T.C. BAHÇEŞEHİR ÜNİVERSİTESİ A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPTS OF HOLY WAR AND THE IDEALIZED TOPOS OF HOLY WARRIOR IN MEDIEVAL ANATOLIAN AND EUROPEAN SOURCES Master’s Thesis CEREN ÇIKIN SUNGUR İSTANBUL, 2014 T.C. BAHÇEŞEHİR UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Heath W. LOWRY & Ass. Prof. Dr. Derya GÜRSES TARBUCK To my beloved Can, for all his kindness and support… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must thank my research supervisors, Professor Heath W. Lowry and Assistant Professor Derya Gürses Tarbuck for giving me the chance to work together and the opportunity to study at Bahçeşehir University. Without their support and assistance this thesis could not even exist as an idea. I would also like to thank Associate Professor Dr. Fikret Yılmaz for making me question certain matters on the military warfare of the early Ottomans I had not noticed before. I also have to thank Professor Paul Latimer from Bilkent University for his assistance and for lighting my path to an understanding of European history with his advice. ABSTRACT A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPTS OF HOLY WAR AND THE IDEALIZED TOPOS OF THE HOLY WARRIOR IN MEDIEVAL ANATOLIAN AND EUROPEAN SOURCES Ceren Çıkın Sungur History Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Heath W. Lowry & Ass. Prof. Derya Gürses Tarbuck June, 2014, 199 pages Claims of holy war characterized the Middle Ages in both Muslim Anatolia and Christian Europe, where soldiers on both sides were portrayed as holy warriors. Named gazis, akıncıs, alps, chevaliers and knights, they came from the elite military classes. Literary depictions of these men as holy warriors were fundamentally idealized topoi created by writers who were patronized by or were close to those in power. These topoi were largely determined by political, social and economic circumstances, as well as the ambitions of the sovereigns, but they also reflected the ideals, beliefs and customs of the past. The idea of holy war was generated by the collaboration of power holders, religious scholars and writers who had received a predominantly religious education. Similar circumstances which arose separately in Anatolia and the West caused transformative movements in the idea of holy war in both regions. Thus, as writers produced works which involved the idealized topos of the holy warrior, Islamic and Christian versions of holy war peculiar to the Middle Ages were formed. Written in simple language which ordinary people could understand, these topoi represented role models for the people, catering to the needs of the ruling classes and forming society‘s self-image during this formative period. Key words: Holy War, Holy Warriors, Idealized Topos, Ghaza Thesis, The First Crusade. vi ÖZET ORTAÇAĞ ANADOLU VE AVRUPA KAYNAKLARINDA İDEALİZE EDİLMİŞ KUTSAL SAVAŞÇI TOPOSU VE KUTSAL SAVAŞ ANLAYIŞLARININ KARŞILAŞTIRMALI İNCELENMESİ Ceren Çıkın Sungur Tarih Danışmanlar: Prof. Dr. Heath W. Lowry & Yard. Doç. Dr. Derya Gürses Tarbuck Haziran, 2014, 199 sayfa Ortaçağ‘ın başlarından sonuna uzanan süreçte, Müslüman Anadolu ve Hıristiyan Avrupa‘da kutsal savaşlar verildiği iddiaları mevcuttu ve her iki coğrafyada yazılan kaynaklarda kutsal savaşçılar resmediliyordu. Bunlar, gazi, akıncı, alp ya da şövalye olarak isimlendiriliyorlardı ve orduların öncelikli sınıflarına mensuptular. Kaynaklardaki bu savaşçılara dair betimlemeler, esasen idealize edilmiş toposlardı ve iktidar sahiplerinin himayesinde ya da onlarla yakın ilişkiler içinde olan yazarlar tarafından yaratılmışlardı. İdealize edilmiş toposlar, yazarları tarafından, dönemlerinin siyasi, sosyo-ekonomik şartlarının belirlediği ihtiyaç ve gereklilere göre yeniden üretilmişlerdi ve geçmiş dönemlere ait inanç ve geleneklerden izler taşıyorlardı. İktidar sahipleri ile din âlimleri, teologlar ve ağırlıklı olarak din eğitimi almış yazarların işbirliği sonucunda bu yeniden üretim gerçekleşmişti. Aynı şartlar, Anadolu ve Avrupa‘da kutsal savaş düşüncelerinin dönüşmesini de sağlamıştı. Böylece Ortaçağ‘a özgü İslami ve İsevi kutsal savaş anlayışları ortaya çıktı ve yazarlar idealize edilmiş toposlar içeren eserler ürettiler. Bu eserler, sıradan insanların kolayca anlaması için basit bir dille yazılmışlar, toposlar ise rol model olarak işlev görmüşlerdir. Anahtar kelimeler: Kutsal Savaş, Kutsal Savaşçı, Idealize Edilmiş Topos, Gaza Tezi, Birinci Haçlı Seferi. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………… iv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………. v ÖZET……………………………………………………………………………………… vi 1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….. 1 2. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER ...…………………………………………………… 4 3. HOLY WAR: CONCEPTIONS IN MEDIEVAL ANATOLIA AND WESTERN EUROPE ……………………………………………………………………………… 15 3.1. THE ORIGINS OF THE IDEA OF HOLY WAR ...……………………………... 16 3.1.1. Religious Mythologies and Military Ethics…………………………………….... 17 3.1.2. Sacred Warfare as a Duty………………………………………………………… 19 3.2. HOLY WAR IN THE MUSLIM EAST……………………………………………. 21 3.2.1. Ghaza and Jihad: Islamic Concepts of Holy War………………………………. 21 3.2.2. From Nomadic Razzia to Islamic Ghaza/Jihad…………………………………. 26 3.2.3. The First Ghazis in History………………………………………………………. 29 3.2.4. Jihad as Warfare and Propaganda against the Crusaders……………………... 33 3.2.5. Ghaza, Jihad and Early Ottomans……………………………………………….. 35 3.2.6. Relations to the Neighboring Christians…………………………………………. 40 3.2.7. Ghaza: Motivation against the Mongols and the Crusaders……………………. 48 3.2.8. Critical Approaches to the Ghaza Thesis……………………………………….... 52 3.2.9. The Ghaza Literature………………………………………................................... 55 viii 3.2.10. Ghaza: Adopted as an Officially-Invented Trend?.............................................. 58 3.3. HOLY WAR IN CHRISTIAN WEST……………………………………………... 60 3.3.1. Just War to Holy War in Medieval Europe……………………………………... 60 3.3.2. St. Augustine and the Theory of Just War………………………………………. 61 3.3.3. The Threats Of Persian And Avars……………………………………………… 64 3.3.4. The Reformist Movement In The Church……………………………………….. 68 3.3.5. The Impact Of Gregory VII……………………………………………………..... 69 3.3.6. Pope Urban II’s Speech in Clermont…………………………………………….. 73 3.3.7. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading…………………………………... 79 3.3.8. The Reasons Behind the First Crusade………………………………………...... 84 3.3.9. “It was Becoming Holy War”…………………………………………………….. 87 3.3.10. Liberation with an Armed Pilgrimage…………………………………………. 88 3.3.11. The First Crusade………………………………………………………………... 89 3.4. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE CONCEPT OF HOLY WAR……. 91 3.4.1. Regeneration of the Ideas against the Threats…………………………………... 91 3.4.2. Turning to Scholars for Justification…………………………………………..… 93 3.4.3. Building a Self-Image……………………………………………………………... 94 4. THE TOPOS OF THE IDEALIZED HOLY WARRIOR IN MEDIEVAL SOURCES………………………………………………………………………… 95 4.1. THE AUTHORS AND THEIR SOURCES……………………………………….. 95 4.2. HOLY WARRIORS………………………………………………………………… 102 4.3. DEPICTIONS OF THE IDEALIZED TOPOS OF HOLY WARRIORS……….. 106 4.3.1. Ashiq Pasha’s Ideal Warrior: Alp………………………………………………... 107 4.3.1.1. Alp and the ideal of world domination of the Turks………………………….. 116 ix 4.3.2. Gamez’s Ideal Knight……………………………………………………………... 121 4.4. THE PRIMARY ESSENTIALS OF AN IDEAL WARRIOR…………………. 126 4.4.1. Courage…………………………………………………………………………… 127 4.4.2. Physical Strength…………………………………………………………………. 130 4.4.3. Having a Horse…………………………………………………………………… 131 4.4.4. Arms and Armour……………………………………………………………….. 134 4.4.5. Having a Good Comrade………………………………………………………… 136 4.5. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL WARRIOR……………………… 139 4.5.1. A Paragon Model…………………………………………………………………. 139 4.5.2. Resemblance to the Heroes of the Past………………………………………….. 142 4.5.3. Nobility, Lineage………………………………………………………………….. 145 4.5.4. Violence at War…………………………………………………………………... 147 4.5.5. Loyalty and Obedience to the Authority………………………………………... 152 4.5.6. Religiousness, Divine Providence and the Grace of God………………………. 156 4.6. THE GLORIFIED VIRTUES……………………………………………………… 161 4.6.1. Doing Justice………………………………………………………………………. 161 4.6.2. Being Generous……………………………………………………………………. 166 4.7. THE PROMISES THE EARTHLY GAINS AND HEAVENLY AWARDS…… 170 4.7.1. Heavenly Awards………………………………………………………………….. 171 4.7.2. Earthly Gains……………………………………………………………………… 173 4.7.2.1. Slaves and “beauties” as plunder………………………………………………. 175 4.7.2.2. Lands as earthly gain……………………………………………………………. 179 4.7.2.3. Opportunities for religious men and scholars…………………………………. 180 x 4.7.2.4. Reputation and honor: celebrity and eternalizing…………………………….. 182 4.8. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH TO THE IDEALIZED TOPOS…………….. 185 5. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………... 188 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………… 193 xi 1. INTRODUCTION Claims of holy war characterize the period between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries A.D., both in Christian Europe and Muslim Anatolia. According to the claims of contemporary sources such as chronicles, chivalric narrations and gazâvatnâmes, the wars were ―holy‖ because they were waged at God‘s command, with his aid, for expanding the areas ruled by the true religion of God. These literary narratives which were simultaneously created in two separate cultural regions transformed the soldiers taking part into holy warriors. This thesis focuses on the relations between the idea of holy war and the portrayals of holy warriors in medieval narratives composed by those in the service of power-holders.1 The main argument is that the topos2 of the idealized holy warrior was deliberately created by the patronized literary elite for certain purposes. Furthermore,