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

On the other hand, these tribes appeared as the intrinsic enemies of the Ottoman imperial
regime throughout the history, and were still chief opponents of this regime, for it was
directly threatening the traditional way of life of all these tribal groups. Therefore,
although their allegiance provided Prince Ahmed a military power against powerful
Janissary corps 1592 , it caused Ahmed to lose the support of the central actors in the
traditional state machinery. In other words, his allegiance with the periphery eroded the
legitimate ground of his claim for the saltanat.
The land forces of the Ottoman army during this period were composed of three
main branches: the slave-origin standing army or kapı-kulu, provincial army of timarlı
sipāhi, and akıncı troops. 1593 Among these three branches, only the Janissaries clearly
took position at the beginning of the civil war. The other two branches of the army
remained reluctant to offer open support to either princes, but preferred to wait for the
result. As a matter of fact, during the early phases of the struggle, there were sipāhis on
both sides. When the balance of power changed in favor of Prince Selim, however,
Ahmed’s sipāhis sooner left him and sought ways of Selim’s forgiveness. 1594 Like the
1592 As well-known, the Ottoman army during this period was composed of three main branches: the slaveorigin
standing army or kapı-kulu, provincial army of timarlı sipāhi, and akıncı troops. Among these three
branches, only the Janissaries clearly took position at the beginning of the civil war. The other two
branches of the army remained reluctant to offer open support either princes, but preferred to wait the
result. As a matter of fact, during the early phases of the struggle, there were sipāhis on both sides. When
the balance of power changed in favor of Prince Selim, however, Ahmed’s sipāhis sooner left him and
sought ways of Selim’s forgiveness. Like the Janissaries, there was another military power clearly defined
their position during the very early phases of the struggle and remained loyal until they totally lose the
hope. This power was, however, not a part of the Ottoman militia, but rather was the traditional enemy of
the Ottoman centralization process, thus of its institutional tools. It was the tribal fighters of Karaman,
Turgut, Varsak, etc.
1593 For a general reading on the Ottoman military system, see Đsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti
Teşkilâtından Kapıkulu Ocakları, I, II, Ankara: TTK, 1988 (first published in 1943); Halil Đnalcık, The
Ottoman Empire The Classical Age 1300-1600, London, 1973, especially pp. 89-118; Abdülkadir Özcan,
“Osmanlı Askerî Teşkilâtı”, in Osmanlı Devleti Tarihi, cilt I, ed. Ekmeleddin Đhsanoğlu, Đstanbul, 1999,
pp. 337-370.
1594 There are a number of letters of Ottoman officials to the court of Selim explaining how the conditions
compelled them to move with Ahmed and requesting the forgiveness of the former. See, for example,
document E 5877, which is the letter of a certain Yusuf written to explain the reasons of some of his
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