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

among the Ottoman forces sent to Tabriz by Selim I as avant-garde, immediately after
the Çaldıran victory of the Ottomans. In the following years he was appointed as the
governor-general of the eastern provinces commissioned to re-structure Kurdish tribes
against the Safavids. 58 As a prominent actor of the contemporary developments, his
accounts in Selimşah-nāme mostly rely on his own eye-witness. Furthermore, as an
activist, Ottoman ideology-maker and governor, his writings, as was in the case of
Kamalpaşazāde, directly reflect the Ottoman official stand. Nonetheless, Selimşah-nāme
is not very informative on actual events. It is verbose but rather sparse as to content.
Another problem with this source is that when he died on November 18, 1520,
approximately two months after the death of Selim I, Idris-i Bitlisī had not finished his
history, but left its drafts. These drafts were later compiled and completed by his son
Ebu’l-Fazl. The problem here is that which parts is Ebu’l-Fazl contribution is not clear.
According to Hicabi Kırlangıç, who published a Turkish translation of Selimşah-nāme,
the contribution of Ebu’l-Fazl to the original work is rather limited. 59
The versified Selim-nāme (SKB) 60 of Şükri-i Bitlisī, who served as a military
officer under Bayezid II and Selim I, is also among important sources. Putting aside his
usual pro-Selim stand, Şükri’s history provides unique details especially concerning
Prince Selim’s fight against qizilbashes in Trabzon and the early phases of the Çaldıran
Campaign. Approximately one century later Şükri’s Selim-nāme was edited and re-
written in prose by Çerkeslerkātibi Yusuf (YSF). 61
58
For Idris-i Bitlisī, see Hicabi Kırlangıç, “Đdris-i Bitlisi”, in Ibid, pp. 5-21.
59
Hicabi Kırlangıç, “Selim Şah-nâme”, in Ibid, p. 22.
60
This work is published by Mustafa Argunşah. See Şükrî-i Bitlisî, Selîm-nâme, ed. Mustafa Argunşah,
Kayseri, 1997.
61
The entire text of Yusuf’s prose edition of this Selim-nāme is transliterated in Çerkesler Kâtibi Yusuf,
Selim-nâme, the entire text is transliterated in Mehmet Doğan, Çerkesler Kâtibi Yusuf’un Selim-
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