Yakub II
Yakub II (died January 1429), also known as Yakub Chelebi, was Bey of Germiyan in western Anatolia from 1387 until his death. Yakub was the son of Suleiman Shah and a daughter of Umur. Yakub initially supported the Ottoman Sultan Murad I at the Battle of Kosovo, during which Murad was killed, but turned against Murad's successor Bayezid I. Yakub attempted to reclaim considerable territory formerly part of Germiyan, including the capital Kütahya, which Suleiman Shah had granted the Ottomans as part of the dowry for his daughter, Devlet Hatun, and Bayezid's marriage. Yakub was subsequently jailed by Bayezid in the castle of Ipsala in 1390, when Germiyan wholly came under Ottoman control. 9 years later, Yakub managed to escape from prison and sought the protection of Timur, who after crushing Bayezid with the help of Yakub at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, restored Germiyan's former boundaries. During the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413), Yakub allied himself with Mehmed Chelebi against his brothers, as a result of which Germiyan–Karaman relations worsened and Kütahya fell to Mehmed II of Karaman in 1411, interrupting Yakub's reign a second time. In 1414, Mehmed Chelebi reinstated Yakub as the ruler and defeated the Karamanids. Although Yakub initially supported Mustafa Chelebi against Mehmed's son and successor Murad II as the claimant to the Ottoman throne, Mustafa was ultimately defeated, which forced Yakub to have amicable relations with Murad II. Yakub did not have any male heirs and left the rule to Murad II in his will shortly before he died in 1429.
| Yakub II | |
|---|---|
| Bey of Germiyan | |
| First reign | 1387–1390 |
| Predecessor | Suleiman Shah |
| Successor | Occupation by Bayezid I of the Ottoman Sultanate |
| Second reign | 1402–1411 |
| Predecessor | Sari Timurtash Pasha (Ottoman beylerbey of Anatolia) |
| Successor | Occupation by Mehmed II of Karaman |
| Third reign | 1414–1429 |
| Predecessor | Occupation by Mehmed II of Karaman |
| Successor | Bequest to Murad II |
| Died | January 1429 Kütahya |
| Spouse | Pasha Kerime Hatun |
| Dynasty | Germiyan |
| Father | Suleiman Shah |
| Mother | A daughter of Umur of Aydın |
| Religion | Islam |
Background edit
Germiyān first appeared around Malatya in 1239 under Kaykhusraw II's rule of the Sultanate of Rum tasked to subdue Baba Ishak, and in 1277, they were involved in the fight against Jimrī and Meḥmed of Karaman in western Anatolia. Yakub I was the first Bey to rule the state of Germiyān. Although he initially accepted vassalage under Kayḳobād III, the Sultanate of Rum disintegrated shortly after. He was the suzerain of many of his neighbors, and his reign was described as being economically prosperous. He was succeeded by his son Meḥmed, nicknamed Chakhshādan, details about whose rule are largely unknown. His son, Suleiman Shah eventually inherited the throne. Germiyān lost considerable land under Suleiman, as he left numerous towns and smaller settlements for the Ottomans, including the capital Kütahya, as part of the dowry payment for the marriage of his daughter Devletşah Hatun and Murad I's son and successor, Bayezid. Suleiman relocated to Kula and died there in 1387.[1]
Early life and first reign edit
Yakub's parents were Suleiman Shah and a daughter of Umur.[2] He was the wali (governor) of Uşak and Şuhut during his father's reign.[3] He inherited the throne when his father died in 1387 and maintained peace in the realm until 1390. He supported the Ottoman Sultanate at the Battle of Kosovo along with the beyliks of Kastamonu, Saruhan, Aydın, Menteshe, and Hamid. However, when Murad I died in battle and was succeeded by his son Bayezid I, Yakub, as well as Kadi Burhan al-Din, and the heads of Saruhan, Hamid, and Menteshe, sided with the Karamanids in reclaiming lands lost to the Ottomans. While Karaman seized Beyşehir, Yakub started capturing some of the former possessions of Germiyan that his father had given to the Ottomans as part of the dowry for his daughter Devlet Hatun's marriage to Bayezid. Before returning to Anatolia, Bayezid first ensured stability in the Balkans by making peace with Serbia and concluding internal conflicts within the Byzantine Empire in his favor. Intimidated by Bayezid's seizure of Saruhan, Aydın, and Menteshe, Yakub attempted to be on good terms with him through various gifts but was nevertheless imprisoned and kept in the castle of Ipsala. In 1390, the entire realm of Germiyan came under Ottoman control.[4] Sari Timurtash Pasha was appointed as the beylerbey (governor) of Anatolia Eyalet.[5]
Restoration of rule edit
Yakub sought the protection of Timur in 1399, having escaped from prison and traveled to Syria in disguise through the Mediterranean Sea presumably the same year.[1] He allied with him against the Ottomans with the guarantee that his rule would be restored. Yakub fought on the side of Timur at the Battle of Ankara in 1402. The former troops of Germiyan, Aydın, and Menteshe were initially under the command of Bayezid and switched sides when it became clear that their leaders had sided with Timur, despite which Bayezid continued to fight. Yakub recognized Bayezid during the skirmish and had him captured. The Ottomans were ultimately defeated, and Timur granted Yakub the former lands under Germiyan. Timur stayed in Kütahya for some time but spared its inhabitants, subjecting them to a one-time tax and confiscating the treasury of Sari Timurtash Pasha.[6]
Second and third reigns edit
During the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413), Yakub allied himself with Mehmed Chelebi against his brothers. As a result, Germiyan–Karaman relations gradually transitioned into hostility, as the latter's rivalry against the Ottomans ensued. This escalated to a war between the two in September 1410, and Kütahya fell to Mehmed II of Karaman the next year, which practically ended Yakub's second reign.[7] Mehmed II further laid a 31-day siege in Bursa in 1413 and set the city on fire, which prompted Mehmed Chelebi to quickly return to Anatolia after having defeated his brother Musa Chelebi in Rumelia. Mehmed Chelebi reinstated Yakub's rule in Germiyan in 1414, and when Musa's dead body arrived in Bursa in 1416, Mehmed II retreated in a hurry and left the territories he had taken from Germiyan. Yakub accommodated and supplied the Ottoman army during the campaigns against Karaman. His rule until 1421 was largely free of threats.[8]
When Mehmed I's son Murad II rose to the Ottoman throne, Yakub's relations with the Ottomans took a new turn. Murad's younger brother and governor of Hamid, Mustafa Chelebi was sponsored by Yakub, Karaman, and the Turghudlu tribe of Turkmens as a claimant to the Ottoman throne. Although he was favored by the locals, Mustafa was not allowed to enter Bursa. Instead, he besieged and gained control of Iznik, and declared himself as the ruler, taking advantage of Murad's investment in the Siege of Constantinople (1422). However, Mustafa was not allowed to depart from the city by the local Ottoman guardians on the orders of the sultan.[9] Murad swiftly received control of the city and executed Mustafa. Yakub then reverted to friendly interactions with Murad, realizing that he had no other choice to survive. Even though Aydın and Menteshe were already under direct Ottoman control, Murad did not attempt to enact his sovereignty in Germiyan, as it was already subordinate to the Ottomans and unofficially part of the state. Likewise, Yakub bequeathed his domains to Murad as he had no sons and did not want to hand over the rule to his sister's children. In 1428, at an old age, he traveled to Bursa and paid respects to the graves of Osman I and Orhan. He was later welcomed by Murad in a lavish ceremony in Edirne and formally declared his will there. Sometime after returning to Germiyan, he fell sick and passed away in January 1429.[10] Murad annexed Germiyan as requested by Yakub, which brought the history of Germiyan to an end.[11]
The Germiyanid palace became a center of science and literature during Yakub II's reign. Sheikhi Sinan, a contemporary poet of the era, was known as a musahib (compatriot) of Yakub. The Persian work Tabirname was translated into Turkish by Ahmed-i Dai on the orders of Yakub II.[12]
Yakub's architectural legacy incldued the Yakub Chelebi Külliye (building complex) in Kütahya. It was built in 1411–12 and is composed of an imaret, masjid, türbe (tomb), madrasa (school), and library. After five months of operation, the Karamanid occupation forced the imaret to close for two and a half years. In 1414, when the region was regained by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I on behalf of Yakub, the building returned to use, and inscriptions (vakfiye), 2 x 3.70 meters in size, were added to the building, detailing its history. The inscriptions indicate that the imaret was owned by Mehmed I. It was later destroyed and the building was restored in accordance with its original form by its waqf (endowment) trustee Ishak Fakih bin Halil in 1440–41. In 1803, the Ottoman governor of Anatolia, Gurju Osman Pasha, commissioned its reparation and merged the imaret and the masjid. The tomb includes the sarcophagi of Yakub II and his wife Pasha Kerime Hatun, which are ornamented with encaustic tiles. The building was restored again in 1999 and reopened as the Encaustic Tile Museum.[13]
References edit
- ^ a b Mélikoff 1965.
- ^ Varlık 1974, p. 67.
- ^ Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 47.
- ^ Varlık 1974, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Varlık 1974, p. 72.
- ^ Varlık 1974, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Varlık 1974, p. 75.
- ^ Varlık 1974, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Varlık 1974, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 51.
- ^ Varlık 1974, pp. 78–79.
- ^ Varlık 1996, p. 35.
- ^ Bilecik 2013, pp. 279–280.
Bibliography edit
- Bilecik, Gülberk (2013). "Yâkub Çelebi Külliyesi". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 43 (Vekâlet – Yûsî) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 279–280. ISBN 978-975-389-754-9.
- Mélikoff, I. (1965). "Germiyān-Og̲h̲ullari̊̊". In Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume II: C–G. Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 495469475.
- Uzunçarşılı, İsmail Hakkı (1969). Anadolu Beylikleri Ve Akkoyunlu, Karakoyunlu Devletleri [Anatolian Beyliks and Aq Qoyunlu, Qara Qoyunlu States] (in Turkish). Turkish Historical Society Press. ISBN 9751624576. OCLC 563553149. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- Varlık, Mustafa Çetin (1974). Germiyan-oğulları tarihi (1300-1429) (in Turkish). Ankara: Atatürk University Press. OCLC 6807984. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- Varlık, Mustafa Çetin (1996). "Germiyanoğulları". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 14 (Geli̇bolu – Haddesenâ) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 33–35. ISBN 978-975-389-441-8.