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

7.1.5. Appointment of Süleyman to Kefe and Selim’s Revolt against his Father
After a long debate among Prince Selim, the Porte, and Prince Ahmed, 1454 Prince
Süleyman was appointed to the province of Kefe on August 6, 1509. 1455 In order to
assess the importance of Süleyman’s appointment to Kefe in the future developments, it
is necessary to take a look at the rivalry between princes for the throne. During the last
years of Bayezid II, when internal struggle between princes augmented, Ahmed was the
governor of Amasya, the nearest province to Istanbul while Korkud was the governor of
Antalya and Selim that of Trabzon, the farthest of all.
According to the Turco-Mongolian tradition, the sovereignty was exclusively
granted by God; thus, no arrangement for succession to the throne was established in the
Ottoman Empire. The ruler among princes would emerge only through struggle, which
1454 A letter of Selim reveals that at first Giresun, Körtun, and Şiryan were to be given to Süleyman. But
Selim vehemently opposed this appointment, for the climate of mentioned cities was bad and their income
was low. (This letter presents one of the earliest criticisms of Selim towards the Porte. He says, in his
letter, that such an allocation to a prince is, indeed, oppressing (zulm). If the Sultan took this decision, then
it shows that ekān-ı devlet did not truly inform him about these cities. Thus they obviously did not perform
their job properly. If it was the result of erkān-ı devlet’s decision, then they clearly engaged in oppression.
See TSA, document E. 5970. The facsimile copy of the entire document is published in TNSB, p. 260.)
Selim’s severe resistance changed the decision of the Porte. Instead of these cities, Sebinkarahisar, which
had been within the province of Ahmed at that time, was allocated to Süleyman. Prince Ahmed, however,
opposed this appointment since Sebinkarahisar was too close to his province. Ahmed wrote to the Porte,
“…Zira ki Karahisar’ın ana verilmesi caiz görüldüğünde şöyle fehmolunur ki varduğundan iğmaz-ı ayn
ettikleri muradları Karahisar eyaleti bu suretle ana verilmek imiş. Bu hod mümteniatdandır. Vallahil azim
billahil kadim mademki kayd-ı hayatdayım eyalet-i mezkure değil andan bir taş verilmek mümkün değildir.
Bundan evvel hod merraren bu ma’na arz olunmuşdur…” (See TSA, document E 2667. Also consider
HSE4, p. 7.) Then Süleyman was appointed to Bolu. Ahmed again opposed and forced the central
government to change Süleyman’s province. His objective was that, since Bolu is between Amasya and
Istanbul, in case of an emergency Süleyman could prevent him from reaching the capital city. (See HSE4,
pp. 7-8.) The appointment processes of Süleyman congealed the enmity between Selim and Ahmed. ‘Ali
states that once Selim even decided to march on Ahmed. He says, “...Fursat buldukça birbirlerinin
ādemlerine dest urub öldürdiler. Babaları hayatında bu gūne nā-sezā evzā’a başladılar. Hattā bir defa
Selim Hān ādemlerini fermān-berān eyledi. Leşker çeküb Sultan Ahmed üstüne varmağı mukarrer idi.
Bi’l-āhere ikisine dahī emirler gönderilüb, nasihat olındı.” ALI, p. 933.
1455 ULCY1, p. 77;Đnalcık, “Selim I”. Indeed, Selim had already demanded Karahisar or Kefe in his former
letter: “Mezbur Süleyman Şāh’a dahi civarımızda olub aklen ve insāfen bize münāsib olan Karahisar
sancağı himmet olunub ol olmaz ise Kefe sancağı ināyet olunmak mümkün ise...” TSA, document E. 5970,
published in TNSB, p. 260. By this appointment Ahmed possibly thought he won the first round against
Selim. But the advance of events would show in a couple of years that this so-called victory of Ahmed
opened the way for Selim to the throne.
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