The Seljuk prince Kılıç Arslan Versus Kadı Burhaneddin

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the Seljuk polity came to an end in A.D. 1308 with the death of Gıyaseddin Mesud II Nevertheless, strife continued intermittently among the princes of the House of Seljuk. One of these contests for supremacy was waged between the years 1363-81 by the Seljuk prince Kılıç Arslan against Kadı Burhaneddin. Kılıç Arslan was the son of Mesud Çelebi, whose lineage could be traced to Taceddin Altunbaş, one of the sons of Gıyaseddin Mesud II. Kılıç Arslan, who ruled as if he were a sovereign lord at Koyulhisar, gained the enmity of Taşanoğlu Umur Bey due to his presumption that he alone possessed rights over the judicial district of Havza. This presumption also earned him another enemy-Hajjı Şadgeldi Pasha. On this account, Kılıç Arslan took refuge for a time with his uncle, Keyhüsrev, and the lord of Erzincan, Hüseyin Bey. At some subsequent point in time, Kılıç Arslan came to occupy a place among the lords of prominence under the prince of Eratna, Alaeddin Ali Bey. This, however, brought Kılıç Arslan into conflict with the Eratna vizier Kadı Burhaneddin. The history titled "Bezm u Rezm"-the primary source for this period-exposes in full clarity the cold war in progress between Kılıç Arslan and Kadı Burhaneddin and their hidden rivalry. Sad to relate, the struggle waged by this brave Seljuk prince was lost to Kadı Burhaneddin's relentless and shrewd political maneuvers. Immediately upon ridding himself of competition from this quarter, Kadı Burhaneddin established a principality in his own name, which signifies how effective a role this last Seljuk prince had played during the waning years of the Eratna domain.