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

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

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an oath that they would accept the rule of Ahmed and would do what is necessary to<br />

protect him. 1535 Fisher gives a similar account. To him, Bayezid decided to abdicate in<br />

favor of Ahmed and demanded the obedience of generals to Ahmed’s rule. In Fisher’s<br />

account, however, the response of the soldiers differs from what was stated in<br />

Haniwaldanus Anonym. Although Bayezid offered many gifts and increases in pay on<br />

the account that they would accept Ahmed as their sultan, he could not win them over to<br />

the idea. The military commanders and the governors of Rumelia preferred Selim<br />

because they believed that it was he who could lead them in victorious wars. 1536 ‘Āli<br />

also follows the same line of argument. To him, Bayezid was inclined to leave the throne<br />

to Prince Ahmed but the begs of Rumelia and the Janissaries were in favor of Prince<br />

Selim. 1537<br />

Kemalpaşazāde provides a similar account. According to him, on arriving<br />

Istanbul the imperial council gathered and discussed the necessary measures. They<br />

agreed upon a solution that an open clash with Prince Selim was to be avoided since in<br />

such a case the inclination of soldiers and population to Selim’s side was highly<br />

possible. 1538 They would offer Selim and Ahmed to return to their provinces. When this<br />

1535 ANMH, p. 57. ANMB confirms this idea. The Sultan initially guaranteed the obedience of Rumelian<br />

begs to Ahmed: “... Öyle tedbir itdiler ki: zikrolan beğleri Hüdāvendigārun ‘izz-i huzuruna getürüb, her<br />

birine ‘alā haddihi yemin itdüreler, kendü rızalarını padişahın dest-i ihtiyārına virüb, kat’a emr-i<br />

vācibü’l-inkıyāda muhalefet eylemeyeler. Lā-cerem ümeraya emr oldı. Meclis-i himāyuna hāzır oldılar.<br />

Mā-hüve’l-maksūd ma’lum olıcak cümlesi kendü sadakat ü ihlāsını eymān-ı gülāzü şeddād ile müşeyyed<br />

kılub canımız başımız Hazret-i Hüdāvendigarun yolına fedā didiler. ...” See ANMB, pp. 232-3. Upon his<br />

arrival in Istanbul, after the battle with Selim, Bayezid did not permit Rumellian to quit Istanbul: “… Tāc<br />

u hilāfeti Sultan Ahmed’e tefviz eylemek tedārikinde olub Rum-ili askerine icāzet virmedi. …” See ANMB,<br />

p. 251; also see pp. 252-3.<br />

1536 FSH, pp. 108-109.<br />

1537 “Vüzerāsının meyl-i tāmmı ve Hodāvendigār’ın ihtimāmı tāc u taht Sultan Ahmed’e olmak üzere idi.<br />

Ancak Rum-ili beğleri, zümre-i yeniçeri Sultan Selim Hān cānibine meyl itmişler idi...” ALI, p. 934. ALI<br />

repeats similar ideas in p. 937. ALI states in elsewhere that on entering Istanbul after the battle of Corlu,<br />

Bayezid declared his decision to abdicate in favor of Ahmed; but nobody agreed upon this idea. See ALI,<br />

p. 947.<br />

1538 KPZ8b, pp. 58-9.<br />

450

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