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

about the identity of Hamza. He claims that he was Molla Nūr al-Dīn b. Yūsuf al-
Karasīwī known as ‘Sarı Görez’, an established scholar who had already been one of the
Sahn müderrises, served as a mufti pending Ali Cemâlî’s return from the pilgrimage,
held the qādilik of Istanbul during the period July 1511-September 1513 and May 1518-
September 1521 and also held both kazaskerlik. 1781 Irène Beldiceanu-Steinherr also
follows the same line of argument in identifying the author of the fetvā, arguing that he
was no other than Nureddin Efendi, first the qādi of Istanbul and later the kazasker. 1782
The principal source of these scholars, except Repp who additionally consults Şakāyık,
is again Osmanlı Müellifleri of Mehmed Tahir. However, because of three reasons to be
discussed below, according to Mehmed Tahir’s account, it is very problematic to
identify our Hamza with Sarıgürz Nureddin Efendi.
Although Tekindağ does not mention it, the one whom Mehmed Tahir refers to is
obviously well-known kazasker of Selim, who was sent by Bayezid to Selim as an
intermediary while Selim had been in rebellion. Furthermore, in Mehmed Tahir’s
account, the name ‘Hamza’ is not recorded. And lastly, while counting the works of
Nureddin Efendi, Mehmet Tahir does not anyhow point to the fetvā pertaining to the
qizilbashes among them. The only connection left between the two religious scholars is
the epithet ‘Sarugürz’. Nonetheless, even this epithet was not possibly common for two
authors, the author of our fetvā and Müfti Nureddin, who was the kazasker of Selim. It is
highly possible that the writer of this additional note confused the author of the fetvā
with famous kazasker Müfti Nureddin Hamza Sarı Görez.
1781
R. C. Repp, The Mufti of Istanbul, A Study in the Development of the Ottoman Learned Hierarchy,
London, 1986, pp. 217-20.
1782
Irène Beldiceanue-Steinherr, “A propos d’un ouvrage sur la polémique Ottomane contre les
Safawides”, Revue des Études Islamiques, XXXIX-2, Paris, 1971, p. 397.
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