Gazi Evrenos

THE FORTRESSES OF ENIDZHE VARDAR IN THE TRAVELOGUE OF EVLIYA ÇELEBI –
"JUST A LEGEND" OR A HERITAGE FROM ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES

(Abstract) The centre of the ancient Macedonian state of Philip II and Alexander II, the medieval Bulgarian metropolitan Slanitsa and the Ottoman city of Enidzhe Vardar, founded by the conqueror of the Southern Balkans, Evrenos Bey, were located in the Lower Vardar region in different eras. Evliya Çelebi's travelogue provides valuable information about the past of these lands, though it mixes real facts with mythic tales. A number of European travellers, such as William Leake, Emil Isambert, M. F. Karlova, Edward Lear, Johan Georg von Han, Stefan Verkovic and others followed in his footsteps and more or less confirmed his observations.

Multifunctional T-shaped buildings, referred to as zaviye or imaret in contemporary Ottoman sources, played a key role in the Ottoman urbanism implemented in Anatolia and the Balkans during the formative and the early period of the empire’s existence. Historians have argued over the functions of the T-shaped zaviye /imarets and the important social services rendered by the architectural complexes built around them. From a functional viewpoint, the zaviye / imarets, whose floor plan recalls an inverted T, combined a ritual prayer space (that might have served as a dining room) and a dormitory used by distinguished guests and travellers in a single building. Scholars working on urban architectural topics have also often considered these buildings as part of a key mechanism that encouraged urban growth by colonising space. This article focuses on the ˙I maret of Evrenoso˘glu Ahmed Bey in Tatar Pazarcı k as a case study.

NATIONAL STRUGGLE OF THE BULGARIANS IN ENIDZHE VARDAR (YENICE-I VARDAR) AND GREEK OPRESSION

(Abstract) The Archives State Agency holds a number of documents related to the historical past of Bulgarians in Macedonia. Of particular interest are the memoirs of Georgi Kayafov of Yenice-i Vardar, as they shed light on the fate of the Macedonian Bulgarians during the harsh time under Ottoman and Greek rule. Georgi Kayafov writes about unknown or little known events from the struggles for independent Bulgarian church in the late 19th century, for the national liberation movement in the early 20th century, for the strenuous years after the accession of Aegean Macedonia to Greece and the fate of the Macedonian intelligentsia before and during the Second World War. The preserved photographs from his archive supplement the history of IMARO and the Bulgarian Club in Thessaloniki, and the songs included in his memoirs are valuable folklore material.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the origin and the identity of Evrenos Beg (?- 1417), who was one of the most important uc begs (frontier lords), by analyzing mainly Byzantine and Ottoman sources, and by re-examining secondary sources. Through this investigation, it is hoped that this paper will shed some light on the scholarly discussions about the origin of him.
Evrenos Beg played an important role in the Rumelian conquests during the second half of the XIVth century and thus the expansion process of Ottomans into the Balkans. His military achievements are especially mentioned in the early Ottoman sources. It is obvious that the study of Evrenos Beg will also contribute much on the Early Ottoman and Balkan Historiography since the identity of Evrenos Beg has been used as one of the evidences of the construction theories of Ottomans. However, the origin of Evrenos Beg has not been thoroughly investigated due to lack of sources dating early period of Ottoman State.
This paper re-examine some primary documents about the origin of Evrenos Beg. Among them a wakfiye dated 1457 (re-approved (tecdid) in 1902-1903) is especially important. In this document, the name of the father of Evrenos Beg was first recorded as Pranko Lazarat. Moreover, it is possible that the origin of this name is Pranko in spite of different spelling variations in those different documents. The author believes that Pranko was the real name of the father of Evrenos Beg rather than a pseudonym which has been a discussion topic for long years. At the same wakfiye, the name of Evrenos was written as Evraniz/Avraniz letting us to think about his origin. If the first vowel was thrown away, making easier its spelling in Turkish, it would spell as Vraniz, which is still being used among the Slavic nations as Vranis/Vranes. This document, of course, is not enough to make certain conclusions about Evrenos Beg’s Slavic origin. However, together with the re-examination of other secondary sources, this study will re-open a scholarly discussion about the identity of Evrenos Beg and thus will contribute much on the historiography of early Ottoman period.

So far different comments have been made on the name of Evrenos Beg’s father known as İsa Beg from the Evrenos’s epitaph in Giannitsa, and almost all of these interpretations are related with the word Prankı which is considered to be his nickname. However, his name appeared as “Pranko Lazarat” for the first time at his grandchild İsa’s charter of the Thessaloniki wakf dated 1457. Therefore this name makes us to think the possibility of a Slavic origin. No information about İsa Beg’s (Pranko Lazarat) activities or his life has reached until the present day. That his son Evrenos Beg built a tomb where he passed away and established a foundation on behalf of him is the only information about him. His tomb is in the southwest of the city of Radoviš and on the shore of the River of Kriva Lakavica in the Republic of Macedonia.
In the present article, after a brief introduction about the name of Pranko Lazarat who is known as İsa Beg, will be given information about the wakf which Evrenos Beg established on behalf of his father. The Rumeli Defteri which is dated 1530 contains information about the İsa Beg’s wakf which identified by Barkan for the first time at the Paşa İli Defter. Also the Evrenos Beg’s mülknâme which is dated 1603 mentions the same wakf. In addition to these documents two XVIIth century documents in which income and expenditure were recorded, in other words, which provide more detailed and new information about the foundation’s properties will be evaluated in this article for the first time. In addition, the unknown features of the tomb of Pranko İsa will be appeared for the first time with the documents prepared due to the renovation of the tomb.

ANKARAD-Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Yaz ve Kış olmak üzere yılda iki sayı olarak yayımlanan uluslararası hakemli bir dergidir. AJARS-International Journal o f Social Sciences is a double blind peer-reviewed international journal published twice a year Summer and Winter.

Öz
Bu makale, ünlü Osmanlı akıncı beyi Gâzî Evrenos Beg’in soyunu aydınlatacak nitelikte önemli bir vakıf belgesinin yayını nedeniyle, Ayşegül (Çalı) Kılıç ile Heath W. Lowry arasında yaşanan tartışma ve bu tartışma sırasında ortaya atılan iddiaları, tarihî kanıtlar ve bilimsel kıstaslar ışığında değerlendirmek amacıyla kaleme alınmış; belgedeki önemli bir ibârenin okunuşuna dair ortaya atılan yanlış bir iddia çağdaş materyallere dayanılarak düzeltilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Gazi Evrenos Beg, İsa Beg vakfiyesi, Pranko Lazarat, Şehidlik, intihal, Ayşegül Kılıç, Heath W. Lowry.

Abstract
This article aims to evaluate the debate between Ayşegül (Çalı) Kılıç and Heath W. Lowry due to the publication of an important foundation document that would illuminate the ancestry of famous Ottoman pioneer by Ghazi Evrenos Beg and the claims that were made during this debate, in the light of historical evidences and scientific criteria. A false claim that was put forward on way of reading of an important phrase in the document was tried to be corrected based on contemporary materials.

Keywords: Ghazi Evrenos Beg, İsa Beg endowment, Pranko Lazarat, Martrydom, plagiarism, Ayşegül Kılıç, Heath W. Lowry.

Dinlemediler Kadı Burhaneddin’i  *Hıristiyan Olan Osmanlı Şehzadesi  *Dersim Köyleri, Yakılan İlk Yerler Değil  *İki Yüzlü Kaypak Osmanlı Sülalesi  *Kör Taklidi Yapıp Kurbağa Eti Yemek  *Kim Yaktırdı Yıldırım’ın Kemiklerini  *Bedduası mı Şeyh Bedreddin’in?  *İki Ayrı Şehzade Mustafa’nın Daha Öldürülmesi  *Düzmece (Olmayan) Şehzade Mustafa  *Küçücük Çocukların Gözlerine Mil Çekiliyor

Ottoman military conquests in the Balkan were followed by three separate routes. These were: left of the route (Via Egnatia), mid-route (Via Militaris) and right route (Crimean-Black Sea trade route). The march-lords who moved their central bases to the close the border by the progress of the conquests, followed the ancient strategic roads which were constructed during the Roman period and later also used by the Byzantine Empire. As a leading figure and one of the most important raiders in the Balkan conquests Evrenos Beg, advanced from these routes on the Via Egnatia and made a major contribution to the development of the Balkan borders of the Ottoman Empire.
Evrenos Beg who made a breakthrough military success, was maintained the conquests of Thrace and Macedonia and later he provided the expansion of the Ottoman borders up to the Albania. In this paper we will focus on the strategy of Evrenos Beg during his conquests in the Balkans. We will emphasize the importance of his center of marchs and why he chose them. And will be discussed how the geography of the cities affected the conquests of the Balkans. Also with the examples from the sources will be discussed if the conquests occurred at random or by the orders which came from the centre.

Ottoman dervish lodges that witnessed the Ottoman conquest and first settlements in the Balkan Peninsula were important for both Ottoman and Islamic history. However in accordance with lack of resources giving enough information about early Ottoman period’s first conquests and settlements, the first architectural structures have been neglected as well. One of them, known as the oldest Halveti lodge of Albania, Seyh Hasim Zaviye, which originates from the first period of Ottoman rule, is located today in Ioannina, Greece. No detailed study on the tekke has been made so far, and no further information, except its foundation in 1390’s by Evrenos Beg, could be offered yet. Therefore, the first phase of our paper is to determine the first period of Ottoman rule in Ioannina and thus the foundation date of this dervish lodge. Then the name of zaviye which was reflected to the Ottoman sources will be identified and will be discussed whether this dervish lodge was established as an Halveti zaviye. Finally we will mention about the current state of this forgotten XIVth century’s structure from the first Ottoman rule in Ioannina.ABSTRACT Ottoman dervish lodges that witnessed the Ottoman conquest and first settlements in the Balkan Peninsula were important for both Ottoman and Islamic history. However in accordance with the lack of resources giving enough * Bu makale 22-26 Nisan 2015 tarihlerinde Romanya'nın Bükreş kentinde düzenlenen III. Uluslararası Balkan Tarihi Araştırmaları Sempozyumu: Balkan Tarihi ve Balkanlar'da Türk Dili Sempozyumu'nda sunulan bildiriden genişletilerek hazırlanmıştır.

Özet
Akıncılık teşkilatı, Türk tarihinde Orta Asya’dan beri süren bir geleneğin devamıdır. Uc hayatının kahramanları olan akıncıların başında ise “akıncı beyi/uc beyi” denilen ve devlet tarafından seçilen liderleri bulunurdu. Hafif süvari birlikleri olarak tarif edilirler ve gaza ruhuyla fetih yaptıklarından ‘gazi’ unvanıyla da anılırlardı. Selçuklular zamanında da bu akıncı beylerine ‘uc beyi’ denilmekteydi. Ancak Selçuklu dönemi uc beyleriyle Osmanlı akıncı beyleri arasındaki farklılıklara değindiğimiz makalemizde, Osmanlı Devleti’nde akıncılık teşkilatının gelişimi ve özellikleri anlatılacak, onları Anadolulu uc beylerinden ayıran özellikler vurgulanacaktır. Ayrıca Balkan topraklarının gerçek fatihleri olan ünlü akıncı ailelerinin Balkan tarihine katkıları Osmanlı kaynak ve arşiv belgelerindeki örneklerle incelenecektir.
Abstract
Akıncı (raider) corps is the continuation of Turkish tradition since the Midde Asia. The commenders of riaders who called ‘akıncı beyi/uc beyi’ were selected by central government and they were the hereos of border lives at the early Ottoman history. The akıncıs are described as light armored cavalries and because of they made conquest with gaza ideology, they also called as gazi. Even the Seljuks were called as ‘uc beyi’. In this study we firstly aimed to describe the differences between Seljuk uc beys and the Ottoman akıncıs and then we will explain all details about Ottoman military organization of akıncı. Additionally, the famous akıncı families’ -who were the real conquerors of the Balkan territories- contributions to the Balkan history, will be analyzed with the examples given by the Ottoman sources and manuscripts.

Ignoring the Rules of the Game: Reply to Heath W. Lowry 
This article contains some of my claims and the polemics between historian Heath W. Lowry and I, which started on by publication of some of my articles containing the new evidences regarding Gazi Evrenos Bey, that I mentioned about before in my PhD thesis, completed in 2011. I detected that Mr. Lowry has plagiarized and published some material based upon the findings, documents, and conclusions that I mentioned first in my publications. The academic discussion on that matter between me and Mr. Lowry has continued with the current article which he wrote as a response to my claims and published in the journal where he is a member of the editorial board. There I present a detailed response to elaborate my claims, to enlighten the scientific community about the matter, and to answer some claims made by Mr. Lowry.

Özet
Bu makale, 2011 yılında Gazi Evrenos Bey üzerine tamamladığım doktora tezimin ardından yayınlanan diğer makalelerimde tekrar ettiğim bazı yeni bulgular üzerine tarihçi Heath W. Lowry ile başlayan polemik ve iddialarımı içermektedir. Yayınlarımda ilk defa bahsettiğim, Gazi Evrenos Bey’in etnik menşei üzerine yeni bulgu ve belgelerin yanı sıra ulaştığım sonuçların da söz konusu tarihçi tarafından intihal yoluyla çeşitli vesilelerle yayınlandığını tespit ettim. Bunun üzerine aramızda başlayan akademik tartışma, son olarak kendisinin yayın kurulunda olduğu dergide yazdığı cevapla devam etti. Burada hem kendi iddialarım hem de söz konusu tarihçinin kimi iddialarına karşı bilim camiasını mesele hakkında aydınlatmak amacıyla detaylı bir cevap kaleme alınmıştır.

The most beautiful symbol of the Ottoman Empire's starting to settle in the Balkan lands in the
XIVth century is the works that have survived from the reconstruction activities. One of the most important of these is
Gazi Evrenos Bey Inn/Han, located near Kara Kaplıca (Loutra) in Ferrai in Greece, which is thought to be the oldest
han in the Balkans. Being a part of the Ottoman foundation tradition and registered to be built by Evrenos Bey in the
inscription, the han has particular importance as it belongs to the guzât foundations, also called
“exceptional/müstesna foundation”. Considering the difficulty in encountering artifacts that have witnessed the XIVth
century due to the disasters, wars and destructions etc. that took place over the centuries while looking for the traces
of the Ottomans in the Balkans, the importance of this han increases even more. In this study, the importance and
characteristics of the exceptional foundations in the Ottoman Empire, about which there are not many studies, will be
dwelled on and what it meant in the Ottoman Empire in the XIXth century will be explained through the fate of the
project which prepared for Evrenos’ Han. For this reason, firstly, the conquest of Ferecik (Ferrai) will be examined
with examples of the first settlements through the Ottoman archive records. Following this, the date of establishment
of the han will be discussed, and finally the documents of this exceptional project prepared for the han will be
evaluated.