of
rebels is reported to have said,
Ol pādişāh yaşlandığından vücudunun rahatsızlığı ülkenin kargaşasına yol açtı.
Ülkeye düzen getirecek önlemleri almaktan el çekti. Vezirlerin ellerini
uzatmalrıyla ortaya nice zulümler çıktı. Anların ettiklerine dayanamayıp bu yolu
seçtik. Özellikle Şah hazretlerinin kapısına yüz sürmek ve güzel varlığını görmek
de muradımız ve gönlümüzün tek dileği idi. Kapılarına kul olmayı hora geçer
hizmet sanıp kalkıp geldik. 1167
Before endeovering interpretation of these words, one should keep in mind that
this passage is a re-production of the memory and mind of Hoca Saadettin, who was a
leading representative of Ottoman religious scholars in the sixteenth century and
1163 ANMH, p. 44.
1164 SLZ1, p. 437.
1165 Sohrweide, p. 140. In addition to all these natural disasters and administrative corruptions, there
appeared corsairs pillaging coastal towns and villages. (SLZ1, p. 431.) One of these corsairs, Kara
Turmuş, was captured and executed in 1504. But this execution could not reduce the number of corsairs.
See HSE3, p. 348; MNB, pp. 418-9.
1166 As will be delineated below at the end of the rebellion rebellious qizilbashes went to Iran, to the court
of Shah Ismail.
1167 HSE4, p. 67.
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