Romania and the Turks c.1300 - c.1500 (Variorum Reprint, Cs211)

Elizabeth A. Zachariadou /1/

1

Romania and the Turks

"-

(c. 1300-c. 1500)

Dr. Elizabeth A. Zachariadou

VARIORUM REPRINTS London 1985

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Zachariadou, Elizabeth A. Romania and the Turks (c. 1300 - c. 1500)(Collected studies series; CS211) 1. Turkey - History - Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918 1. Title 956 DR486 ISBN 0-86078-159-3

CONTENTS

Variorum Reprints

Preface

ix-x Observations on Sorne Turcica of Pachyrneres

261-267

Revue des Etudes Byzantines 36. Paris, 1978

II

Pachyrneres on the 'Arnourioi' of Kastarnonu

57-70

Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 3. Oxford, 1977

III

Trebizond and the Turks (1352-1402)

333-358

"ApXefov IIôvTov35. Birmingham Symposium "Black Sean March1978. Athens, 1979

IV

Manuel II Palaeologus on the Strife Between Bâyezïd and I):âçlï Burhân al-Din Al).rnad

471-481

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies XVIII. London, 1980 Published in Great Britain by Printed in Great Britain by

Variorum Reprints 20 Pern bridge Mews London W11 3EQ Butler & Tanner Ltd Frorne, Sornerset VARIORUM REPRINT CS211

V

The Catalans of Athens and the Beginning of the Turkish Expansion in the Aegean Area Studi Medievali, 3a Serie, XXI. Spoleto, 1980

821-838

u

III ghazi of the marches. Just before the Bapheus battle, he was at peace with the Byzantine Emperor; but when he saw Osman's army including also many Turks from the Meander region he could not restrain himself any longer and he joined the forces of the Ottomans.'s Three years later when relations between the Mongols and the Byzantines became closer, he appeared willing to pass into Byzantine service, asking for the area near the Sangarios from Andronikos II.'9 One word about Ali's brother. According to the oriental sources Yavlak Arslan had a son Mahmud whose laqab was either Husam ed-din or Nasir ed-din. 40 I think that it can be established now that his laqab was Nasir ed-din, as this person can be identified with the Nasir ed-din of Pachymeres who was a hostage for several years in Constantinople. Presumably he survived because he did not participate in the fatal family visit to Mansur, being lucky enough to be absent from Kastamonu and kept as a hostage by the Emperor. 41 Nasir ed-din and Ali, the descendants of <;:oban, must be the sons of Amourios, who, according to Gregoras, ruled over the region between Sangarios 42 and Paphlagonia around 13 00 . Therefore Pachymeres' account is not incompatible with the oriental sources. And perhaps it is fully trustworthy. Atleastone son of Izz ed-din II, Malik Constantine, and one son ofYavlak Arslan, Nasir ed-din, lived in Constantinople in Pachymeres' days. News concerning the families of the ex-sultan and the U<; begi (both of them fathers producing a great numbe: of males) would have reached the capital. Actually the Byzantme author whose complicated style is as obscure as ~is archaic language adds new information to the data of the onental sources. Pachymeres, II, pp. 332-3. . . Pachymeres, II, pp. 45g-60; cr. LalOu, op. Cit., p. 17 6 . Cahen, 'Q.uestions d'histoire', p. 154· . Between the years 1273 and 1275 the Byzantines defeated t~e Turks of Paphlagonia; perhaps Nasir ed-din was taken as a hostage at that time, see R. J. Loenertz, 'Memoire d'Ogier, protonotaire, pour Marco ~t Marchett~ nonces de Michel VIII Paleologue aupres du Pape Nicolas III , Byzan/ma 3 8. 39. 40. 4 I.

Franco-Graeea, p. 5 6 1. 4 2. Gregoras, I, pp. 214- 1 5.

TREBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352.1402)· Before the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders Trebizond and its region were already an independent state J. In the early years of its life this state appeared determined to dominate the Black Sea and strove to expand towards the West. The Trapezuntine plans fell through quite early owing to the effective resistance of the empire of Nicaea and that of the Seljuk sultanate. As is known, the capture of Constantinople by the Latins was synchronized with the reestablishment of Seljuk unity in Asia Minor. The Seljuks were also determined to dominate the Black Sea as demonstrated by their eagerness to conquer the port of Sinope and their campaign against the Crimea '. The antagonism between the two states resulted in an ill fated Seljuk attack against Trebizond in 1223 3 • However, despite this incident, the Seljuks were on the • List of abbreviations on p. 357 - 358. I. A. A. Vas i liev, The Foundation 0/ the Empire 0/ Trebizond, Speculum 11 (1936) 3 - 37; O. Lam psi des, !Tee! r~v 1lieva,v
e

mid S I La decomposition de ['empire byzantin a La veille de 1204 et Ies origines de l'empire de Nicee: a propos de La ,Partillo Romaniae», XVe Congres International d'Etudes Byzantines, Athenes 1976, Rapports et co-rapports, Ristoire I. 2. T u ran, Sel,uklular, p. 302 - 307, 357 - 31\3; the author connects the

attack against Trebizond with the campaign against the Crimea, which he dates of 1228; see next note (3) on this subject. 3· C a hen, Turkey, p. l25, writes that Trebizond was probably attacked by M'.1giseddin Tugrnl-~ah of E"erum in 1223; d. ide m, Le commerce anatolien au debut du XlIle siecle~ Melanges Louis Halphen, Paris ]95 1 , p. 95 and also, Questions d'histoire de la province de Ka.stamonu au Xl/Ie siecle Sell'nklu Ara~tlrmalaT1 Dergisi 3 (1971) 150. Bryer, TiJrkmens, p_ 123:

adopted this point. Two Trapezuntine sources reporting the event indicate ?Iearly that Trebizond was attacked by the Seljuks in that year. The enemy IS not called merely Melik: Panaretos, p. 61, qualifies him as .Melik s~ltan. ; Fontes, ~. "7, as .Melik sultan, the son of the great sultan Alaeddin' M~reover. It IS reported that Melik sultan left from Konya and that h.e recr~lt~d hiS army from Malatya and Sivas: Fontes, p. 118 and 122; frnally It .IS noted that Melik was a symbol of unity for the Turks and more pn~clseJy,_ for those living in Konya, in Erzerum and in the countr; of Germlyan (t"'v KUQfl'UV&v: earliest mention of the Germiyanoglu)' Fontes p. 131. Therefore T u ran, Sel,uklular, p_ 361 - 363, seems more acc~rate o~

111

111

334

TREBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352.1402)

whole successful, and for a large part of that time 'I'rebizond apparently a tributary to them 1. Was 'I'he more or less peaceful coexistence of the empire of Tr b' I ' e 1· zon d and the Sel]uk su tanate was disturbed by the Mongols \Vh O in 1243 invaded Asia Minor. 'I'rebizond, sharing the fate of all tl other states of that area, became a tributary to the Mongols 2. bIe she profited from the new situation. 'I'he Mongols made of the political and of Asia, a fact contnbuted much to the economIC prosperity of Trebizond. Th reasons for this increased prosperity are too well known to be repeated here. 'I'he Trapeznntines also managed to annex th: important harbour of Sinope for approximately thirteen years". 'I'he pax mongolica did not prevail for long in Anatolia owing to two factors: a) the rise of the 'I'urcoman frontier principalities and b) the revolts of the last Mongol commanders of Anatoliu. Some explanations are perhaps helpful. a) 'I'he Mongol invasion caused a great migration of 'I'urcoman tribes to Asia Minor. They settled mainly in the front ier zones between the old Seljuk state and the Christian territories. As is well known, the llkhanids had great trouble keeping the tnrbulent Turcomans under control and were obliged to undertake several campaigns against them. Howe I-er, despite the snperiority and determination of the 1I10ngols, in the second half of the XIllth

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these events; however he places them in 1228; but the date given by the two Trapezuntine sources is 6731 = 1222/23; Pan are t 0 s adds that It was the second year of Andronikos I, i. e. 1223· 1. Fontes, p. 131; ct. Tu ran, Selcuklular, p. 362 . 2. B. S P u I e r. Die Mongolen in Iran, Berlin 1968', p. 65· It is worth recalling, however, that Trebizond is not mentioned among the provinces and principalities paying tribute to the Ilkhan Abu Said in 1335: S puler, op. cit., p. 322' 326. 3. Mar i e N y s t a z 0 p 0 11 lOll, La demiere reconquete de Sinope par Ie! 6 Greos de Trebizonde (J254 -1267), Revue des Etudes Byzantines 22 (19 4) 2,1'

2~9; the author attempts to explain the conquest of Sinope by the Trape· zuntines by reviewing Seljuk politics; nevertheless Anatolia was under Mongol control in those years and the explanation of the event is perhaps to be found in the relations between Trebizond and the Mougols. Be that as it may, the Trape7,tlntine conquest of Sinope was temporary and the important harbour was given as a fief to the Mongol commander of lia known as the Pervane; see N. K a I' m a z, Peruulle Mu'iniid·dtn Sui,)·

An~IO'

man, Ankara 1970, p. 1II'

122.

CO

335

336 century and early in the XIV th , the Turcomans were able to establish a number of principalities, the ghazi emirates, confronting the Christian states '. b) The Mongol commanders in Anatolia began to demonstrate a tendency for independence_- a certain separatism. After a series of revolts - major or minor - the last I1khanid commander of Anatolia, Eretna, declared himself independent in 1341. His rule extended from Nigde and Akseray in the South, to Koloneia ($arki Karahisar) and Erzincan in the East and up to Samsun in the Pontic regions. His residence was in Sebasteia (Sivas) or in Kaysed (Kaisareia)". Because of his possessions in the Pontic regions he is mentioned in a Venetian document of 1344 as the .lord of the whole Turkey of the Black Sea» 3. Eretna died in 1352, and under the reign of his son Mehmed the unity of this Anatolian state was already weakening. Mehmed was assassinated in 1365, apparently by persons entrusted with the administration of his provinces '. His death meant the end of political unity in central Anatolia. Several local lords became independent. Thus in the second half of the XIyth century the whole of Islamic Anatolia formed a mosaic of small independent principalities; some of them established in the frontier zones by Turcomans fighting against the Christians, the ghazi emirates; others created by the separatist will of their leaders who profited from the dissolution of the Ilkhanid state of Anatolia. The relations of the new independent lords were by no means friendly. Actually the whole history of the country in those years I. P. \V itt e k, Deux chapitres de I'histoire des Turcs de Roum, Byzantion 11 (I936) 285 - 319; ide m, The Rise of the Ottoman Empire, London 1958,

p. 29 - 37· d I . B 1 2. 1. H. U z u n 9 a r § I II, Siva, - Kayseri ve dolaylarmda Eretna evett, eleten 32 (1968) 161 - 176; cf. S p u I e r, Die ~ong~len ~n Ira.n, p. 129' 137; S p. V r yon i s, The Decline of Medieval Hellent'm
Maris Maius.· . Ie r Y ii eel Burhaneddin p. 22 - 23; the data given in T a k v 1m d' 4 p. 73, . permit to" place the assassination of Mehmed in Sep t em b er 1365 an not vaguely in 1365166.

TREBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352 - 1402)

!;l37

't of a series of wars- sometime simultaneous - among the conSIS s . d f h urt er. . vanoUs Ior ds, e ach one of whom was trytng . . to expan , Moreover, around the time of the assaSSID~tlon of Eretna s son, there appeared the kad~ of Sivas, Burhaneddln Ahmed, who d,re~m­ ed of reuniting central Anatolia under his rule and reestablt~htng Eretna's state. The intentions of Burhaneddin caused a, senes ,of wars' some of the local lords took his side, but others resisted him fierc~IY. Trebizond which is situated in the region had to withstand all the consequences of this situation '. In order, therefore, to discuss the relations of 'rrcbizond with her neighbours in the end of the XIIlth and through the XIyth century the following three points must be taken into consideration:

I) the foundation of the Turkish emirates in the frontier zones 2) the collapse of the I1khanid state in central Anatolia which resulted in the independence of almost every large city 3) the rise of Burhaneddin in Sivas which, after all was said and done, remained the political centre of central Anatolia. We have two main sources for the study of TrapezuntineTurkish relations in the XIVth century: a) the chronicle of Panaretos whose short entries report only events occurring within the Trapezuntine empire or concerning the Trapezuntine imperial family j he tends to ignore the rest of Asia Minor. b) The work Bezm u Rezm of ibn-f.>,rdashir, a protege of Kadi Burhaneddin, who gives valuable information about central Anatolia since he himself was interested in events resulting from the policy of Sivas 2. Therefore our two sources complement one another up to a point. Up until the middle of the Xlyth century the Trapezuntine emperors seem to have confronted any menace coming from the Turks with arms. But in the second half of that century they seem to ha ve initiated a new policy, based on family alliances. In this 1. On the Eastern frontier of Trebizond see M. K u r san ski s l'empire de Trebizonde et In Geortrie, Revue des Etudes Byzantines 35 (19--) 237- 256 (especially p. 247 - 256 ). " • 2. Ibn:A.rdashir wrote his work in Persian: Aziz ibn A.rda~ I r A.s tar a bad t,. Bezm u Rezm, Turkiyat EnstitUsu, Istanbul 1928. I used the extensl."e summary In German made by G i e sec k e. On ibn _A d h. see Giesecke, p. 6. 12. r as Ir

338

TREBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352 - 1402)

respect they followed an already established Byzantine tradition 1 with one difference: the Trapezuntines gave real princesses to the Turks, while the Constantinopolitans - with the exception of John VI Kantakouzenos 2_ gave only illegitimate daughters, presumably because the Constantinopolitans considered such daughters as bonnes pour ['Orient. In order to explain this difference one must perhaps keep in mind that the Byzantines considered the Trapezunti. nes themselves as barbarians. Pachymeres qualifies the emperor of Trebizond as a «barbarian»s, a term with a well known pejorative meaning. On another occasion Pachymeres, mentioning the Patriarch of Constantinople Germanos III (1265 - 1266), a member of the Gabras family 4, remarks that the Patriarch's enemies used to call him by a Turkish nickname and to say that he originated from the same place as the Turks. They did all this because the Patriarch was a Lazian which in Pachymeres' terminology means a Trapezuntine 5. Apart from Pachymeres, Gregoras, when relating some events of the history of Trebizond, introduces them by remarking that he is going to write about events which took place in other nations: EV aAAol~ E{}VEcrl 6. As is known, the Byzantines used the term E{}VO~ to designate peoples considered by them as barbarians. Finally it is perhaps worth remarking that the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III sent his illegitimate daughter as a wife to Basil, the

1. See the marriages of Byzantine princesses with the Mongol khans: St. Run c i man, The Ladies of the Mongols. El. 'W~'U1V K. I. . AI"'vtov. Athens '960, p. 46· 53· 2. D. M. N i col. The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos (Cantaeuzenu,) c. 1100· 1460, A Genealogical and Pro,opographieal Study, Washington 1<)68,

p. 58 - 62 . 3. Pachymeres, ed. Bekker,

Bonn 1835, v. I, p. 520: iJn.Q~· YUQ Il
'1""'''

yeit'o .. .. 6. Gregoras,

ed. Schopen, Bonn 1829, v. II, p. 677,67 8.

339

Trebizond I Such was by then a typical Byzantine emperor 0 f . esture towards an oriental lord. . . g . the marriages of Trapezunt10e pnncesses Let us now exam10e as well as the resulting alliances. , . The first wedding took place in 1352. The el~peror ~ .sIster married Kutlu beg, the son of TuraH. Kutlu beg IS qualIfIed b; Panaretos as emir of the «Amitiotai» 2. Thus, the emperor s brother-in-law was the chieftain of the Turks wh~, by them~elves or with others, had attacked Trebizond repeatedly 10 the fortIes of the XIVth century. More precisely, the Amitiotai began attacking tbe. Trapezuntine territories from 1340. Within four years they ~arned out ~our raids (1340-1343) 3. One of these raids was partIcularly senoUS because they attacked the city of Trebizond itself 4. In 1348 the Amitiotai participated in a major operation against Trebizond: the abi Eyne beg, lord of Erzincan 5, and the rikabdar Mehmed beg, governor of Bayburt 6, attacked Trebizond with tbe help of the 1. G reg 0 r a s. ibid.• p. 678: 'Y~I'6 v6llav tOU veov ~aol).e", ••AvtlQovi· "ov tau ila).alO/.6yav 1'lvyatEQu; cf. on the snbject of the -barbarism' of the

Trapezuntines S. K a r po v, Trapezundskaja imperija v vizantijskoj istoriCeskoj literature XliI - XV vV" Vizantijskij Vremennik 35 (1973) 154.164. 2. Pan are to s. p. 70; on the wedding ct. B rye r. Tiirkmens. p. 134 - 135; ct. J. E. Woo d s, The Aqquyunlu, Clan. Confederation, Empire. Minneapolis· Chicago, 1976. p. 46 - 47. 3. Pan are t 0 s, p. 65, 66, 67: in August 1340, in JUly 1341, in Au· gust of the same year and in June 1343 (the raid of August 1341 has been omitted by B rye r, Tiirkmen" p. 144). 4· A second source for this ,aid is L i v a den 0 s, p. 64·66 and d. p. 223 - 225. 5· According to ibn· Ardashir, Giesecke, P.32, Eyne beg became master of Erzincan by byiug it; cf. S ii mer, Mogollar, p. 127 and, mainly Y ii eel, Ara~t
a few months after another campaign against Trebizond: T a k vim I e r, p. 81; ct. infra p. 349, n. 2. 6. Pan are t 0 s, p. 68: altO to Oa'lt6Qt 6 MaXI',,-t EtxmtaQI' with a varia lectio •EQ"e;t,ciQle;; on Etx£"t6.Qle; I Rikabdar. see V. L. Men age, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 40 (1977) J59 -160. As Mehmed was a rikabdar, one Can guess that he was the governor of Bayburt. It is not certain that MaXl'at, i. e. Pan are t 0 s· transcription, cor. responds to Mehmed; it could also correspond to Mahmud; cf. Pan are _ to s, p. 64, TUl'uQtcic"'e; I Demirta~. To be noted that there is a medrese in Bayburt erected by an emir Mahmud d11ring the Ilkhanid period Bayburt became a caravan city during the Mongol period: O. T u ra 11, Dogu .1na-

HI

340

341

TREOIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352 - 1402)

<;epni 1 and the Amitiotai. After all of these vexing incide t h emperor married his sister to th e son 0 f t h' h' n s t toe ea clef in order obtain peace. \Vho were these Amitiotai? Two Oriental ·sources th 'b' " e Works o f, I n-Ardaslur and of Abu Bakr Tahranl (author of the 0 ff"IClal history of the Akkoyunlu 2) make it clear that Panaretos ref ' . ers to the Akkoyunlu federation of tnbes. Yel there is a problem' A . tiotai is obviously an adjecti ve indicating origin. If one r~m mld' f h d" , oves h teen I~g, 0 tea :ectlve, -WJt!)," one is inclined to recognize in the remaining word, Aj.!lt-, the city of Amida, called by the 11:US _ Iims Diyarbekir. But as is known, the Akkoyunlu became mast of the city of Diyarbekir much later; and for this reason the t ers p erm . " A mltlOtal In anaretos appears as a puzzling anachronism". Perhaps, however, an explanation can be given. The city of Amida is never mentioned in Panaretos' text. On the other hand in a Trapezuntine horoscope composed in 1336, the geographical '!,olu Tiirk Devletleri Tarihi, Istanbul 1973, p. 31 - 42; on Bayburt See R. R. Una 1, Alonuments islamiques pre.ottomans de La ville de Bayburt et de 56S environs,

Revue des Etudes Islamiques 40 (1972) 99 - 103 (including a map). 1. On the yepni (an Oltu.z tribe) see F. S U in e r, Anadolu'da ya~ayan Mzi ii<;-oklll oguz boylarlna mell$llp te~ekkiiler, Iktisat FakUltesi Mecmuasl 11 (1950 ) 441 - 453; ide m, Oguzlar (Tiirkmenler), Tarihleri, Boy te~kilati, Destanlarl, Ankara 1967, p. 318- 323; d. also Encyclopaedia of Islam', s. v. Cepni (article by F. SUm e r). B rye r, Tiirkmell$, p. 132 and 144, thinks that the leader of the yepni was Boz-Dogan (noolloy,,,·~.I; unique mention of Boz-Dogan in Pan are t 0 s, p. 68: "ai tOJV 'Aftl tlrotOJV 6 TotlQa"irce" "at 6 rroolloY("'~1 xai T~.=viIlE' ouv a,hol.; therefore one can assume safely that Boz-Dogan was an Amitiotes, i. e. an Akkoyunlu. 2. Abu B a k r T a h ran i, Kit a b - i Diy arb a k r i y Y a, ed. N. Lug.l- F. SUmer, v. I·II, Ankara 1962-69; ct. IsHim Ansiklopedisi, s. v. Akkoyunlular (article by M. H. Yin a n d. 3. Analysis of the problem in B rye r, Tiirkmens, p. 133; however the statement that Koustouganes w.s the first member of the Amitiotai dynasty to emerge in documentary evidence is not accurate. Pan are t 0 s, p.63, mentions Koustouganes only Once without qualifying him as an Amitiotes; the name of Koustouganes does not appear at all in S g 0 u r 0 p 0 u los' poems. Moreover the tentative hypothesis of B rye r, Tiirkmell$, p. 134, that under the term Amitiotai one could see the placename Omidia, seems most unlikely, since this would imply a march of Turcomans from the coast (where Omidia was situated) towards central AnatoHa. At least during the first half of the XIVlh century the TurconIan~ always headed from the Ana' tolian plateau to the coast where the frontier zones were situated. There is no evidence for the opposite - at least not to my knowledge.

&,,"

term to 'Aj.!llTtV seems to designate a CDuntry - not a city - since it is mentiDned in the same context with Misir (Egypt) and Kurdistan I. Therefore, one can assume that the Trapezuntines of the XIVth century used the name Amitiotai fDr the people living in or originating from the country ·Aj.!~nv, which should be the regiDn Df Diyarbekir, known as a separate prDvince under the MDngDl administratiDn 2. 'fhis cDnclusion fits within the framewDrk Df the known histDry of the AkkDyunlu. It is reported that in the early years of their histDry the Akkoyunlu were established in the region of Diyarbekir". Panaretos's term Amitiotai, in my opinion, derives from the Akkoyunlu's Dwn tradition regarding their origin. Like all TurcDmans of thDse years, the Akkoyunlu moved towards the frontier zones and thus approached the Pontic regions 4. In the forties of the XIVth century they were established in the regions of Bayburt and Erzincan s. It is not c.l~ar why they attacked Trebizond in 1340. According to ~ lat~r traditIon, the Akkoyunlu invaded the Trapezuntine territOfles In order to avenge the death of a chieftain of the tribe of D_u~a.rlu killed by the Trapezuntines. This tribe was living in the VIClDlty of Ba~burt and Erzerum 6. Be that as it may, they later collaborated ' , . .WIth the emirs of the two I'mport an t caravan CIties against Tr.eblzond. They were, accDrding to ibn-Ardashir, competent warflors, prompt to offer military services to lords who appealed to them. It seems that the Trapezuntine emperor wished 80r. Trap., p. 40. Islam Ansiklop d' . . . S'~ lSI, S. v. D,yarbek", especially p. 618 - 621 (article by , u mer, Karakoyunlular p 33 -" f S . Mongolen in Iron, P 35" S" M,'" 04, c. pu I er, Die 1.

2.

Ill. H. YIn an,)'

p. 31.

. !

t1

meT,

ogollar, p. £09;

Y Gee I, Burhaneddin,

3· On the Akkoyunlu see I H U Akk~yunlu Karakoyunlll devletleri, A'nk;r Z U ~,a r§ Ill, Anodol" beylikleri ve Anslklopedisi s. v Akk I I ( a 1969, p. 188· 198 ; cf. also Islam , . oyun II ar Yin a n ,J . I E s. v. Akkoyunlll (article by V 111' ' a so ncyclopaedia of Islam' p. 38 - 43. . In 0 r sky); mainly Woo d s, Aqqllyunlu:

4· Other Turcomans of thei . hb' . same direction; Turcomans f r ~;g Ourtng regIOns moved towards the oglu, are attested in th . rom eppo, the Inal-ogolu and the Kopek B h e regIOn of Tokat in th XI V' • Ur aneddin, p. 61, n. 8. e lh century: y Ueel, 5· Islam Ansiklopedisi s v A k k 6. SUm e r , n.ara~oyunlular, v •. ' " p. 26. - 0 y U n luI a r (Y,nan")', cf. note 6. y

THE TURKS (1352. 1402)

342

TREBIZOND AND

to detaclI them from the lords of Bayburt and Erzincan and to win them over to the Trapezuntine side I. For this reason he proceeded to a family alliance, thus initiating a long range policy. As We shall see, Trebizond profited much frum the family alliance with the Akko)'unlu, and in the years which followed good relations with the Turcoman lords were maintained and reinforced by two more marriages of Trapezuntine princesses to Akkoyunlu leaders' The second wedding took place in I358. According to Panare~ tos, another sister of the emperor married the emir Hatzimiris (Haci emir), the son of Payramis (Bayram); Had emir had his castle in Chalybia and was the emir of Chalybia". The exact location of Chalybia is not known; Panaretos implies that it could be reached from Kerasunt. Ibrahim Had Emir, the new brother-in-law of the emperor, as well as his son Siileyman are mentioned in the work of ibn-Ardashir. Moreover, a certain Cao;amir or Ca~amia (obviously a Haci emir) is mentioned by Clavijo. With the help of these three sources one can venture to locate the territories of the Had emirogullan. One may also form an idea about the family into which the Trapezuntine princess married. According to Panaretos, Chalybia was taken by the Turks sometime between 1280 and I297. Then the Turks carried out a large scale raid resulting in the devastation of the whole countryside 4. Panaretos does not state from whom the Turks took Chalybia. However, it sounds most probable that they took it from the Trapezuntines. The chronological period is most significant: it corresponds with the years of the rise of the various emirates formed by Turcomans who were gathered together by Mongol pressure in the frontier zones. Some years later the Turks of Chalybia il1\'aded the coastal regions and blockaded Kerasunt. In 130I the I. This interpretation has been proposed by Y ii c e I, ArafllTmalar p. 667; d. also lhe remarks of Woo d s, Aqquyunlu, p. 47 - 48. 2.

Due a

5,

Historia Turco·Bizantioo, ed.

V. G r e

C UJ

r,

Bucarest J95 81

p. 163 - 165; Osman Karayiiliik, son of Maria Grand Komnena and Kutlll beg, married a daughter of Alexios III or Alexios IV. Uzun Hasan :Iso married a Trapezuntine princess: B rye r, Tilrkmens, p. '49, nole 146; M. K 11 r· 5 a n ski s, A utour de 1a demiere princesse de Trebizonde: Theodora, fille de Jean IVet epouse d'Uzun Hasan, 'AQr.siov novtOu 34 (1977' 78) 77 - 87; d. Woo d s, Aqquyunlu, p. 100 - 101 ; also F ran c esc a L u c c h e t t a, L' .affare Zen' in Levante nel prirrw cinquecento, Studi Veneziani 10 (1968) 109 - 219· 3. Pan are t 0 s, p. 72, 73 - 74. 4. Pan are t 0 s, p. 51.

. them - by land aign agal nllt . 1 umably their emu . dertoo k a successful camp ell1pero r un_ and captured Koustouganen, pres Bayram appearS on nd by sea I K d gan In 13 13 . ~is nall1e was apparent y UC;:. 0 d . not altogether clear, agaInst the scene as between Kiic;:dog a n the Trapezuntll1es.. 3 an event, Bayram, the a ram cannot be estabhshed . fIn] Ynsidered as the founder of the . . can be sa e y co S I th Haci emirogullarl. evera Ibrahim Hacl ennr, d asty known as e . bl short-lived petty yn h d t the head of a consldera e . 2 Bayram marc e a d f years later, In 133 : h pushed back 4. The ate 0 army against Treblzond, but I t: waws In 1357 his son, Ibrahim , d h' not exact Y k no n . . .d against territories in the very Bayram s eat IS Had emir, led a destructl ~e ra~ . . 'ty of the city of Treblzond . . VICIOI . d bl' h peaceful relatIons Af tl t the emperor deCide to esta IS with h~:- an~a gave him his own sister as a wife. :rhe n:w b.roth:rin-law of the emperor was more than an i?fluentlal chIeftaIn, Itke Kutlu beg. He was the emir of a ghazi emIrate tha: thre~tened the . b u t th e P roblem was solved by. a matrimolllal albance. emplIe; ., . As for the western frontier of thIS emirate, It was contIguous with the territories of the lord of Niksar, Taceddin c;:elebi also eventually husband of a Trapezuntine princess. This fact is reported by both Panaretos and ibn-Ardashir. Both authors say that the lord of Niksar wished to expand at the expense of the Had emirogullan, and for this reason he marched against their territories 6. Ibn-Ardashir adds a detail: the sultan of Sivas, Burhaneddin, who oo

t~le h:roT~~ ~~I:~~~sl:ip

I.

~ntdh::~;

Pan are los, p. 63; on Koustouganes see p. 340, n. 3, supra;

Fontes, p. 61 - 62; d. N. A. 0 i k 0 nom ide s, E1J/1E{OJpG nEel roov €711U1:0Miv re1Jyoelov rov XtovteiOov, 'AQXslov nonov 20 (1955) 40 - 42. 2. Panaretos, p. 63; ct. Bryer. Tilrkmens, p. 143. 3· It would be unreasonable to identify Koustouganes/Kiic;:dogan with Dog-anclk menlioned by a I . U mar i, p. 350; to do so one should first

change lhe form of the name given by Pan are t 0 s and then presume thaI lhe Trapezuntine emperor released Koustouganes. 4· Panarelos, p.64. 5·. Pan are t os, p. 72; a temporary conquest of Kerasunt by the T urks IS reporled by L i v a d . . . . belo . " en 0 s, p. /9, as havlIlg happened shortly at l~e t 1:,+' ; . II IS known lhat Trebizond was attacked by the Akkoyunltl th l~ Ittle, Supra, p. 339; but lhe raids of the Akkoyunlu did n t h e tttoral to the West of Tr b' d" 0 reac altribule lhe conquest of Keras e ,tzoln th' foTr thIS reason one is inclined to 6. See In . fra p. 351. un 0 e urks of Chalybia .

,.

III 344

TR BalZOND AND

interfered in this war on the side of the Haci emirogullan t . , ook t h e fortress of Iskefser, whIch belonged to Taceddin, and gav . to Siiley~an Haci emir?glu I. This fortress, situated in the So:t~~ east of Nlksar, was obvIOusly somewhere on the frontier of the two Muslim lords. Therefore, t~le territory ar.ound G~lkoy. is a reasonable place to locate the emuate of IbrahIm HacI emIr 2. Later, in 1396/Ibrahim's son and successor, Siileyman, conquered the port ~; Kerasunt s. Some years later Clavijo, on his way to Samarcand, mention

a certain Haci emir 4, most probably Siileyman.. Haci emirogVlu I asS the lord of two smalI coastal places 5 between Dnye and Kerasunt

I.

G i e Sec k e, p. 67; Y ii c e I, Burhuneddin. p. 91; d. infra p. .145,

345

THE TURKS (1352. 1402)

. . rlenk. Clavijo does not mention \~ho and a wbutary to Tllnu h sts that the Trapezunttne unt· but as e sugge the lord of K eras '. .' bable that Kerasunt ritories started in Trrpolls 1, It seems pro

was tert'll s I

belonged to Siileyman. ' . and in this case the The third wedding took place In 1379, M r . aceddin 2, was by far the best. He wa~ a ~s 1m br~degroom'l ~'3. l rd of a most venerated Muslim City, Nlksar prrncke,. a c;e. e) IWheroe the tomb of Melik Dani~mend is to be found j (Neo -alsarela , h I k f er and lord of some smaIl but important fortresses suc a~: e ~ Sonusa 4. lord also of the fertile plain of Phanarola lyIng b:tween Amasya and Niksar near the river Iris (Ye~il Irm6ak~. ThIS plain, qualified by Strabo as the best place in the tontos , IS :o~­ nected by land routes with Erzincan and Amasya ; therefore It IS strategicaIly important.

n. 4. 2. B rye r. TiJTkmeM, p. 132 and map, mentions a castle (GolkaI' Ri. lise Kale) in this locality; this could well be the oamtoxaatQov of Had emir mentioned by Pan are t 0 s, p. 73. The domains of Had emir have been connected with Ol\'aiov! Onye; tbis assumption .!s not supported by the sources. Pan aretos, p. 68, reports a capture of Dnye in 1346/7 with. out mentioning by whom; anyhow it was temporary. Onye remained for long under Trapezuntine rule: in 1379 the wedding of Taceddin with the princess Eudokia took place there: Pan are t 0 s, p. 79; after Timurlenk's campaign, C I a v i j 0, p. 73, found the place under a Greek lord. On the other hand ibn - A r d ash i r does not mention Onye as a possession of Had emir; the place·name appears in G i e sec k e, p. 66 and 85, but it constitute>; an addition - not altogether successful - to i b Ii - A r d ash i r' s text: I express my thanks to Prof. W. Millward, who checked ibn·Ardashir's text for me. Therefore the emirate of Had emir is not accurately located in B rye r, Turkmens, passim and map; the alternative place he proposes, 1. e. Golkoy Kilise Kale seems more probable. 3. Giesecke, p. 110. 4. C I a v i j 0, p. 73: Ca~amir, ca~amia; B rye r, Turkmens. p. 129' 130, misled by Le Strange's translation, mentions, with a question mark, this lord as Altamur and as the successor of Taceddin; on Taceddin's successors see p. 351, U. 4. 5. The first place was called Leona, C 1 a v i j 0, p.73, i e. Bow" today Vona; see on this locality B rye r, Maps, p. 104; cf. ide 01, TiJrkm,ns. p. 131; ct. also the description of the place in A. Del a t t e, Leo Portulans Croc., IT, Complements, Bruxelles 1958. p. 33. The second place waS Stoma (Greek l;t0l'a: mouth), situated according to C I a vi j 0, p. 73. near to a ,bocca de un Rio,; the river is apparently the Bazar-su. Stoma is most pro: bably the locality of San Thomas to be found on the map of Vescoo te . B rye T, Map•• p. 105; and in A. Del a t t e, Les Portulan. Crees 1, Bru·

xelles 1947. p. 238. B rye r, Maps, p. 104, misled by Le Strange's translation of C I a v i j 0, mentions a locality Santo Nicio not to be found in any other source. 1. C I a v i j 0, p. 74. B rye r, Tiirkmens, p. 131, hesitates to accept CIa· vijo's data because it took the latter almost three days to travel from Kerasunt to Trebizond; however C I a v i j o' s journey was long because of bad weather (cfizo tienpo contrario. , eel viento era contrario. fue contrario- etc. ,.

1

ce el viento

2. On Taceddin see U z U n c; a T§ Ill, Anadolu beylikleri. 5upra p. 341, n. 3, p. 153 - 15t; mainly a g u z, Taeeddin ogulla". . 3· Pan are to s, p. 74 and 78: , «oii Tnt~la. nv~ t~la,(",~,; Kutlu beg and Had emir have only the title UIl'lQa, in Panaretos, 1'.70,72,74,76; on ~elebi see P. \Vittek, Der ,Beiname. d.. O.m:-nuehen Sultans Mehemmed f, Eretz - Israel v. 7 (1963), L. A. Mayer Memo,,"l Volume, p. 144 - 157. 4.. heOn Q Iskefser see F r . T a e s c h n e r, D as anatohsehe . II Wegenetz naeh osmanlle n ue en Leipzig 1924 v II f J Tskefse t ' . . ,p. 54; c. a so the place names d' . r ura~ and ~skefser Flndicak in the same region: Tiirkiye Ansiklo. pe lSI, s. v. Re~ad,ye' cf supra P 344 n S (d as a possession of Ta;eddin' G" 'k' I. onus a to ay Ta~ova) appears ibn-Battuta p 43 6 ' f' RleHsec e, p.64. T heplace is mentioned by , . ,c. . art man n Zu E I" T. 10 1 b • ober.,. Euphrat- und Tigru. Cebiet Der I I ' W va se e e i $ Reiun im gin, 15. ve 16. astrlarda eyalet.; R" s ~~9f~1919) 18~ ..188; also T. G 5 k b i I· · k um. a I ar DerglSI 6 (1965) 51 - ,4. S. G lesec e, p.88. ' Ii. MiQo; Exovaa toii Gonou to . ne s, Cambridge Mass. 1954 v V ~Q"HGtOV, S t r abo n, ed. H. L. J 0I I' . , . , p. 394 - 395· 7. sam Anslklopedisi, s. v. Nik.ar (article by II D k . a r - 0 t).

III

III

3-!S

wedding, the Sivas people mounted an expedition against Niksar because Taceddin had declared himself independent through refusing to pay his annual tribut · The cam~~ign f~ile~, a~d the Sivas 7 arm v withdrew after plundenng Taceddlll s terntones . Therefore in 1379 when the wedding took place, T~ebizond and Niksar had a common enemy: Sivas. Moreover Taceddlll had proven that he was able to maintain his independence. The Sivas group openly showed their disapproval for the family alliance between Trebizond and Niksar. Panaretos reports that when the emperor and his daughter arrived at Kerasunt to join his future son-in-law, a message came from the capital: K\lI~ Arslan was about to march down against Trebizond. The emperor left the bride in Kerasunt and returned to Trebizond with his nobles. He fortified the castle and set the country in read.!ness. Then he returned to Kerasunt and led his daughter to Unye where the wedding took place 2. Panaretos reports that the emperor took Limnia at that time without clarifying from whom he took it 3. Perhaps Limnia was temporarily occupied by Taceddin in order to excercise pressure upon the Trapezuntine emperor. A fourth wedding took place in the second half of the XIVth century: a Trapezuntine princess - most probably a daughter of Alexios III - was given in matrimony to Mutahharten, the lord of Erzincan and Bayburt and of some other important places. This marriage is reported by Clavijo who visited Erzincan in 1404 when Mutahharten was already dead 4. The wedding most probably took place after the year 1379 when Mutahharten became the lord of Erzincan. The match was certainly most profitable for the Grand Komnenoi, and a review of the relations between the empire of Trebizond and the lords of the two caravan cities of Bayburt and Erzincan is not out of place. As we saw, the emirs of those two cities attacked Trebizond in 1348; and I expressed the opinion that this event led to the marriage of the emperor's sister to the Akkoyunly Kutlu beg who was thus won over to the Trapezuntine side. In the years that

1. 2.

349

TRIlBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352. 1402)

Y u eel, BurluIneddin, p. 38 - .19· Panaretos, P.79-

3· Pan are t 0 s, p. 79see Y ii eel, Ara§wmalar 1, 4. C I a vii 0, p. 86·87; on Mutahharten p. 67\.67 2 •

followed, Panaretos does not report incidents with the emirs of Bayburt and Erzincan. However, the situation changed in 1360 and 1361. Trebizond was attacked by Hoca Latif of Bayburt and later by Eyne beg of Erzincan. The former was killed by the Trapezuntines in q6r " and the latter died the next year 2. Immediately afterwards a young man, Pir Hiiseyn, son of an emir, appeared on the scene. After a civil war, he became master of Erzincan, and within two months he conquered the city of Bayburt as well. It is not known who exactly the opponents of Pir Hiiseyn were nor who helped him to accomplish the conquest of those two most important caravan cities 3. Only one fact is certain: that throughout his rule, for about r6 years, there are no recorded hostilities between his domains and Trebizond. I. XOt~lQA("('I'~<;, presumably Hoca Liitif, is twice mentioned by Pan are t 0 s, p. 73. qualified as '''.'I'aA1]-, i. e. governor, of Bayburt: in April 1361 Hoca Latif prevented the emperor from erecting ,Tou Kou"ou. in the region of Chaldia (B rye r, Tiirkmens, p. '45, gives an inaccurate translation of Panaretos' passage); .Tou Kou"ou. was probably a fortress. In July 1361 Hoca Latif attempted a new raid in the region of Ma,ka but he was defeated and killed by the people of Ma,ka (Mat1;ou''''ta.j. Mention of Hora Latif in Libadenos, p. Ill; ct. also p. 23 0 . 2. Pan are t 0 s, p. 74: Eyne beg besieged the castle of rOAaxa for sixteen days in Octoher 1361. This campaign of Eyne beg is also mentioned in T a k vim 1e r, p. 81: in October 1.161 Eyne beg besieged the .Riig-i Trabizon •. One can safely assnme that rOAaxa and .Rug-i Trabizon. is the

same place but its exact locality remains unknown.

B rye r,

Tiirkmens.

p. 145, wonders whether rOAaX" is Rola~a. The village Rola~a is situated between Rize and Trebizond: see Turkiye Ansiklopedisi, s. v. Araki,; it seems unlIkely that the emir of Erzincan attacked these territories and for this reason the identification rOAaxa I Rola~a must perhaps be excluded. A passage of Pan are t 0 s, p. 77, suggests that ro,ax" was an important c~stIe for the control of Chaldia. One is inclined to propose that it was sItuated somewhere near the caravan road. On Eyne beg cf. also supra, p. 339. n. 5. .

.1:

T a k vim 1e r, p. 81; this is the only source of the events in question; Bu:haneddin, p. 3~. note 101 and Y u eel, Araftlrmalar I. p. 6697 , Pu Huseyn s opponents lD Bayburt are mentioned by name: T a k v i niIe r, p. 8,; but nothing is known about their background. Pir Huseyn set off from $arki Rarahisar which belonged to Eretna: supra P 3'6 n 2' howe . 6 h . < d'ff ver In 13 2, W en Pu Hiiseyn appeared on the scene the links of the I erent pr~vinces with Sivas were loose; therefore one 'cannot say much on the relatIOns between Pir Hiiseyn and the sou of Eretna.

~f.0 ~ u. c e ~'

I

•

'"

•

I

, III

III 350 Pir Hiiseyn died in 1378/9, and immediately Burhaneddin of Sivas, along with KI1I~ Arslan - the already mentioned enemy of Trebizond - tried to conquer Erzincan; but they failed, although a part of its population was favourably disposed towards the Sivas administration I. A new man appeared - Mutahharten - who Was able to become the master of the city with the support, among others, of the Akkoyunlu Kutlu beg 2, the first Turk who married into the Trapezuntine imperial family. If one takes into consideration that the Akkoyunlu were long time allies of Trebizond, that the new emir Mutahharten successfully opposed an enemy of Trebizond - KI1I~ Arslan - and eventually married a daughter of the emperor, one may conclude that in 1378/79 the Trapezuntines through their allies contributed to the establishment in Erzincan of an emir favourably disposed towards them. One may also wonder whether Pir Hiiseyn's success in Bayburt and Erzincan in 1362 was not also accomplished because of Trapezuntine help; Pir Hiiseyn was not tlnfriendly towards Trebizond. In conclusion then, in 1379 the Trapezuntine policy of marriage alliances seemed very successftll. The two neighbouring Turkish principalities were under the rule of relatives of the imperial family. These principalities bordered on the southwestern frontier of the Trapezuntine empire since they extended up to Limnia, i.e., all along the Pontic coast which was under Trapezuntine rule. Thus a Pontic block was formed, hostile to Sivas. On the other hand the administration of Sivas had failed to conquer Erzincan: Mutahharten was established in that city with the help of the Akkoyunlu; he was definitely hostile to Burhaneddin and eventually married a Trapezuntine princess. It is perhaps worth recalling that Niksar is connected with Erzincan by a land road 3. The only possible

l. Giesecke, P.31-33; d. Yiicel, Burhaneddin, p. 39-41; d. Woo d s, Aqquyunlu, p. 48. . 2. G i e sec k e, p. 32; the good relations between the TrapezuntlDe emperor and KntJu beg are shown by the attempted visit of the emperor to his brother-in-law in 1363; the visit was cancelled because of the ~Iack death: Pan are t 0 s, p. 75 (B rye r, Tiirkmens, p. 145 - 146, gives an IDaccurate translation of this passage); also hy the visit of Kutlu beg to Trebizond in 1365 and the visit of the emperor to Kutln beg 1366: Pan a re' t as, p. 76. ya 3. This is the road followed by ibn - Battuta who went from Amas to Erzincan; 1 bn - Ba ttu t a, p. 436 - 437.

351

TREBIZOND AND THE TURKS (1352 - 1402)

threat to the empire cou1~ come f,rom K t,I t~ A rs I a n who was active in Koyul Hisar and later ID Sarkt Karahlsar. , Nevertheless, the success was of short duration., BurhaneddID, proclaimed sultan in Sivas in 13811, consolidated hiS power, too~ Tokat and attacked Niksar 2. A war broke out between the ~aci emirogullan and Taceddin during which the latter was k.~lled (24th October 1386) 3; after that his successors 4 as well as S~ley­ man Haci emiroglu were obliged to recognise the overlordshlp of Burhaneddin 6. After Kutlu beg's death in 13896, a conflict erupted between Mutahharten and the Akkoyunlu, who for this reason passed for a time into the service of Burhaneddin 7. There cannot be any doubt that all these events had serious consequences for the empire of Trebizond. Btlt unfortunately there is no detailed Trapezuntine source for those years. In any case, events with more serious consequences soon took place: the expansion of the Ottomans to the Pontic regions in 139 1 8; Y ii eel. Burhaneddin, p. 59 -63. Y ii eel, Burhaneddin, p. 81 - 85. 3· Pan are t 0 s, p.80, dates the event of October, 24th, Wednesday of the year 6895 of the tenth indiction, 1. e. of 1386; in this year the 24'" of October was a Wednesday; therefore Pan are t 0 s' date appears most trustworthy and on the base of it the dates given by Y ii eel, Burhaneddin, p. 77 - 92, must be revised. A small correction is to be done in Pan a _ : e t 0 5' text and, more precisely, the change of the place of a comma: Instead of c'KC.ttu. 'tOU f\'EQOU yaJA~Qo;:; 'tou ~aa'AE.a~ci~".x., B rye r, Turkmens, p. 148, note 140, misled by the place of the comma thou~ht th~t Siileyman Haciemiroglu was married with another Trape: l.

2.

zuntlne prIncess.

4· Taceddin had four sons: lIIahmud, Alparslan, KI119 ATslan and Sii0 g u z, Taceddin ogullart, p. 480 - 487. Taceddin produced c 1 rell With hiS frapezuntine wife; S p h Tan t z e s ed V G r e c u, Bucarest 1966, p. 80; but nothing more is known about 'them'. . 5· G 'II 1 e sec k e p 66 -67', cf . Y"u c e, 1 B Ta dd' ,. urhaneddin, p. 89-91' 0 g U z

l~~I~an, se.e on :he,m ce

m ogu aft, p. 476 - 479.

'

I

6. Klltlu beg's tomb' . S· . B " IS In Inur, a Village near Bayburt· see A. ~ 1 e y g u, Er.erum, Tarth" Amtlart, Kitabeleri, v. I, Istanbul 1936'? . was unable to see the article of G G" , p. -55 . 256 ; kaylerinde Turk mimari eserleri Sanat T' 'h~l~e~sever - A. A I tun, Bayburt 7· Y ii .eel ' Burhanedd~nJ '. an I ra~lJnnalarJ 3 ([970) p. ,1"j - 4". p. 152 ~ 153. 8. ElIzabeth A. Zachariado between Baya.id I and K d' B h " u, Manuel/[ Palaeologos on the strife a, ur an al-Dm (m press). I

,

III

III TREBIZOND AND THB TURKS (13S2 - 14(2)

352 later the campaign of Timurlenk in Anatolia 1. Like all the sm a 11 states of Asia Minor, Trebizond took Timur's side. She put h flee.t at his disposal and becan:e.a to him 2. She anti-Ottoman up to the end, siding with Uzun Hasan, i.e. the lord of Tabriz, who controled the cities of Bayburt and Erzincan. Can one see any stable factors determining Trapezuntine politics? I think that the Trapezuntine emperors at least in the XIVth century had two main preoccupations beyond the mere security of their own state: the security of the caravan roads leading from the Pontic coast to the cities of Bayburt and Erzincan and the control of the ports - whether small or large - along the Pontic coast. Both preoccupations were related to trade. Trebizond has always been known as a centre of trade, the outlet of the caravan road from central Asia to the Black Sea and as the harbour from which one could sail to Southern Russia or to Constantinople'. Arab authors report the yearly fairs in the city and remark on her importance as a commercial centre 4: during the expedition of one of the Seljuk sultans against Trebizond, the suspension of trade with Southern Russia and the Greek territories greatly injured the Muslim merchants 5. Once the city an independant state - if not earlier - the Genoese and the Venetians established themselves there, and she was frequented by European merchants from other

trib~tary

remain:~

I. Timurlenk's army was already in Anatolia at the end of 1393 or the beginning of 1394: Y ii c e I, Ara~ttrmalar II, p. 166· 167; Y ii eel's argument is supported by a Venetian document of July 1394, reporting, among other matters: 'partes Basaiti molestantur ad presens ab Imperato'

rem Tartarorum., S. L j ubi C I Monumenta spectantia historiam Slavorum Merl· dionalium, v. IV, Zagreb 1874, p. 33 2 ' 334· 2. M. Mat h i Ide A I e x a n'd res cu· De r sea, La campagne de Tim.r e" Anatolie (1402), Bucarest 1942, p. 52 and 123 "124· On the other Pontic

principalities which passed to Timurlenk's side (the Taceddin ogllllan included) see Y ii eel, Ar~ttrmalar II, p. 171; on Mutahharten's role see Y ii c e I, Ara~t"malar I, p. 6'12 - 716. 3. W. Hey d, Histoire du commerce du Levant au Moyen Age, v. II, Paris 16 1886, p. 92 - 107; ct. V r yon is, The Decline 0/ Medieval Hellenism, p. 15- ; S. P. K a r p 0 v, Trapezundskaja Imperlja I russkle zemli, Vizantijskij Vremen· nik 38 (t977) 38 - 47; ide m, Osobennosti razvltija pazdnevlzantljskago goroda' 106 emporlja (Trapezund v XIII.XV vv.), Vizantijskie Ocerki, Moscow 1977, p. 79. . 1 4. T u ran, Dagu Anadalu Turk devletleri, supra p. 339, n. 6, p. 29' 3 2 ; 0 F. S ii mer, Saltuklular, Sell'uklu Ara§tlrmalan Dergisi 3 (197 1) 43 ' 43 • S. Ibn al·Athir in W. Bart ho I d, Turkestan down to the Mongol Inva· 'ion, London 1958, p. 395

353

cities 1. In the XIVth century al-Umari describes the Trapezuntine empire as «continuously crossed,. by people travelling to the Crimea 2. It is worth drawing attention to the Trapezuntine horoscope of 1336, which gives a clear picture of the Trapezuntine society, apparently a fairly affluent one. Many predictions are recorded about the merchants with much nuance. There is a distinction drawn between merchants who travel', small merchants who sell in the bazar' and intermediaries who sell goods imported by sea 5. There is also reference to fluctuation of prices 6, to demand for gold and silver', to the fall of the price of perfumes, of pearls and of fish 8. There is hardly anything predicted with respect to the crops and in general with respect to the local production. Apparently Trebizond remained a rich entrepot, a large bazar, up to her last days. Bessarion in a eulogy for his native city remarked that Trebizond seemed to have perpetual fairs j and that the Trapezuntines constantly traveled for trade across the Pontos or Asia Minor and to the Middle East 9. Hey d, Histairedu Commerce, supra, p. 352, n. 3; Greek merchants (pre· Trapezuntines) joined the Genoese caravans going from Trebizond toTabnz:G.Forche· .. G . r 1 , IV<' av£. e naVJgGz£one a Genova nel trecento. II c. Liber T a~a.ne., Genoa 1974, p. r6 (the Genoese travelling from Trebizond to a r~z were not allowed to take with them foreigners 'exceptis Venetis et GreelS»). 2. AI·Umari, P.380. 3· Har. Trap., p. 40: ,0L, Efl"6Qo,, ,a~,aL(l auxv&. fl"'&' XEQaOU,. 4· ~ar. Trap., p. 40: '~L, "a~aQlcb,a" ,axv''l,a El, ,&., "Qu~"" au,5. Har. Trap.• p. 40' X"Qao,'). _, OlV. a~, E~"Qx6fl"va. . fla ,a,a '01, fl",a"Qa,oua, ,&. EX 'ii, {}a)"uaI.

sumabl~

6. Har. R).· d.~Q'~ELal) etc.Trap., p '41' . 'fl" t'Qt"'0 l]

• • • 1CQOC; a'XQL~€,aV:t,

cet5wv £\J'6fJvia .. , cwvi}c;

Trap . , p .41·.~ " 87· Har. u . ,.,'~Ol' aQyuQOU xa' XQua'ou. . Har. "V" - h,U'oflaQyuQOlv '.Q 8 Trap. L ' p . 39'.,. Q Ijl'XOlV, tXllUOlMiv amp ro s, BT}(1(]ae iwvO )E' I • 9. p. VOflv~flOlV 13 (19 16) 162 _163 and 187' (;88 Tean.Cowm, NEoc; 'E).),,'lprosperous and important up t 't II . d e fact that Trebizond remained

r;,;,;"lOv ./(;

by th e emperor's determination 0to1 0S ast ays h by various events: h is SOwn Le con/lit entre Genes et I'empire de T"!b~:a~~e ~ e G~noese; see N. Ban esc u, 1449), Atti V Congr. Intern 8t d' B' e ala ve,lIe de la canquete turque {1418will of the Florentines to ha~e u.I' IZ. 1939, v. I, p. 4 - 10; also by the 1 Dacumentl sulle relazlani delle cltt' P;IVI eges in Trebizond; see G. Mull e r renee 1879, p. 186- 189 (of the a ;scane call' Oriente cristlana e col Turchi. Flo: y ar (460). On the commercial exchanges

III

III TRBBlZOND AND THB TURKS (1352 - 1402)

354

355

Trade was a source of considerable income for the Trapezuntine state as merchants were obliged to pay several duties, usually higher than in other cities of Asia minor 1 On the other hand the Trapezuntine emperor was responsible for the security of the foreign merchants within his territories, that is, for the security of the roads 2. Friendly relations with the rulers of Erzincan and Bayburt were a necessity for the Grand Komnenoi. Both these rulers were able to prevent merchants from reaching Trebizond or to ruin the security of the caravan road situated within the Trapezuntine territories. For this reas~n to t.he extent possible the Trapezuntines maintained good relatIOns with the lords of Bayburt and Erzincan. They also succeeded in establishing alliance with the Akkoyunlu chieftains located in the vicinity of those cities. Apart from the trade carried over. the caravan r~ad, there was also the trade in the ports of the Pontic coast .on a higher or lower scale; borne by large vessels coming and gomg from Europe; or by small vessels sailing from one to another harbour .of the Black Sea up to Constantinople 3. Rare information concern mg. the local production is to be found in the sources: purchase of wme from

Lilllnia and Kerasunt 1 or hazelnuts 3. However, the port of Kerasunt is known as the «scala» of another precious merchandise, frequently mentioned in the sources, the alum of Koloneia 3. Sarki Karahisar belonged to Sivas, blit alum continued to be sold in Kerasunt. As already said, after having fought to prevent the Haci emirogl u from conquering this port, the Grand Komnenoi finally managed to keep it under their rule by making Ibrahim Haci emir a member of their family. Later they further insured the possession of their littoral by introducing Taceddin into the imperial family. Trade was the preoccupation not only of the Grand Komnenoi but also of the rulers of Sivas, although less is known on this subject. Sivas was situated in the middle of the other caravan road from Ayas to Tabriz and on the road followed by merchants from Syria and Mesopotamia who travelled to the Crimea. Actually for those merchants it was the place of rendezvous for forming a caravan to reach the Black Sea. The presence of Genoese merchants, coming from Ayas or from Caffa, is attested in Sivas at the end of the XIlIth century; furthermore a Genoese consul was established in the city 4. Sivas was also frequented by the Venetians~.

between Trehizond and Constantinople in 1436 - 1438, see V. D 0 r i n i . T. Be r tel e, Il libra dei conti di Giacomo Badoer, [Romel. '95 6, p. '4, '5, 25, nd passim (some cases of purchase of Silk and pepper from 27, 291 35 39 a Trebizond). 1 There was a duty paid by merchants who imported goods ~n Trebizond in order to transport them to inner regions (f.V tote; ';00 floQo.alv): D A Z a k y t h i nos Le chrysobul/e d' Alexis III Comnene empereur de Treb..onde en'fa~eur des Venitiens, Paris 1932, p. 32 and 54 - 61.; also an ad.ditional d~t~ aid for the weighing of the lloods: Z a k y t h In 0 s, op. ctt., p. 64 - 5, P . . d IU . 1391 an d 1396'. [G M these duties were malUtalUe . . Tho mas, .2 . R. Predelli], Diplomatarium Veneto·Levantinum, v. II, Ve?lCe 18.99' p. 9 d 25 _ 25" it is to be added that the Venetians did .not pay 230 an p0 . , . d' ( I t ponderatlOnem): weighing duties in Mente§e and IU Ay In non so van E I' a ibid., p. 295; on the earlier treaties with Aydin and ~ente§e see. ,~z di~ bet h A. Z a c h a ria do u, Sept traites inedits entre Ven..~ et les em,,~~ ddi ~a­ et de Mense§e (J331 - 1407), Studi Preottomani e Ottoman!, Conveg 0 6 . , Poli , 24 - 26 Settembre '974, Napoli 197 , p. A229 '-I24 .' xaL 'tol; 'XaatQOI~ 2. a,a'l'u).,attOflOvO' f.V OAU tn )(roQa tiie; ,..a""hflae; flo U a1ltiie;: Z a k y t h i nos, op. cit., p. 31. . d'aNaires grec. et latin. a ConsCanW 3. N. A. Oikonomides, Hommes "J' napl. du XIII. au XV••Ucle (in press).

1. M. B a I a r d, Gene. et l'Outre.Mer I. Le. acte. de Caffa du notaire Lornberto di Sambuceto (1289 -1290), Paris - The Hague '973, p. 307. 2. B rye r, Tiirkmens J p. 122, note 26. 3. Fr. B a I d u c c i Peg 0 lot t i, La pratica della mercatura, ed. A. E van s, Cambridge Mass. '936, p. 369: i1 migliore allume che si lavori; mentions of the alum of Koloneia: G. Bra t ian u, Actes de. notaire. genal! de Pera et de Caffa de 10 fin du trei.Ume .;ecle (1281.1290), Bucarest '927, p. 88; B a I a r d, Genes et l'Outre-Mer, p. 105; R e nee Doe h a e r d, Le. relations

I

,

commerciale! entre Genes, la Belgique et l'Outremont d'apre3 le3 archives notariale3 gi-

noi.e. aux XlIIe et XIVe sUcle., v. III, Bruxelles - Rome '94', p. 1058 - 1°59;

the conflict of the Genoese and Zaccaria of Chio because of the alum of the Black Sea: Pachymeres (Bonn) v. I, p. 420. 4. Hey d, Hi.toire du commerce, v. I, p. 298 and v. II, p. 79 and 93 ; cf. Bra t ian u, Actes, p. 87 and 169' '70; B a I a r d, Genes et l'Outre.Mer, p. 246, 265, 358; Doe h a e r d, Le. relations, v. III, p. 760 -761, 827. 828 , cf.

828. 82 9. 5. Peg

0 lot t i, Pratica, p. 63, 65, 91 and 229 gives the equivalence of the weights and measures of Sivas with those of other cities; also Z i b a 1donedaCanal, ed. A. Stussi-F. C. Lane-Th. E. MarstonO. 0 r e, Venice '967, p. llO, gives the equivalence between Ayas and Sivas; cf. also the equivalence of the measures of Sivas with those of Flo-

rence in Fr. 1936 , p. 31.

B

0

r I and i, El libro di mercantie et U3anze de'i. paui, Torino

III

III

856

TRBBIZOND AND THB TURKS (1352. 14ll2)

When Venetians and Genoese were expelled from the C ' E f1mea I343, retna sent ambassadors to the khan to negotiate ' '1' peace b,et ",:e~n th e tw,o maCl~ll~le :epub les and the Tatars 1. The event is slgmfteant for Its clanfteatIon of the commercial relations , , among VenIce, Genoa, central Anatolta and Southern Russia and indication of Eretna's concern for trade as an Burhaneddin's action as depicted by ibn-Ardashir is that of dauntless warrior continuously fighting against various enem'les,a , However, BurhaneddlO launched several campaigns in order to conquer Tokat and Amasya, The distance from Sivas to Amasya is about 200 km. On the road leading from Sivas to Amasya and passing on to Tokat seven caravanserays erected by the Seljuks 2 have been preserved. The buildings indicate clearly that the road was highly used by merchants and that Amasya and Tokat were important commercial centres 3, The road from Tokat leads to Erzincan, merging there with the caravan road for Tabriz. To the West the road leads up to Brussa which by the end of the XIVth century began to develop as a commercial centre 4. Therefore, Burhaneddin's repeated attempts to conquer Tokat and Amasya can be explained j he wanted to take control of this important road thereby undoubtedly gaining important income from the duties collected from the merchants 5. On the other hand one ,

10

DelI a Roc c a, Caffa, supra p. 336, n. 3, p. 277, 279. M. K e m a I 6 z erg in, Anadolu'da Se19uklu Kervanserayla", Tarih Dergisl 20 (1965) 141 - 170 (with a map). 3. Ibn· Bat t uta, p. 436, mentions the ,spacious streets and bazaars' of Amasya; on Tokat see T u ran, Dogu Anadolu Turk devletleri, p. 28- 31. I.

2.

4, Y ii c e I, Burhaneddin, p. 175' 177; Y ii c e I,

Ara~t
p. 163;

it is to be added however that during the second half of the XlVth century the part of the road leading to Brussa could not be used owing to the con· flict between the Ottomans and Burhaneddin. On the development of Brussa as a commercial centre during the XVtb century see H. I n a I c I k, Bursa and the Commerce of the Levant, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 3/ll (1960) 131' 147, On the importance of the road during the Ottoman period see N, S tee n s g a a r d, Carracks, Caravans and Companies: The Structural CrisiJ in the European· A.ian Trade in the Early 17th Century, Odense 1973, p. 31' 34; also J e an· Lou i s B a c que - G ram m 0 nt, Notes sur une sauie de soies d'lran en 1518, Turcica 8/II (1976) 237' 253· 5. Peg 0 lot t i, Pratica, p. 28. 29, gives a long list of the duties paid at each caravan stop of the road between Ayas and Tabriz. On the duties paid on the road Tabriz·Tokat in the XVItb century see S tee n s g a a r d, Carroclu, Caravans and Companies, p. 31' 34; these duties in all probability

357

can understand the alliance between Amasya, Niksar, Golkoy and Trebizond in that the lords of these regions wished to control the road themselves without recognizing the overlordship of Si vas. The crucial point for all parties remained one: Erzincan. The Pontic littoral certainly attracted Burhaneddin as indicated by his relations with Kastamonu and Sinope 1. In the beginning he had no opportunity to expand towards the coast as the Trapezuntines protected it well by their alliances with Taceddin and Haci emir. Moreover, the petty lords of Bafra and Samsun were unfriendly to Sivas and usually sided with the lord of Niksar a. Soon the Ottomans appeared and conquered the coast up to Samsun 3. In the same year Siileyman Haci emiroglu, then a vassal to ~ivas, conquered Kerasunt. Burhaneddin proceeded to stage speCIal celebrations in his capital showing that he considered the event exceptionally important 4. Immediately he commanded one of his emirs to erect a fortress in the vicinity of Sarki Karahisar 5. Nevertheless when the Ottomans and Burhaneddin set out to con~uer th~ South Pontic coast, it was already too late for both parties; Tlmurlenk was already in Asia Minor. ABBREVIATIONS A I· U m a ri: M. Qua t rem ere

No' d [' lek alabsar *i memalek al .,/ ot~Ce e ouvrage qui a pour titre j.fe.sa~ J amsor, I' oyaKes des yeux cia l I

rent.. contrees (ms. arabe 583) Nt' . ns es royaumes d.. diffe. Bibliotheque du Roi XIII ('P ~ tees et Extralts des .Manuscrits de la B , a n s 1835) 334 - 381. rye r, Map" A. B rye r, The Littoral 0/ h . Fourteenth Century Portolano Ma •A ~ t e .Empzre of Trebizond and tllJO

'P',

QXSlOV

lIonol! 24 (1961) 97' 127.

existed in earlier years On the d t· through Ka~amanid te~ritory se: te: nC~lllect:d from the land·routes passing .c t k, Bursa, p. 142" 143 " to note that the dUhes were named after T demands for money of the dUke of Cu:e~~a~ tribe.s. It is worth recalling the p. 81: C I a v i j 0 and his com . a ta avazttes reported by C I a vi . nOn eran mereadores.. panlOns refused to pay answering 'que el~~~ 1. V ii eel, Burhaneddin Y ii c e 1,

Burhaneddin' I ' e , BurhaneddilJ 4. Y" I ' 5. Y ~ c e , Burhaneddin, u C e I, Burhaneddin, 2.

3•

V U-

C

p.

III .. 1]2.

p. 138 64"

p

. p. 148'p. 149.

65

and

II 1

• 112.

"