Saru Batu Savcı Bey

Saru Batu Savcı Bey (died 1287)^[2] was the older brother of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire.^[2] He is known to be the most 'mysterious' of Ertuğrul's children.^[3]

Saru Batu Savcı Bey
Tomb of Savcı Bey in Söğüt
Died	1287 Domaniç
Cause of death	Martyred
Resting place	Domaniç, Söğüt
Nationality	Oghuz Turks
Spouse	Avna Hatun^[1]
Children	Saruhan Bayhoca Suleyman Bey Halime Hatun
Parent(s)	Ertuğrul Gazi (father) Halime Hatun (mother) (disputed)
Relatives	Hayme Hatun (grandmother) Suleyman Shah or Gündüz Alp (grandfather) Gündüz Alp (brother) Osman I (brother)

Name

It is unknown whether Ertuğrul actually had three children or four and it has confused many historians. This is because of the two names, Saru Batu and Savcı. Some historians combine the two names together while others don't.^[3]

At Savcı Bey's mausoleum, there are two graves. One is marked as Saru Batu and another named Savcı, which creates this problem. However, in Ottoman tradition, there is no reference to this at all.^[3]

According to another source, Savcı was the nickname/title of Saru Batu. This was the title of someone who was a diplomat or administrator of a tribe. Savcı Bey had this post from the time of his father, Ertuğrul's leadership, and his brother, Osman's leadership.^[4]

Death

He died during the Battle of Domaniç which occurred in 1287 before the founding of the Ottoman Empire. It is also known in ancient Ottoman sources as the Battle of the Twins [tr] (Turkish: İkizce Savaşı, also known as the Battle of Domaniç). The Battle of Domaniç was a major turning point in the founding of the Ottoman Empire. This is why modern Turkish historians consider it the empire's first real war. This is the third Ottoman battle after the Battle of Mount Armenia [tr] (Turkish: Cebel-i Ermeniyye) in 1284 and the Siege of Kulaca Hisar at Tavas in 1285.

Place of burial

Sultan Kayqubad I gave Ertuğrul, the village of Söğüt as a winter residence for the Kayı tribe which was warm to them and their animals. He gave them the Domaniç region for when it was cool. Saru Batu Savcı Bey was buried in the village of İkizce in Domaniç, where his grandmother, Ertuğrul's mother, Hayme Ana, was also buried near him in Çarşamba. His tomb was known to people as "Jad Bakr" (Turkish: Bekir'in Dedesi).

Family

 

Family tree of Saru Batu Savcı Bey

• Savcı Bey, born to Ertuğrul,^[5] married Avna Hatun or Avna Sultan. Because of her having "Sultan" in her name, it is thought she was of some sort of royalty, however, there are no sources indicating this. She loved everyone and treated them equally while being extremely loving towards children, that is how she became Ana Sultan (transl. Mother Sultan). She was also called Kutlu Melek for her kind personality which means "Blessed Angel". Avna became a martyr before her husband who was also martyred earlier before the Siege of Kulaca Hisar. Savcı and Avna had two sons;
  • Saruhan Bayhoca (sometimes called Saruhan Baykoca, Koca Saruhan bey and Hoca Saruhan bey) who was martyred very young during the Battle of Mount Armenia in İnegöl in 1284 and,
  • Süleyman Bey who outlived his parents and brother.

Legacy

 

Remembrance celebrations

Annual tradition

In August, a celebration in memory of him is held in Karaköy in Istanbul, Turkey. In a video from 2019 the description is as follows: “Saru Batu Savci Bey, the son of Ertuğrul Gazi, was commemorated at the tomb of Karaköy in our district in the 732nd year of his martyrdom.” This means he died on 1287 AD, 732 years ago.^[3]

Poems

There are also poems in the works titled “Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osman [tr]” (transl. "The Chronicles of the House of Osman") by Ibn Kemal/Kemalpaşazâde (aka Şemseddin Ahmed). These accounts may be unreliable but they mention that he died in the Battle of Domaniç (Turkish: İkizce Savaşı).^[3]

In popular culture

In the Turkish television series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, he is played by the Turkish actor, Kerem Bekişoğlu,^[6] and in the sequel to the show, Kuruluş: Osman, he is played by Kanbolat Görkem Arslan.^[7]

In Kuruluş Osman, Yağızkan Dikmen appears as Bayhoca.^[8] Savcı Bey's wife also appears but is named as "Lena Hatun", portrayed by Seray Kaya.^[9]

References

1. "KUTLU MELEK- domanicgazetesi.com" (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
2. "Saru Batu Savci Bey". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
3. "Is Diriliş: Ertuğrul historically accurate? (Part 1 - The Kayi Tribe)". Ammar ibn Aziz Ahmed. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
4. "The Real History of Ertugrul". Islamic History Project. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
5. "Ertuğrul" (PDF). 16 December 2019. (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
6. "Le Vénézuélien Maduro séduit par Erdogan " leader du nouveau monde multipolaire "". Le Monde.fr (in French). 13 July 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
7. "Kuruluş Osman Savcı Bey kimdir? Savcı Bey'i canlandıran Kanbolat Görkem Arslan kimdir, kaç yaşında, nereli?". takvim.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
8. "Kuruluş Osman Bayhoca kimdir? Savcı Bey oğlu Bayhoca'yı kim oynuyor? Yağızkan Dikmen kimdir, kaç yaşında, nereli?". takvim.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 31 December 2020.
9. "Kuruluş Osman Lena kimdir? Seray Kaya kaç yaşında? İşte oynadığı diziler". Hürriyet. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

External links

•   Media related to Saru Batu Savcı Bey at Wikimedia Commons