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

At the beginning, Şahkulu gathered 400-500 men and came to Yenice Derbendi.
He attacked the caravan which was carrying the property and treasury of Korkud and his
courtiers. 1275 Some of them were killed and some others were captured. Hoca Saadeddin
claims that the revolt broke out on Muharrem 10, 916 1276 , which is one of the foremost
important days according to Shi’ite tradition for it is the memorandum of the martyrdom
of Husayn, the son of Ali and grandson of Mohammad the Prophet. Hoca Saadeddin
particularly indicates that they gathered according to the Alevī tradition. 1277
Upon gathering enough men, Şahkulu marched on Antalya. As we learn from a
letter of the defterdār of Antalya to Korkud, the subaşı and defterdār put together 3.000
1275 According to a detained sufi’s testimony Şahkulu and Ottoman forces fought in Kapulukaya and
Döşeme Dervendi. See TSA, document E. 5035. Also see SLZ1, p. 445.
1276 The year in this date is apparently mistaken. It must be Muharrem 10, 917 (April 9, 1511). ANMB and
MNB give the same date for the beginning of the revolt. See ANMB, p. 173; MNB, p. 428.
1277 HSE4, p. 43. Nonetheless, archival evidence suggests an earlier date for the beginning of the revolt. A
letter written by the qādi of Antalya to Korkud dated March 29, 1511 reports the very early phase of the
revolt. (See TSA, document E. 632.) According to this letter, Şahkulu first attacked Prince Korkud’s
caravan and servants. (Also see HSE4, p. 43; MNB, p. 428.) His main goal was to capture the treasury of
the prince, which was trusted to some of his close men by Korkud to be brought to Manisa. Following the
attack of Şahkulu forces, the subashi of Antalya, Hasan Beg, marched on sufis with some fighters and
slew a number of them. The qādi stresses that the fighters that Hasan Beg gathered were sunnī. He also
lays stress on that the number of the sufis gathered in Yenice was increasing day by day and their ultimate
goal was nothing but to grasp the country wholly: “...Ammā mezkūr Şahkulu gaybet ettükden sonra Yenice
Derbendi’ne varub gendunun etbā’ından dört-beş yüz nefer kimesne cem’ edüb yola durub Çakırbaşı
Nasuh bendenizin hātunu ve oğlancıkları ve halkımuzdan ve şehirludan nice cem’-i kesīr göçüb gider iken
zikr olunan Erdebil halkı mezkūrları basub Mezkur Çakırbaşının kızcağızını ve Yazıcı Kemal kulunuzun
iki oğlancığın ve yirmi neferden ziyade müslümanları envā’-ı ezālarla katl edüb malların alub
Çakırbaşının hātunun ve Katip Kemalin kızı ve bazı hatunları ve kızları alub dağa çıkarub esir
etmişlerdür. El’an kendulardadır. ....Ve sultanım hazretlerinin otağı göçüb Evdekiye’ye varıcak basub
almak kasd edicek şehirden subaşı bendeniz nice müslümanlarla varub alub şehre getürüldü. Mezkur
subaşı sünnī tayifesinden cem’-i kesir ile mezkūr Erdebil tayifesinden ve bunlardan nice kimesne maktul
olub Erdebil halkından kesilmiş baş getürüb ve bir diri kimesne getürdüler, salbolundu. Mezkūr tayife
Yenice’de durub yevmen fe yevmen mütezayiddir. Kasıtları memleketi bi’l külliye almakdır. Bunda nefīr-i
ām olmuşdur....” (TSA, document E. 632.) Thus, if we take the starting point of the rebellion as leaving of
Şahkulu from his cave in Yalınlu, the letter of qādi obviously contradicts HSE’s claim. But HSE’s claim is
still credible if one takes the starting point as moving from Yenice.
After attacking Korkud’s caravan and then being attacked by the forces of Hasan Beg, Şahkulu gathered
his adherents in Yenice and prepared for upcoming attacks, which would be much stronger and victorious.
Fisher recounts the very early phase of the rebellion in a similar fashion: “When Prince Korkud moved his
seat from Antalya to Manisa, Shahkuli robbed him of many of his effects which may have given the
heretics the means to commence their revolt. Once the movement was under the way, it grew in size and
weight like a giant snowball.” See FSH, p. 97. Therefore, it is reasonable to take 10 Muharrem as the
beginning of the revolt when Şahkulu set into action in Yenice, after robbing Korkud’s caravan.
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