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

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of abdals and showed his generosity to them: simply to keep abdals out of the scene<br />

during his fight with the qizilbashes. In other words, he aimed to isolate Kalenderīs from<br />

the Qizilbash movement.<br />

On June 1, Selim arrived in Konya where he visited the tomb of famous<br />

Sadreddin Konevī as well as the tombs of some other saintly people and delivered food<br />

and money to poor people. 1871 He also ordered to give some promotion to his<br />

soldiers. 1872<br />

On July 1, the Ottoman army arrived in Sivas 1873 where a general inspection of<br />

the army was carried out. Idrīs records that the army was composed of 140.000<br />

soldiers. 1874 Those sipāhis whose timars were lower than 3.000 akçe as well as the<br />

elderly, sick, and under-aged soldiers 1875 were separated under the command of Iskender<br />

Paşa oğlı Mustafa Beğ to protect the rear. 1876 Furthermore the registers of the treasury<br />

and other affairs as well as some other logistics were also left in the citadel of Sivas. 1877<br />

Kemalpaşazāde draws attention to the turbulence of Kızılırmak, the reasons being his<br />

division of the army and his leaving some logistics behind. 1878 According to Idrīs,<br />

1871<br />

As the ‘protector of sunni Muslims’ this practice of Selim needs no explanation.<br />

1872<br />

KPZ9, pp. 98-99; IDRS, p. 143; HYDR, p. 65, 137; CLZ, p. 224.<br />

1873<br />

HYDR, p. 67; IDRS, p. 143.<br />

1874<br />

IDRS, p. 147. HR records the size of the Ottoman army in Çaldıran as 200.000. See HR, p. 177. This<br />

number seems, however, quite exaggerated. Another Safavid historian who was contemporary of the<br />

events exaggerates further: Khwandamir argues in his Habibu’s-siyar, which was completed in 1524, that<br />

only the cavalry of the Ottoman army were more than two hundred thousand. Additionally twelve<br />

thousand matchlockmen, whom Selim always had with him, were stationed in front of the lines. (One<br />

would add foot soldiers, mainly the Janissaries, whom Khwandamir does not mention!) See HS, p. 605.<br />

1875<br />

HYDR, IDRS, CLZ, ALI, and MNB say the number of these soldiers reached 40.000. See HYDR, p.<br />

67; IDRS, p. 147, CLZ, pp. 225-6; ALI, p. 1090. Also see HSE4, p. 183; MNB, p. 458.<br />

1876<br />

KPZ9, p. 100; CLZ, p. 226; HSE4, p. 183; ALI, p. 1090.<br />

1877 KPZ9, p. 100.<br />

1878 KPZ9, p. 100.<br />

571

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