Ala al-Dawla Bozkurt

Bozkurt Beg
Sultan Malik al-Adil Nur al-Dawla Ghawth al-Millah Emir al-Muminin
Bozkurt Beg in a miniature by Mo'en Mosavver in Tarikh-e Alamara-ye Shah Ismail (1676)
Beg of Dulkadir
Reign	Late 1480 – 13 June 1515
Predecessor	Shah Budak
Successor	Ali
Ottoman Sanjak-bey of Chirmen
Reign	1479
Ottoman Sanjak-bey of Kırşehir
Reign	1480
Born	1428 (1428)
Died	13 June 1515(1515-06-13) (aged 86–87) Ördekli [tr], Beylik of Dulkadir
Burial	Gökçeli, Andırın
Consort	Shamsa Khatun (d. 1509)
Issue Among others	Shahruh Saru Kaplan Ayshe Hatun Beglu Hatun
Royal house	Dulkadir
Father	Suleiman
Religion	Sunni Islam

Ala al-Dawla Bozkurt Beg (Turkish: Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey; 1428 – 13 June 1515)^[a] was the ruler of Dulkadir from late 1480 until his death. Championed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–46, 1451–81), Bozkurt ousted his brother Shah Budak (r. 1465–66, 1472–80) and claimed the throne. Early into his reign, Bozkurt assisted Mehmed's successor Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) in pursuing his claimant brother Cem Sultan, who was harbored by the Mamluk Sultanate. In response, Bozkurt besieged Malatya, which prompted the Mamluks to initiate an offensive against him and the Ottomans. During the conflict, Bozkurt steered away from sending his support to the Ottomans, which contributed to their defeat by the Mamluks.

After escaping the Mamluk prison, Bozkurt's brother Shah Budak found safety under the Ottoman sultan. To punish Bozkurt for his disloyalty, the Ottomans backed Shah Budak to dethrone Bozkurt. However, Bozkurt was able to mislead much of the Ottoman supporting forces, and a portion of the commanders who favored him deserted Shah Budak, who was quelled and fled to Egypt. After Shah Budak's defeat, Bozkurt followed a neutral policy within the Ottoman–Mamluk relations but secretly acted against the Ottomans when he saw fit.

Bozkurt antagonized the Safavid ruler Ismail I (r. 1501–24), who conquered vast portions of modern-day Iran. Bozkurt declined Ismail's wish to marry his daughter and instead laid his support to the Aq Qoyunlu and made an effort to expand to the east, temporarily seizing various towns such as Urfa and Diyarbekir. The Dulkadirid rule in the region did not last long as Bozkurt faced multiple major defeats at the hands of Mohammad Khan Ustajlu. Despite earlier animosity, Bozkurt eventually maintained peaceful relations with Ismail. This facilitated the new Ottoman sultan Selim I (r. 1512–20) to make plans to replace him with his nephew Ali as Bozkurt laid support to Ismail, Selim's enemy. After overpowering Ismail at the Battle of Chaldiran, Selim changed his focus to the Dulkadirid realm. Bozkurt was killed at the Battle of Turnadağ. He was succeeded by Ali.

The Beylik of Dulkadir was founded by Zayn al-Din Qaraja (r. 1337–53), a local Turkmen lord, as a client state of the Mamluk Sultanate, in southern Anatolia and northern Syria. Qaraja eventually rebelled against the Mamluks and was executed in 1353. The conflict between the Dulkadirids and the Mamluks persisted with the consecutive rule of his sons Ghars al-Din Khalil (r. 1353–86) and Shaban Suli (r. 1386–98), who were both assassinated on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq (r. 1382–89, 1390–99). With the reigns of Bozkurt's grandfather, Mehmed (r. 1399–1442), and father, Suleiman (r. 1442–54), the Dulkadirids attempted to forge amicable relations both with the Ottoman state and the Mamluk Sultanate.^[2]

Malik Arslan's (r. 1454–65) death marked the start of an era of struggle between his brothers. Shah Budak (r. 1465–66, 1472–80) initially claimed the throne having gathered Mamluk support. Shortly after, he was forced out of the throne by Shah Suwar (r. 1466–73) backed by the Ottomans. Shah Suwar was involved in a persistent dispute with the Mamluks throughout his reign. Emboldened by his victories, he considerably expanded his territory. The Ottomans eventually withdrew their support as they disapproved of his disloyalty and continuous conflict with their southern neighbors. The Mamluks recovered their previous losses. They captured Shah Suwar and executed him, reinstating Shah Budak as the head of the state.^[2]

Bozkurt was born in 1428.^[3] In 1467, Bozkurt arranged his daughter Ayshe Hatun's marriage to Bayezid, the son and future successor of Mehmed II (r. 1444–46, 1451–81) of the Ottoman Empire.^[4] Following the marriage, Bozkurt lived with his son-in-law but returned to his homeland a short while after.^[5] Five years later, Bozkurt returned to the Ottoman realm following the crushing defeat of Shah Suwar by the Mamluks.^[4]

In 1479, after raiding in the region of Sivas, Bozkurt's wife and son were captured by the sanjak-bey Mihaloghlu Ali Bey. With a supporting force of a thousand troops from Shah Budak, Bozkurt attacked Ali Bey near Çiğnem Stream, forcing him to flee to a nearby fortress. Afraid of the repercussions of his animosity with an Ottoman official, Bozkurt traveled to Constantinople to appeal to Mehmed II. The latter, wishing to restore the Ottoman influence over the Dulkadirids, made Bozkurt the sanjak-bey of Chirmen. Mehmed II strove to enthrone Bozkurt after he received an unfriendly response from Qaitbay when he brought up his earlier promise of leaving his realm to the Ottomans in exchange for their help against Shah Suwar. On the other hand, the Mamluks were in a vulnerable position following their defeat by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Yaqub (r. 1478–90) in Ruha in November 1480.^[5] Mehmed II thus gave Bozkurt the sanjak of Kırşehir.^[5] Bozkurt marched on Shah Budak with auxiliary Ottoman forces. He initially faced a defeat as some of the Turkmens under him switched sides. The Ottoman forces led by Bayezid's kapıcıbaşı fled to Sis, where they were massacred by the city's Mamluk governor, Sakalsizoghlu Yusuf, who sent their heads to Cairo, where Qaitbay organized a game of jereed to be played with them.^[6] Mehmed II allowed Bozkurt a larger army under his command, which finally defeated Shah Budak near the Çiğnem Stream, though the historians of that time did not disclose the date of the encounter between the brothers.^[4] In March 1480, Shah Budak requested to enter the Mamluk territory near Aleppo from its governor.^[7] Ibn Tulun recorded Shah Budak's arrival in Damascus on 14 February 1481, who lost the throne sometime before this date and lastly reached Egypt.^[6] When Uzbek, the governor of Damascus, was in the region tasked with countering the fall of Ruha, he did not lend a hand to restore Shah Budak's rule and instead imprisoned him at the Citadel of Damascus. Contemporary chronicler Sayrafi described Qaitbay's contentment from Shah Budak's imprisonment due to his failure to show up to defend the Mamluks.^[8]

Bozkurt sent one of his sons to the Mamluk capital of Cairo and granted the Mamluks various towns in northern Syria. In February 1481, Bozkurt asked Uzbek to transmit his wish to receive manshur (diploma) and an honorary robe from Qaitbay. In April, Bozkurt reached Aleppo but did not enter the city afraid of getting killed. There, Janibak Habib al-Inali, sent there by Uzbek, gave Bozkurt a robe signifying Qaitbay's approval of the Mamluk patronage over the Dulkadirids.^[8]

The next month, Mehmed II passed away unexpectedly, possibly amidst the preparations for a campaign against the Mamluk Sultanate. Bozkurt attempted to simultaneously maintain amicable relations with the new Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512).^[9] While trying to extinguish the revolt led by his claimant brother Cem Sultan in Konya, Bayezid II requested Bozkurt to find Cem in early March 1482,^[10] who potentially passed through Bozkurt's realm. Bozkurt was unsuccessful in catching Cem, who managed to escape to Egypt. Cem later returned to Anatolia and allied himself with Kasım of Karaman to overthrow Bayezid II. Bozkurt started pursuing him once again in June 1482, accompanied by Iskender Pasha. Bozkurt met with Bayezid II in Laranda informing him of the failure to restrain Cem, who found refuge with the Knights of Rhodes. Bozkurt thus returned to his country in July.^[11] Following Cem's escape, a population of Muslims and Christians from Karaman, governed by Bayezid's son Abdullah, migrated to the Dulkadirid domains causing a dispute over taxation with the Ottomans. It is known that Bayezid II intervened in the issue, although the exact outcome is unknown but presumably preserved peace between the two sides.^[9]

In response to the attack against the Ottomans by Cem Sultan, who was being harbored by the Mamluks, Bozkurt laid siege to Malatya in July 1483.^[9] Bozkurt was either encouraged by Bayezid or intended him to directly deal a blow to the state's southern neighbor. Bozkurt's siege gave off the message to the Mamluks that their long-time frontier or barrier in the north was dissipating. The Mamluk army with 500 royal expeditionary forces thus set out for the region in August.^[12] Hadım Ali Pasha, the beylerbey of Karaman, reported of the Mamluk forces stationed around Aleppo as well as the offensive led by the Ramadanid Eflatun Beg from the Cilician Plain and the nearby rebellion of Turgudoghlu Mahmud Pasha. The Mamluks penetrated the Dulkadirid lands decimating parts of the country and its fields. Bozkurt evacuated Elbistan, the capital, secluding his family and army in the mountains and calling for support from Bayezid's son Ahmed. Bayezid backed Bozkurt with an army led by Yakub Pasha and Turkmen tribes loyal to the Ottomans. Contemporary Mamluk historian Ibn Iyas described this decision as "the first move by the Ottomans against the [Mamluk] sultan's country," while another contemporary writer, the Ottoman historian Kemalpaşazade characterized this as "the onset of hostility and the beginning of enmity".^[13] Near Elbistan in February^[14] or March, the first clashes between the rival forces resulted in major Mamluk casualties and defeat.^[13]

Qaitbay mobilized the military in Egypt, which marched north in May^[9] or June 1484. Among its ranks were 500 royal mamluks, the future Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri as the newly appointed amīr ʿashara (lit. 'emir of ten'), and amīr silah Temeruz al-Shamsi as its leader. The force was joined by local Bedouins near Ramla.^[15] Bozkurt demanded help from Bayezid II, who tasked Yakub Pasha to deal with the Mamluks, who had pillaged Marash and were approaching Elbistan.^[9] Some date between 24 August and 21 September 1484, a bloody battle took place near the fortress of Hirman, to the north of Elbistan, resulting in an Ottoman–Dulkadirid victory.^[16] Waradbash, the governor of Aleppo, was beheaded by Bozkurt, Almas, the governor of Safed, died in battle, and Aynal and Korkmaz, the governors of Tripoli and Tarsus, respectively, were both captured.^[14]

Bozkurt persuaded Yakub Pasha to attempt to seize Malatya. There on 23 September, the Ottoman forces were flanked by Timraz, with many casualties, although Yakub Pasha and Bozkurt were able to flee.^[14] The Mamluks celebrated the victory in Aleppo by presenting the Ottoman prisoners in Aleppo, while Bozkurt attempted to provoke fear in the Mamluk realm by releasing the Mamluk prisoners, among whom were governors of Tripoli and Tarsus,^[17] after having their fingers cut.^[14] A historian from that era, Idris Bitlisi narrates that the defeat was caused by the flight of the Dulkadirid forces due to the unexpected arrival of the royal Mamluk forces amidst the Ottoman–Dulkadirid troops' pursuit of the initially-defeated Mamluk army. Aşıkpaşazade and Sa'd al-Din directly accused Bozkurt of "arrogance" and exaggerated confidence in his forces.^[18]

The Mamluks were not entirely successful in their latest victory as they had failed to eliminate Bozkurt. Aiming to politically isolate Bozkurt, Qaitbay sent Bayezid an embassy with a manshur from Caliph Al-Mutawakkil II proposing to recognize Bayezid as a legitimate sultan in the lands he ruled over and those he could conquer from the non-Muslims in the future. Al-Mutawakkil called for the two Islamic rulers to cease the ongoing conflicts. Before Qaitbay could receive a response from the Ottoman sultan, he sent the Mamluk army on Bozkurt from Cairo in 1485. Shah Budak was promptly released from the prison in Damascus but was put back to jail as he was not trusted. Qaitbay's embassy arrived in the capital with the news that they weren't welcomed in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. By that time, the Ottoman forces commanded by Mahmud Pasha, the beylerbey of Karaman, and Karagoz Pasha occupied Gülek Castle upon the complaints of the Turkmen magnates about the Mamluk rule. The Mamluk army led by commander Uzbek and various other Syrian Mamluk emirs thus changed its destination to Adana and Tarsus. The Ottoman and the Mamluk forces were stationed on the opposite banks of the Seyhan River on 12 March 1485. Karagoz Pasha accepted Bozkurt's request for him to postpone the combat by two days for the Dulkadirid aid to arrive. However, Bozkurt did not send aid to the Ottomans as he claimed he would, which contributed to the defeat of the Ottomans, leading to the restoration of the Mamluk rule in the Cilician Plain.^[19]

Bozkurt changed his stance and conveyed his wish to make peace with the Mamluks in December 1485. Qaitbay declined the request.^[17] Bozkurt strove to avoid the conflict he created between the two major states. When Bayezid called for his support in the efforts to reclaim the Cilician Plain, Bozkurt intentionally sent his forces late, which resulted in another Ottoman defeat in February 1486 and the capture of the Ottoman commander Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha. Bozkurt sent Qaitbay another request for a truce, which was rejected. Bayezid assigned Koca Davud Pasha to deal with the Mamluks and wanted Bozkurt to join the Ottoman forces. Bozkurt maintained that he was far from the region and his army was composed of highlanders who could not fight in coastal areas. When Davud Pasha marched on the Turgud and Varsak tribes in the region of Taşeli, Bozkurt reversed his decision and met with him in Kocakale, on the Anti-Taurus Mountains. He convinced Davud Pasha to pursue the Karamanid prince Mahmud, who indirectly helped the Mamluks by inciting the tribes in the region to rebel. When Mahmud escaped to Aleppo and the seasonal conditions worsened, Davud Pasha traveled to Vize, where the Ottoman sultan resided, and Bozkurt went to Marash.^[20]

On 26 September 1487, Shah Budak managed to break away from prison with the help of his wife and slaves, who often visited his chambers. Shah Budak traveled to the Bagras Mountains, where allied Turkmen lords assisted him in passing the Taurus Mountains in the direction of the Ottoman lands. Bayezid welcomed him and appointed him as the sanjak-bey of Vize, which was a warning sign to Ala al-Dawla that the Ottomans could attempt to depose him.^[17] On 14 March next year, Hadım Ali Pasha retook Adana and Tarsus. Ali Pasha restored the fortress in Adana and was preparing to return to Constantinople when the news of the incoming Mamluk forces from Aleppo broke out. Bozkurt parried the Ottomans' call for aid explaining that he would be waiting in Geben in case the Mamluks would enter the Dulkadirid realm. The Ottoman forces were dependent on the naval support from Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, who was earlier released from the Mamluk prison. They were eventually vanquished by Uzbek's troops and the allied tribes of Varsak and Turgud on 16 August 1488 near Ağaçayırı. Bozkurt strengthened his ties with the Mamluks by marrying his daughter to the victorious commander Uzbek. Shortly after, Hadım Ali Pasha reported Bozkurt's disloyalty to the sultan.^[21]

Bayezid thus declared Shah Budak as the legitimate ruler of Dulkadir by granting him a diploma and providing him with the assistance of Hiziroghlu Mehmed Pasha and Mihaloghlu Iskender Bey, the sanjak-beys of Little Rum (Amasya and Sivas) and Kayseri, respectively. Shah Budak first arrived in Kırşehir, where he caught the town's garrison's leader Shahruh, who was the son of Ala al-Dawla. Shah Budak blinded Shahruh in retribution for the treatment his son Feyyaz had received in 1484. Shah Budak succeeded in occupying a portion of the Dulkadirid domains, which elicited powerful opposition from his brother. Qaitbay learned of the conflict in March 1489.^[22] Bozkurt forged Shah Budak's letter to Mahmud Pasha as if his brother instead reported total victory on the battlefield. On the other hand, due to his liking of Bozkurt, Mehmed Pasha was purposefully late to the skirmish, which left Shah Budak helpless apart from about 1000 troops under Iskender Bey. Shah Budak fled the scene. Iskender Bey and his son were captured, and the Ottomans had approximately 200 casualties. Shah Budak took his son Feyyaz with him and escaped to Syria and later to Cairo, where he begged Qaitbay for forgiveness. Qaitbay instead exiled him to a place in Upper Egypt in November 1489.^[23]

Upon the rumors of a new Ottoman expedition, Qaitbay sent an embassy to the Ottoman capital asking for peace. Bayezid instead imprisoned the Mamluk representative, and the Mamluk army stationed in Aleppo under Uzbek remobilized for Cilicia in May 1490. Uzbek laid siege to Kayseri heeding Bozkurt's recommendation. When the Ottoman troops appeared close to the city, Uzbek halted the siege and returned south after ransacking Niğde, Ereğli, and Karaman, while Bozkurt retreated to his country. In response to the damage caused by the Mamluks, Bayezid initiated the preparations for a major war. Uzbek ordered Bozkurt to meet with his emir-i ahur in Pazarcık. Although Bozkurt wanted to travel there, his son Saru Kaplan and loyal chieftains persuaded him not to. When Uzbek insisted, Bozkurt maintained his neutrality aware of the warfare that was to come. With the intervention of the Tunisian embassy, the Ottomans and the Mamluks agreed to sign a truce without a skirmish, and Bozkurt successfully sought pardon from the Ottoman sultan.^[24]

After Qaitbay's death in 1492, dawatdar (head of the chancery) Akbirdi led an unsuccessful insurrection in Cairo and traveled to Syria with hopes that he could carve a new state. Bozkurt allowed Akbirdi and Aynal, the former governor of Aleppo, to stay in his realm against the new governor of Aleppo Janbolat's wish. Despite Dulkadirid support, Akbirdi fled east of the Euphrates facing a major defeat near Aintab in May 1498, where Aynal and two of Bozkurt's sons were killed by the Mamluk forces. Distraught by his sons' deaths, Bozkurt allowed a larger army under Akbirdi's command in an attempt to seize Aleppo in October the same year. The Mamluks gifted Bozkurt an honorary robe and a diploma for Bozkurt to withdraw his support from Akbirdi. The latter was defeated again in Aleppo, which forced Bozkurt to reconcile with the Mamluks in May 1499. Akbirdi returned to Aleppo after the agreement but died there one month later.^[25]

The Ottoman–Dulkadirid relations momentarily took a positive turn. Bozkurt received four Polish prisoners from the voivode of Moldavia, who had overpowered Poland with Ottoman support. In 1500, members of the Dulkadirlu tribe joined the Ottomans in the Battle of Modon. The same year, Bozkurt's Shahruh assisted the Ottomans in extinguishing the Varsak and Turgud tribes' revolt in response to changes in taxation. Bozkurt continued to preserve his amicable relations with the Mamluks and acted as an intermediary in a discord between Arikmaz, the governor of Birecik, and the Mamluk government.^[26]

A new threat to the Dulkadirids at the time came from the east. Ismail I rose in the former Aq Qoyunlu lands. He had attained a significant degree of influence over the Turkmens in Iran and Anatolia. Ismail followed Shia Islam, which also spread in the Dulkadirid realm. Bozkurt attempted to bar many Shia, or Qizilbash, Turkmens he ruled over from migrating east. Coincidentally, Ismail proposed to marry to Bozkurt's daughter, Benli Khatun. Although Bozkurt initially indicated his potential approval, he declined Ismail pointing out his different sect. In the spring of 1502, when Ismail reached Tercan pursuing the Aq Qoyunlu Alvand Beg, he sent a portion of his troops on Bozkurt but promptly left the region upon the news of Alvand's offensive on Tabriz. In June 1503, Ismail defeated the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Sultan Murad in Hamadan, forcing him to ultimately flee to Baghdad. When Ismail appeared in Baghdad, both Murad and the Aq Qoyunlu governor of Arab Iraq, Barik Beg Purnak, escaped to Marash. Bozkurt requested help against Ismail from Bayezid, who did not act upon Bozkurt's wish and instead congratulated Ismail for his victories in order to not take sides against Ismail. Bozkurt married his daughter Benlu to Murad and assisted him in the restoration of his rule over Baghdad in the spring of 1504 when Ismail was invested in his campaign in Mazandaran.^[27]

Alvand Beg's death in Diyarbekir ignited an internal struggle over inheritance within the Aq Qoyunlu. Bozkurt supported Göde Ahmed's young son Zaynal against Amir Beg, the divan-begi of Alvand, with a large force composed of almost all of the young members of the Dulkadir dynasty. The force marched towards Ergani and destroyed its fortress. The Kurdish chieftains of Eğil, Atak, and Silvan voluntarily joined the Dulkadirids. Mardin was captured by Shahruh, who placed a 300-strong garrison in the city. The Dulkadirids seized Sinjar and advanced until Mosul. The Dulkadirids triumphed over a force of the Mawsillu tribe, which was on its way to provide aid to the besieged city of Urfa, the fall of which marked the end of the campaign. However, Zaynal's rule in Diyarbekir did not continue for long, as his poor administrative decisions facilitated the restoration of Amir Beg's rule. Zaynal returned to the Dulkadirid court. Bozkurt instead pressured Amir Beg to recognize him as his overlord.^[28]

Bozkurt's affiliation with the Aq Qoyunlu escalated Ismail's hostility towards him. In 1507, Ismail entered the Ottoman domains through Erzincan and Suşehri with Bayezid's approval. Ismail arrived at the Dulkadirid frontier near Sarız headed towards Elbistan. Although Saru Kaplan repelled the Safavid reconnaissance forces, who suffered 300 casualties, he retreated when Ismail arrived in the region. Bozkurt hid himself in Mount Turna and called for Ottoman help, which arrived in Ankara but did not engage in the conflict. Ismail set his encampent on the slopes of Mount Turna. After a long wait for Bozkurt to come out of hiding, Ismail stopped the siege, dubbing Bozkurt Ala dana (lit. 'red calf'). Ismail returned to Azerbaijan after decimating Elbistan and Marash and enacting Safavid rule in Diyarbekir and Harpoot. Bozkurt retook Urfa as soon as Ismail left the country. He additionally accommodated Kaitmaz, the brother of Amir Beg, in reclaiming Diyarbekir from its Safavid governor Mohammad Khan Ustajlu, who was encamped near Mardin dealing with the Kurdish nomads who harassed the Safavids. Promising to marry Kaitmaz to one of his daughters, Bozkurt sent him back to Diyarbekir with an army commanded by Saru Kaplan and Erdivane. Eight hundred Safavid troops reappeared in Diyarbekir in 1509 and vanquished the Dulkadirids. Bozkurt's sons were executed, and Mohammad Khan sent their heads to Ismail. Kaitmaz continued resisting the Safavids but was soon captured and killed.^[29]

The spring of 1510 marked a new Dulkadirid campaign on Diyarbekir taking advantage of the Safavid campaign in Baghdad. A 14 thousand-strong force led by Bozkurt's sons Shahruh and Ahmed faced Mohammad Khan Ustajlu. The Dulkadirid and the Ustajlu forces observed a customary dog fight. When their dogs scared away those of the Dulkadirids, the Ustajlus took this as a sign of good luck and made a successful attack. Shahruh and Ahmed along with forty other men were caught and immediately beheaded apart from Shahruh's sons Mehmed and Ali, who were spared and appointed to important positions by Ismail. Bozkurt was deeply saddened by the departure of his sons and mourned them for a long period by wearing black.^[30]

The forces of Mohammad Khan violated the Mamluk border near Malatya without the knowledge of Ismail but were eventually repelled by Bozkurt. Ismail followed a reconciliatory policy with the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri and Bozkurt. A tent that was gifted by Ismail to Bozkurt in 1511 is an indication of the truce that was agreed on between the two sides. The new Ottoman sultan Selim I was aware of the healed relations between Bozkurt and his enemy Ismail. Bozkurt had not sent any congratulatory messages to Selim for his ascension to the throne. When Selim requested him to take part in his campaign against the Safavids in Chaldiran underlining their shared sect, Bozkurt declined him pointing out his advanced age. At the time, Selim was harboring Bozkurt's nephew Ali, who was made the sanjak-bey of Chirmen, as a claimant to the Dulkadirid throne. On the other hand, Bozkurt had enacted an embargo in his realm on any kind of subsistence from the Ottoman realm. Cautious of any attacks that could come from the Dulkadirids, Selim left a 40-thousand-strong force between Kayseri and Sivas as he was marching east.^[31]

In November 1514, returning from a victory at Chaldiran, Selim appointed Ali as the sanjak-bey of Kayseri on the border with the Dulkadirids in preparation to eliminate Bozkurt. As ordered by Selim, Ali occupied the Dulkadirid-controlled Sanjak of Bozok in the winter and beheaded Bozkurt's son, Suleiman. Selim granted Ali the newly seized province of Bozok. Upon a complaint from Bozkurt, the Mamluk sultan urged Selim to dismiss Ali from his positions in May 1515. Selim contrarily requested the Mamluks to install Ali in the Dulkadirid throne. Qansuh reminded Selim of Ali's father Shah Suwar's past actions against the Mamluks and rejected Ali's ascension. Qansuh soon realized that the Dulkadirid realm was lost for the Mamluks and proposed Selim to share the realm with the Ottomans. Selim fiercely objected and hinted at that he would attempt at conquering all of the Mamluk Sultanate. During the diplomatic traffic between the two states, the Dulkadirids destroyed the accommodations of the Ottoman army, which resulted in a great reduction of the Ottomans' military power.^[32]

A 30 thousand-strong army under Sinan Pasha, the beylerbey of Rumelia, departed for Elbistan on 5 June 1515. Bozkurt transferred his harem and treasury to Mount Turna. Thirty thousand Dulkadirid troops faced the Ottoman military on 13 June 1515 near Ördekli [tr], located near Göksun. Upon Ali's invitation, some of the Turkmen lords who were once loyal to his father Shah Suwar changed sides. During the skirmish, one of the Ottoman soldiers noticed Bozkurt with his extravagant dress and lunged at him. Having killed Bozkurt, the soldier presented his head to Sinan Pasha. Much of the Dulkadirid troops deserted Bozkurt's four sons and brother Abdurrazaq, and fled to the mountains when they realized their leader was dead. Among numerous casualties, one of Bozkurt's sons and 30 chieftains died in battle, while Bozkurt's remaining relatives, including his consorts, were caught. Bozkurt's head was presented to Selim in Göksun. Selim sent Bozkurt's, his vizier's, and one of his son's heads to Cairo. Ali was installed as the new ruler of the Dulkadir contrary to Qansuh's request to leave a portion of the realm to Bozkurt's offspring. The khutbah (sermon) was read in Selim's name as a declaration of the Ottoman overlordship over the Dulkadirids.^[33] Bozkurt's tomb is located in the nearby village of Gökçeli [tr].^[3]

The Ala al-Dawla Kanunname is the only known code of law from the Dulkadirid rule. It implemented the timar system identical to its use in the Ottoman Empire. It consisted of the penal and land laws of the realm, combining sharia and local customary laws.^[34] During his rule, Bozkurt came to be known by several titles. A vakfiye (inscription) from 1500 and Ottoman tahrir defters refer to him as a sultan. The epigraph of the Grand Mosque of Marash mentions him as the Malik al-Adil (lit. 'just king'), Nur al-Dawla (lit. 'light of the state'), Ghawth al-Millah (lit. 'scholar of the nation'), Husam al-Din (lit. 'sword of the religion'), Emir al-Muminin (lit. 'emir of the believers').^[35]

Bozkurt was married to his paternal uncle Rustam Beg's daughter Shamsa Khatun (died 1509).^[36] Bozkurt's sons included:^[2]

Bozkurt's daughters included:^[2]

• Ayshe Khatun
• Beglu (or Benlu) Khatun
• Another daughter, who was married to the Mamluk commander Uzbek's son.^[37]

Shahruh became the lord of Kırşehir, while Suleiman was the lord of Bozok. Ayshe Khatun married the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II around 1467. Bozkurt's other daughter, Beglu married Sultan Murad of the Aq Qoyunlu after her father refused Shah Ismail's request to marry her.^[2]

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