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

strong public expectations indicated above that provided the psychological ground
which was fed by general suffering and pain because of disorder and banditry of the
qizilbashes, and that enabled Selim to practice such a harsh policy against his own
subjects.
A report presented to Selim by a middle-ranking religious scholar, namely Ali
bin Abdülkerim Halife, mirrors the collective sentiment of the Sunni population. The
report is preserved in TSA and published by Selahattin Tansel. 1704 In his long report, Ali
bin Abdülkerim Halife both explains the lapses within and outside the state machinery
and offers solutions. More importantly, he repeatedly expresses his strong expectation
from Sultan Selim to put an end to such oppressions, which, one might assume, to have
certain degree of social basis.
Ali bin Abdülkerim Halife begins with the religious scholars who were supposed
to be exemplary for ordinary people. He argues that most of the qādis, nāibs, muderriss,
and muftīs were indulged in every sort of immorality. The bribery, sexual perversion,
alcohol consumption, etc. were wide-spread among them. He underlines that Bayezid II
and his viziers did not pay attention to such needs of religious scholars and urgent needs
of the re’āya who were living in provinces outside of Edirne and Istanbul. Another
subject of complaint was the heavy taxes. Ali bin Abdülkerim Halife describes some
taxes, such as bennāk resmi and gerdek akçesi, and incumbencies on re’āya, such as
providing provisions for ulaks, as oppression from religious point of view and requests
from the sultan to abolish such practices for they turned life for the subjects unbearable.
1704 Tansel summarizes the content of this considerably long report in his book and gives its facsimile copy
in the appendix. See TNSS, pp. 20-30.
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