Two Unpublished Inscriptions of Sultan Izz al-din Kaykawus I Discovered in Sinop

Abstract

Sinop is an important Black Sea harbour city with a very deep-rooted historical past. It has historical and commercial ties especially with the port cities in the north of the Black Sea and other cities on the coasts. It is also one of Turkey’s gateways to the Black Sea. Due to its importance, it became one of the targets of the Seljuqs of Türkiye and was conquered in late 1214 under Sultan İzz al-din Kaykawus I. After the conquest, the Seljuqs carried out intensive repair and fortification activities in Sinop Castle, thus leaving permanent traces in the city. Thus, they turned Sinop into a Muslim-Turkish city. One of the most important traces of the Seljuqs of Türkiye in Sinop is the inscriptions they placed on the castle walls and bastions of the city. These inscriptions contain very valuable information about the Seljuqs of Türkiye. In 2021, during the restoration works carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the European Union in the Historical Prison located in Sinop Castle, two previously unpublished inscriptions were discovered, providing new data on both the history of the city of Sinop and the Seljuqs of Türkiye. These inscriptions reveal the Seljuq Amir Fahr al-din Ardamshah, whose name is not mentioned in the sources, and show that Mubariz al-din Behramshah, the Governor of Amasya, and his team carried out more repair and fortification works in Sinop than is known. With these two inscriptions, it is better understood how much area the Seljuqs of Türkiye carried out fortification and repair works in Sinop Castle. In our study, the Arabic texts and translations of the two new Seljuq inscriptions will be given, and the new information they provide will be evaluated in terms of Sinop and Seljuq History.