An Analysis of Makâlât-I Seyyid Hârûn

2015-09_Turcica40_03_Bayram 02-07-2009 09:07 Pagina 7 Fatih BAYRAM 7 A SUFI SAINT AS CITY FOUNDER∞∞: AN ANALYSIS OF MAKÂLÂT-I SEYYID HÂRÛN T hroughout the ages historians have been curious about the rise and development of towns and cities.1 Material aspects apart, cities have been examined also in terms of their religious and more generally, sym- bolic aspects. A river or a castle might function as an urban icon, or else a saint or shrine might become the symbol of a given city throughout the ages. In this context we will examine a medieval Sufi saint named Seyyid Hârûn (d. 1320)∞; this personage is believed to have arrived in today’s Seydi≥ehir, a town in Anatolia, at the beginning of the fourteenth century. One of his descendants wrote a hagiographical work about him, called Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn, and the familial relationship between subject and author is very important for our interpretation of this work. At that time the Ottoman authorities responded to Safavid propaganda by putting pressure on Sufis under their authority, especially those active in central and eastern Anatolia. Thus the author of the Makâlât, Abdülk- Fatih BAYRAM received his Ph. D. in history under the direction of Prof. Dr. Halil INALCIK at Bilkent University, Turkey. e-mail∞: [email protected] 1 For an overview of the literature on the history of Turkish cities, see Yunus UGUR, “∞≤ehir Tarihi ve Türkiye’de ≤ehir Tarihçiligi∞: Yakla≥ımlar, Konular ve Kaynaklar∞”, Türkiye Ara≥tırmaları Literatür Dergisi, vol. 3, no. 6 (2005), 9-26∞; for Anatolian towns in the Ottoman classical period, see Mehmet ÖZ, “∞Osmanlı Klasik Döneminde Anadolu Kentleri∞”, Türkiye Ara≥tırmaları Literatür Dergisi, vol. 3, no. 6 (2005), 57-88∞; and for an interview with Suraiya Faroqhi on the historiography of Turkish cities, see Co≥kun ÇAKIR et al., “∞Suraiya Faroqhi ile Türk ≤ehir Tarihi Üzerine∞”, Türkiye Ara≥tırmaları Lit- eratür Dergisi, vol. 3, no. 6 (2005), 437-455. Turcica, 40, 2008, p. 7-36. doi: 10.2143/TURC.40.0.2037133 © 2008 Turcica. Tous droits réservés. 2015-09_Turcica40_03_Bayram 02-07-2009 09:07 Pagina 8 8 FATIH BAYRAM erim bin ≤eyh Musa, tried to paint an image of Seyyid Hârûn that con- formed to the Ottoman campaign of “∞Sunnitisation∞”2. Viewed from this perspective Abdülkerim’s work thus was very much a product of mid-sixteenth century Ottoman politics. Genre constraints also were important∞: in some ways the Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn resem- bles other hagiographies, but it also exhibits certain pecularities∞: of par- ticular interest is the fact that the Makâlât has something to say about the psychology of Ottoman dervishes in the mid-1500s. Relationships between political authorities and dervishes, or the formation of a saint cult in Anatolia in the course of the centuries are some of the major top- ics covered in this piece. THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORK Abdülkerim bin ≤eyh Musa was one of the grandsons of Seyyid Hârûn’s brother, Seyyid Bedreddîn. In the official register of pious foun- dations (Defter-i evkâf-ı livâ-i Konya, compiled in 992/1583) he appears as “∞≤eyh Abdülkerim veled-i ≤eyh Musa∞”.3 He was one of the people connected to the vakıf (pious foundation) of Seyyid Hârûn, which included a zâviye (dervish lodge), câmi (mosque) and medrese (theolog- ical college). A sizeable number of fukara (pious men and dervishes) were recorded as inhabitants of the complex and obliged to keep it in good repair. Three manuscript copies of the Makalât exist∞: Murâdiye Kütüphanesi in Manisa, Mevlânâ Müzesi Kütüphânesi in Konya and Konya Bölge Yazma Eserler Kütüphanesi in the same city.4 Initially, Çagatay Uluçay published the Makâlât in the journal Belleten.5 However, this edition 2 For a detailed analysis of the Ottoman campaign of “∞Sunnitisation∞”, see Nathalie CLAYER, Mystiques, État et Société, Les Halvetis dans l’aire balkanique de la fin du XVe siècle à nos jours (Leiden∞: E. J. Brill, 1994), p. 90-112. 3 M. Akif ERDOGRU, “∞Seydi≥ehir Seydi Hârûn Külliyesi Vakıfları Üzerine Bir Ara≥tır- ma∞”, Tarih Incelemeleri Dergisi, vol. VII (1992), p. 129-130. 4 a-Manisa Muradiye Kütüphanesi, no. 1390∞; b- Konya Mevlânâ Müzesi Kütüpha- nesi, no. 1513∞; c- Konya Bölge Yazma Eserler Kütüphanesi Faik Soyman Vakfı Kita- pları, no. 281∞; for detailed information about manuscript copies of this work, see Abdül- kerim bin ≤EYH MUSA, Makâlât-ı Seyyid Hârûn, ed. Cemal Kurnaz, (Ankara∞: TTK, 1991), p. 1. 5 M. Çagatay ULUÇAY, “∞Makâlât-i Seyyid-Hârûn∞”, Belleten, vol. X, 40 (1946), p. 749-778. 2015-09_Turcica40_03_Bayram 02-07-2009 09:07 Pagina 9 AN ANALYSIS OF MAKÂLÂT-I SEYYID HÂRÛN 9 does not contain the chapter entitled “∞Sülûk-i Seyyid Hârûn alâ tarîk-i Muhammed Mustafâ salla’lahü ´aleyhi vesellem∞” (The joining of Seyyid Hârûn to the Path of the Prophet Muhammad, may the Grace of God be upon Him) in which the author also discusses the story of the creation of Adam and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. A critical edition of the Makâlât has been prepared by Cemal Kurnaz, which is now easily available to researchers.6 Yet even so, and in spite of the importance of this work for the history of Sufism in Anatolia in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions, the text has not been thoroughly studied. The literature on Seyyid Hârûn does not dwell much on the fact that Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn was written in the mid-sixteenth century, more than two hundred years after the death of the saint. Moreover no effort has been made to compare the themes discussed in the Makâlât with other hagiographies and contemporary sources both archival and narrative. The Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn was composed in 962/1554-1555 (“∞Hicret-i Peygamber salla’l-lahu aleyhi vesellem dokuz yüz altmı≥ ikisinde ahvâl budur∞”). It narrates the story of the establishment of the town of Seydi≥ehir, named after Seyyid Hârûn. The title of the work, i.e. makâlât, is interesting in the sense that the term connotes the oral teachings of a Sufi master. Nevertheless, the author presents his audience mostly with the acts and doings of his hero, Seyyid Hârûn. In her article about the diary of Niyazi-i Mısrî (1618-94), Derin Terzioglu makes an interesting observation about the (auto)-biographical tradition in Ottoman Sufism. She states that some Ottoman dervishes wrote about themselves in the compilations recording the oral teachings of their mas- ters (malfûzât, makâlât).7 She gives the example of the Celveti master Mahmud Hüda’î (d. 1623) who authorized his disciples “∞to make copies of both the diary he kept as a Sufi adept and the visionary account he wrote as a perfected master∞”.8 The case of the Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn is however somewhat different, as the Ottoman dervish Abdülkerim bin ≤eyh Musa wrote about a Sufi shaykh that he had never met and that had lived beyond the borders of what was then the Ottoman principality. For 6 Abdülkerim bin ≤EYH MUSA, Makâlât-i Seyyid Hârûn, op. cit. 7 Derin TERZIOGLU, “∞Man in the Image of God in the Image of the Times∞: Sufi self- narratives and the diary of Niyazi-i Misri (1618-94)∞”, Studia Islamica, no. 94 (2002), p. 144. 8 Ibid. 2015-09_Turcica40_03_Bayram 02-07-2009 09:07 Pagina 10 10 FATIH BAYRAM as the author pointed out, in the early fourteenth century Seydi≥ehir was a part of the E≥refoglu domain. The author claims that an earlier version of the makâlât of Seyyid Hârûn had been lost and that thereupon dervishes from Aydın and Saruhan, today’s Manisa region, came to ask him to rewrite it on the basis of what as a descendant of Seyyid Hârûn, he had heard from “∞the saints∞”.9 We do not know whether this was true and wether an earlier version of the Makâlât of Seyyid Harun had in fact been written. The author indicates that there were some Persian sources available and that he translated them into Turkish.10 But he does not specify what kind of sources these were or where they had been written. The audience in the author’s mind was perhaps the Turcomans of the province of Karaman and Western Anatolia. As Feridun Emecen points out, the Saruhanoglu region was under the influence of Turcoman babas (religious leaders) and dervishes.11 According to Köprülü, the use of Turkish developed in Western Anatolia during the fourteenth century, particularly within the borders of the Aydınoglu principality.12 The author, whose audience also included dervishes from this region accord- ingly, preferred to write in Turkish, using a simple language that could be understood by common people.13 Perhaps in order not to bore his audience, the author has kept his story short.14 Compared to many hagiographical works such as Menâkıbü’l-Ârifîn and Menâkıb-i Ibrahim Gül≥enî, the Makâlât is very brief, filling a mere seventy pages.15 The author’s claim to have made use of some Persian sources is rem- iniscent of the Bekta≥î tradition that there was an earlier Arabic version 9 “∞Husûsâ Karamanun Seydi≥ehri’de Hârûn el-Velîdür. Cümle evliyânun serdef- teridür… Ammâ ânun makâlâtı zâyi´ olmı≥dur. Çok cehdler olub bulınmamu≥. Imdi ehibbâ begâyet arzumanlı k idüb Aydın ilinden ve Saruhan ilinden nice â≥ıklar, sâdıklar gelüp biz fakîre tevazzu itdiler ki sen pîrsin, hem evliyânun neslisin. Sana lâzîmdur, bu Seyyid Hârûn’un makâlâtını azîzlerden i≥itüb bildügün üzere yazub beyân idesin.∞”, Makâlât, p. 22. 10 “∞Ba´zı Fârısî evrak bulunub Fârısîyi Türkîye tercüme idüb tahrîr olındı∞”, Makâlât, p. 22.

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