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

Adel Allouche follows Repp and, on the authority of Taşköprizāde, says that he
was from an indigenous family of Karasu, a town in northern Anatolia, and recorded in
biography books as Nureddin el-Karasuvī (d. 1512). 1783 Although Allouche’s
consultation to Şakāik-ı Nūmāniye, which is totally ignored by the first three scholars,
must be appreciated, he still seems to be wrong in identifying our Hamza with Nureddin
el-Karasuvī for he seemingly dwelled on the wrong entry in the Şakāik-ı Nūmāniye.
A three and a half pages section in Mecdi’s translation of Taşköprizāde’s
monumental work, whose summary is also recorded by ‘Ali, 1784 leads us towards a
completely different direction and leaves little doubt on the life and deeds of our Hamza.
Taşköprizāde and ‘Ali mention a religious scholar, namely Mevlāna Muhammed b.
Ömer b. Hamza, who became famous in Antakya with his skill in reciting Kur’an (ilm-i
kıra’at), his sermons, and religious sanctions (fetvā). He visited Cairo and obtained
compliance in hadis and fıkıh there. He was the author of two books written in these
fields, namely Tezhībü’ş-Şemāil and Nihāye. Then, he came to Istanbul during the reign
of Bayezid II and attended in the conquest of Moton. He was also in the court of Selim
during the campaign of Çaldıran. ‘Ali indicates that he wrote a delicious book for the
two Ottoman sultans. He was with Süleyman I during the campaign on Hungary. He
died in 938 / 1531. 1785
Taşköprizāde’s account is rather long and detailed. He says that Mevlāna
Muhammed b. Ömer b. Hamza became famous with the nickname ‘Mevlā vā’iz-i Arab’
1783
Adel Allouche, Osmanlı-Safevi Đlişkileri. Kökenleri ve Gelişimi, translated from English to Turkish by
Ahmed Emin Dağ, Đstanbul, 2001, pp. 122-3.
1784
Interestingly, none of the scholars consults ALI’s Künhü’l-Ahbār.
1785
ALI, p. 1224. ALI also records, “Âlim-i Rabbānī ve kāşif-i esrār-ı Kur’ānī bir aziz idi.”
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