Στους γονείς µου,

∆ήµητρα και Κωνσταντίνο

To my parents,
Demetra and Constantinos
 THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST OF THRACE
ASPECTS OF HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

BY
GEORGIOS C. LIAKOPOULOS

THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS ANS SOCIAL SCIENCES

OF BİLKENT UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY

BİLKENT UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 2002
I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in
scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History

Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık

Thesis supervisor

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in
scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History

Dr. Eugenia Kermeli

Examining Committee Member

I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in
scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master in History

Associate Professor Dr. Mehmet Öz

Examining Committee Member

Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Kürşat Aydoğan

Director
 ABSTRACT

In my thesis I examine Thrace as a geographical unity during the

Ottoman conquest in the fourteenth century. In the first chapter I present the

sources that I used, Byzantine and Ottoman. The life and works of the

chronographers are discussed to the extent that they assist us in comprehending

their ideology and mentality. I focus on the contemporary sources of the

fourteenth century. The second chapter treats with the diplomatic relations

between the Byzantines and the Turks in the fourteenth century before and after

the Turkish settlement in Thrace. This provides the reader the base to figure the

political situation, which facilitated the Turkish expansion in Thrace. The central

part of my thesis is a topographic analysis of Thrace during the Ottoman

expansion. I tried to research the etymology of the Thracian toponyms and then

attempted to locate them on a map, mentioning their Byzantine and modern

Turkish, Greek or Bulgarian equivalents, if possible. This visualizes the routes

that the Ottomans followed when conquering Thrace. A map of fourteenth-

century Thrace accompanies my thesis.

The fourteenth century was of paramount importance for both the

Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Emirate. In Byzantine history it marks the

end of a great medieval empire, especially relating to its administrative and

economic decadence. For Ottoman history, it punctuates the transition of a

frontier beglik into a world-dominant empire. Thrace was the first European

territory of the Ottomans and functioned as the vaulting horse of their

expeditions in the Balkans. The intellectual intercourse of Greek-Orthodox and

Turco-Islamic political ideology gave birth to the heir of the Byzantine State.

iii
 ÖZET

Tezimde Trakya’yı 14. yüzyılda Osmanlı fetihleri sırasında coğrafî bir

birim olarak inceliyorum. Birinci bölümde, kullandığım Bizans ve Osmanlı

kaynaklarını sunuyorum. Kronografların hayatı ve eserleri, ideoloji ve

mentalitelerini anlamamıza yardımcı olan boyutlarıyla tartışılıyor. 14. yüzyılın

çağdaş kaynaklarına odaklanıyorum. İkinci bölüm, Bizanslılar ve Türkler

arasında, Türklerin Trakya’ya yerleşmelerinden önceki ve sonraki diplomatik

ilişkilere değinir. Bu, okuyucunun Türklerin Trakya’da yayılmasını tesis eden

politik durumu kavramasını sağlar. Tezimin merkezî kısmı Osmanlı yayılması

sırasında Trakya’nın topografik bir analizidir. Trakya yer adlarının etimolojisini

araştırmaya çalıştım ve daha sonra bir harita üzerine mümkün olduğunca Bizans,

modern Türkçe, Yunanca ya da Bulgarca karşılıklarını yerleştirmeye çalıştım.

Bu, Osmanlıların Trakya’yı fethederken izledikleri rotayı göz önüne koyar. Bir

14. yüzyıl Trakya haritası ilişiktedir.

14. yüzyıl, hem Osmanlı Beyliği hem de Bizans İmparatorluğu açısından

büyük önem taşır. Bu yüzyıl, büyük bir ortaçağ imparatorluğunun idarî ve

ekonomik çöküşüne bağlı olarak Bizans’ın sonuna işaret eder. Osmanlı tarihi

açısından ise bir uçbeyliğinden dünya hakimi bir imparatorluğa geçişi belirler.

Trakya, Osmanlıların Avrupa’daki ilk toprağıydı ve Balkanlar’a sefere çıkarken

kullandıkları bir hareket noktası işlevini gördü. Yunan-Ortodoks ve Türk-İslâm

siyasî ideolojilerinin ilişkisi Bizans Devleti’nin varisini doğurdu.

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many have helped in the production of this dissertation. Thanks are due

especially to the supervisor of my thesis, Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık, who first

suggested that I write it and whose experience and judgment were so readily

available. I thank Dr. Eugenia Kermeli and Dr. Mehmet Öz for having

participated in the examining committee. I would like to thank Dr. Maria Pigaki

(Cartographer, National Technical University of Athens) for her invaluable help

in designing the map of Thrace. I am also indebted to all my professors in the

Department of History at Bilkent University; as Alexander the Great had said

about his teacher, Aristotle, ‘I owe living to my parents, but good living to my

teacher’.

I would like to acknowledge here my great indebtedness to my parents,

Demetra and Constantinos for their constant and unimpaired encouragement and

incitement. In particular, I thank my friends, Spyros, Aggeliki, Anna, Zoe,

Dimitris, and Tuba for helping me in defeating the Chimeras of this journey.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction…………………………………………………………… 1
1. Chapter 1. Sources…...……………………………………………….. 5
1.1. Byzantine Sources……………………………………………………. 5
1.1.1. Nicephoros Gregoras…………………………………………………. 6
1.1.2. John Cantacuzenus……………………………………………………. 12
1.1.3. Other Byzantine Sources……………………………………………... 17
1.2. Ottoman Sources……………………………………………………… 18
1.2.1. Yahşi Fakih…………………………………………………………… 18
1.2.2. Aşıkpaşazade…………………………………………………………. 22
1.2.3. Neşri…………………………………………………………………... 23
1.2.4. Anonymous Chronicles………………………………………………. 24
1.2.5. Oruç…………………………………………………………………... 26
1.2.6. Other Ottoman Sources…….…………………………………………. 26
1.3. Travel Books………………………………………………………….. 27
2. Chapter 2. Byzantine-Turkish Diplomatic Relations in the Fourteenth
Century and their Effect on Thrace…………………………………... 28
2.1. The Geo-strategic Position of Thrace…………………………….…... 28
2.2. First Byzantine Civil War…………………………………………….. 30
2.3. The Period Between the Two Civil Wars…………………………….. 32
2.4. Second Byzantine Civil War…………………………………………. 34
2.5. Emperorship of John V Cantacuzenus; Turkish Settlement in Thrace.. 37
2.6. The Ottoman Conquest of Thrace…………………………………….. 44
2.7. The Conquest of Adrianople………………………………………….. 50
3. Chapter 3. Topography of Thrace………………...…………………... 55
3.1. Thrace's Place in History……………………………………………... 55
3.2. Topography of the Ottoman Conquest of Thrace…………………….. 57
Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 86
Bibliography………………………………………………………….. 92

vi
 LIST OF TABLES

Thracian Toponyms……………………………………………………… 88
Chronological Framework of the Ottoman Conquest of Thrace………… 90
Map of Thrace…………………………………………………………… 91

vii
 INTRODUCTION

The theme of this dissertation is the historical geography of Thrace in the

fourteenth century. This is an examination of the Thracian toponyms and the

changes they underwent during the Ottoman conquest of the area. From the

onomastics of the place names one can draw conclusions on the methods of the

Ottoman expansion in the South-West Balkans. The Byzantine-Turkish

diplomatic relations, mainly presented by John Cantacuzenus, illuminate the

position of Byzantium and the Turkish Principalities in the fourteenth century

international arena. The research is based mostly on literary sources of both the

Ottoman and the Byzantine historiographic tradition. Archival sources of earlier

Byzantine times as well as later Ottoman records provided the basis for the

research. Moreover, archaeological ruins, and folk traditions and narrations were

helpful to an extent.

History is a living scientific field. One cannot talk of one ‘History’ that is

written without alterations throughout the centuries. Different schools of

historical methodology have given the historian the opportunity to choose among

a series of approaches. Often characterized as a ‘social science’, history found

itself during the twentieth century cooperating with the other social sciences, like

anthropology, geography, sociology, demography, economics, etc. According to

the ‘interdisciplinary approach’, history examines everything that man has done

1
or thought in the past. As a collective history, the ‘total history’, is bound to

proceed hand in hand with its fellow sciences. Seen from this point of view,

geography can be very supportive to history.

Toponymy can be quite helpful in historical research, complementing the

source based traditional history. Toponymy belongs to the field of onomastics; it

deals with the place names, their etymology and their multiple cultural and

anthropological connotations. At this level the principles of linguistics, and

geography, especially anthropogeography, could be helpful to the researcher.

Every name – both in anthroponymy and in toponymy – has a certain meaning.

Since toponyms belong to the level of macro-history, the researcher most of the

times has to look back to medieval or ancient, and even archaic, languages to

trace the exact, if possible, etymology of a toponym. Place names often derive

from natural or physical conditions (seasons, directions, colors, numbers, plants,

fruits, animals), or people and societies (food, drink, senses, family members,

religions, people names, occupations) indicative of the characteristics of a certain

place.

In every place name lays an encrypted part of the history of that place.

The researcher, by putting the toponyms s/he has examined on a map, can

visualize a great gamut of human actions, like population movements, military

campaigns, conquests, ideological or religious influences, economic relations,

trade routes, communication networks, etc. People are connected to their

environment. Especially in the pre-industrial era, societies were obliged to make

a living out of their immediate environment. The agricultural nature of this era’s

economy established a strong attachment between humans and earth. This bond

2
is most of the times reflected in the way people would name the places they

inhabit.

Based on earlier Byzantine archives and local ecclesiastical catalogues

for the history of the Thracian place onomastics, the main research was done on

Byzantine historical works like Nicephoros Gregoras, Historia Rhōmaïkē, John

VI Cantacuzenus, Historiai, and the Short Chronicles. The Byzantines by the

time of the fourteenth century had a one-thousand-year-old historiographic

tradition. The quadrivium education that most of the Byzantine scholars acquired

in Constantinople highlighted the Thucydidian methodological model of the

causality relations in history. The Byzantine historians, raised with the imperium

œcumenicum mentality, treated the Turks in their works as another temporary

enemy of the state that will soon withdraw to his uncivilized origins. The

Byzantine Short Chronicles, on the other hand, are epigrammatic sources of two-

five lines that give brief information of a certain event. Composed by the simple

people in a naïve poetic style, they give quite authoritative chronologies.

For a more complete view of fourteenth century Thrace the use of the

early Ottoman chronicles is essential. The Menƒòıb of Yahşi Fakih, which was

saved embodied in Aşıkpaşazade’s, TevƒrŒ î-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn is the only

contemporary Ottoman source. Neşri’s Cihānnümā, was based on the work of

Aşıkpaşazade. A common tradition connects the chronicle of Yahşi Fakih to the

various Anonymous, TevƒrŒ î-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒns, and Oruç’s work under the same

title. The Ottoman sources support the ideal of the Holy War and are often

embroidered with mythological stories. Aşıkpaşazade and Neşri belong to a more

‘official’ historiography, whereas the Anonymous chronicles reflect the

Anatolian people’s view.

3
 According to the above mentioned sources, most of the Byzantine place

names of Thrace passed in the Turkish language slightly only changed to fit the

phonetic rules of Turkish. This is an indicator that Byzantines and Ottomans had

some kind of relationship for a period of time before the final Ottoman conquest

of the region. The nomadic Turkish tribes used to cut off the fortified cities from

their countryside, which would force them to surrender. In the meantime, the

Turks had trade relations with the Greeks that lived in the walled cities and

towns. On the other hand, the new toponyms in Thrace show the place of origin

of the new inhabitants and are often connected to folk traditions concerning the

nature or the conquest of a certain place.

4
 CHAPTER 1

SOURCES

1.1. Byzantine Sources

Historiography was one of the fields of literature in which the

Byzantines excelled. Through its millennium tradition, Byzantium produced a

commendable number of serious historians. Most of them tried to imitate the

style of Thucydides. However, they were not flawless. Amongst their

weaknesses is a certain lack of interest in foreign affairs.1 They were focused on

Constantinople, the seat of the imperial government and the Patriarchate on

which their intrigues were centered. The Turkish invasions from the eleventh

century onwards created a new status in Asia Minor, which could not be

neglected by the Byzantine foreign policy. Thus, the Byzantine historians and

chronographers were obliged to mention the Turkic tribes in their works and to

study something of their history. The emergence of the Ottoman Emirate in

North-West Asia Minor brought the Turks in the vicinity of Constantinople and

1
With the exception of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus’ De adminstrando imperio.

5
into more urgent relationship with Byzantium; and inevitably, the Byzantine

writers began to give more and more attention to their neighbors.2

1.1.1. Nicephoros Gregoras

Nicephoros Gregoras was born in Heraclea Pontica of Paphlagonia in

ca. 1293.3 His uncle, who is mentioned in 1300 as the metropolitan bishop of

Nicomedia, undertook Gregoras’ education especially in the fields of ancient

Greek philosophy and Christian theology.4 At the age of twenty he went to

Constantinople, where he attended the Logic classes of John Glykys (Patriarch

1315-1319) and perfected himself in rhetoric. His relation with Theodore

Metochites5 was determinative of his career in astronomy. Due to his versatile

knowledge, he gained the favor of the emperor Andronicos II (1282-1328).6 The

2
S. Runciman, ‘Byzantine Historians and the Ottoman Turks’, in Historians of The Middle East,
ed. by Bernard Lewis and P. M. Holt (London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press,
1962), pp. 271-276 (pp.271-72).
3
According to Hans-Veit Beyer, ‘Eine Chronologie der Lebensgeschichte des Nikephoros
Gregoras’, Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik, 27 (1978), pp. 127-155 (pp. 127-130),
Gregoras was probably born in 1293. H. Hunger proposes a possible date of birth a couple of
years after 1290, see H. Hunger, Die hochsprachliche profane Literatur der Byzantiner, vol. 1,
(München: C. H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1978), p. 454, footnote, 56. Finally PLP
presents the years 1292-1295 as most possible for the birth of Gregoras, ‘Γρηγορᾶς
Νικηφόρος’, in Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, ed. by Erich Trapp, no. 4443,
vol. I/2 (Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1977), pp. 234-237 (p. 234).
4
Gregoras admired him and dedicated him a biography, see V. Laurent, ‘La vie de Jean,
Métropolite de’Héraclée du Ponte’, Archeion Pontou, 6 (1934), pp. 3-63.
5
At that time Metochites was the most important figure in the Constantinopolitan political
mechanism and had the title mesazon; mesazon (µεσάζων) was the emperor’s confidant entrusted
with the administration of the empire. Doukas, [Michael] Doukas, Vyzantiotourkiki Istoria, trans.
by Vrasidas Karalis, (Athens: Kanaki, 1997), p. 232, identified the mesazon with the Turkish
vezīr, see The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ‘Mesazon’, vol. 2, (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, New York, 1991), p. 1346.
6
For the social status of the intellectuals and their relation to the centers of patronage and the way
in which that status affected the intellectuals’ view of themselves and their society see I.
Ševčenko, ‘Society and Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth Century’, in Actes du XIVe Congrès
International des Études Byzantines, Bucarest, 6-12 Septembre 1971, ed. by M. Berza and E.
Stănescu (Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, 1971), pp. 69-92.

6
emperor proposed him the post of chartophylax7, but Gregoras refused it offering

the excuse of his young age. He accepted, however, the directorship of a private

school, which functioned in the Chora Monastery. Gregoras was entrusted with

diplomatic missions, including a legation to the Serbian king Stefan Uroš III

(1321-1331) in 1326. With the downfall of his patrons, Andronicos II and

Metochites, in 1328, Gregoras lost his property. He managed really quickly to

get in contact with the new government, and made a new significant friend, the

Grand Domestic8 John Cantacuzenus (emperor as John VI, 1347-1354). He stood

high in Andronicos III’s (1328-1341) favor as well.9

Based on his theological principles, Gregoras strongly rejected the

new movement of Palamism. In the following years he found himself fighting in

serious theological disputes. Gregoras emerged victorious in a philosophical

disputation, accompanied by political tracts, against the monk Barlaam of

Calabria, an outspoken Aristotelian scholastic, and was recognized as

Constantinople’s leading academician.10 A theological controversy with deep

political ramifications followed, in which Gregoras contended the doctrine of

Hesychasm.11 His anti-hesychast argumentation is collected in Antirrhētica I, II,

and in a Logos of 1333 in his Rhōmaïkē Historia. On the base of Aristotle,

Plotinus, and Proclos, he asserts that the divine ousia (essence) and the divine

7
Chartophylax (χαρτοφύλαξ), an ecclesiastical official in Constantinople and the provinces,
usually a deacon, attested from the 6th century with archival and notarial duties that grew in
extent and significance with the growth of synodal transactions, The Oxford Dictionary of
Byzantium, ‘Chartophylax’, vol. 1, pp. 415-416.
8
Megas domestikos (µέγας δοµέστικος), supreme military commander (after the emperor), The
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ‘Megas Domestikos’, vol. 2, pp. 1329-1330.
9
R. Guilland, Essai sur Nicéphore Grégoras, L’homme et l’œuvre (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste
Paul Geuthner, 1926), p. 22.
10
For the theological debates of Gregoras see N. Gregoras, Rhomäische Geschichte, Historia
Rhomaïke, IV, trans. by Van Dieten and Jan Louis (Stuttgart: Bibliothek der griechischen
Literatur, 1994), pp. 18-58.
11
For the ideological movement of Hesychasm see J. Meyendorff, Byzantine Hesychasm,
Theological and Social Problems (London: Variorum Reprints, 1974).

7
energiai (operations) are not to be distinguished. Against Barlaam he wrote the

treatise Antilogia and two Platonic-style dialogues, Philomathēs ē peri hybristōn

(Philomathes or on the Revilers) and Florentios ē peri sophias (Florentios or on

Wisdom). As a consequence, he lost favor in the eyes of Cantacuzenus, who was

helped by the followers of Palamas in taking the reins of the government in

Constantinople in 1347. During the Synod that Cantacuzenus called in 1351,

Gregoras opposed the palamists and was condemned by imperial order in

confinement and ‘silence’ in the Chora Monastery.12 Some of his students were

imprisoned. His old friend Agathangelos visited him five times in three years and

informed him about the latest news from the outside world.13 When John V

Palaiologos (1341-1391) entered victorious the capital (November 1354),

Gregoras was freed. He must not have lived much after the death of Palamas

(14th November 1357), whom he mentions in his history. We assume that he died

in ca. 1360.14

This historian and representative of the Palaiologian Renaissance was

called ho philisophos (the philosopher). His work deals with history, rhetoric,

grammar, theology, philosophy and astronomy, and this is an indication of his

classical education. His main work is the Rhōmaïkē Historia (Roman History)

that covers the period of 1204-1359 in 37 books, in which he undertakes

theological and ideological dialogues. It surpasses every other contemporary

work in terms of extent and wealth of contents. In the first part of his work (1st-

12
N. Gregoras, Nicephorus, Byzantina Historia, ed. by Hier. Wolf, Car. Ducange, Io. Boivini, Cl.
Capperonnerii (Bonnae: CSHB, Impenis Ed. Weberi, vol. I, 1829, vol. II, 1830, vol. III, 1855),
vol. II, 1830, pp. 10134-sq (hereafter Gregoras), R. Guilland, Essai, pp. 37-sq.
13
This person must be identical to Angelos Manuel epi tou kanikleiou, ‘Γρηγορᾶς Νικηφόρος’
PLP, p. 235.
14
‘Greogoras Nicephorus’, Britannica, vol. 5, p. 476. R. Guilland concludes ex silentio that
Gregoras must have died at the end of 1359 or at the beginning of 1360, since Gregoras does not
mention any historical event after that time, see R. Guilland, Essai, p. 53.

8
11th books) he narrates the history of 1204-1341 that the author seems to have

considered as a separate chapter. The text after the eleventh book has survived in

less than half of the manuscripts.15 In the second part (12th-29th books) he deals

with the history of the period 1341-1355. The 30th-35th books are dedicated to

two theological conversations against Palamas in the form of dialogue. Finally,

the 36th and 37th book present the history of the years 1355-1358, but with many

inconsistencies. It seems that Gregoras died before making the finishing

touches.16 The period that he had lived is presented in a colorful detailed way.

Thus, the period between 1341-1349 covers the same extent as the one of the two

previous decades (12th-17th books). Gregoras does not clearly state when he

started composing his history. In the beginning of his work he says that the

dynasty of the Angeloi was ‘till today’ governing Epirus.17 Consequently, we

consider 1337, when Epirus lost its independence, as a terminus ante quem. H.-

V. Beyer argues that he must have started composing earlier, in 1328-1329.18 In

the summer of 1352, during his confinement, he composed, as he says, ten books

(18th-27th books) in forty days.19

His work has been characterized more as a ‘collection of memoirs’,

rather than as historical.20 The notion that history must include everything made

for the glory of God,21 justifies astronomical, geographical, ethnographical, etc.

15
R. Guilland, Essai, p. 241. For the manuscripts of the work of Gregoras see idem., pp. xvi-
xxviii.
16
H. Hunger, Literatur, p. 457.
17
Gregoras, I, p. 141.
18
H.-V. Beyer, ‘Chronologie’, p. 133.
19
K. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur von Justinian bis zum Ende des
oströmischen Reiches (527-1453), vol. 1 (New York: Burt Franklin, 1958), p. 296.
20
H. Hunger, Literatur, p. 458; K. Krumbacher, Litteratur, p. 295; R. Guilland, Essai, p. 236.
21
Gregoras, I, p. 44.

9
deviations.22 He believes that the orations are the mirror of persons.23 In his first

seven books he used the history of Georgios Akropolites and Georgios

Pachymeres; he actually transferred an abridged form of the latter into his

work.24 In spite of the fact that he has certain gaps in his historical narration, he

offers more information than Cantacuzenus.25 As a humanist and member of the

Palaiologian intelligentsia, he proves that he has broad horizons and critical

mind. He foresees the loss of Asia Minor to the Turks and he tries to give the

whole image of the Turkish conquests, knowing that this is impossible for him to

achieve.26 The abandonment of the Byzantine navy and the decay of the imperial

ideology cover his narration with pessimism.27 His humanism is apparent in the

idealization of the Greek antiquity.28 Gregoras gives credit to prophecies and

dreams. He also believes that the position of the stars may affect human lives.29

The argument he uses is stoic; cosmos is a unity, an entity, every part of which

suffers along with the Romans, whenever there is turbulence in their dominions.

The Divine Providence bears characteristics of the ancient Greek necessity and

not of the freely acting God of the Bible.30 He is interested in the political,

economic and social affairs of the Byzantine state. He composes often with the

22
About the deviations concerning lands and people see: about the Bulgarians Gregoras, I, pp.
26-sq, about the Scythes, pp. 30-41, about the Galatians and the Celts, pp. 102-sq, about Kefissos,
p. 2519-22, about the Russians, III, pp. 511-517, about Cyprus, pp. 27-29, about Crete, pp. 38-42,
about Milan, p. 193.
23
Gregoras interpolates orations of Syrgiannes, Gregoras, I, pp. 29914-3014, Andronicos III, pp.
39815-40220, John Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 5876-58824, 77621-7786.
24
G. Moravscik, Byzantinoturcica I Die byzantinischen Quellen der Geschichte der Türkvölker
(Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1958), p. 451.
25
R. Guilland, Essai, pp. 251-254.
26
For the references to the Turkish conquests see G. Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, p. 452.
27
Gregoras, I, pp. 566-568.
28
Beside the use of ancient Greek historical and mythological examples, he uses archaic
expressions, see H. Hunger, Literatur, p. 462. He calls the non-Greek nations ‘barbarians’,
following the ancient tradition, see G. Moravscik, Byzantinoturcica, p. 451.
29
Gregoras, I, pp. 4923-505.
30
N. Grigoras, Romaiki Istoria A’ periodos: 1204-1341 (Kefalaia 1-11), trans. by Dimitrios
Moschos (Athens: Nea Synora-Livani, 1997), p. 23.

10
pen of a rhetorician and not of a historian. The modern day reader should bear in

mind that rhetoric was then the quintessence of education that connected the

Byzantine scholar with his ‘natural’ roots, the ancient Greek educational and

political coordinates, and his social models, the Constantinopolitan educated

bureaucrat, the man of letters. Gregoras seems to hold the uneducated people in

low esteem, which is a common characteristic of the intelligentsia.31 According

to G. Moravcsik and K. Krumbacher, Gregoras was the greatest Byzantine

‘Polyhistor’ of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.32

Beside a historian, Gregoras proved to be a prominent scientist, mainly in

the field of astronomy. Among his works we count: Commentary on

Nicomachos, Commentary on Harmonica of Ptolemy, Peri tōn hybrizontōn tēn

astronomian (On the Revilers of Astronomy), Pōs dei kataskeuazein astrolavon

(How an Astrolabe Should be Constructed), Peri enypniōn tou Synesiou (On the

Dreams of Synesios)33 etc. Gregoras was also engaged in the eclipses and the

calendar reform. His proposal to reform the Julian calendar was rejected in

1325;34 it was adopted, however, by Pope Gregorius XIII in 1578. For Gregoras

astronomy was the summit of human wisdom, which ‘purified the eye of his

intelligence’.35 As far as the philosophical side of Gregoras is concerned, he

showed a preference to Plato and to cosmologic and metaphysic problematic.

Among his philosophical works we can mention the Logoi (Orations), Epitaphioi

31
Gregoras, I, 1829, pp. 25611-21, 5679-12. For this snobbism see H. Hunger, ‘Klassizistische
Tendenzen in der byzantinischen Literatur des 14. Jahrhunderts’ in Actes du XIVe Congrès
International des Études Byzantines, Bucarest, 6-12 Septembre 1971, ed. by M. Berza and E.
Stănescu (Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, 1971), pp. 139-151 (p.
149).
32
G. Moravscik, Byzantinoturcica, p. 451, and K. Krumbacher, Litteratur, p. 293.
33
For this work see R. Guilland, Essai, pp. 209-216.
34
Andronicos II considered that the strong conservative forces of the Church would never permit
such a change, see ibid., pp. 283-285.
35
Quoted in D. Nicol, The End of the Byzantine Empire (London: 1979), p. 51.

11
‘eis megan logothetēn Theodōron Metochitēn’ and ‘eis Andronicon III’ (Funeral

Orations for the grand logothet Theodore Metochites and Andronicos III),

Epistolai (Letters), Logos aformēn eilēphōs ton tou vasileōs pros ta tou Platonos

erota (Oration by Reason of the King’s (oration) about the Eros of Plato), Lyseis

aporiōn pros tēn vasilida Helenēn tēn Palaiologinan (Answers to the Queries of

Queen Helen Palaeologina), etc.36

1.1.2. John Cantacuzenus

The other chief historian of the fourteenth century was John

Cantacuzenus. He was more than a writer one of the protagonists of the

fourteenth-century Byzantine history. The civil war between him and the party of

John V Palaiologos led him to the imperial throne in Constantinople in 1347.

Cantacuzenus was born probably about 1295.37 His mother, Theodora, was the

aunt of Adronicos III.38 He inherited and employed his mother’s family name of

Palaiologos at least during the period of his career as Grand Domestic, though

after his proclamation as emperor in 1341 he seems purposely to have avoided

36
Istoria tou Ellenikou Ethnous, vol. 9 (Athens: Ekdotike Athenon, 1980), p. 360; for a list of
Gregoras’ works see ‘Γρηγορᾶς Νικηφόρος’, PLP, pp. 235-236, and R. Guilland, Essai, pp.
xxxi-xxxv.
37
Whether or not one accepts the identification of Michael Cantacuzenus as his grandfather (†
1264), which would give 1294 as the terminus post quem for the death of his father and thus 1295
as the latest possible date for the birth of John himself, the evidence is clear that John was of an
age with the emperor Andronicos III Palaiologos; and Andronicos is known to have been born in
1297, see D. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca. 1100-1460, A
Genealogical and Prosopographical Study (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, Center for
Byzantine Studies, Trustees for Harvard University, 1968), p. 35.
38
St. I. Kourouses, ‘Ἰωάννης ὁ Καντακουζηνός’, Threskeutike kai Ethike Egkyklopaideia, vol.
7 (1965), pp. 29-35 (p. 29).

12
using it.39 It seems reasonably certain that John never knew his father and was

brought up as an only child by his mother. It is also clear that he was on most

intimate terms with the young Andronicos Palaiologos from an early age, and

that he was an outstanding member of the younger generation of the aristocracy

which, for whatever reasons, rose in support of Andronicos when he was

disinherited by his grandfather in October 1320.40

After the final victory of Andronicos III, Cantacuzenus became the

mightiest man in the empire, being the most intimate and confidant friend of the

emperor. On 26 October 1341, he was proclaimed by his followers as emperor in

Didymoteichon. He was crowned emperor in Adrianople by Lazaros, Patriarch of

Jerusalem, on 21 May 1346, and on 8 February 1347 he was crowned again in

Constantinople by the Patriarch Isidore. Among those dates one must mention

the bloodshed and unrest that the civil war between Cantacuzenus and John V

Palaiologos caused. Both of them used foreign powers from the Balkans and

Asia Minor. Many of the Byzantine territories were lost to the Serbs, the

Genoese and the Turks. The struggle between the two prominent Byzantine

families continued in 1352. John V Palaiologos supported by Francesco

Gattilusio entered victorious Constantinople in November 1354. Cantacuzenus

tried for a few weeks to remain in his imperial position next to his antagonist. On

10 December 1354, in a ceremony in the palace, John divested himself of all

imperial insignia and put on the habit of a monk, under the monastic name

39
Besides megas domesticos (1325?-1341) he became megas papias (1320), governor of
Adrianople (1320-1321?), and co-emperor (1341-1347), ‘Καντακουζηνός Ἰωάννης’, PLP, p.
94.
40
For the relations of Cantacuzenus and Andronicos see T. Miller, The History of John
Cantacuzenus (Book IV): Text, Translation and Commentary (Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI
Dissertation Services, 1975), pp. 2-6.

13
Joasaph. He moved to the monastery of Mangana.41 In 1379, Andronicos IV

restricted Cantacuzenus and his family in Genoese Pera. In 1381 he was let free

and went to the Peloponnese, where he acted behind-the-scenes, after the death

of his son, Manuel. It was at Mystras, the capital of the Despotate of Morea, that

John Cantacuzenus died and was buried on 15 June 1383.

It was during his monastic life, between the years 1354-1383, that he

applied himself to writing his memoirs or Historiai (Histories) and also to the

composition of a number of theological and polemical works.42 His Historiai are

divided into four books and they correspond to the period of 1320-1356; some

events go as far as 1362.43 At the beginning of the first book he interpolates an

imaginary correspondence, in which Neilos – the archbishop of Thessalonica

Neilos Kabasilas44 – exhorts Christodoulos (the pseudonym of the author) to

compose his memoirs. Neilos praises Cantacuzenus. Christodoulos in his

response clearly mentions that he intents to write sine ira et studio based on

inspection on the spot.45 The first book mainly deals with the war between

Andronicos II and Andronicos III and the second one with the reign of

41
He retired there in the winter 1354-1355 and not to Mount Athos, which is a mistaken opinion,
according to D. Nicol. He must have spent though, a large part of his monastic life in the
monastery of Charsianeites in Constantinople, where he had probably completed his Historiai
and also his theological works, D. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, p. 94. The
biographer of the emperor, John Comnen, mentions just Mangana, see D. Nicol, ‘The Doctor-
Philosopher John Comnen of Bucharest and his Biography of the Emperor John Kantakouzenos’,
in his Studies in Late Byzantine History and Prosopography (London: Variorum Reprints, 1986),
pp. 511-526 (p. 523). In a later period though, he must have gone to Mount Athos, G. Moravcsik,
Byzantinoturcica, p. 321, H. Hunger, Literatur, p. 466, and K. Krumbacher, Literattur, p. 298.
42
The time of the composition of his memoirs was probably the first decade following his
abdication. 1369, the year that the codex Laurentianus IX, 9 was composed, should be considered
as the terminus ante quem, St. I. Kourouses, ‘Ἰωάννης ὁ Καντακουζηνός’, p. 33, D. Nicol, The
Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, p. 100. Moravcsik proposes the year 1368, G. Moravcsik,
Byzantinoturcica, p. 322. For the schema of the manuscripts of Historiai see T. Miller, The
History of John Cantacuzenus, pp. 7-18.
43
K. Krumbacher, Litteratur, p. 298.
44
J. Dräseke, ‘Zu Johannes Kantakuzenos’, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 9 (1900), pp. 72-84 (p. 81).
45
I. Cantacuzenus, Historiarum Libri IV, ed. by B. G. Niebuhr, Imm. Bekker, and L. Schopen
(Bonnae: CSHB, Impenis Ed. Weberi, vol. I, 1827, vol. II, 1831, vol. III, 1832), vol. I, 1827, p.
107-18, (hereafter, Cantacuzenus).

14
Andronicos III (1328-1341). The third one begins with the death of Andronicos

III and ends with the entrance of Cantacuzenus in Constantinople in 1347; finally

the fourth book deals with the reign of Cantacuzenus, his abdication and the

following years. Whereas the first, second and fourth book have more or less the

same length, the third one is almost twice as large.46

Cantacuzenus tries to present his Historiai in a favorable for him way by

passing over in silence or by covering displeasing events; for example he does

not mention the conquest of Nicaea and Nicomedia by the Ottomans. For that

reason one must be very careful when one reads Cantacuzenus’ memoirs.

Generally, however, the events mentioned are authoritative and only their

explanation and commentary lies on the subjective level. His work has a historic

and philological value; above all it is the composition of an experienced

politician based on diary notes and often on official records and archives.47 The

most important document that he quotes verbatim is a letter of the Egyptian

sultan Nasraddin Hasan addressed to the author.48 It is written in colloquial

Greek and can be compared to letters of Turkish sultans to Western leaders of the

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.49 Cantacuzenus, like Julius Caesar, invokes the

truthfulness of his narration. He appears to be always prudent. He interpolates

speeches in his work. The portraits of the main characters though, are missing.

One can trace Ancient Greek models in his style. He avoids platitudinous and

pompous patterns that could remind of a rhetoric school. John followed

46
H. Hunger, Literatur, p. 467.
47
G. Ostrogorsky, Geschichte des byzantinischen Staates (München: C. H. Beck’sche
Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1952), p. 373. He had access to official documents even from the period
of the civil war, but mostly from the time of the emperorship of the young Palaiologos, i.e. the
decrees of Andronicos II, see Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 23223-23314, 23317-2343, 23413-23510.
48
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 94-99.
49
This is one of the oldest examples of vulgar Greek prose, K. Krumbacher, Litteratur, p. 300.

15
Thucydides brilliantly.50 Mythological and historical examples appear only

occasionally. Dreams and prophecies seem to be of no value for Cantacuzenus.

As a faithful Byzantine he believes in the guidance of people and nations by the

Providence. He seems to have thought the Turks less dangerous to the empire

than the Serbs, and to have had no strong feelings against them and their religion,

at least whenever this seemed diplomatically correct.51 His Historiai provide an

invaluable account of the fourteenth-century Byzantine internal and foreign

affairs.

Of his polemical works only two have so far been published. One is the

Prooimion (Prologue) to the writings of the monk Christodoulos, John’

pseudonym against the heretical doctrine of Barlaam and Gregorios Akindynos.

The other is his collection of Treatises against the Muslims, which take the form

of an Apologia for the Christian faith in four chapters and four Logoi (Orations)

against Muhammad. The theological and polemical writings of John which

remain to be edited are as follows: Sermones Antirrhētici (Refutations) by the

monk Christodoulos of the anti-Palamite treatise in four books composed by

John Kyparissiotes Antirrhētica (Refutations) of the treatise by Prochoros

Cydones entitled Peri ousias kai energeias (De essentia et de operatione), in two

parts written in Constantinople in the years 1368-1369, Antirrhētica

(Refutations) of the writings of Isaac Argyros, Treatise on the Light of Tabor,

addressed to Raoul Palaiologos, Treatise against the Jews in nine chapters,

Scholia peri tōn hesychastōn (Comments on the Hesychasts), Correspondence

with the papal legate Paul, consisting of four letters of John and two of Paul. The

50
See H. Hunger, ‘Thukydides bei Johannes Kantakuzenos. Beobachtungen zur Mimesis’,
Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik, 25 (1976), pp. 181-193.
51
For the references he makes of the Turks see G. Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, p. 322.

16
widespread belief that John, as the monk Joasaph, copied many manuscripts with

his own hand, among them the sumptuous collection of his theological and

polemical works contained in Codex Parisinus Graecus 1242, once the property

of the monastery of St Anastasia Pharmakolytria in Chalkidice, seems now to

have been dispelled.52 The monk Joasaph in question was a renowned copyist of

the monastery Tōn Hodēgōn in Constantinople, active from the years 1360 to

1406 or 1418, long after the death of Cantacuzenus. There is no evidence that

John ever copied manuscripts himself. Finally John has been credited with the

Anonymou Paraphrasis tōn Aristotelous Ēthicōn Nicomacheiōn (Paraphrasis

Ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nicomachum Incerti Auctoris, Anonymous’ Paraphrase

of the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle) or at least of the first five or six books of

that work. The Paraphrasis, which remains anonymous, was simply transcribed

on John’s commission and not composed by him.53

1.1.3. Other Byzantine Sources

Besides these two main sources, the following ones are rather helpful for

an overview of the fourteenth century: Demetrios Cydones’ Correspondence,

Laonicos Chalcocondyles’ Apodeixeis Historiōn (Proofs of Histories), the Short

Chronicles, Gregorios Palamas’ Correspondence, Michael Doukas’ History (the

exact title of his work has not survived).

52
L. Politis, ‘Jean-Joasaph Cantacuzène fut-il copiste?’, Revue des Études Byzantines, 14 (1956),
pp. 195-199.
53
D. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, pp. 98-101.

17
1.2. Ottoman Sources

There is a scarcity of indigenous Ottoman source materials before the last

two decades of the fifteenth century. From the fourteenth century almost nothing

survives. As it will appear below, the Ottomans firstly engaged themselves with

historiography only in the time of Bayezid II (1481-1512).54 The historical works

of the fifteenth century have a direct and robust style. They are the raw material

on which later Ottoman writers relied.55

1.2.1. Yahşi Fakih

Yahşi Fakih is one of the first known Ottoman chronographers, second

only to, the more poet than historian, Ahmedi. We do not know much of his life.

Most of the information about him derives from his work. Yahşi Fakih came

from the township of Geyve in eastern Bithynia.56 His father, İshak Fakih, was

the imam of the second Ottoman sultan, Orhan (1326-1362).57 We can assume

54
C. Imber, The Ottoman Empire 1300-1481 (Istanbul: The Isis Press, 1990), p. 1.
55
V. L. Ménage, ‘The Beginnings of Ottoman Historiography’, in Historians of the Middle East,
ed. by Bernard Lewis and P. M. Holt (London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press,
1962), pp. 168-179 (p. 168).
56
V. L. Ménage, ‘The Menāqib of Yakhshi Faqīh’, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies, 26 (1963), pp. 50-54 (p. 50).
57
Hacı Kalfa mentions that the name of his father was İlyas, whereas İdris Bitlisi argues it was
Osman; Hüseyin Namık gives his genealogical tree concluding that his father name was İshak,
see F. Babinger, Die Geschichtsschreiber der Osmanen und Ihre Werke (Leipzig: Otto
Harrassowitz, 1927), pp. 10-11. Bursalı Mehmed Tahir agrees with Hacı Kalfa, see Brusalı
Meámed ߃hir, ‘Oômƒnlı M†’ellifleri, vol. III, (˜stanbul: Maø ba‘a-ı ‘¶mire, 1333), p. 163. A.
Savvides, ‘Το έργο του Τούρκου χρονικογράφου Ασίκ-πασά-ζαδέ (c.1400-c.1486) ως πηγή της
υστεροβυζαντινής και πρώιµης οθωµανικής περιόδου’, Deltio Kentrou Mikrasiatikon Spoudon, 3
(1982), pp. 57-70 (p. 60).

18
that Yahşi Fakih was born in the middle of the fourteenth century. The epithet

faòŒh (faòı) that accompanies his name drives us to the conclusion that he

attained the religious education. The persons that were given this title in the

Islamic world belonged to the close environment of the emir, who often asked for

their advice and guidance. They attained high education especially in the field of

tafsŒr, the elucidation of the Quran.58 The year of death of Yahşi Fakih cannot be

calculated with certainty. Its terminus post quem is the year 1413, when he

accommodated Aşıkpaşazade in his house. We assume that he wrote his

chronicle during the last ten years of his life.

We cannot access the original version of Yahşi Fakih’s chronicle, except

through the TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn (Stories of the House of Osman) of

Aşıkpaşazade. As Aşıkpaşazade mentions, because of his illness he could not

accompany Mehmed I (1413-1421), when the latter left Bursa in 1413 for the

final confrontation with his brother Musa. Aşıkpaşazade, on his way from the

Elvan Çelebi convent, at Mecidözü near Çorum, to Bursa had to stay at Geyve in

the house of Yahşi Fakih. There, Yahşi Fakih gave Aşıkpaşazade his Menƒòıb-ı

¶l-i ‘Oômƒn (Deeds of the House of Osman), an Ottoman history down to

Bayezid I (1389-1402) i.e., until his accession in 1389 or, the latest, to his death

in 1403. Aşıkpaşazade states that ‘he transmitted (naòl)’ the Ottoman history

down to the reign of Bayezid I from this source.59 However, he states that he

58
For the science of fiòh see F. M. Köprülü, ‘Fıkıh’, İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. IV (Eskişehir:
Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı), pp. 601-622 and I. Goldziher [J. Schacht], ‘Fiòh’, Encyclopaedia of
Islam, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (Leiden: E. J. Brill), p. 886.
59
H. İnalcık, ‘How to Read ‘¶shıò Pasha-zƒde’s History’, in his Essays in Ottoman History
(İstanbul: Eren, 1998), pp. 31-50 (p. 32). Aşıkpaşazade, the Anonymous TevƒrŒî, and Oruç’s
relationship on the basis of a common source can be established from the emergence of Osman
Gazi up to the suppression of Mustafa, the rebellious brother of Murad II (1421-1451) in 1422. It
seems that this common source was the chronicle of Yahşi Fakih, H. Inalcik, ‘The Rise of
Ottoman Historiography’, in Historians of the Middle East, ed. by Bernard Lewis and P. M. Holt
(London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1962), pp. 152-167 (pp. 152-153).

19
added things, which came to his knowledge through personal experience in

seeing and hearing: ‘bil†p iŸitd†g†mden ba‘¾Õ aávƒlinden ve menƒòıblarından

iîtiö ƒr ed†b òalem diline vird†m’.60 The author says in it that only, when he was

questioned about the tevƒrŒî and the menƒòıb of the Ottoman house, he

composed a short account ‘from what he had learned and heard’. Instead of the

words ‘bil†p iŸitd†g†mden’, all the other manuscripts have here a longer

passage, which gives the impression that it has been interpolated into the

smoothly-running text of ԦlΠBeg, because it seems syntactically awkward, and

also conveys to the whole prologue a meaning which the author can hardly have

intended.61 Replacing those two words the text reads:

‘faòŒr daîŒ cevƒb vird†m kim Orîƒn äƒzŒ’ni¤ imƒmı ˜shƒò Faòı oålı

YaîŸi Faòı’dan kim ol sulø ƒn BƒyezŒd ïƒn’a gelince bu menƒòÕbı ol

YaîŸi Faòı’da(n) yazılmıŸ buldum kim ol YaîŸi Faòı Orîƒn äƒzŒ’ni¤

imƒmı oålıdur faòŒr da62

This passage adds two important details, the name of the father, ˜shƒò, and the

fact that the menƒòÕ b were written down (yazılmıŸ buldum). These must have

been inserted by Aşıkpaşazade himself, when in editing the recension presented

in F. Giese’s edition, he expanded the prologue by bringing to its logical place

the name of his primary source.63

60
‘¶ŸıòpaŸazƒde, TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Osmƒn veya ‘¶ŸıòpaŸazƒde TƒrŒîi, ed. by ‘¶lŒ Beg (˜stanbul:
Maø ba‘a-ı ‘¶mire, 1337), (hereafter, Aşıkpaşazade-Ali), p. 1.
61
V. L. Ménage, ‘The Menāqib of Yakhshi Faqīh’, p. 50.
62
F. Giese, ed., Die altosmanische Chronik des ‘¶šıòpašazƒde (Osnabrück: 1972), (hereafter,
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese), p. 1.
63
V. L., Ménage, ‘The Menakib of Yakhshi Faqih’, p. 51.

20
 Yahşi Fakih’s menƒòıbnƒme as transmitted by Aşıkpaşazade has the

characteristics of the popular epic style, which combined genuine historical with

folk stories from various origins, Turcoman or Greek.64 The author gives a

lengthier account of Osman’s reign than of the one of Orhan. In his work there is

a chronological gap of more or less fifteen years (1335-1357, according to the

chronology of Yahşi Fakih, which corresponds to actual 1337-1354).65

According to H. İnalcık, the chronicle was composed after the battle of Ankara

(28 July 1402). Ideological tinges in the chronicle indicate the effort of the

chronographer to underline the piousness of the first sultans in contrast with

Bayezid and his ‘indifference’ towards the Islamic prudence. In that way the

Ottoman defeat at Ankara was presented normally as the God’s punishment on

Bayezid.66

The menƒòıbnƒme of Yahşi Fakıh is to a large extent historically

authoritative. Being one of the closest persons of the sultan was an advantage for

the chronographer. Thus, he had the ability to narrate recent events with

vividness. This chronicle includes the achievements of Osman and his comrades-

in-arms like Samsa Çavuş, Akçe Koca and Köse Mihal. Among others, it treats

with the first military operations that concluded in the conquest of Bilecik and

Aynegöl, the undertakings on the east bank of Sakarya and in Mesothynia.

Furthermore it includes the annexation of the emirate of Karasi, the activities of

Süleyman Paşa in Rumili and some events of the reign of Murad I (1362-1389)

in Anatolia. Finally, Yahşi Fakih included legends and folktales that he might

have heard from dervishes, such as the story of the poplar-tree that was planted

64
H. İnalcık, ‘How to Read ‘¶shıò Pasha-zƒde’s History’, p. 32.
65
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi ton Palaion Soultanon (1300-1400) (Athens: MIET, 1991),
p. 52.
66
H. Inalcik, ‘The Rise of Ottoman Historiography’, p. 155.

21
outside the palace in Bursa, or the one of the presence of the prophet Muhammad

at the conquest of Aetos (Aydos).67

The Anonymous TevƒrŒîs are more detailed in some parts than other

sources, especially the ones criticizing the administration. Aşıkpaşazade, Oruç

and the Anonymous TevƒrŒî use, each in his own way, a common source from

the emergence of Osman up to 1422. It seems that this source was Yahşi Fakih’s

work with a continuation to 1422. In general, Aşıkpaşazade’s version is the most

detailed one, although Oruç appears to give in a few places a fuller treatment of

the ‘original’ text. All three of them add to the common source new information

from different sources such as oral traditions and menƒòÕ bnƒmes. However, it

appears that the Anonymous TevƒrŒî have also used a rhymed work from 1402

down to 1424, the one of Hamzavi.68

1.2.2. Aşıkpaşazade

In order to understand the way that each of the above-mentioned

historians used the chronicle of Yahşi Fakih, I should try to give an account of

their lives and works. Aşıkpaşazade (DervŒŸ Aámed ‘¶ŸıòŒ bin ¡eyî Yaáyƒ bin

¡eyî S†leymƒn bin ‘¶Ÿıò PaŸa) was born in 795/1392-1393 at Elvan Çelebi

village and lived there among the dervishes69 until 1422, when Mihaloğlu took

him to join Murad II (1421-1451). He states that he participated in all of Murad

67
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 49; see also V. L., Ménage ‘The Menakib of Yakhshi
Faqih’, pp. 50-54.
68
H. Inalcik, ‘The Rise of Ottoman Historiography’, p. 154.
69
This region of Çorum was densely populated by Turcomans since the Danishmendids; bƒbƒŒ
dervishes must have had strong influence there, H. İnalcık, ‘How to Read ‘¶shıò Pasha-zƒde’s
History’, p. 33.

22
II’s campaigns and whatever he wrote about this sultan comes from his personal

observations. According to certain vaòfiyyes his fortune included several real

estates in Istanbul.70 Since the last event he mentions occurred in the year

908/150271, and his new endowments were made in November of the same year,

it may be supposed that he died in 1502. The audience the author had in mind in

writing his chronicle was in the first place the dervishes, primarily those

belonging to the Vefƒ‘iyye order. Besides telling about the Ottoman family’s

origins, his main purpose was to demonstrate how the Vefƒ‘Œ îalŒfe Ede-Bali and

his own family played a decisive role in the establishment and rise of the

Ottoman dynasty.72

1.2.3. Neşri

Neşri in his Cihƒnn†mƒ (Cosmorama) used the work of Aşıkpaşazade as

his main source. We do not know much of his life. His real name must have been

Meámed, or, according to the evidence of the Bursa register, æ†seyin bin Eyne

Beg, NeŸrŒ being his pseudonym (maîlaö ). He was a m†derris in Bursa, where he

is said to have deceased. Most probably he came from Karaman.73 We may add

that he was a minor poet. He worked in the early years of the reign of Bayezid

70
Ibid., pp. 33-34.
71
Ibid., p. 34. F. Babinger argues that the last event he mentions occurred in 1478, F. Babinger,
Geschichtsschreiber, p. 37.
72
H. İnalcık, ‘How to Read ‘¶shıò Pasha-zƒde’s History’, pp. 36, 39-48.
73
V. L. Ménage, Neshrī’s History of the Ottomans, The Sources and the Development of the Text
(London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 2. F. Babinger and Bursalı
Mehmed Tahir though, claim that he came from Germiyan, see F. Babinger, Geschichtsschreiber,
p. 38, Brusalı Meámed ߃hir, ‘Oômƒnlı M†’ellifleri, vol. III, p. 150.

23
II.74 He died during the time of Selim I (1512-1520). In the Ottoman Empire his

work was used extensively by almost all the historians of the classical age of

literature, which began during that reign.75 His Cihƒnn†mƒ is a universal history

from the Creation to his own days. Only its sixth and last section (òısm) has

survived. It is devoted to the history of the descendants of Oghuz Han and was

presented to Bayezid II. It is divided in three strata or layers (ø abaòa), the third of

which deals with the history of the Ottomans from the legendary beginnings of

the dynasty down to the first years of the reign of Bayezid II, the latest date being

25 ¡a‘bƒn 890/6 September 1485. His main sources, apart from Aşıkpaşazade,

were the Oxford Anonymous History (Bodleian Library, MS. Marsh 313), and a

Chronological List.76 Neşri tried to use a historical method by questioning his

sources and trying to establish the truth of the events. The forthright judgments

on public men – like the family of Çandarlı – of Aşıkpaşazade are frequently

softened.77

1.2.4. Anonymous Chronicles

The Anonymous Chronicles were composed in the fifteenth century in

simple Turkish with a rather naïve and lyrical style lacking the elaborate forms of

classical literature. They were popular readings in their time. They have a

74
The completion of his work falls between 892 (beginning December 1486) and RebŒ‘–l-ƒîir
898/February 1493, the date appearing in the colophon of the Codex Menzel, the earliest dated
manuscript, V. L. Ménage, NeshrŒ’s History of the Ottomans, p. 9.
75
Ibid., pp. 1-5.
76
Ibid., pp. 7-8; see also M. Kalicin, ‘L’homme dans l’œuvre de Neşri “Tarih-i Al-i Osman”’,
Études Balkaniques, 2 (1983), pp. 64-82 (pp. 65-66).
77
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 45; V. L. Ménage, ‘The Beginnings of Ottoman
Historiography’, pp. 175-176.

24
paramount importance as sources for the first two centuries of the Ottoman

history. They seem to be stories narrating the political and military deeds of

sultans in a chronological hierarchy. Their common content consists of three

main parts: a. the emergence of the Ottomans until the fall of Constantinople, b.

the mythical history of Constantinople and the basilica of St Sophia, and c. some

incidental events until 963/1555.78 Their language is the vulgar-colloquial

Turkish of the fifteenth century. They are written in a script, which includes the

vowel points (áareke) that makes them a true thesaurus of early Ottoman

anthroponymy and toponymy, for they are easily readable.79 The artless

syntactical forms and the lack of a common orthography is a topos in the

Anonymous Chronicles. Their sources appear to be Ahmedi, Yahşi Fakih, and

the Chronological Lists. They give a detailed account of the conquest of Thrace

and the rest of Rumeli implying that the age of the Holy War was more

illustrious than the time of Bayezid I. Mythological patterns appear hand in hand

with historical facts. Their composers were people of low class, not having

attained high education, and imbued with the spirit of the Holy War. F. Giese in

his Die altosmanischen anonymen Chroniken had collected thirteen manuscripts

of those TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒns found in European libraries and presented a

single text.80 There are nearly fifty manuscripts of Anonymous Chronicles in

Turkey and around the world.81

78
Anonim, Tevârîh-i Âl-i Osman F. Giese Neşri, ed. by Nihat Azamat (İstanbul: Marmara
Üniversitesi Yayınları, 1992), p. xxix.
79
Anonim, Osmanlı Kroniği (1299-1512), ed. by Necdet Öztürk (İstanbul: Türk Dünyası
Araştırmaları Vakfı, 2000), (hereafter, Anonymous-Öztürk), p. xi.
80
F. Giese, ed., Die altosmanischen anonymen Chroniken ‫ ﺗوارﻳﺦ ﺁل ﻋﺜﻤﺎن‬, Teil 1 Text und
Variantenverzeichnis (Breslau: 1922), pp. i-v, (hereafter, Anonymous-Giese).
81
Anonymous-Öztürk, p. xxxii; F. Babinger, Geschichtsschreiber, pp. 40-42.

25
1.2.5. Oruç

Oruç (Oruc bin ‘¶dil el-óazzƒz el-EdrenevŒ) is the last member of the

authors’ chain that used the menƒòıbnƒme of Yahşi Fakih in their work. As his

name indicates, he came from Edirne. His history is entitled TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i

‘Oômƒn and covers the events from the appearance of the Ottomans until the

military expedition of the Conqueror in Karaman in 872/1467. It was composed

during the reign of Bayezid II. Being contemporary with Mehmed II (1451-1481)

and living in the same city with him (Edirne), makes his account of this sultan

detailed.82 It seems that Oruç made two principal recensions in his work, the first

one ca. 900/1494-95, and the second one 908/1502-3.83

1.2.6. Other Ottoman Sources

Auxiliary to the above-mentioned sources will be Ahmedi’s Dƒsitƒn-ı

TevƒrŒî-i M†luk-ı ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn in his ˜skendernƒme, Şükrullah’s Behcet†’t-

tevƒrŒî, Enveri’s D†st–rnƒme, the Chronological Lists (TƒrŒîŒ TaòvŒmler),

Müneccimbaşı Ahmed bin Lütfullah’s Cƒmi‘u’d-d†vel, İbn-i Kemal’s TevƒrŒî-i

¶l-i ‘Oômƒn, Lütfi Paşa’s TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn, Hadidi’s TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i

‘Oômƒn, and Evliya Çelebi’s Seyƒáatnƒme.

82
Ibid., p. 23.
83
C. Woodhead, ‘Urudj’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, vol. 10, (Leiden: E. J. Brill), p. 908,
and V. L. Ménage, ‘On the Recensions of Uruj’s History of the Ottomans’, Bulletin of the School
of Oriental and African Studies, 30 (1967), pp. 314-322 (p. 322).

26
1.3. Travel Books

Last but not least, I should mention two travel books that give

information about the Thracian country: Bertrandon de la Broquière’s Le voyage

de l’Outremer, and Jovan Maria Angiollelo’s Viaggio di Negroponte.

27
 CHAPTER 2

BYZANTINE-TURKISH DIPOLOMATIC RELATIONS IN THE

FOURTEENTH CENTURY AND THEIR EFFECT ON THRACE

2.1. The Geo-strategic Position of Thrace

The region of Thrace, and especially its eastern part, with the Gallipoli

peninsula, had a profound strategic value for the Byzantine State. Laying on the

north shore of the Hellespont, it controlled the Dardanelles straights, a vital sea

ford in the Constantinople-Mediterranean route. The Maritsa (Hebros) river with

its tributaries formed a commercial communication network connecting Thrace

with the Bulgarian inland. The Thracian plain was a celebrated wheat producing

area.1 The Byzantines, bearing in mind the importance of Thrace, were in pains

to take care of its administration and defense. Thrace was the western vanguard

of Constantinople and its importance was well realized by the Byzantines who

built many fortresses all across it.2 The town of Gallipoli and its surroundings

were placed in the focus of the Byzantine care. During the last years of the

thirteenth century and the first years of the fourteenth, refugees from Asia Minor

1
R. Janin, La Thrace Étude Historique et Géographique (Constantinople: 1920), pp. 5-11. For a
geological study of Thrace see A. Ardel and E. Tümertekin, ‘Geographical Observations in
Thrace I’, Review of the Geographical Institute of the University of Istanbul, 2 (1955), pp. 149-
157.
2
Justinian I (527-565) built 199 fortresses in Thrace.

28
sought a better luck in Thrace, leaving behind their residences and properties in

Anatolia.3 The mercenary Ramón Muntaner of the Catalan force passed from

Asia Minor over to the Gallipoli peninsula in 1305. Later, in his memoirs, he

wrote that it was the most beautiful peninsula in the world, rich in wheat and

grain, wine and all kinds of fruits. Again according to Muntaner, it was

prosperous and densely populated. Its towns, Hexamilion, Gallipoli, Potamos,

Sēstos, Madytos, had large and nice dwellings.4

This image of a thriving prefecture changed just a few decades later, due

to the Byzantine civil wars and the Turkish raids. It was during the adventure of

the Catalan Company that the Turks eventually crossed to Europe.5 Gregoras

says that the Catalans at Gallipoli first invited 500 of the Turks as allies from the

opposite side (of the Dardanelles), i.e. from Asia Minor, and that many more

volunteered their services.6 In fact, the second group also arrived in 1305. They

did not ask for any money; all they wanted was to keep the booty that they would

gain, giving only one fifth to the Catalans. They continued their devastations

until 1313. After being ousted for a while, they started again the usual

plundering. During the Byzantine civil war between John V Palaiologos and John

3
Gregoras, I, p. 214.
4
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, pp. 92-93, P. Lemerle, L’Émirat d’Aydin Byzance et
l’occident, Recherches sur « La geste d’Umur Pacha » (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France,
1957), pp. 68-60, and N. Iorga, Contributions catalanes à l’histoire byzantine (Paris: 1927), pp.
9-39; see also B. Spiridonakis, Grecs, Occidentaux et Turcs de 1054 à 1453 Quatre Siècles d’
Histoire de Relations Internationales (Thessalonica: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1990), pp. 173-
180.
5
N. Oikonomides, ‘The Turks in Europe (1305-1313) and the Serbs in Asia Minor (1313)’, in
The Ottoman Emirate (1300-1389), Halcyon Days in Crete I, A Symposium Held in Rethymnon
11-13 January 1991, ed. by E. Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press, 1993), pp. 159-
168 (p. 159). For the activities of the Catalans in the Byzantine territories see A. Laiou,
Constantinople and the Latins, The foreign Policy of Andronicus II 1282-1328 (Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1972), pp. 158-199.
6
Gregoras, I, pp. 228-9. F. Dirimtekin, based on the chronicle of Muntaner records that under the
command of Halil 800 cavalrymen and 2000 infantrymen joined the Catalan force, F. Dirimtekin,
‘Muasır Bizans Kaynaklarına Göre Osmanlıların Rumeliye Geçiş ve Yerleşişleri’, in VII. Türk
Tarih Kongresi, Ankara, 25-29 Eylül 1970, Kongreye Sunulan Bildiriler, II. Cilt (Ankara: Türk
Tarih Kurumu, 1973), pp. 577-580 (p. 577).

29
VI Cantacuzenus, the Turks firmed their positions in Thrace, since they were

invited by the one side or the other as allies or mercenaries.

The history of the Byzantine civil wars of the fourteenth century is more

or less parallel to the political career of John Cantacuzenus. He was unique in

being the only Byzantine emperor to record the events of his career. He had a

hope, however naïve, of working out a modus vivendi with the Muslim world of

Asia Minor. He fancied that he might win the trust and cooperation of western

Christendom without compromising the Orthodoxy of his Christian faith and the

special qualities of the culture into which he was born.7

2.2. First Byzantine Civil War

The first civil war was between Andronicos II and his grandson

Andronicos III. The conspiracy to promote the cause of the young Andronicos

began to form in the early months of 1321 in Adrianople. Apart from his friend,

John Cantacuzenus, its leaders were Syrgiannes Palaiologos and Theodore

Synadenos. The fourth member was Alexios Apokaukos. In April they all met in

Adrianople. The old emperor was furious. He declared his grandson to be an

outlaw, and he bullied the hierarchy of Constantinople into excommunicating all

present and future supporters of the rebel. But Andronicos III had many

supporters already.8 This struggle started from personal contentions and

jealousness between grandfather and grandson. Soon, however, it turned out to

be a clash between the ancien régime and the new ambitious aristocratic class.
7
D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, A Biography of John Cantacuzene, Byzantine Emperor and
Monk, c. 1295-1383 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 4.
8
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 25-40, 87-93, Gregoras, I, pp. 296-319.

30
The representative of the later was the triumvirate of Andronicos III, John

Cantacuzenus and Syrgiannes. Due to the bad economic situation of the empire,

Andronicos II subjected its people to further ruinous taxation. By playing on

their grievances the young Andronicos gained followers everywhere in Thrace.

He promised immediate remission of taxes for all. On 2 February 1325

Andronicos III was crowned as emperor in his own right at a ceremony in St

Sophia in Constantinople. It was probably now that Cantacuzenus was promoted

to the high rank and office of Grand Domestic, which he was to hold for the next

fifteen years. Andronicos II had employed Turkish mercenaries to fight his

battles in Thrace, hoping that they could be relied upon to return in Asia Minor

when they had earned their pay. But some stayed as brigands. In 1326

Cantacuzenus was set upon by some of them, unhorsed and wounded in the foot

while on his way to Didymoteichon.9 The war continued for seven years and one

month, from 19 April 1321 to 24 May 1328, when the eight hundred soldiers of

the triumvirate hailed Andronicos III as their only emperor in Constantinople. So

ends the first book of Cantacuzenus’ memoirs.10 The old emperor was treated

with kindness and humanity. He became a monk under the name Antonios in

January 1330 and he died in February 1332. It seemed that the old regime

belonged well to the past and left the stage for the younger.11 Cantacuzenus had

earned his position as the new emperor’s right-hand man.

9
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 206-207, Gregoras, I, p. 384, P. Schreiner, ed., Die byzantinischen
Kleinchroniken, vol. 2 (Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1977), pp. 231-
232, (hereafter Short Chronicles). Also see D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, pp. 23-24.
10
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 306, Gregoras, I, p. 427, Short Chronicles, II, p. 234.
11
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 431, 473, Gregoras, I, pp. 460-463, 474-481, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 239-
242.

31
2.3. The Period Between the Two Civil Wars

On 10 June 1329 a battle was joined between the Byzantines and the

Ottomans at Pelekanon (modern day Eskihisar near Gebze) in Bithynia. It was a

historical turning point, since it marked the first direct encounter on the field

between a Byzantine emperor and an Ottoman emir. Andronicos III was

wounded and he had to be carried to the nearby fortress of Philokrēnē.12 The

Ottomans gave the Byzantine troops no chance to retreat in an orderly fashion.

The dispirited army was led safely back to Chrysopolis (Skoutari, Üsküdar) and

then ferried to Constantinople.13

In August 1333 Andronicos arranged a meeting with Orhan at which a

settlement was reached. It is not known for sure whether Cantacuzenus

accompanied him, although he records the event. Perhaps he was ashamed to

report the exact terms of the first Byzantine-Ottoman treaty.14 The emperor

agreed in paying Orhan an annual tribute of 12,000 gold coins for possession of

what little was left of Byzantine Bithynia.15 Needless to say that this was cheaper

than trying to recruit, equip and maintain an army to launch a war against the

Turks of Asia Minor. Cantacuzenus’ mind behind this treaty is apparent, though

not stated.

Cantacuzenus had a profound friendly relationship with Umur, emir of

Aydın. Umur answered a call for help from the emperor and Cantacuzenus, when

12
R.-J. Loenertz, ‘La chronique brève de 1352 texte, traduction et commentaire’, Orientalia
Christiana Periodica, 30 (1964), pp. 39-64 (pp. 39, 45-47). Also see U. V. Bosch, Kaiser
Andronikos III. Palaiologos, Versuch einer Darstellung der byzantinischen Geschichte in den
Jahren 1321-1341 (Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert Verlag, 1965), pp. 153-157.
13
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 341-363, Gregoras, I, p. 458, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 235-236. Also see
V. Mırmıroğlu, ‘Orhan Bey İle Bizans İmparatoru III Andronikos Arasındaki Pelekano
Muharebesi’, Belleten, 13 (1949), pp. 309-321.
14
D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, p. 33.
15
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 446-448, Gregoras, I, p. 458, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 238, 243-244.

32
they were engaged in recovering the island of Lesbos from the Genoese in 1335.

He came in person to Andronicus’ camp at Kara Burun between Chios and

Smyrna. It was there that Cantacuzenus first met him. Their meeting is recorded

by Cantacuzenus and Umur’s panegyrist, Enveri.16 Even the generally prosaic

Gregoras compared Umur’s friendship with Cantacuzenus to that between

Orestes and Pylades.17 Cantacuzenus offered one of his three daughters in

marriage to Umur. All of them were as lovely as houris. Her name was Despoina.

Umur turned down the offer, though, since he thought of himself as John’s

brother.18 Umur in 1338 sent 2,000 Turkish foot-soldiers as mercenaries for the

war of the re-incorporation of the Epirus province, which was successful.19

On 15 June 1341 Andronicos III died. Both Cantacuzenus and Gregoras

recognized that it was a turning point in the history of their age.20 It was

unfortunate that the late emperor had not made his wishes clear regarding the

succession. In 1330 in Didymoteichon he had nominated Cantacuzenus as

guardian and regent of the empire. He had more than once offered him the title of

the co-emperor. In 1341 his son John Palaiologos was nine years old. There

would have to be a regent until he came of age. A prominent candidate was

Cantacuzenus. On the other hand there was much opposition to him as a member

of the aristocracy. The Patriarch John Kalekas and the dowager empress Anna of

Savoy became the regents of young John. Apokaukos, once Cantacuzenus’ ally

and friend, favored the palace. In the mid-time Cantacuzenus repulsed some

16
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 482-495, ï. M†krim, ed., D†st–rnƒme-i EnverŒ (˜stanbul: T†rk TƒrŒî
Enc†meni K†lliyƒtı, ‘aded 15, Devlet Maøba‘ası, 1928), pp. 39-40, (hereafter, Enveri).
17
Gregoras, I, pp. 649-650.
18
Enveri, p. 54-55. We know only three daughters of Cantacuzenus, namely Maria, Theodora and
Helena. Despina (‫ )دﺳﭙﻴﻧﻪ‬probably derives from Greek Despoina (δέσποινα), which means lady,
P. Lemerle, L’émirat d’Aydin, pp. 175-176.
19
G. Ostrogorsky, Geschichte, pp. 403-405.
20
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 557-560, Gregoras, I, pp. 559-560, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 250-251.

33
Turks who were trying to land troops near Gallipoli and persuaded Umur to help

him by sailing his ships up the mouth of the Danube to terrorize the Bulgarians.21

2.4. Second Byzantine Civil War

On 26 October 1341 the army of Cantacuzenus and his supporters

proclaimed him as their emperor. There was no coronation, merely a

proclamation and an investiture.22 John was a secondary emperor committed to

acknowledging and protecting the rights of the legitimate heir to the throne, John

Palaiologos, and his mother.23 In Constantinople his action was interpreted as a

declaration of war. This was the beginning of the second civil war in Byzantium

with, once more, catastrophic consequences in Thrace. The Serbians, the

Bulgarians and the Turks all took advantage of the Byzantine internal political

situation and participated actively, no matter on which side. The dynatoi (local

magnates) and propertied classes declared for Cantacuzenus, whereas the rest

opted to legitimize their actions by claiming to support the regency in

Constantinople. Cantacuzenus used to call on the help of Umur. When his wife,

Eirene, was blockaded by the Bulgarians in Didymoteichon, Umur sailed over

from Asia Minor with a force of 380 ships and 29,000 men.24 He succeeded in

frightening the Bulgarians away. In mid-1343, when John was blockaded in

21
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 65-70, Gregoras, II, pp. 496-598. For the naval presence of the Turks in
the Aegean see, E. Zachariadou, ‘Holy War in the Aegean during the Fourteenth Century’, in
Latins and Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1204, ed. by Benjamin Arbel, Bernard
Hamilton and David Jacoby (London: Frank Cass, 1989), pp. 212-225.
22
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 155-160, 166-173, Gregoras, II, pp. 610-612, Short Chronicles, II, pp.
252-253.
23
D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, p. 55.
24
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 344. Gregoras gives no figures. Enveri reads 300 ships and 15,000 men,
Enveri, pp. 46-47. The much later historian Doukas records that Umur was accompanied by up to
500 Turkish horsemen and as many foot soldiers, Doukas, p. 102.

34
Macedonia, Umur rescued him by sailing to Thessalonica with 60 ships and

6,000 men.25 Those expeditions were quite beneficial to the gazis of Umur, for

the booty was plenty. Actually Umur acted as a mercenary and he always

demanded an area where his soldiers would freely plunder.26

The fighting in Thrace went on and some times came close to the suburbs

of the capital. Towns and villages changed hands more than once. The fields and

livelihoods of the Thracians were ruined by the passage of Byzantine, Serbian,

Bulgarian and Turkish armies. Cantacuzenus reports:

‘the whole [Thracian] region, ravaged as though by enemies, took refuge

in the cities and nothing escaped damage, and very soon inhabited Thrace

looked like a Scythian desert as the strength of the Romans was being

squandered and destroyed by itself.’27

In 1345 another contingent of Turkish mercenaries arrived in Thrace to assist

Cantacuzenus. This time it was sent by Orhan of the Ottoman emirate. The

empress Anna had also appealed to Orhan, but he preferred his older friends.

Cantacuzenus let them free to plunder the countryside. In the spring of the same

year Umur from Aydın and Süleyman from Saruhan came to join him with an

army of 20,000 cavalrymen. Their task was to kill the Bulgarian adventurer

Momčilo who was active at the Didymoteichon region. Momčilo was killed in a

battle on 7 June 1345. After that John led his Turkish troops to Serres. On their

25
D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, pp. 67-68.
26
H. İnalcık, ‘The Rise of the Turcoman Maritime Principalities in Anatolia, Byzantium and the
Crusades’, in his The Middle East and the Balkans under the Ottoman Empire (Bloomington:
Indiana University Turkish Studies and Turkish Ministry of Culture Joint Series, Vol. 9, 1993),
pp. 309-341 (p. 327).
27
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 186; the English translation is from J. Gill, ‘John VI Caνtacuzenus and the
Turks’, Byzantina 131, (1985), pp. 57-76 (p. 59).

35
way, however, Süleyman fell ill and died. His men accused Umur of murdering

him. Umur at once retreated to Smyrna taking his force with him.

On 16 May 1346 Cantacuzenus was crowned emperor fulfilling the

promise of his proclamation and investiture at Didymoteichon five years before.

The ceremony was performed by Lazaros, Patriarch of Jerusalem and took place

at Adrianople.28 Ambassadors had reached him from Orhan asking the hand of

his daughter Theodora in marriage to the emir. Such a bond of kinship would

strengthen the existing ties of friendship and alliance between the two men.

Cantacuzenus consulted his friend Umur. Since there was no relationship of

‘brotherhood’ between John and Orhan, this marriage would be canonical

according to Islamic law. Cantacuzenus agreed.29 This is what Cantacuzenus

records. However, it may well have been John himself who proposed Orhan, for

he knew that empress Anna was trying to bribe and persuade Orhan to assist her.

Doukas, who characterizes this marriage as squalid and sacrilegious, records that

it was Cantacuzenus who turned to Orhan.30 The wedding took place in

Selymbria (Silivri) on the Thracian coast. The bridegroom was absent.31 No one

considered it a Christian marriage; and no one pretended that it was. According

to A. Bryer, this wedding was a turning point in Byzantine-Turkish relations and

illuminates all other imperial alliances.32 It was one of the customary means of

Byzantine diplomacy to sent princesses to foreign courts as brides.33 In this way

28
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 564-565, Gregoras, II, pp. 762-763.
29
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 585-589, Gregoras, II, pp. 762-763.
30
Doukas, pp. 112-114.
31
For the ceremony see, A. Bryer, ‘Greek Historians on the Turks: the case of the first Byzantine-
Ottoman marriage’, in The Writing of History in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to R. W.
Southern, ed. by R. H. C. Davis, J. M. Wallace-Hadrill (Oxford: 1981), pp. 471-493 (pp. 482-
484).
32
Ibid., p. 473.
33
R. Macrides, ‘Dynastic Marriages and Political Kinship’, in Byzantine Diplomacy, Papers from
the Twenty-fourth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Cambridge, March 1990, ed. by
Jonathan Shepard and Simon Franklin (Aldershot: Variorum, 1992), pp. 261-280.

36
a foreign dynasty would become part of the imperial house of Constantinople.34

Michael VIII (1259-1282) had married off daughters to the khans of the

Mongols; Andronicos II had done much the same.35 Cantacuzenus does not refer

to the dowry. He prefers to praise the virtues of his daughter. He mentions that

for seven years after this marriage there were no more Turkish incursions into

Byzantine lands.36

This civil war ended on 8 February 1347 when the two parts reached an

agreement. John Cantacuzenus and the young, fifteen-year-old, John Palaiologos

should reign jointly as co-emperors for a period of ten years, at the end of which

their rule should be equally shared.37 A new era of forgiveness, general amnesty

and stability began. On 21 May 1347 the second coronation of Cantacuzenus

took place by the Patriarch of Constantinople Isidore.38

2.5. Emperorship of John V Cantacuzenus; Turkish Settlement in Thrace

Orhan, the son-in-law of Cantacuzenus came to Chrysopolis to offer him

his congratulations. He brought with him Theodora. Cantacuzenus sailed over to

meet him and for some days they hunted, wined and dined together. Such tokens

34
For the Late Byzantine diplomacy see, N. Oikonomides, ‘Byzantine Diplomacy, A.D. 1204-
1453: Means and Ends’, in Byzantine Diplomacy, Papers from the Twenty-fourth Spring
Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Cambridge, March 1990, ed. by Jonathan Shepard and Simon
Franklin (Aldershot: Variorum, 1992), pp. 73-88.
35
S. Runciman, ‘The Ladies of the Mongols’, in Eis Mnemen K. I. Amantou (Athens: 1960), pp.
46-53.
36
D. Nicol, The Reluctant Emperor, p. 78.
37
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 604-615, Gregoras, II, pp. 773-779, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 268-270.
38
Tradition held that the emperor of the Romans should be crowned in his city of Constantinople
by the Patriarch of that city. Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 29-30, Gregoras, II, pp. 787-791.

37
of goodwill between Christian and Muslims were very much to the taste of

Cantacuzenus.39

Shortly after the wedding of Helena Cantacuzene to John V Palaiologos

(28 May 1347), Orhan sent a secret agent to Constantinople to murder her

husband. In that way, as he thought, he would offer assistance to his father-in-

law. According to Cantacuzenus, it was a custom among the Turks to murder any

possible candidate to the throne.40 Nonetheless, this shows the intimacy between

the two leaders. By 1348 there were Turks in large numbers raiding the Thracian

coast. They were individual adventurers. Some of them were beginning to settle

in Thrace for good. Cantacuzenus confronted some of them in a battle in

Mosynopolis.41 He is often apologetic in his memoirs for the atrocities of the

Turkish troops that he used during the civil war in Thrace.

The Byzantine state was living a period of decline. The imperial treasury

was empty. Cantacuzenus turned to Pope Clement VI, for he knew that he was

hoping to reconstitute a league of western Christian powers against the Turks.

The Pope’s aim was to protect the commerce of the westerners on the coast of

Asia Minor. Umur and Smyrna were of his main targets.42 Cantacuzenus was

more than eager to help. It seems that it was high time he had forgotten his

amicable brotherhood.43 In May 1348 Umur was killed defending Smyrna

against the Pope’s league.44 Cantacuzenus does not mention it. Only from

39
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 33, 43-48, 53-53, Gregoras, II, pp. 798-812.
40
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 111.
41
As he records, he was able to converse with them in Turkish, Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 62-66.
42
E. Zachariadou, Trade and Crusade Venetian Crete and the Emirates of Menteshe and Aydın
(1300-1415) (Venice: Library of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies –
No. 11, 1983), pp. 41-62.
43
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 54.
44
A. S. Atiya, The Crusade in the Later Middle Ages (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1938), pp.
290-300.

38
Gregoras do we learn how much he suffered on the death of his friend.45 In those

years the inhabitants of Thrace suffered great famine and poverty, they fell

victims of usurers, they were used by the Byzantine parties and they were afraid

of new Turkish raids.46

Following his usual tactic, Cantacuzenus asked for the help of Orhan to

rescue Thessalonica that was under Serbian attack in 1347. Orhan sent him

20,000 cavalrymen under the command of his son Süleyman. They were

suddenly ordered by Orhan though, to hurry back to Bithynia.47

Byzantium was a victim of the clashing interests of the Italian maritime

republics in eastern Mediterranean. The sea-battle in the Bosphorus between the

Byzantines and the Genoese (13 February 1352) brought an end to John’s

ambitious ideas concerning the reconstruction of the Byzantine navy.48 Quite

annoying for John was the fact that the Genoese had sought and obtained the help

of Orhan. This was a very intelligent movement of the Ottomans who made their

début in the international diplomatic arena.49 It was the answer to the triple treaty

of Byzantium-Venice-Aragon.

Internal intrigues and disputes seemed to be endless in Byzantium. This

time the apple of discord had fallen between John V Palaiologos and the son of

Cantacuzenus, Matthew. In 1352 John V attacked Adrianople, in the province

allotted to the governorship of Matthew. Matthew and his men were driven to the

citadel. He sent immediately urgent messages to his father who led an army to

45
Greogoras, II, p. 835.
46
Well-known for his lamentations, the Byzantine scholar Demetrios Cydones, narrates in the
fifth letter of his second book the calamities of the Thracian people that he saw and heard one day
of 1346, D. Cydonès, Correspondance, vol. 1, ed. by Raymond-J. Loenertz O. P. (Città del
Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1956), p. 29, (hereafter, Cydones-Correspondance).
47
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 104-105, 108-118.
48
M. Balard, ‘A propos de la bataile du Bosphore’, in La Mer Noire at la Romanie génoise
(XIIIe-XVe siècles), ed. by Michel Balard (Aldershot: Variorum, 1989), pp. 431-469.
49
Ş. Turan, Türkiye-İtalya İlişkileri I Selçuklular’dan Bizans’ın Sona Erişine (Ankara: T.C.
Kültür Bakanlığı, 2000), pp. 284-285.

39
the relief of his son. Among his troops were some Turks provided by Orhan and

some Aragonese or Catalan mercenaries who had survived the Venetian-Genoese

war. The place of the battlefield was again Thrace. Some sort of order was

restored in Matthew’s principality by allowing the Turks to terrorize the nearby

towns. The Serbians, the Bulgarians and the Venetians though, all saw John V

Palaiologos as the future emperor. Cantacuzenus once again called the help of

Orhan. A huge cavalry force under the command of Süleyman arrived in Thrace.

Near Adrianople they defeated the Serbian and Bulgarian allies of Palaiologos.

After several rounds of negotiations, John V was forced to leave Didymoteichon

and stay in the island of Tenedos (Gökçeada).50 In the course of his campaign

Süleyman captured the fortress of Tzympē near Gallipoli. When the fighting was

over, he denied evacuating it. He claimed that it was his by right of conquest.

Thus, in 1352, the Ottomans possessed their first ‘bridge-head’ in Europe.51 The

Ottomans had already annexed the principality of Karasi lying on the eastern side

of the Dardanelles taking advantage of an internal struggle for the throne in

1345-1346.52 The troops from Karasi entered the Ottoman force and participated

actively in the Thracian operations. Among their chieftains there were Ece Beg,

Gazi Evrenos,53 Hacı İlbegi, and Gazi Fazıl. The name of Evrenos does not

resemble a Turkish one. It might be a version of the Greek family name Bryonēs

50
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 252-254, Gregoras, III, pp. 182-183, Short Chronicles, II, pp. 281-282.
Gregoras records that John V was sent to Lemnos rather than Tenedos.
51
H. Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age 1300-1600 (Phoenix, London: 1997), p. 9.
52
Z. G. Öden, Karası Beyliği (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1999), pp. 54-60. Also see E.
Zachariadou, ‘The Emirate of Karasi and that of the Ottomans: Two Rival States’, in The
Ottoman Emirate (1300-1389), Halcyon Days in Crete I, A Symposium Held in Rethymnon 11-13
January 1991, ed. by E. Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press, 1993), pp. 225-236.
53
Evrenos Beg was the ancestor of the famous Evrenosoğulları one of the four ancient families of
the Ottoman warrior nobility, the other three being the Mihaloğulları, the Malkoçoğulları and the
Turahanoğulları, see I. Mélikoff, ‘Ewrenos’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (Leiden: E.
J. Brill), p. 720, F. Başar, ‘Evrenosoğulları, İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2 (İstanbul: Türkiye Diyanet
Vakfı), pp. 539-541 (p. 539), Y. Kurulu, ‘Evrenos Gazi’, Yaşamları ve Yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar
Ansiklopedisi, vol.1, pp. 428-9.

40
that turned into Evrenos in Turkish. In the Byzantine sources he is mentioned as

‘Branezēs’ (Manuel II Palaiologos, Anonymous of the Chronicle of Ioannina,

Anonymous of the Chronicle of Tocco and Laonicos Chalcocondyles),

‘Abranezēs’ (Phrantzes), and ‘Ebrenez’ (Doukas).54 Those begs played an

important role in the Conquest of the Balkan Peninsula.55

Cantacuzenus sent Orhan a protest offering to compensate Süleyman, if

he would surrender Tzympe. At the same time Süleyman began to reinforce the

stronghold with troops from Asia Minor. Cantacuzenus realized his errors.

At this time Süleyman with a force of 3,000 men sailed off Kemer,

passed over to Kozludere and conquered Plagiarion (Bolayır), which dominates

the hill on the narrowest point of the northern Gallipoli Peninsula.56 Its location

has a paramount strategic importance as it controls both the peninsula and the

isthmus. A tremendous earthquake shattered the Thracian shore of the Marmara

on 1-2 March 1354.57 The walls of many towns in the area collapsed. The locals

fled to safer areas in the countryside. To the Ottoman leaders this seemed like

divine intervention. Both the Short Chronicles and Cantacuzenus record a

devastating shock.58 The epicenter was between Madytos and Rhaidestos, the

region that the Turks were plundering for the past two years. Demetrios Cydones

54
G. G. Arnakis, Oi Protoi Othomanoi, Symvoli eis to Provlima tis Ptoseos tou Hellenismou tis
Mikras Asias (1281-1337) (Athens: Texte und Forschungen zur byzantinisch-neugriechische
Philologie, Byzantinisch-Neugriechische Jahrbücher, Nr. 41, Nikos Bees, 1947), p. 89 and E.
Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 99.
55
For their building activities see, H. Ç. Arslan, Türk Akıncı Beyleri ve Balkanların İmarına
Katkıları (1300-1451) (Ankara: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı, 2001).
56
H. İnalcık, ‘Osmanlı Tarihine Toplu Bir Bakış’, in Osmanlı, vol. 1, (Ankara: Yeni Türkiye
Yayınları, 1999), pp. 37-117 (p. 62).
57
G. Arnakis argues that after several earthquakes Gallipoli fell twice to the Turks, in March
1354 and in 1355, G. G. Arnakis, ‘Gregory Palamas among the Turks and Documents of his
Captivity as Historical Sources’, Speculum, 26 (1951), pp. 104-118 (pp. 111-112), and G. G.
Arnakis, ‘Gregory Palamas, The Χίονες, and the Fall of Gallipoli’, Byzantion, 22 (1952), pp. 305-
312 (pp. 310-312). Actually there was only one earthquake and it happened in March 1354, G.
Ostrogorsky, Geschichte, p. 422, footnote, 4.
58
Short Chronicles, I, 7/13 (p. 66), 37/5 (p. 299), 53/3 (p. 379), 54/2 (p. 388), 55/3 (p. 397), 58/2
(p. 418), 59/17 (p. 439), 60/6 (p. 451), 69/2 (p. 529), 72/2 (p. 555), 72a/1 (p. 560), 87/3 (p. 613),
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 277.

41
and the archbishop of Thessalonica Gregorios Palamas were astonished by this

coincidence.59 The Ottoman sources do not mention such a natural disaster. A

passage in Enveri gives vaguely a hint of a natural disaster that facilitated the

conquest of a castle.60 In the hagiography of Seyyid Ali it is mentioned that the

walls of Gallipoli collapsed after an earthquake caused by the supernatural

powers of the dervish.61 The Ottoman chronographers record that Gallipoli fell

after a siege, when her governor surrendered himself.62 I assume that Gallipoli

was strong enough to endure the Ottoman siege at the beginning. The Ottomans

used to cut off the fortified cities from their countryside, which would force them

to surrender.63 When the earthquake occurred, the Turkish forces were near

Gallipoli so as to capture it immediately, despite the fact that Süleyman was in

Asia Minor at that moment.64 This surprised the Constantinopolitans and

impressed the westerners.65

Cantacuzenus continued his diplomatic struggle. Orhan was not so sure

that his son was in the right. He proposed that all three parties should meet

somewhere in Nicomedia (İzmit) to discuss the issue promising to pay Süleyman

40,000 hyperpyra by way of compensation if he would relinquish the cities he

59
D. Cydonii, Symbouleutikos heteros peri Kallipoleos aitesantos tou Mouratou, in Patrologiae
Cursus Completus, ed. by J.-P. Migne (Brepols-Turhnout: Bibliothecae Cleri Universae), vol.
154, pp. 1009-1036 (pp. 1012D, 1013A), (hereafter, Cydones-Symbouleutikos). Lambros-
Dyovouniotes, ‘Γρηγορίου Παλαµά εποστολή προς Θεσσαλονικείς’, Neos Ellenomnemon, 16
(1922), pp. 3-21 (p. 8).
60
Enveri, p. 83.
61
I. Beldiceanu-Steinherr, ‘Seyyid ‘Ali Sultan d’après les registres ottomans: l’installation de
l’Islam hétérodoxe en Thrace’, in The Via Egnatia Under Ottoman Rule (1380-1699), Halcyon
Days in Crete II, A Symposium Held in Rethymnon 9-11 January 1994, ed. by E. Zachariadou
(Rethymnon: Crete University Press, 1996), pp. 45-63 (p. 49).
62
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, pp. 50-51.
63
The communication of the local authorities with Constantinople was often hazardous. Some of
Byzantine cities of this era tried to work on ways of self-administration, see E. Zachariadou,
‘Εφήµερες απόπειρες για αυτοδιοίκηση στις ελληνικές πόλεις κατά τον Ι∆΄ και ΙΕ΄ αιώνα’,
Ariadne, 5 (1989), pp. 345-451.
64
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 278.
65
In August 1354 the Venetian bailo in Constantinople wrote that Constantinople, faced with this
danger, was prepared to place itself under the protection of a powerful Christian state, H. Inalcik,
The Ottoman Empire, p. 10.

42
had occupied. The meeting never took place. Cantacuzenus had lost his self-

confidence and once more he thought of abdication.66 According to the

Byzantine perception of international law, the territories that had once been

under the rule of the Byzantine Empire de jure belonged to it eternally. The

Ottoman point of view was that, if a territory, conquered in the name of Allah,

was recaptured by the infidels, it would be automatically classified in the Abode

of War (dƒr al-áarb). Consequently, the Muslims had the right to raid and attack

it. The knowledge of the Byzantines about the various Turkish emirates was

vague. The Turkish hegemonies all around Anatolia resembled a labyrinth. Thus,

the Byzantines could not apply the method of playing one dynasty against the

other.67 It was late for the Byzantines, when Cantacuzenus realized he could not

trust Orhan the way he had trusted his ‘brother’, Umur. On 5 Deecmber 1354 the

government in Constantinople was held to examine the situation in Thrace. The

only record of it is in the memoirs of Cantacuzenus. He strongly opposed to go to

war against the Turks. As he reads:

‘No one hates them [the Turks] more than I, not only because of their

religion, but also because of all the wrongs they have done us over so

many years… I propose that we should send ambassadors to them to

make peace and persuade them to hand back the places, which they have

stolen in Thrace.’68

66
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 279-281, Gregoras, III, p. 242.
67
Cydones-Symbouleutikos, p. 1028c, Cantacuzenus, III, p. 32, D. Nicol, The Last Centuries of
Byzantium (1261-1453) (London: 1972), p. 135.
68
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 295-300; the English translation is from D. Nicol, The Reluctant
Emperor, pp. 130-131.

43
He could not convince the members of the council. His fellows were impetuous

to launch a war against the Turks. On 10 December 1354 in a simple ceremony at

the palace he discarded all his imperial insignia and resided in Mangana

Monastery as monk Joasaph.69 Gallipoli became Süleyman’s base for his military

operations in Thrace and then the first center of the Paşa Sancağı in Rumeli.70

Soon it gained great importance as the nautical base of the Ottomans. Many of

the workers in the shipyard of Gallipoli were of Byzantine origin even in later

times.71

2.6. The Ottoman Conquest of Thrace

The three main routes of conquest that the begs from Karasi followed

were towards a. Tekfur Dağı, Tzouroullos (Çorlu), Constantinople, b. over the

Kuru Mountain towards Malkara, Charioupolis (Hayrabolu) and Bizye (Vize),

and c. through the Maritsa valley towards Kypsela (İpsala), Didymoteichon

(Dimetoka) and Adrianople.72 The Ottomans applied the method of population

deportation (sürgün) to ‘turkify’ their new territories on European soil.73 It was

an effective means to secure their new conquests. Aşıkpaşazade records:

69
See D. Nicol, ‘The Abdication of John VI Cantacuzene’, in his Studies in Late Byzantine
History and Prosopography (London: Variorum Reprints, 1986), pp. 269-283.
70
H. Inalcik, ‘Gelibolu’, EI2, vol. II, p. 983a.
71
H. İnalcık, ‘Türk Donanmasının Beşiği: Gelibolu’, Türk Kültürü, 22 (1964), pp. 57-60. Also
see F. Kurtoğlu, ‘XVIıncı Asrın İlk Yarımında Gelibolu’, Türkiyat Mecmuası, 5 (1935), pp. 291-
306 (pp. 296-301).
72
H. İnalcık, ‘Osmanlı Tarihine Toplu Bir Bakış’, p. 62. K. Ercilasun, ‘Orhan Bey Devrinde
Osmanlı Devleti’nin Trakya Politikası’, Türk Kültürü, 33, no. 388 (1995), pp. 485-499 (p. 496).
73
See the article of Aktepe on the Turkish settlements in Rumeli, based mostly on taárŒr
defterleri, M. Aktepe, ‘XIV. ve XV. Asırlarda Rumeli’nin Türkler Tarafından İskânına Dair’,
Türkiyat Mecmuası, 10 (1953), pp. 299-312. Also see H. Şentürk, ‘Osmanlı Devleti’nin Kuruluş
Devrinde Rumeli’de Uyguladığı İskân Siyâseti ve Neticeleri’, Belleten, 57 (1993), pp. 89-112.

44
 ‘[Süleyman Paşa, son of Orhan Gazi, informed his father] that a large

Moslem population was needed in these conquered lands and fortresses.

He also asked him to send valiant gazis. Orhan approved and deported to

Rumili the nomads called Kara Arabs who had come into his territory.

New families arrived every day from Karasi. The newcomers settled

down and started the gaza.’74

The toponyms of many villages in Thrace indicate that they were inhabited by

deported population.75 The Turks from Anatolia established separate villages in

their new lands and did not usually mix with the native Christian population.

Apparently there was a comparative over-population in Western Anatolia in the

fourteenth century. The promising lands of Europe attracted many emigrants

from the Asiatic hinterland, where anarchy had prevailed after the decline of the

Ilkhanid domination.76

The people who suffered the most were the peasants, for the Turks were

primarily interested in the Thracian plain.77 Orhan recruited both foot and cavalry

soldiers that formed the nucleus of the future Ottoman army.78 The conquest of

Thrace should not be attributed solely to Ottoman forces. The beglik of Orhan in

74
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49. The English translation of the abstract is from H. Inalcik, ‘Ottoman
Methods of Conquest’, Studia Islamica, 3 (1954), pp. 103-129 (p. 122). Also see, İ. H.
Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Tarihi, vol. 1, (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1995), pp. 157-158.
75
For the significance of Thracian toponymy see V. Akın, ‘Trakya Köy ve Şehir Yer Adları
Üzerine Bir İnceleme’, Türk Kültürü, 28 (1990), pp. 530-538. On Turkish place onomastics see
M. Eröz, ‘Sosyolojik Yönden Türk Yer Adları’, Belgelerde Türk Tarihi Dergisi, 12 (1986), pp.
39-42, and W. Eilers, ‘Toponymische Satznamen der Türken’, Die Welt des Islams, 15 (1974),
pp. 45-68.
76
H. Inalcik, ‘Ottoman Methods of Conquest’, pp. 125-127.
77
Gregoras, III, p. 224. Cydones-Correspondance, II, p. 121.
78
E. Werner, ‘Johannes Kantakuzenos, Umur Paša und Orhan’, Byzantinoslavica, 16 (1965), pp.
255-276 (pp. 271-272).

45
Bithynia attracted many warriors from different principalities of Asia Minor.79

On the other hand, there was no Byzantine central standing army. Byzantine

defense was weak. In the fourteenth century the institution of pronoia had faded

away.

The social pathology of the Thracians facilitated the Ottoman advance.

The struggle between the aristocracy and the peasants or the middle and low

class urban population was well represented in the two civil wars. The personal

ambitions of the generals or the emperor himself, the political and ecclesiastical

disputes, the social contrasts and the dislike towards the central government were

the main factors of the Byzantine decadence.80

Taking into consideration the political fragmentation in the Balkans, the

Ottomans, shown as the protectors of the Orthodox Church, appealed to the

populace, whereas the Balkan aristocracy followed a pro-Western – Catholic –

policy.81 The social status in pre-Ottoman Balkans was characterized by a

tendency toward feudalization. The local lords, however, were now made

Ottoman timar-holders under strict state control. The Ottoman conquest in the

Balkans had two stages: a. indirect suzerainty over neighboring nations and b.

direct control over these countries by the gradual elimination – in terms of

Ottomanization – of their native dynasties.82

79
G. Vogiatzis, ‘Οθωµανοί και µη Οθωµανοί Μουσουλµάνοι στην κατάκτηση και τον εποικισµό
της Ανατολικής και ∆υτικής Θράκης’, Ellenika, 41 (1990), pp. 279-286.
80
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi Othomanokratia sti Thraki, Ameses dimografikes synepeies
(Thessalonica: Herodotos, 1998), p. 142. Also see I. Dujčev, ‘Die Krise der spätbyzantinischen
Geselschaft und die türkische Eroberung des 14. Jahrhunderts’, Jahrbücher für die Geschichte
Osteuropas, 21 (1973), pp. 481-492, and V. Hrochová, V., ‘Aspects sociaux et économiques de la
decadence des villes byzantines à l’époque des Paléologues’, in Actes du IIe Congrès
International des Études du Sud-Est Européen (Athènes, 7-13 mai 1970), tome II Histoire, ed. by
Marie Nystazopoulou-Pélékidou (Athènes: Association International des Études du Sud-Est
Européen, 1972), pp. 435-440.
81
H. Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire, pp. 12-14.
82
H. İnalcık, ‘Stefan Duşan’da Osmanlı İmparatorluğuna: XV. Asırda Rumeli’de Hıristiyan
Sipahiler ve Menşeleri’, in his Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Toplum ve Ekonomi Üzerinde Arşiv

46
 The Serbian Emperor Stephen Dušan (1331-1355), who by the time

controlled the greatest part of Western Balkans, died in December 1355 and his

empire at once disintegrated into ten thousand pieces, as Cantacuzenus reports.83

The Turks seized the opportunity of conquest in South-Eastern Europe of a

greater scale. On the other hand, the Byzantine internal strife reached to an end,

when in December 1357 at a ceremony at Epibatai (Selimpaşa), Matthew swore

allegiance to John V Palaiologos and disclaimed all his pretensions to the name

of the emperor.84

In summer 1357 pirates of Phocaea kidnapped the twelve-year-old son of

Orhan, Halil. Orhan addressed to John Palaiologos for help. He agreed to assist

him if Orhan ceased the incursions in Thrace. Indeed, for a period of two years

1357-1359 the Ottoman operations in Thrace were limited. The pioneer of the

Ottoman proliferation in Thrace, Süleyman, died in 1357. According to the

Ottoman sources he was seriously injured in a hunting accident.85 Doukas

records that Süleyman was killed by Matthew Cantacuzenus in a battle near

Hexamilion.86 The dying Süleyman’s last request was to be burried in Bolayır,

and his corpse never to be left to the enemy.87 Gregoras argues that Orhan’s

Çalışmaları, İncelemeler (İstanbul: Eren, 1996), pp. 67-108. Also see H. Lowry, ‘The Role of
Byzantine Provincial Officials Following the Ottoman Conquests of their Lands’, in IIIrd
Congress on the Social and Economic History of Turkey, Princeton University 24-26 August
1983, ed. by Heath Lowry and Ralph S. Hattox (Istanbul, Washington, Paris: The Isis Press,
1990), pp. 261-267.
83
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 314-315. Dušan had himself crowned as emperor in 1346 in Skopje. His
coronation was a direct challenge to the Byzantine notion of imperium œcumenicum, according to
which there should be only one emperor in this world, for there is only one God.
84
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 345-360. Also see, D. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, p.
118.
85
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 51. H. Inalcik, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, Archivum Ottomanicum,
3 (1971), pp. 185-210 (pp. 190-191). Also see I. Beldiceanu-Steinherr, Recherches sur les actes
des règnes des sultans Osman, Orkhan et Murad I (Monachii: Societas Academica Dacoromana,
1967), p. 132.
86
Doukas, p. 122.
87
Anonymous-Giese, p. 17.

47
peace agreement with the emperor was subsequent to his son’s death.88 The

active in the area gazis were disappointed and hopeless. The anonymous

chronicle of TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn records that the enemy, i.e. the Byzantines,

undertook an attack by land and sea from the direction of Kavak Tuzlası, but

withdrew when they saw that the Ottomans were determined to fight on

regardless of the cost.89 The Ottomans resumed their raids on Thrace, perhaps as

a result of the activity of the papal legate, who visited Constantinople with his

fleet and then proceeded to an attack on Lampsakos (Lapseki) in autumn of

1359.90 When Süleyman, the eldest son of Orhan, died, according to the Turkic-

Mongolian tradition, Orhan sent immediately his son Murad and his tutor Lala

Şahin to the frontier region of Gallipoli.91 This is what Enveri and

Chalcocondyles report.92 Murad, however, was inactive till the rescue of Halil in

1359. It was then that the begs from Karasi launched a more intense round of

incursions in Thrace. In the period of 1357-1359 the Turks undertook the task of

colonizing the Gallipoli Peninsula.93 A vaòfiyye of Orhan to his son Süleyman,

dated in 1360, gives a list of many villages and çiftliks with Turkish names in the

area.94 This colonization was strengthened by nomads, aîŒs and dervishes

pouring in every day from Asia Minor.95

88
Gregoras, III, p. 561.
89
Anonymous-Giese, p. 18.
90
E. Zachariadou, ‘Orkhan’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, vol. 8 (Leiden: E. J. Brill), pp. 175-
177 (p. 176).
91
H. Inalcik, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 193.
92
Enveri, 84, L. Chalcocondylas, Historiarum Libri Decem, ed. by Immanuel Bekker, (Bonnae:
(CSHB), Impensis Ed. Weberi, 1843), p. 33, (hereafter, Chalcocondyles).
93
This colonization had begun even from the early 1350s, see E. Werner, Die Geburt einer
Großmacht – die Osmanen (1300-1481), Ein Beitrag zur Genesis des türkischen Feudalismus
(Wien, Köln, Graz: Herman Böhlaus, 1972), pp. 134-138.
94
H. İnalcık, ‘Osmanlı Tarihine Toplu Bir Bakış’, p. 64.
95
Ö. L. Barkan, ‘Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda Bir İskân ve Kolonizasyon Metodu Olarak Vakıflar
ve Temlikler; I İstilâ Devirlerinin Kolonizatör Türk Dervişleri ve Zâviyeler, II Vakıfların Bir
İskân ve Kolonizasyon Metodu Olarak Kullanılmasında Diğer Şekiller’, Vakıflar Dergisi, 2
(1942), pp. 279-386. Also see H. J. Kissling, ‘Zum islamischen Heiligenwesen auf dem Balkan,
vorab im thrakischen Raume’, in his Dissertationes Orientales et Balcanicae Collectae, I. Das

48
 On the other hand, John V Palaiologos had driven Matthew, the ally of

the gazis, from the Adrianople sector and had brought that area under his direct

control and rule.96 Therefore it was only natural that the aim of the new push in

Rumeli should be this area, long considered by the Ottomans as being under their

protection.97 This in fact meant that there was no chance of a diplomatic solution.

The family of Cantacuzenus was held away from the decision-making centers;

and this family was the one who had showed success in comprehending its

Turkish neighbors, although most of the times it was circumstantial.

Murad used the already captured strongholds as military bases for his

operations in the north towards the Thracian plain. His army was not based only

on the Turkish soldiers already in Thrace – as his brother had done – but

essentially on a military force from Asia Minor.98 Murad presided a council of

gazis that was held in Malkara.99 He divided his force into five groups. He

occupied himself with Eastern Thrace, while his comrades-in-arms continued

their attacks in the fertile region of the Maritsa and Adrianople. His target was

the axon of Constantinople-Adrianople. Quite normally, the key of the conquest

of Thrace was the control over its capital, Adrianople. The conquest of Messēnē

(Misinli) Tzouroullos (Çorlu), Arcadioupolis (Burgus, Lüleburgaz) and

Boulgarophygon (Babaeski) should be examined within this context. Panic beset

Derwischtum (München: Dr. Dr. Rudolf Trofenik, 1986), pp. 46-59. For the nomads (yürüks)
who inhabited Thrace see M. T. Gökbilgin, Rumeli’de Yürükler, Tatarlar ve Evlâd-ı Fâtihân
(İstanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınlarından No. 748, 1957), pp. 1-251. Also
see the illuminating monograph on ahilik, N. Çağatay, Bir Türk Kurumu Olan Ahilik, (Ankara:
Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1997).
96
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 324, Gregoras, III, p. 564.
97
H. Inalcik, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 194.
98
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 52, F. Babinger, Die frühosmanischen Jahrbücher des Urudsch nach den
Handschriften zu Oxford und Cambridge erstmals herausgegeben und eingeleitet (Hannover:
Orient-Buchhandlung Heinz Lafaire, 1925), p. 19-20 (hereafter, Oruç).
99
H. J. Kissling, ‘Das Menāqybnāme Scheich Bedr ed-Dīn’s, des Sohnes des Richters von
Samāvnā’, in his Dissertationes Orientales et Balcanicae Collectae, I. Das Derwischtum
(München: Dr. Dr. Rudolf Trofenik, 1986), pp. 112-176 (p. 138).

49
the Constantinopolitans. In this way Murad was protected from a Byzantine

attack in the rear.

On the other side, Hacı-İl Beg had settled in Hacı İlbegi Bergozı

(Empythion) on the banks of the Maritsa River, and was putting pressure on

Didymoteichon. At last he ambushed the fortress’ commander and took him

prisoner; he released him when the fortress was surrendered. Still in the Maritsa

valley, Evrenos had seized the Kissos (Keşan) stronghold and was putting

pressure on Kypsela (İpsala). Adrianople was blockaded from south and east.

2.7. The Conquest of Adrianople

There are many different opinions on the issue of the date of the conquest

of Adrianople. G. Ostrogorsky suggests 1362.100 E. Zachariadou101 and I.

Beldiceanu-Steinherr102 propose 1369. According to Zachariadou, the terminus

post quem of the date in question is 1366, when a certain John Katakalon

(oikonomos and deacon of the Adrianople metropolis) composed a poem-eulogy

to emperor John V. This poem was commissioned by Polykarpos, the

metropolitan of Adrianople (Orestias). The poem was written around Christmas

1366, when Polykarpos still held the metropolitan throne.103 I. Beldiceanu-

Steinherr concludes that in the first time Adrianople was conquered by

‘independent’ begs around 1369, and later by the Ottomans in 1376/1377. The

100
G. Ostrogorsky, Geschichte, p. 427.
101
E. Zachariadou, ‘The Conquest of Adrianople by the Turks’, in her Romania and the Turks (c.
1300-c. 1500) (London: Variorum Reprints, 1985), pp. 211-217.
102
I. Beldiceanu-Steinherr, ‘La conquête d’Andrinople par les Turcs: La pénétration turque en
Thrace et la valeur des chroniques ottomanes’, Travaux et Mémoirs, 1 (1965), pp. 439-461.
103
The poem mentions the journey of John V to Hungary to ask for assistance, E. Zachariadou,
‘The Conquest of Adrianople by the Turks’, p. 214.

50
Byzantine Short Chronicles date the fall of Adrianople in 6877 indiction 7, which

corresponds to September 1368 – August 1369.104 The Bulgarian historian A.

Burmov argues that Adrianople was conquered in 1371.105 Burmov’s sources are

certain Serbian chronicles, Chalcocondyles and Luccari. Luccari had used a

Bulgarian source that has not survived. According to the author’s opinion, the

battle between Serbians and Turks in Tzernomianon in 1371 should be

considered in the context of the Serbian efforts to rescue Adrianople from the

Turkish siege.

H. İnalcık suggests the year 1361.106 S. Shaw agrees with İnalcık.107 In H.

İnalcık’s opinion, the Ottoman traditions confirm the date 762/1361, which Oruç

gives for the conquest of Adrianople.108 Furthermore, O. Halecki notes that,

according to the Venetian sources, news of the conquest reached Venice on 14

March 1361.109 Unless this was a false report, shortly before this date, in the year

1361 ‘at the time the Maritsa was overflowing’, Adrianople surrendered to

Murad.110 T. Gökbilgin writes that the conquest was accomplished under Murad I

(1362-1389) by Lala Şahin Paşa, who defeated the tekvur at Sazlı-Dere, to the

southeast of the city. The latter then fled secretly by boat from his palace on the

banks of the Tunca and in Rama¾ƒn 763/July 1362 and the inhabitants of the

104
Short Chronicles, I, 53/4 (p. 379), 54/3 (p. 388), 55/4 (p. 398), 58/3 (p. 418), 59/18 (p. 440),
60/7 (p. 451), 61/5 (p. 458), 69/3 (p. 529), 72/3 (p. 555), 72a/3 (p. 560), III, 60a/3 (p. 151).
105
A. Burmov, ‘Türkler Edirne’yi Ne Vakit Aldılar?’, trans. by Hasan Eren, Belleten, 13 (1949),
pp. 97-106.
106
H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 210.
107
S. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, vol. I Empire of The Gazis, The
Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997), p. 18.
108
Oruç gives the date as 761 A.H., following the Anonymous Chronicles, Oruç, p. 21, and as
762 A.H., based on the Calendars.
109
O. Halecki, Un Empereur de Byzance à Rome (London: Variorum Reprints, 1972), p. 75,
footnote, 1.
110
H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 210.

51
town surrendered on condition of being allowed to live there freely.111 The

Ottoman historiography gives more or less this account. Anonymous-Giese

reads:

‘æƒcı ˜lbegi Dimetoòa’yı fetá itdi. Ve Evrenos Beg KeŸan vilƒyetin fetá

itdi ˜pöala’yı daîŒ bile. Ve bu øarafdan Murƒd äƒzŒ Eski’den g”‡†b

Edrene’ye gelmege niyyet itdi. Lƒlƒsı ¡ƒhŒn beglerbegi idi. Andan ¡ƒhŒn

Lƒlƒ’ya leŸker virdi, Edrene’ye g”nd†rdi. džn ¡ƒhŒn Lƒla Edrene’ye

geldi. Edrene kƒfirleri òarŸuladılar, ‘aüŒm ceng itdiler. ïaylŒ adam òırıldı.

‘¶òÕbet kƒfirler m†nhezim olub òaçub Edrene’ye gel†b áiöƒra girdiler.

Murƒd äƒzŒ’ye ¡ƒhŒn Lƒla beŸƒret îaberin g”nd†rdi. Bunca baŸlar bile

g”nd†rdi. Ve æƒcı ˜lbegi ve Evrenos Beg äƒzŒ Murƒd’u¤ ”¤ine d†Ÿ†b

doårı Edrene’ye get†rdiler. Ol vaòit Tunca ve Meric åƒyet øaŸåundı.

Edrene tekvurı g†cile òayıåa bin†b òaçdı, Eyn†z’e gitdi. äƒzŒler ‘ale’ö-

öabƒá øurdılar, òal‘ayı îƒlŒ buldılar. ¡ehir îalòÕ òal‘ayı açıvirdiler. ˜çeri

girdiler. Edrene fetá olundı. Hicret†¤ 761 yılında vƒòÕ‘ oldı.’112

The Rhōmaikē Historia of Gregoras goes only as far as 1359 and

naturally does not mention the conquest of Adrianople. Cantacuzenus and

Demetrios Cydones, historians contemporary with the events, never mention the

fall of Adrianople; had Adrianople fallen previous to 1371, this important event

would most assuredly be echoed in their writings. But one must not forget that

111
T. M., Gökbilgin, ‘Edirne’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (Leiden: E. J. Brill), pp.
683-686 and T. Gökbilgin, ‘Edirne Hakkında Yazılmış Tarihler ve Enîs-ül Müsâmirîn’, in
Edirne’nin 600. Fetih Yıldönümü Armağan Kitabı (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1993), pp. 77-
117.
112
Anonymous-Giese, p. 21. Parallel to this is the account of Aşıkpaşazade, see Aşıkpaşazade-
Ali, pp. 53-54.

52
Cantacuzenus was defending himself in his memoirs; perhaps he preferred not to

discuss this event, which put him and his son Matthew in a difficult position,

since he was held responsible for the Ottoman occupation of Thrace. Cydones, in

his letters and other writings, striving to show off his literary style, presented a

general rather than detailed account of the individual events. Even the Byzantine

Short Chronicle, which gives a faithful chronology of important events, contains

no mention of the fall of Adrianople.113 The narration of Murad’s first military

expedition in the Balkans in the TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn holds much importance,

since it illuminates the history of the second half of the fourteenth century, when

the Byzantine sources remain silent. With the battle of Maritsa in 1371, in which

the Christian leaders of Macedonia were defeated, the conquest of Thrace was

sealed. The Balkans laid open to the Ottoman raids. The Byzantines euphemized

their state by calling it an empire. The Byzantine lands were limited to the capital

city, some fortresses on the Thracian shores, some islands of the north Aegean

sea, and Mystras in the Peloponnese.114 In 1376 Murad recaptured Gallipoli that

Amadeo of Savoy had taken on 23 August 1366 and given to the Byzantines on

14 June 1367.

The defeat of the Christian powers in Tzernomianon apparently indicates

the lack of cooperation among the Christian rulers of the Balkans against a

common threat.115 The Latin West was unwilling to provide assistance to

113
P. Charanis, ‘Les Βραχέα Χρονικά comme source historique, An Important Short Chronicle of
the Fourteenth Century’, Byzantion, 13 (1938), pp. 335-362, and H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of
Edirne (1361)’, p. 187.
114
A. Bakalopulos, ‘Les limites de l’Empire byzantin depuis la fin du XIVe siècle jusqu’à sa
chute (1453)’, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 55 (1962), pp. 56-65. Also see M. Kiel, ‘A Note on the
History of the Frontiers of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th Century’, Byzantinische Zeitschrift,
66 (1973), pp. 351-353.
115
See D. Angelov, ‘Certains aspects de la conquête des peuples balkaniques par les Turcs’,
Byzantinoslavica, 17 (1956), pp. 220-275.

53
‘schismatic’ Byzantium against the ‘infidel’ Turks.116 The pro-western Cydones

expressed the opinion that no human power could rescue Byzantium from the

coming catastrophe.117

116
A. Luttrell, ‘Latin Responses to Ottoman Expansion before 1389’, in The Ottoman Emirate
(1300-1389), Halcyon Days in Crete I, A Symposium Held in Rethymnon 11-13 January 1991,
ed. by E. Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press, 1993), pp. 119-134 (p. 134).
117
Cydones-Correspondance, I, p. 117.

54
 CHAPTER 3

TOPOGRAPHY OF THRACE

3.1. Thrace’s Place in History

Thrace (according to a theory, its name derives from the Semitic root

øaraò = ford)1 was one of the four daughters of Ocean and Parthenope – Asia,

Libya, Europe, and Thrace.2 It is first mentioned by Homer in Iliad (‘Θρ ικα’,

II, 595). Eustathius argues that Thrace formed a large C and included the

northern part of the world. The Ancient Greek authors considered Thrace as the

Great Northern Land starting from River Pēneios in Thessaly until an aorist edge.

On a more solid base its borders were the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the

Black Sea in the East, Illyricum in the West, Thessaly in the South, and the

Danube in the North.3 In Roman times it formed the Prefecture of Moesia. In the

fourth century Thrace was one of the largest dioceseses of the Praefectura

1
From the Aramaic root ‫קרט‬, (= to slam, to bang) derives the Hebrew ‫ קרט‬and the Arabic ‫ قﺮط‬, E.
Klein, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of
English (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1987),
‘‫’קרט‬, p. 252. In Arabic the expression ‫ ضرﻷا ﺖﻗرط‬means ‘the ground was so beaten so as to be
rendered even, or easy to be traveled; and trodden with the feet’; ‫ ﻃﺮﻳق‬means road, way, path, see
E. W. Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1980), vol. 5, ‘‫’ﻃﺮق‬, pp.
1846-1851.
2
K. M. Apostolidou, ‘Περί των ορίων της Θράκης’, Thrakika, 2nd series, 4 (1982, 1983, 1984),
pp. 185-195 (pp. 185-186).
3
A. Adamantiou, ‘Αι γεωγραφικαί περιπέτειαι του ονόµατος Θράκη, Συµβολή εις την ιστορικήν
γεωγραφίαν’, Thrakika, 1 (1928), pp. 374-392 (pp. 375-377).

55
Praetorio per Orientem. The notion in the Byzantine era that Thrace was the

eastern entrance of Europe traces its origins in antiquity.4 In many authors

Thrace was synonymous to Europe.5 In 680/681 the theme of Thrace has been

created. At the beginning of the eighth century the nascent theme of Macedonia

included many Thracian lands. It was in the second half of the tenth century that

those two themes merged into one. It functioned till the end of the twelfth

century or 1204.6 The administrative fragmentation of Thrace in a larger scale

occurred under the Crusaders.7 Finally, during the late Byzantine era, the term

Thrace meant a vague geographical unity.8

In this chapter I will try to trace the route that the Ottomans followed

during the conquest of Thrace in the second half of the fourteenth century. The

toponyms mentioned follow the Ottoman attacks (aòın) and not an alphabetical

order.

From the time of the second Byzantine civil war (1341-1347), many

Turks remained in Thrace, either as mercenary vanguards of John Cantauzenus,

or as mere bandit groups. They lived on raids and plundering. The Turks were

familiar with the Thracian topography long before they settled in there. The rich

Thracian plain seemed more attractive than the already Islamized Asia Minor for

4
The Byzantine author Procopius (first half of the 6th century) says: ‘the Ocean and the land of
Spain are the left side of Europe, whereas Thrace is the place where the sun dawns upon it
(Europe)’, Procopius, De Aedificiis, ed. by G. Dindorfius (Bonn: 1838), IV, 9, p. 297. For the
Byzantine Thrace see S. Kyriakides, ‘Η Θράκη κατά τους Βυζαντινούς χρόνους’, Archeion tou
Thrakikou Laografikou kai Glossikou Thesaurou, 12 (1945-46), pp. 49-62.
5
Like Theophanes and Leon Diakonos, see T. Louggis, ‘Η ιστορική διαδροµή της Θράκης στα
πλαίσια της Βυζαντινής αυτοκρατορίας’, in Thraki, Istorikes kai Geografikes Prosegiseis,
(Athens: Epistimis Koinonia, Ethniko Idryma Ereunon-National Hellenic Research Foundation,
2000), pp. 77-106 (p. 78).
6
D. Zakythenos, ‘Μελέται περί της διοικητικής διαιρέσεως και της επαρχιακής διοικήσεως εν τω
Βυζαντινώ κράτει’, Epeteris tes Etaireias Byzantinon Spoudon, 18 (1948), pp. 42-62 (p. 51), and
22 (1952), pp. 159-182.
7
See A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, Studi Veneziani, 7 (1965), pp. 125-305.
8
For the borders of Byzantine Thrace see M. Apostolidou, ‘Ρωµανία-Ζαγορά και τα της Θράκης
όρια επί της Βυζαντιακής Αυτοκρατορίας’, Archeion tou Thrakikou Laografikou kai Glossikou
Thesaurou, 8 (1941-42), pp. 65-82.

56
the exercise of the Holy War (cihƒd). This attracted holy warriors from other

emirates in Asia Minor, like Saruhan and Karasi.

3.2. Topography of the Ottoman Conquest of Thrace

In 1352, when the Byzantines opened once more their hostilities, the

Turks who quartered in the Tzympē area established their permanent rule over

the fortress. According to Gregoras, the Turks established there a kind of colony

before the arrival of Süleyman from Asia Minor.9 In contrast with Gregoras, the

Ottoman sources read that Süleyman expressed the will to pass over to Thrace,

when he was in TemƒŸƒlıò (‫)ﺗﻤﺎﺷﺎﻟﻖ‬10 near Ayduncuò (‫)اﻳﺪوﻨﺠﻮق‬11 and watched the

European shores. We assume that Süleyman crossed the sea to Tzympē in 1352.

Tzympē (Τζύ μπη) is mentioned by Cantacuzenus,12 Gregoras,13 and by

the Ottomans. The Ottoman chronographers have given the name Tzympē many

9
‘The son of Hyrcanus [the son of Orhan, Süleyman], crossed the Hellespont [to Thrace] as if it
were his colony or fatherland, and decided to live with the Barbarians [Turks], who had come
there shortly before’, Gregoras, III, p. 20320-23.
10
TemƒŸƒlıò is mentioned by Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11a, Hadîdî, Tevârih-i Âl-i Osman (1299-
1523), ed. by Necdet Öztürk (İstanbul: Marmara Üniversitesi Yayınları, 1991), p. 71, (hereafter,
Hadidi), L©øfŒ PaŸa, TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn (˜stanbul: T. C. Ma‘ƒrif Vekƒleti NeŸriyƒtından,
Maøba‘a-ı ‘¶mire, 1341), p. 29, (hereafter, Lütfi Paşa), Mehmed Neşri, Kitâb-ı Cihan-nümâ,
Neşrî Tarihi, vol. 1, ed. by Faik Reşit Unat and Mehmed A. Köymen (Ankara: Türk Tarih
Kurumu, 1995), p. 173, (hereafter, Neşri), here it is used as a noun (= to go out to stroll about and
watch things, observation), İbn-i Kemal, Tevârih-i Âl-i Osman, I. Defter, ed. by Şerafettin Turan
(Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1991), p. 112, (hereafter, İbn-i Kemal), Paris, Bibliothèque
Nationale, Département des manuscrits, MS. Anonymous, TevƒrŒî-i ¶l-i ‘Oômƒn, Suppl. Turc
1047, p. 25, (hereafter, Anonymous-Paris) (I am deeply indebted to Prof. Dr. H. İnalcık for
letting me see his copy of this manuscript), Ankara, Millî Kütüphane, MS. Konya İzzet
Koyunoğlu Kütüphanesi, Anonim, Tevārīh-i Āl-i ‘Osmān (II. Bayezid Devrine Kadar), No. A-
1465, p. 22, (hereafter, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu) (I am deeply indebted to Prof. Dr. H. İnalcık for
letting me see his copy of this manuscript), and Oruç, p. 16. There is a certain Temaşalık in the
Havran sub-district (bucak) of the Edremit county (ilçe) in Balıkesir province (il), Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, (Ankara: T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı, Başbakanlık Devlet Matbaası,
1946), p. 1053. This is however, far southern from the shores of Marmara.
11
Ayduncuò is the Byzantine Kyzikos and the modern day Edincik, in the Bandırma county, in
the Balıkesir province, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 348.
12
Cantacuzenus, III, p. 27619-20.

57
variants.14 The exact location of this fortress is unknown. J. Kissling and F.

Babinger argue that it is identical with Çimenlik.15 The Ottoman chronicles

enlighten us on the topography of the region. Aşıkpaşazade gives the following

account:

‘Meger bir g†n seyrid†rken Aydıncıò’a geldi TemƒŸƒlıò’a geldi g”rdi bir

åarŒb binƒlar. Biraz øurdı hŒç s”ylemedi S†leymƒn PaŸa’ya, Ece Beg

dirlerdi bir ‘azŒz vardı ve hem îaylŒ bahƒdır a¤ılurdı eyid†r ïƒnum

tefekk†re vardu¤. S†leymƒn PaŸa eyid†r bu de¤izi geçmek fikr ederin

Ÿ”yle geçem kim kƒfir†¤ îaberi olmaysa didi. Ece Beg ve äƒzŒ Fƒ¾ıl

eyitdiler biz ikim†z geçel†m g”rel†m didiler. S†leymƒn PaŸa eyd†r

nerede geçersiz dir. Eyitdiler kim ïƒnum bunda bir yir vardur kim ”te

geçmege yaòındur. G”çdiler ol yirden vardılar kim ol yir Virƒnca

áiöƒrdur G”rece’den aŸaåı de¤iz kenƒrındadur. Ece Begle äƒzŒ Fƒ¾ıl bir

öal çatdılar bindiler gice ile ÇŒn áiöarınu¤ nevƒáŒsine çıòdılar.’16

According to this passage, Tzympē must be opposite the Viranca fortress.

Viranca (‫)وﻳراﻥﺠﻪ‬17 must be located in the (Edincik) Kapıdağ peninsula below

13
Gregoras, III, p. 224.
14
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48, ‫ ﭼﻴن‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 44, ‫ ﺝﻤﺒﻰ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 16, ‫ﭼﻤﻥﻰ‬
, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11a, ‫ ﭼﻤﻥﻠﻚ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻰ‬, and p. 11b, ‫ ﺝﻤﺒﻴﻦ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻰ‬, Hadidi, p. 72, Cinbi æiöƒrı,
Müneccimbaşı Ahmed b. Lütfullah, Camiü’d-Düvel Osmanlı Tarihi (1299-1481), ed. by Ahmet
Ağırakça (İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları, 1995), p. 46, (hereafter, Müneccimbaşı), ‫ ﺝﻤﻥﻰ‬, Lütfi Paşa, p.
159, ‫ ﭼﻤﻠﻥﻚ ﺣﺼﺎرى‬, Neşri, p. 174, ‫ ﺝﻤﺒﻥﻰ ﺣﺼﺎرى‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 114, ‫ ﺝﻤﺒﻴﺠﻚ‬, Anonymous-Paris,
p. 26, ‫ ﺣﺼﺎرى‬/‫ ﭼﻡﻴﻥﻚ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻰ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, pp. 23-24, ‫ ﺝﻤﻠﻥﻚ ﺣﺼﺎرى‬/ ‫ ﭼﻮﺏﻦ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻰ‬/ ‫ﺳﻰ‬
‫ ﺝﻤﻴﻦ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ‬, Oruç, p. 17, ‫ ﻗﻠﻌﻪ ﺳﻰ‬/ ‫ ﭼﻤﻥﻚ ﺣﺼﺎرى‬.
15
F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien (14.-15.
Jahrhudert) (Brün, München, Wien: Rudolf M. Rohrer, München: Georg D. W. Callway, 1944),
p. 39, and J. H. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens im 17. Jahrhundert (Wiesbaden:
Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, 1956), p. 53.
16
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, pp. 47-48.
17
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11a, Neşri, p. 174, ‫ وﻳراﻥﺠﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-
Giese, p. 44, Anonymous-Giese, p. 15, ‫ وراﻥﺠﻪ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 26, ‫ وراﻳﻥﺠﻪ‬, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 23, ‫ ﺪرﻥﺠﻪ‬, Oruç, p. 17, ‫ وارﻥﭽﻪ‬.

58
G”rece (‫)آﻮرﻩ ﺝﻪ‬,18 in the Asian shore, but its exact place is not known. G”rece –

or K†rekci or G†gercinlik – is located by F. Kreutel in modern day Güreci near

Lapseki.19 This, however, is further southwest of Edincik, over a narrower ford to

Europe. Şükrullah and Nişancı Mehmed Paşa instead of those places mention

Kemer, a place of lush greenery on the seaside.20 It should be the modern day

Kemer in Karabiga.21 The other Ottoman sources do not add something new. The

name of Tzympē is mentioned in Byzantine sources from the twelfth century

onwards22 and then in Ottoman taárŒr defterleri until the sixteenth century. In the

taárŒr defterleri Tzympē is always mentioned as ‫( ﺝﻥﺒﻰ‬Cinbi). In Gelibolu sancagı

taárŒr defteri of 879 A.H. it reads: ‘òarye-i Um–rbegl† Cinbi daîŒ dirler’.23 This

implies that Tzympē was identical with Um–rbegl†, or at least it was in its

vicinity. According to other entries in taárŒr defterleri the villages Eksamil,

M†stecab, M†stecebl†, and óalamic are in the same region. M. Aktepe reaches

18
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 44, ‫ آﻮرﻩ ﺝﻪ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 15, ‫ آﻮرﺝﻪ‬,
Neşri, p. 174, Oruç, p. 17, ‫ آﻮآﺮﺝﻥﻠﻚ‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 114, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 23, ‫ آﻮرآﺠﻰ‬,
Anonymous-Paris, p. 26, ‫ آﻮرآﺝﻪ‬.
19
R. F. Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte, Frühzeit und Aufstieg des Osmanenreiches
nach der Chronik “Denkwürdigkeiten und Zeitläufe des Hauses ‘Osman” vom Derwisch Ahmed,
genannt ‘Aşık-Paşa-Sohn” (Graz, Wien, Köln: Verlag Styria, 1959), p. 311; Güreci is a village in
the county of Lapseki, in the province of Çanakkale, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1,
p. 442.
20
Şükrullah, Behcetüttevârîh, in Osmanlı Tarihleri I, Osmanlı Tarihinin Anakaynakları olan
Eserlerin, Mütebassıslar tarafından Hazırlanan Metin, Tercüme veya Sadeleştirilmiş Şekilleri
Külliyatı, ed. by Çiftçioğlu N. Atsız (İstanbul: Türkiye Yayınevi, 1925-1949), p. 5, (hereafter,
Şükrullah), Karamanlı Nişancı Mehmed Paşa, Osmanlı Sultanları Tarihi, trans. by Konyalı
İbrahim Hakkı, in Osmanlı Tarihleri I, Osmanlı Tarihinin Anakaynakları olan Eserlerin,
Mütebassıslar tarafından Hazırlanan Metin, Tercüme veya Sadeleştirilmiş Şekilleri Külliyatı, ed.
by Çiftçioğlu N. Atsız (İstanbul: Türkiye Yayınevi, 1925-1949), (hereafter, Nişancı Mehmed
Paşa), p. 345.
21
Kemer is in the Karabiga sub-district, of the Biga county in Çanakkale province, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2 (Ankara: T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı, Başbakanlık Devlet Matbaası,
1947), p. 666. According to ‘AlŒ Cevƒd, Memƒlik-i ‘Oômƒniyye’ni¤ TƒrŒî ve Coårƒfya L©åƒtı,
(Der-Sa‘ƒdet: Ma‘ƒrif Neüƒreti, Maám–d Beg Maøba‘ası, 1313), ‘Kemer’ p. 280, Kemer is
located near Edremit. Like Temaşalık, it is too far from the region described.
22
The typikon of the Kosmosoteira monastery, see G. Vogiatzis, I proimi Othomanokratia sti
Thraki, p. 88, footnote 22.
23
M. Aktepe, ‘Osmanlı’ların Rumeli’de İlk Fethettikleri Çimbi Kal’ası’, İstanbul Üniversitesi
Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Dergisi, 2 (1950), pp. 283-306 (p. 289, footnote 32), where he cites
İstanbul, Inkılâp kütüphanesi, MS. Hicri 879 tarihli Gelibolu sancagı taárŒr defteri, M. Cevdet
Yazmaları No. 79, pp. 96-98, (Prof. Dr. H. İnalcık kindly showed me this defter).

59
to the conclusion that Tzympē should be located at the north of Gallipoli on the

shore of the Sea of Marmara between Bolayır and Kavak Deresi, most probably

at the south shore of Kazan-ağzı.24 Bearing in mind that Tzympē was ‘over’

Gallipoli,25 in a point of the Thracian seashore near Eksamil opposite of Görece,

being easily reached by ships, we assume that Tzympē was not on the shore of

the Hellespont, but further north on the shores of Marmara.26 In the 18th century

the Turks proudly showed the traveler Lechevalier in Akbaşı Liman of the

Hellespont a rocky place called Gaziler İskelesi, where, according to a legend,

their ancestors had moored before attacking Tzympē.27

Almost all the Ottoman sources mention two fortresses, Bolayır and Aòca

Limon (or Liman) that were conquered right after Tzympē. Bolayır (‫)ﺏﻮﻻﻳﺮ‬28 is

the Byzantine Plagiarion (Πλαγιά ριον). It bears the same name today.29

The second fortress, Aòca Liman (‫)ﺁﻗﭽﻪ ﻟﻴﻤﺎن‬30 must have been the port of

Bolayır. N. Beldiceanu identified it as the modern day Akliman opposite of

24
M. Aktepe, ‘Osmanlı’ların Rumeli’de İlk Fethettikleri Çimbi Kal’ası’, p. 302. N. Oikonomides
argues that Tzympē was very close to Branchialion (not far from modern day Bolayır and
possibly identical with it), N. Oikonomides, ‘From Soldiers of Fortune to Gazi Warriors: The
Tzympe Affair’, in Studies in Ottoman History in Honour of Professor V. L. Ménage, ed. by
Colin Heywood and Colin Imber (Istanbul: The Isis Press, 1994), pp. 239-247 (p. 241).
25
Cantacuzenus, III, pp. 24216, 27619, 2777, 27822, 27914, and Anonymous-Giese, p. 16.
26
The shores of the Hellespont are much more rugged than the ones of the Sea of Marmara.
Morover, the Byzantines must have protected them with garrisons, see E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai
Thryloi, p. 98.
27
See A. Vakalopoulos, Istoria tou Neou Ellinismou, vol. 1 (Thessalonica: Herodotos, 2001), p.
131, footnote 6, where he cites B. Lechevalier, Voyage de la Troade fait dans les années 1785 et
1786, vol. 1 (Paris: 1802), p. 277.
28
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 45, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11b,
Müneccimbaşı, p. 47, Lütfi Paşa, p. 30, Neşri, p. 176, İbn-i Kemal, p. 122, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 24, Oruç, p. 18 mention it as‫ ﺏﻮﻻﻳﺮ‬, whereas Anonymous-Giese, p. 16, and
Anonymous-Paris, p. 27 mention it as ‫ ﺏﻼﻳﺮ‬.
29
Bolayır in the county of Gelibolu, province of Çanakkale, see Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler
Kılavuzu, vol. I, p. 167.
30
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11b, Anonymous-Paris, p. 27, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 24, Oruç, p. 18, and Lütfi Paşa, p. 30 mention it as ‫ ﺁﻗﭽﻪ ﻟﻴﻤﻮن‬, Anonymous-Giese,
p. 16, Müneccimbaşı, p. 47, Neşri, p. 176, İbn-i Kemal, p. 120, mention it as ‫ ﺁﻗﭽﻪ ﻟﻴﻤﺎن‬,
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48 mentions it as ‫ ﺁﻗﺠﻪ ﻟﻴﻤﺎن‬.

60
Çanakkale.31 This, however, is not accurate, since Aşıkpaşazade mentions that it

was pretty near Bolayır. Consequently, it was in the north of the Hellespont and

not near Çanakkale. It worths to mention that the seaside region of Plagiarion

was called Leukē (Λευκ = white, like ak or akça in Turkish) from the

antiquity.32

The Ottomans conquered after that the fortress of Aya ¡ilonya (‫)اﻳﺎﺷﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬.33

E. Zachariadou argues that this place-name could be, with some reservations,

identified as the Byzantine mountain fortress of Hagios Ēlias (Ἅγιο Ἠλία ) in

the Ganos (Γ νο ) region.34 However, Hagios Ēlias was very distant from the

place that the first Ottoman attacks in the Gallipoli peninsula took place.

Moreover, it was difficult of access due to its altitude. It could have been the,

neighboring to Tzympē, fortress of Hexamilion (Ἑξαμίλιον). This castle

controlled the entrance of the Gallipoli peninsula and was in the center of the

Ottoman operation. The Ottomans, having already captured Tzympē and Aòca

Liman, would, as a logical consequence, try to conquer the nearest key-fortress

of the inland.35 Aşıkpaşazade does not mention a place-name relevant to

Hexamilion. Neşri, on the other hand, mentions two pairs of fortresses, namely,

Cimbeni-AyaŸilunye, Odg†kl†k-Eksamiliye:

31
N. Beldiceanu, Les actes des premiers sultans conservés dans le manuscrits turcs de la
bibliothèque nationale à Paris, vol. 1, Actes de Mehmed II et de Bayezid II du ms. fonds turc
ancien 39 (Paris: Mouton & Co, 1960), pp. 110-111, footnote 6.
32
‘Λευκή’, Μegale Εllenike Εgkyklopaideia, vol. 17, p. 732, A. Samothrakes, ‘Λεξικόν
γεωγραφικόν και ιστορικόν της Θράκης’, Archeion tou Thrakikou Laografikou kai Glossikou
Thesaurou, 2nd series 28 (1963), pp. 3-596, (hereafter, Samothrakes-Lexicon), ‘Λευκή Ακτή’, (p.
338).
33
For this toponym, as well, many variants are available, Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 48, ‫ اﻳﺎس ﻟﻮﻥﺠﻪ‬,
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 45, and İbn-i Kemal, p. 123, ‫ اﻳﺎﺷﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 16, and
Müneccimbaşı, p. 47, ‫ اﻳﺎﺳﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, ‫ اﻳﺎش کﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬, Hadidi, p. 74, Ayaşoluna,
Lütfi Paşa, p. 30, ‫ اﻳﺎش‬, Neşri, p. 176, ‫ اﻳﺎﺷﻠﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 27, ‫ اﻳﺎﺷﻠﻮﻥﻪ‬, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 24, ‫ اﻳﺎﺷﻠﻮﻥﻴﺎ‬, Oruç, p. 18, ‫ اﻳﺷﻠﻮﻥﻪ‬.
34
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 98.
35
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi othomanokratia sti Thraki, pp. 90-91.

61
 ‘El-òıööa, ‘asker†¤ ekôerini yanlarına geç†rdiler. Geçen ‘asker iki bi¤den

ziyƒde idi. Nƒçƒr olub Cimbeni áiöƒrınu¤ kƒfirleri bu åƒzŒlere m†ttefiò

olub bile y†r†diler. Bir gice AyaŸilunye dirlerdi bir áiöƒr daîŒ var idi.

Anı daîŒ æaòò Te‘ƒlƒ fıröat vir†b, fetá itdiler. Ehl-i ˜slƒm elinde ”te

yaòada áiöƒr iki oldı. Dirler ki fetá olan iki áiöƒr Odg†kl†k’le

Eksamiliye’ydi.’36

The name AyaŸilunye reached perhaps the Ottoman chronographers of the

fifteenth century through the oral traditions. It underwent changes as the new

inhabitants adjusted it to the phonetic rules of Turkish, and then it faded away.37

The name Eksamiliye (‫)اکﺴﺎﻡﻴﻠﻴﻪ‬,38 on the other hand, is unambiguously

the Turkified form of the Greek Hexamilion. This place-name was in use at the

time of Neşri. Eksamiliye was located in the place of the Hellenistic Lysimacheia

(Λυσιμαχε α). It was dominant over the six-mile walls, from which its name

derives. These walls were protecting the Gallipoli peninsula and were built by

Miltiade in 560 B.C.39 Its modern name is Ortaköy. The name Eksamil survives

only as the name of the neighboring hill.40

36
Neşri, p. 176.
37
Most of the Ottoman toponyms derive from their Byzantine predecessor, see H. J. Kissling,
‘Die türkische geographische Nomenklatur auf dem Balkan als Erkenntnismittel für die
Südostoeuropaforschung’, Zeitschrift für Balkanologie, 3 (1965), pp. 126-142, and P. Wittek,
‘Von der byzantinischen zur türkischen Toponymie’, Byzantion, 10 (1935), pp. 11-64.
38
Şükrullah, p. 54, İksamilye or İksamiliye, İbn-i Kemal, pp. 138-139, ‫ اﻜﺴﻪ ﻡﻴﻞ‬. The other
sources do not mention this fortress.
39
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Εξαµίλιον’, pp. 182-183.
40
R. F. Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte, p. 307. A certain Aksamil is mentioned in the
Çanakkal’a ve bahr-ı siyah boğazları ile Marmara denizi rehberi, (trans. from English) (Bahriye
Matbaası, 1311). According to the guide, this village is in the east of Bolayır. Şükrullah, p. 54,
and Nişancı Mehmed Paşa, p. 345 record that it was opposite of Kemer in the Asian shore, see M.
Aktepe, ‘Osmanlı’ların Rumeli’de İlk Fethettikleri Çimbi Kal’ası’, pp. 305-306, footnote 75.

62
 Having blocked off Gallipoli, the Ottomans continued exercising their

aòÕns as far as Tek†r ßaåı (‫)ﺗﻜﻮر ﻃﺎﻏﻰ‬.41 Its Byzantine counterpart is the Hieron

Oros (Ἱερὸν Ὄρο ). Today this mountain is called Işıklar Dağı. The name

survives today as Tekirdağ,42 which was the Byzantine town Rhaidestos

(Ῥαιδεστός ). The ancient name of Rhaidestos was Bisanthē (Βισ νθη).

Rhaidestos was a significant interchange of sea and land-routes.43 The Ottomans

firstly baptized it as Rodoscuò and then as Tekfur ßaåı.44

One of the fortresses of that area captured by the Ottomans was

Ödk†kl†k (‫)اودآﻮآﻠﻚ‬.45 The sources give many variants of this toponym and its

correct pronunciation resembles an enigma. Seif read it as ™dk†¤lek and Atsız as

Od g”¤lek. Atsız argues that Od g”¤lek (= od gömlek) is an expression in

Turkish meaning painful work, great grief.46 H. İnalcık has chosen the form

Ödk†kl†k.47 In Ottoman taárŒr defterleri it is mentioned both as ‫ اودآﻮآﻠﻚ‬and as

BalabancÕò.48 Balabancık is its modern name.49 Its Byzantine predecessor cannot

be traced.

41
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49, ‫ ﺗﻜﻔﻮر ﻃﺎﻏﻰ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 46, Anonymous-Giese, p. 17,
Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, Müneccimbaşı, p. 48, Neşri, p. 180, İbn-i Kemal, p. 151,
Anonymous-Paris, p. 28, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 25, Oruç, p. 18, ‫ ﺗﻜﻮر ﻃﺎﻏﻰ‬, Nişancı
Mehmed Paşa, p. 345, Tekürdağı, Hadidi, p. 74, Tekür tağı.
42
It is the capital of the homonymous province in Thrace, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu,
vol. 2, p. 1050.
43
I. Ortayli, ‘Rodosto (extension en Marmara de la Via Egnatia) au XVIe siècle’, in The Via
Egnatia under Ottoman Rule (1380-1699), Halcyon Days in Crete II, A Symposium held in
Rethymnon 9-11 January 1994, ed. by E. Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press,
1996), pp. 193-202.
44
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens im 17. Jahrhundert, p. 108.
45
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49, ‫ اول آﻞ آﻞ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 46, Şükrullah, p. 54, Neşri, p. 176,
İbn-i Kemal, pp. 135-136, ‫ اودآﻮآﻠﻚ‬, Hadidi, p. 74, Ot-gönlek.
46
Çiftçioğlu N. Atsız, Osmanlı Tarihleri I, p. 67, footnote 15. Kreutel translates it as ‘fireplace’
or ‘ford’ in eastern Turkish, R. F. Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte, p. 317.
47
H. Inalcik, ‘The Rise of Ottoman Historiography’, p. 160.
48
M. Aktepe, ‘Osmanlı’ların Rumeli’de İlk Fethettikleri Çimbi Kal’ası’, pp. 303-304, footnote
70; Ş. Tekindağ, ‘Süleyman Paşa’, İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 11 (İstanbul: Türkiye Diyanet
Vakfı), pp. 190-194 (p. 192).
49
Balabancık in the subdistrict of Müstecep, county of Malkara, province of Tekirdağ, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 120.

63
 Another fortress occupied by the Ottomans in that region is the Seydi

óavaåı (‫)ﺳﻴﺪى ﻗﻮاﻏﻰ‬.50 It corresponds with the Byzantine Sausadia (Σαυσαδ α).51

This township had a great strategic value in the Byzantine times.52 Its modern

name is Kavak.53

Within the same operations, the Ottomans conquered the town of

Madytos (Μ δυτο ).54 In Byzantine times Madytos and Gallipoli were the most

significant administrative centers in the Gallipoli peninsula.55 It was later called

Maydos and then Eceabad. Its modern name is Eceabat.56 Elaious (Ἐλαιοῦς ) had

the same luck.57 Its modern name is Eski Hisarlık, near Seddülbahir.58

Aşıkpaşazade informs us that the next target of Süleyman Paşa was the

vilƒyet of ïayrabolı (‫)ﺧﻴﺮﻩ ﺏﻮﻟﻰ‬.59 This was the Byzantine Charioupolis

(Χαριο πολι )andancientAïropolis(Ἀϊ ρ πολι ).60 Itsmodernnameis

Hayrabolu.61

50
Şükrullah, p. 54, Seydi Kavağı, Nişancı Mehmed Paşa, p. 345, Seydikavağı, Müneccimbaşı, p.
49, İbn-i Kemal, pp. 148-149, ‫ ﺳﻴﺪى ﻗﻮاﻏﻰ‬.
51
For Sausadia see E. Honigmann, ‘Pour l’atlas byzantin’, Byzantion, 11 (1936), pp. 541-562
(pp. 556-558).
52
H. J. Kissling, ‘Das Menāqybnāme Scheich Bedr ed-Dīn’s’, p. 163, footnote 5.
53
Kavak the subdistrict of Evreşe, county of Gelibolu, province of Çanakkale, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 643.
54
Chalcocondyles, p. 2514.
55
D. Zakythenos, ‘Μελέται’, ΕΕΒS, 22 (1952), p. 171.
56
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei nach amtlichen Verzeichnissen und
Kartenwerken (Freiburg: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1975), p. 60; Eceabat is the capital of te
homonymous county of the Çanakkale province, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p.
347.
57
Critobulus Imbriota, Historiae, ed. by D. R. Reinsch (Berlin: CFHB 22, 1983), pp. 10519 and
17422.
58
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 64.
59
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 46, Anonymous-Giese, p. 17 (he also gives
the variant ‫)ﺧﻴﺮﺏﻮﻟﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, Hadidi, p. 80, Müneccimbaşı, p. 100, Neşri, p.
180, İbn-i Kemal, p. 176-178, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 25, Oruç, p. 18, ‫ ﺧﻴﺮﻩ ﺏﻮﻟﻰ‬, Anonymous-
Paris, p. 28, ‫ ﺧﻴﺮﻩ ﺏﻮﻟﻮ‬.
60
F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p. 83.
61
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 108, and K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der
europäischen Türkei, 81. Hayrabolu is the capital of the homonymous county of Tekirdağ,
Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 496.

64
 The fortress of óo¤ur (‫)ﻗﻮآﻮر ﺣﺼﺎرى‬62 was captured by force and its lord

was decapitated. We know nothing about its Byzantine past. According to

Aşıkpaşazade, the lord of óo¤ur and his soldiers were in pains to contain the

advance of the Ottomans from the south (Gallipoli). After having conquered it,

they bestowed it to Hacı-İl Beg, who used it as his base for the attacks against

Didymoteichon.63 It seems logical that this fortress was near the Gallipoli

peninsula and at the same time in the vicinity of Didymoteichon.64 H. İnalcık

believes that óo¤ur was on the Kuru mountain south of Malkara.65

When Gazi Fazıl died, he was buried in Ece Ovası (‫)اﺝﻪ اواﺳﻰ‬.66 Neşri

says that it was the gazis who captured this area, which was bestowed as timar to

Yakub Ece. That is why it was named after him.67 Ece Ovası must be located in

the area of Eceabad.68 The plain of Ece is located outside the modern-day

Turkish city of Eceabat.69

The next step of the Ottomans was the conquest of the most significant

city in the area, Gallipoli. In the Ottoman sources it is called Gelibolı (‫)آﻠﻴﺒﻮﻟﻰ‬.70

It was the Byzantine city of Kallipolis or Kallioupolis (Καλλ πολι

62
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 50, ‫ ﻗﻮآﻮر ﺣﺼﺎرى‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 46, Neşri, p. 182, ‫ ﻗﻮآر ﺣﺼﺎر‬,
Hadidi, p. 76, ‫ ﻗﻮﻏﺮى‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 48, ‫ ﻗﻮآﻮر ﺣﺼﺎر‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 158, ‫ ﻗﻮآر ﺣﺼﺎرى‬.
63
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, pp. 50-51.
64
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi othomanokratia sti Thraki, p. 94.
65
H. İnalcık, ‘Rumeli’, İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 9 (Eskişehir: Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı), pp. 766-
773 (p. 769).
66
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 51, ‫ اﺝﻪ اوواﺳﻰ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 47, Neşri, p. 184, İbn-i Kemal, p.
139, ‫ اﺝﻪ اواﺳﻰ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 48, ‫ اﺝﻪ اوﻩ ﺳﻰ‬.
67
Neşri, p. 184.
68
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 190, footnote 193, H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis
Thrakiens, p. 111, and Aámed Rıf‘at, L©åƒt-ı TƒrŒîiyye ve Coårƒfiyye, ‘¶çe Ovası’, vol. I,
(İstanbul: Maám–d Beg Maøba‘sı, 1299), p. 95.
69
Eceabat is the capital of the homonymous county of the province of Çanakkale, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 347.
70
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 46, Anonymous-Giese, p. 14, Müneccimbaşı,
p. 48, Lütfi Paşa, p. 29, Neşri, p. 176, ‫ آﻠﻴﺒﻮﻟﻰ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 11a, Enveri, p. 25,
Anonymous-Paris, p. 27, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 22, Oruç, p. 18, ‫ آﻠﻰ ﺒﻮﻟﻰ‬, İbn-i Kemal, p.
126, ‫ ﻗﺎﻠﻰ ﭘﻮﻟﻰ‬, O. Turan, ed., İstanbul’un Fethinden Önce Yazılmış Tarihî Takvimler, (Ankara:
Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1984), p. 16, (hereafter, Tarihi Takvimler), ‫ آﺎﻟﻰ ﺒﻮﻟﻰ‬.

65
Καλλιο πολι ).71 InancienttimesitwascalledKrithōtē(Κριθωτ ).PhilipVof

Macedonia named it Kallipolis in 209 B.C.72 Today it is the city of Gelibolu.73

The following operations of the Ottomans targeted Dimetoòa (‫)دﻳﻤﻪ ﺗﻮﻗﻪ‬.74

This was the Byzantine Didymoteichon (Διδυμ τειχον), the city of the twin

walls.75 Its ancient name was Plōtinoupolis (Πλωτινο πολι ). Today it bears the

same name, Didymoteicho (Διδυμ τειχο) and it is located 76 km. northeast of

Alexandroupoli (Αλεξανδρο πολη) in northern Evros (Έβρο ) district in

Greece.76

At this point, the Ottoman sources narrate the death of Süleyman Paşa in

a hunting accident. Two years after his death, his father, Orhan, died too. The

date given is 758/1356-1357.77 Under the command of the third Ottoman sultan,

Murad I, the military operations in Thrace entered their second period.

71
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 109, and B. Umar, Türkiye’deki Tarihsel
Adlar, (İstanbul: İnkılâp, 1993), ‘Kallipolis’, p. 367.
72
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Καλλίπολις’, pp. 291-292.
73
Gelibolu is the capital of the homonymous county of the province of Çanakkale, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 400.
74
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 42, Müneccimbaşı, p. 53, ‫ دﻳﻤﺗﻮﻗﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 47, Neşri, p.
184, İbn-i Kemal, p. 162, Enveri, p. 46, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31,
Oruç, p. 19, ‫ دﻳﻤﻪ ﺗﻮﻗﻪ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p.19, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 25, (another variant in the same manuscript) ‫ دﻳﻤﻪ ﺗﻮﻗﺎ‬, Hadidi, p. 86, Dimetoka,
Lütfi Paşa, p. 32, ‫ دﻳﻤﻮ ﺗﻮﻗﻪ‬. For the folk tales concering the fall of Didymoteichon, see N.
Bapheides, ‘Η υπό των Τούρκων άλωσις του ∆ιδυµοτείχου, θρύλοι και παραδόσεις’, Thrakika, 1
(1978), pp. 39-46.
75
Gregoras, I, p. 232, Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 134-136, A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii
Romanie’, p. 220, Bertrandon de la Broquière, Le voyage d’Outremer, ed. by Ch. Schefer (Paris:
Ernest Leroux, 1892), p. 172, (hereafter, Bertrandon).
76
P. Soustal, Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 6 Thrakien (Thrakē, Rodopē und Haimimontos)
(Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1991), pp. 240-244. K. Kreiser, Die
Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens nach amtlichen Verzeichnissen und Kartenwerke (Freiburg: Klaus
Schwarz Verlag, 1978), p. 19. For Ottoman architectural monuments in Didymoteichon see ‘Two
Little-known Monuments of Early and Classical Ottoman Architecture in Greek Thrace:
Historical and Art-historical Notes on the Hamāms of Timurtaş Pāşazade Oruç Pasha (1398) and
Feridun Ahmed Beg (1571) in Didymoteichon’, in his Studies on the Ottoman Architecture of the
Balkans (London: Variorum Reprints, 1990), pp. 127-146.
77
For the death of Orhan see H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, pp. 190-191.

66
 The toponym of óavaò ßuzlası (‫)ﻗﻮاق ﻂﻮزﻟﺴﻰ‬78 is mentioned at this point,

when a great armada of Byzantine ships reached the region of Bolayır. The word

óavaò (= poplar tree) as a toponym is quite common in this area.79 This øuzla (=

saltpan) must be near the delta of the óavaò River, the ancient Aigos Potamoi

(Αἰγὸς Ποταμο ).80 The modern name of this river is Karaova.81

Murad I crossed the sea to Thrace and on his way from Gallipoli to Çorlu,

he attacked Banøoz (‫)ﺏﻥﻃﻮز‬.82 G. Vogiatzis assumes that Bantoz is identical with

theByzantinePanidos,PanionorPanidon(Π νιδο ,Π νιον,Π νιδον).83 The

names Bantoz-Panidos resemble each other.84 The only misgiving is that the

Vatican manuscript of Aşıkpaşazade-Ali gives the variant ‫ ﻡﻥﻃﻮز‬, which reminds

of Madytos (Μ δυτο ).85 H. İnalcık argues that it was the Banatoz stronghold,

today Barbaros.86 In the same time Chōra (Χ ρα) fell to the Ottomans.87 It was

later called ïora or ïore. Today its name is Hoşköy.88

78
Anonymous-Giese, p. 18, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 26, ‫ ﻗﻮاق ﻂﻮزﻟﺴﻰ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p.
12b, ‫ ﻗﻮاق دوزﻻﺴﻰ‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 189, ‫ ﻗﻮاق ﻂﻮزﻻﺴﻰ‬.
79
Kavak, Kavakderesi, Kavaksuyu, K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, pp. 107,
109.
80
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 54-55.
81
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Αιγός Ποταµοί’, pp. 40-42.
82
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 52 (the manuscript of Vatican reads ‫)ﻡﻥﻃﻮز‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48,
Neşri, p. 193, Anonymous-Paris, p. 30, Oruç, p. 20, ‫ ﺏﻥﻃﻮز‬, Hadidi, p. 82, Bınatos kal‘ası,
Müneccimbaşı, p. 52, ‫ ﺏﻥﻃﻮر‬.
83
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi othomanokratia sti Thraki, pp. 107-108.
84
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 109, and and K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der
europäischen Türkei, p. 21, where he gives the variants: Banados and Panados of the modern-day
Barbaros.
85
According to E. Zachariadou, it is identical to Madytos, since this Byzantine fortress was on
the way of Murad I from Gallipoli to Çorlu, E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai Thryloi, p. 191, footnote
197.
86
H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 196, footnote 43; Barbaros is the capital of the
homonymous subdistrict, of the province of Tekirdağ, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1,
p. 128.
87
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 4775-6. A. Germides, ‘Τα Γανόχωρα της Ανατολικής Θράκης’, Thrakika,
46 (1972-1973), pp. 179-288 (pp. 199-203).
88
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 83; Hoşköy is a village in the Mürefte
sub-district, county of Şarköy, province of Tekirdağ, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1,
p. 518.

67
 According to the Anonymous Chronicles, Murad I attacked and

conquered a fortress near Constantinople, called ßoåıvine (‫)ﻃﻮﻏﻰ وﻳﻥﻪ‬.89 I was not

able to locate this fortress. We must examine this information with scepticism,

since a fortress near Constantinople would be off Murad I’s route from Bantoz to

Çorlı.90

Çorlı (‫)ﭼﻮرﻟﻰ‬91 was the next town that Murad I conquered. His

movements punctuated the Constantinople-Adrianople route. The Byzantine

counterpartofÇorlıwasTzouroullosorTyroloē(Τζουρουλλ ,Τυρολ η).92

Bertrandon de la Broquière visited this place – Chourleu, as he says – in 1433.93

Its modern name is Çorlu.94 The fall of Çorlı disconcerted the inhabitants of

Constantinople, since it was one of the most significant strongholds in Thrace.95

When Murad I came before the fortress of Misini (‫)ﻡﺴﻥﻰ‬, its lord

surrendered it. Many variants of this toponym have survived in the Ottoman

sources. 96 This was the Byzantine Messēnē (Μεσσ νη).97 According to a

tradition, it was established by Messenian settlers from Pelopponese in 443 A.D.,

89
Anonymous-Giese, p. 20, ‫ ﻃﻮﻏﻰ وﻳﻥﻪ‬, and ‫ ﻃﻮﻏﺮى‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 14b, ‫ ﻃﻐﻮﻳﻴﻔﻪ‬,
Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 30, ‫ ﻃﻮﻏﻰ وﻳﻥﻪ‬.
90
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi othomanokratia sti Thraki, p. 107, footnote, 122.
91
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 52, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48, Anonymous-Giese, p. 17, Anonymous-
Öztürk, p. 12a, Neşri, p. 184, İbn-i Kemal, p. 178, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 25, ‫ ﭼﻮرﻟﻰ‬, Hadidi,
p. 82, Çorlı, Lütfi Paşa, p. 32, ‫ ﭼﻮروم‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 28, ‫ ﭼﻮروﻟﻮ‬, Oruç, p. 18, ‫ ﭼﻮرﻟﻮ‬.
92
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 12-15, 111.
93
‘item, de là je vins à une ville que l’on nomme Chourleu qui a esté assés bonne par samblant,
car les Turcz l’ont abatue et est repeupleé de Grecz et de Turcz.’, Bertrandon, p. 169. Also see S.
Yerasimos, Les Voyageurs dans l’empire ottoman (XIVe-XVIe siècles) bibliographie, itinéraires
et inventaire des lieux habités (Ankara: Société Turque d’Histoire, 1991), pp. 106-108.
94
Çorlu is the capital of the homonymous county of Tekirdağ province, Türkiye’de Meskûn
Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 273.
95
H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 195.
96
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 52, ‫( ﺳﻠﻮرى‬Silivri), Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48, ‫ ﺳﻴﺲ‬, ‫ ﻡﺪﻟﻠﻰ‬, ‫ ﻡﺴﻥﻠﻰ‬, ‫ ﻡﺴﻠﻰ‬,
‫ ﻡﺴﻴﻦ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 27, ‫ ﻡﺴﻥﻰ‬, Hadidi, p. 88, Misikin, Müneccimbaşı, p. 53, ‫ ﻡﺴﻠﻠﻰ‬,
Neşri, p. 192, ‫ ﺣﺴﻥﻰ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 30, ‫ ﻡﺴﻴﻦ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 30, ‫ ﻡﺴﻥﻠﻰ‬, Oruç,
p. 20, ‫ ﻡﺴﻦ‬.
97
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 109. See also K. Mamoni, ‘Η βυζαντινή
Μεσσήνη (Ανατολικής Θράκης)’, Byzantinische Forschungen, 14.1 (1989), pp. 329-342.

68
when the ancient Drouzipara (Δρουζιπ ρα) was ruined by Attila.98 Bertrandon

de la Broquière gives an account about this town that he calls Misterio.99 Today

it is the village of Misinli, it has 300 dwellings populated by immigrants from

Rumelia.100

The Byzantine inhabitants of Thrace were fleeing abandoning their

towns. It was the turn of Buråus to follow the example of Misini. Buråus

(‫)ﺏﺮﻏﻮس‬101 was the Byzantine Arcadioupolis, (Ἀρκαδιο πολι ), the ancient

Bergoulē,BergoulaiorBergoulion(Βεργο λη,Βεργοῦλαι,Βεργο λιον).102

The etymology of this toponym is the Greek word pyrgos (π ργο , tower).

Continuing his journey in Thrace Bertrandon de la Broquière reached Burgus

that he names Pirgasi.103 This town was later called Çatalburgaz and then

Lüleburgaz.104

The Ottomans then were headed to Meric River (‫)ﻡﺮﻳﺞ‬.105 The Byzantine

name of this river was Hebros, Euros, Maritzēs, Maritsa (Ἕβρο ,Εὖρο ,

Μαρ τζη ,Μαρ τσα).106 ItsancientnamewasRhombos(Ῥό μβο ).Itwas

98
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Μεσσήνη’, p. 362.
99
‘item, de là je alay à une ville que l’on nomme Misterio qui est une petite place fermeé et n’y
demeurent que Grecz excepté ung Turc à qui le Grant Turc l’a donnée.’, Bertrandon, p. 169.
100
A. M. Mansel, Trakya’nın Kültür ve Tarihi En Eski Zamanlardan Milâddan Sonra Altıncı
Asrın Ortasına Kadar (İstanbul: Edirne ve Yöresi Eski Eserleri Sevenler Kurumu, 1938), plate
XXIII. Misinli in the county of Çorlu, the district of Tekirdağ, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler
Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 834.
101
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 52, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48, Müneccimbaşı, p. 53, ‫ ﺏﺮﻏﻮس‬,
Anonymous-Giese, p. 20, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 14b, Neşri, p. 192, Anonymous-Paris, p. 30,
Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31, ‫ ﺏﺮﻏﻮز‬, Hadidi, p. 83, Burkoz-hisarı.
102
A. Papatheodorou, ‘Αρκαδιούπολις’, Archeion tou Thrakikou Laografikou kai Glossikou
Thesaurou, 12 (1945-46), pp. 46-47. Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Βεργούλη’, pp. 90-95.
103
‘et de là, je vins à une ville que l’on nomme Pirgasi qui est aussi tous les murs abbatus et n’y
demeure que Turcz.’, Bertrandon, p. 170. H. İnalcık pointed out that the travel memoirs of
Bertrandon de la Broquière follow the same sequence with the Ottoman narrative, H. İnalcık,
‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, pp. 196-197, footnote 46.
104
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 16. Lüleburgaz is the capital of the
homonymous county of Kırklareli, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 793.
105
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 44, refers to it as sea (‫)دکز‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Gieze, p. 48, Anonymous-
Giese, p. 17, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, Müneccimbaşı, p. 53, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, Neşri, p. 192,
Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 25, Oruç, p. 21, ‫ ﻡﺮﻳﺞ‬, Hadidi, p. 78, Meriç,
Enveri, p. 47, ‫ ﻡﺎرج‬.
106
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 190, Gregoras, II, p. 710, Bertrandon, pp. 171-174, 199-201.

69
named Hebros after the son of Cassandrus, who was drawn in its waters. The

name Maritsa may derive from the name of the Slavic clan Moritsi or Moravitsi

(from mar-mir, peace, tranquility), or from the ancient Thracian name Marissos

or Maris (Μ ρισσο ,Μ ρι ) meaning the sparkling surface of river waters.107

Today it marks off the Greco-Turkish borders in Thrace. Its modern Turkish

name is Meriç and its Greek one is Evros (Έβρο ).

After the successful siege of Didymoteichon, the Ottomans conquered

Keşan and İpsala. KeŸan (‫)آﺸﺎن‬108 was the Byzantine Kissos or Kisson (Κισσ ,

Κισσ ν).109 Its modern Turkish name is Keşan.110

˜pöala (‫)اﭘﺼﻼ‬111 was the Byzantine Kypsala, Kypsela or Hypsala

(Κ ψαλα,Κύ ψελα,Ὕψαλα).112 It is the modern day İpsala, located 34 km.

northeast of Enez.113

Hacı İl Beg has settled in a fortress (buråus), which was named after him,

˜lbegi Beråozı (‫)اﻳﻞ ﺏﻜﻰ ﺏﺮﻏﻮزى‬,114 on the banks of the Maritsa River, and was

107
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Έβρος’, pp. 172-173.
108
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 49, Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Hadidi, p. 76,
Müneccimbaşı, p. 53, Lütfi Paşa, p. 32, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31,
Oruç, p. 20, ‫ آﺸﺎن‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 49, Neşri, p. 194, ‫ آﺸن‬.
109
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 109.
110
Keşan is the capital of the homonymous county in the province of Edirne, Türkiye’de Meskûn
Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 675.
111
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 46, ‫ اﻳﭙﺼﺎﻟﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 49, ‫ اپ ﺹﻠﻪ‬, Şükrullah, p. 54, Ipsala,
AámedŒ, İskender-nāme İnceleme-Tıpkıbasım, ed. by İsmail Ünver (Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu,
1983), (hereafter, Ahmedi), p. 66a, ‫ اﺏﺴﻠﻪ‬, Nişancı Mehmed Paşa, p. 345, İbsala, Anonymous-
Giese, p. 21, ‫ اﭘﺼﺎﻟﻪ‬and ‫ اﺏﺼﻼ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Enveri, p. 47, ‫ اﭘﺼﻼ‬, Hadidi, p. 78,
İpsala, Müneccimbaşı, p. 48, Oruç, p. 20, ‫ اﺏﺼﻟﻪ‬, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, ‫ اﺏﺼﺎﻟﻪ‬, Neşri, p. 180, ‫ اﭘﺴﻟﻪ‬and
p. 194, ‫ اﭘﺼﺎﻻ‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 176, ‫ اﭘﺼﺎﻟﻪ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p.
31, ‫ اﺏﺼﻼ‬, Oruç, p. 20, ‫ اﺏﺼﻟﻪ‬, and p. 21, ‫ اﺏﺴﻠﻪ‬.
112
Gregoras, I, p. 229, A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 220, Bertrandon, p.
173. F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p. 83 and D.
Zakythenos, ‘Μελέται’, ΕΕΒS, 22 (1952), p. 166.
113
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 330-331. İpsala is the capital of the homonymous county of the
Edirne district, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 547.
114
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 48, Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 53, and Neşri, pp. 192-194, say only that
Hacı İl Beg conquered a small stronghold at the banks of the Meric River; Anonymous-Paris, p.
31, says that that fortress had the same name as Hacı İl Beg; Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 12a, Hadidi,
p. 86, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, ‫ اﻳﻞ ﺏﻜﻰ ﺏﺮﻏﻮزى‬, Neşri, pp. 20, 93, ‫ اﻟﺏﻜﻰ اوﻏﻠﻰ ﺏﺮﻏﻮزى‬, Müneccimbaşı, p.
53, ‫ ﺏﺮﻏﺎز‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31, ‫ اﻳﻞ ﺏﻜﻰ ﺏﻮﻏﺎزى‬, Oruç, pp. 19-20, 93, ‫ ﺣﺎﺝﻰ اﻟﺏﻜﻰ ﺏﺮﻏﻮزى‬,
Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, ‫ اﻳﻠﺏﻜﻰ ﺏﺮﻏﻮزى‬.

70
putting pressure on Didymoteichon. According to H. İnalcık,115 this stronghold is

identical with Eğri Kaleli Burgaz.116 It was built by John Cantacuzenus only a

few years before its conquest. Cantacuzenus mentions it as Empythion

(Ἐμπ θιον) and emphasizes the strength of its walls.117 Its modern name is

Pythio (Π θιο), located in northern Evros district in Greece, 10 km. east-

northeast of Didymoteicho.118

Within the context of blocking off Didymoteichon by taking all the

strongholds in the Maritsa River around it, the Ottomans conquered Simavna

(‫)ﺳﻤﺎوﻥﻪ‬.119 This was the Byzantine Ammobounon (Ἀμμ βουνον), which means

the sandy mountain.120 Its Turkish name derives probably from the phrase ‘eis

Ammobounon’ (ει Ἀμμ βουνον = tow ardsA m m obounon). Today it is the

village Kyprinos (Κυπρ νο ) northwest of Didymoteicho on the banks of River

Ardas in Greece, 26 km. west-northwest of Orestiada (Ορεστι δα).121 The

governor and òƒÑŒ of Simavna was Gazi İsrail. It was the birthplace of Şeyh

Bedreddin.122

According to Aşıkpaşazade, Murad I came to Eski from Buråus and

found the fortress empty.123 Neşri says that it was burned.124 Eski (‫)اﺳﻜﻰ‬125 was

the Byzantine Boulgarophygon or Bourtoudizos (Βουλγαρ φυγον,

115
H. İnalcık, ‘The Conquest of Edirne (1361)’, p. 197, footnote 47.
116
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 111, F. Babinger, Beiträge zur
Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p. 83.
117
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 18414, 43316-17.
118
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 419-420.
119
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 83, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 74, ‫ ﺳﻤﺎوﻥﻪ‬.
120
K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, pp. 4 and 52.
121
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 175.
122
F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, pp. 80-81.
123
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 53.
124
Neşri, p. 194.
125
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 53, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 49, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Neşri, p.
194, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31, Oruç, p. 22, ‫ اﺳﻜﻰ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 54, ‫ ﺏﺎﺏﺎ اﺳﻜﻴﺴﻰ‬, Hadidi,
p. 83, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, ‫ اﺳﻜﻰ ﺣﺼﺎر‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, ‫ اﺳﻜﻰ‬, ‫ اﺳﻜﺒﻮﻟﻰ‬. Bertrandon
de la Broquière is probably referring to this town when he mentions Zambry, Bertrandon, p. 170.

71
Βουρτο διζο ).126 The name Boulgarophygon was mentioned in 787 for the first

time instead of Bourtoudizos. Later it was called Baba-i ‘atŒò, Baba Eski and

Baba Eskisi.127 Today it is called Babaeski and it is near Lüleburgaz, 35 km.

south-southwest of Kırklareli.128 This township is renowned for the tekke of Sarı

Saltık.129

The next step of the Ottomans in Thrace was the conquest of Maåalòara

(‫)ﻡﻐﻠﻘﺮﻩ‬.130 This was the Byzantine Megalē Agora or Megalē Karya (Μεγ λη

Ἀγορ , or Μεγ λη Καρ α).131 It is worth-mentioning that many early Ottoman

primary sources divide this toponym into two words, showing its apparent Greek

etymology.132 After the Ottoman conquest, the Greeks called it Malgara

(Μ λγαρα). It is the modern day town of Malkara.133

In the same region the Ottomans conquered Garella (Γαρ λλα),

Pamphylon(Π μφυλον),Polyboton(Πολ βοτον),Akonitēs(Ἀκον τη ),and

Koprinon (Κοπρ νον). Garella is always mentioned in the sources with its

neighboring Aprōs (Ἄπρω ).134 It is however a distinct town. Aprōs was called

126
A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 218.
127
F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, pp. 51-52, and
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 16.
128
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 223-224.
129
See M. Adamović, ‘Das Tekke von Sarï Saltïq in Eskibaba’, Materialia Turcica, 5 (1979), pp.
15-24, and H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 40-41.
130
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, Müneccimbaşı, p. 48, Anonymous-Paris, p. 35, ‫ ﻡﻐﻠﻘﺮﻩ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-
Giese, p. 55, ‫ ﻡﻐﻞ ﻘﺮﻩ‬, Şükrullah, p. 54, ‫ ﻡﻴﻘﺎﻞ ﻘﺮﻳﻪ‬, ‫ ﻡﻴﻐﺎﻞ ﻘﺮﻳﻪ‬, ‫ ﻡﻌﺎﻞ ﻘﺮﻳﻪ‬, Ahmedi, p. 66a, ‫ ﻡﻴﻐﻠﻘﺮا‬,
Nişancı Mehmed Paşa, p. 345, Mığalkara, Anonymous-Giese, p. 24, ‫ ﻡﻐﺎﻟﻘﺎﺮﻩ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk,
p. 16b, ‫ ﻡﻮﻏﻠﻐﺎرﻩ‬, Lütfi Paşa, p. 39, ‫ ﻡﻠﻐﺮﻩ‬, Neşri, p. 180, ‫ ﻡﻴﻐﻞ ﻘﺮا‬, İbn-i Bibi, p. 171, ‫ ﻡﻮﻏﺎﻟﻘرﻩ‬, ibid.,
p. 176, ‫ ﻡﻴﻐﺎل ﻗﺎرﻩ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 36, ‫ ﻡﻘﺎﻟﻘﺮﻩ‬, Oruç, p. 23, ‫ ﻡﻐﻠﻐﺮﻩ‬.
131
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 4751, H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 57-58, R. F.
Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte, p. 317.
132
G. Vogiatzis, I proimi othomanokratia sti Thraki, pp. 109-110. P. Wittek, ‘Zu einigen
frühosmanischen Urkunden (VI)’, in La formation de l’Empire ottoman, ed. by V. L. Ménage
(London: Variorum Reprints, 1982), pp. 165-197 (pp. 180-181, footnote, 40, and p. 182, footnote,
41); see also N. Öztürk, ‘Erken Osmanlı Vekayinâmelerinde Yer İsimlerinin İmlâsı: Malkara
Örneği’, in Uluslararası Osmanlı Tarihi Sempozyumu (8-10 Nisan 1999) Bildirileri, ed. by Turan
Gökçe (İzmir: Türk Ocakları İzmir Şubesi, 2000), pp. 11-23 (p. 22).
133
Malkara is the capital of the homonymous county of the Tekirdağ province, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 801.
134
D. Zakythenos, ‘Μελέται’, ΕΕΒS, 22 (1952), p. 167.

72
later Germiyan and today it is Kermeyan.135 Garella was also mistaken for

Malkara.136 Its later names and location cannot be traced with certainty.

Pamphylon was aparted of a walled acropolis and a lower town.137 Polyboton,138

Akonitēs139 and Koprinon140 cannot be traced as well.

The main target of this operation was the city of Adrianople. The Turks

implemented their plan of blocking off Adrianople from east and south. The

battle between the Byzantines and the Ottomans was held in ÷azlıdere (‫درﻩ‬

‫)ﺹﺎزﻟﻰ‬141 a tributary of the Maritsa, southeast of Adrianople.142 Today it is called

the same way. There is also a town bearing the same name.143

For many centuries Adrianople (Adrianoupolis, Ἀδριανο πολι ) was the

third largest city in the European territories of Byzantium after Constantinople

and Thessalonica.144 In 127 AD, the Roman Emperor Aelius Poplius Adrian

(117-138) visited the city – whose ancient name was Orestias, Oresteia,

Ouskoudama,OuskoudamosorOdrysos(Ὀρεστι ,Ὀρ στεια,Οὐσκουδ μα,

Οὐσκο δαμο , Ὀδρυσ )145 – and named it after him. The Ottoman sources

call it Edrene or Edirne (‫)ادرﻥﻪ‬.146 Today it is called Edirne.147

135
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 112. Kermeyan is located in the Yörük
sub-district, county of Malkara, province of Tekirdağ, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2,
p. 671.
136
A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 268.
137
Cantacuzenus, II, pp. 187-188.
138
Ibid., II, p. 4754.
139
Ibid., I, pp. 43524-4361.
140
Ibid., II, p. 18413-14.
141
Müneccimbaşı, p. 54, ‫ ﺹﺎزﻟﻰ درﻩ‬.
142
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 166; for the hydrography of the region
see P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 56-57.
143
Sazlıdere is the capital of the homonymous county in the Edirne district, Türkiye’de Meskûn
Yerler Kılavuzu, vol.2, p. 958.
144
Gregoras, I, p. 95, Cantacuzenus, I, p. 13, Bertrandon, pp. 170-173, A. Carile, ‘Partitio
Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 218.
145
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Αδριανούπολις’, pp. 23-33.
146
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 53, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 49, Anonymous-Giese, p. 17, Anonymous-
Öztürk, p. 12a, Hadidi, p. 83, Müneccimbaşı, p. 54, Lütfi Paşa, p. 32, Neşri, p. 194, İbn-i Kemal,
p. 145, Tarihi Takvimler, p. 28, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 31, Oruç, p.
20, ‫ ادرﻥﻪ‬, Enveri, p. 53, ‫ ادرﻥﺎ‬.

73
 During the siege of Adrianople, its governor fled to Enoz (‫)اﻥﻮز‬.148 Its

ancient name was Apsynthos or Poltyobria (Ἄψυνθο ,Πολτυοβρ α) and its

Byzantine Ainos (Αἶνο ).149 According to a theory, it was named Ainos after

Aeneas, when he had passed over to Thrace after the siege of Troy.150 Its modern

name is Enez, 16 km. south-southeast of Traianoupolis, in Turkey.151

At the time both the Maritsa and the Tunca were overflowing. Adrianople

is built near the confluence of Maritsa, Arda and Tunca.152 Tunca (‫ )ﺗﻥﺠﻪ‬is not

mentioned in all the Ottoman sources.153 It derives from the Thracian name

Tonzos (Τ νζο ). Strabo calls this river Arisbos (Ἄρισβο ). Other variants of its

name are Taxos, Tainaros, Tontos, and Tōnos (Τ ξο ,Ταίναρο ,Τ ντο ,

Τῶνο ).154 Its modern name is Tunca.155

After the conquest of Adrianople, Murad I sent Lala Şahin to raid in the

region of Zaåra and Filibe.156 Zaåra (‫)زﻏﺮﻩ‬157 was the Byzantine Beroē (Βερ η).

Its ancient name was Traianē (Τρα αν ). It was named Beroē in the fourth

century. Some Byzantine authors call it Beroia or Berroia (Β ροια,Β ῤῥοια). In

147
Edirne is the capital of the homonymous district in Thrace, K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der
europäischen Türkei, p. 60. On the geographical position of Edirne see B. Darkot, ‘Edirne,
Coğrafî Giriş’, in Edirne, Edirne’nin 600. Fethi Yıldönümü Armağan Kitabı (Ankara: Türk Tarih
Kurumu, 1993), pp. 1-12.
148
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 54, ‫ اون کروس‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 49, ‫ اﻥﻮز‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 21,
Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Hadidi, p. 78, Müneccimbaşı, p. 106, Anonymous-Paris, p. 31,
Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 32, ‫ اﻳﻥﻮز‬, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, ‫ اﻥﻮس‬, Neşri, p. 196, Oruç, p. 21, ‫ اﻥز‬,
Enveri, p. 57, ‫ اﻳﻥز‬. Concerning the conquest of Enez see H. İnalcık, ‘Mehmed the Conqueror
(1432-1481) and his Time’, Speculum, 35 (1960), pp. 408-427 (p. 412).
149
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 483, A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 219, Bertrandon,
p. 173. H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 108.
150
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Αίνος’, pp. 45-53.
151
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 170-173. Enez is the capital of the homonymous sub-district in the
county of Keşan, in the province of Edirne, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 363.
152
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Αδριανούπολις’, p. 23.
153
Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, Hadidi, p. 85, ‫ ﺗﻥﺠﻪ‬, Enveri, p. 57, ‫ ﺗﻮﻥﺠﻪ‬.
154
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 191-193. Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Τόνζος’, p. 521.
155
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 187.
156
For the Ottoman conquest of this area see H. İnalcık, ‘Bulgaria’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd
edn, vol. 1 (Leiden: E. J. Brill), p. 1302.
157
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 54, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 50, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Neşri, p.
198, İbn-i Kemal, p. 109, Anonymous-Paris, p. 32, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 32, Oruç, p. 21,
‫ زﻏﺮﻩ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, ‫زﻏﺮا‬, Hadidi, p. 85, Zağara, Müneccimbaşı, p.
54, ‫ زﻏﺮة‬, Enveri, p. 53, ‫ زاﻏﺮا‬.

74
the eighth century, empress Irene (Eirēnē) named it after her as Eirēnoupolis

(Εἰρηνο πολι ).158 In Ottoman times its was called Eski Zaåra.159 Its modern

name is Stara Zagora in south Bulgaria.

Filibe (‫)ﻓﻠﺒﻪ‬160 was the Byzantine Philippoupolis (Φιλιππο πολι ). In

ancient times it was called Ponēroupolis (Πονηρο πολι ). It was Philip II, king

of Macedonia who baptized it Philippoupolis in 341 B.C.161 It is the modern day

Plovdiv in Bulgaria.162

During the same period, the Ottomans probably conquered the fortress of

Boukelon (Βο κελον).163 Later it was called Fikla or Fikel. Today it is Matočina

in Bulgaria.164

On their way westwards the Ottomans conquered G†m†lcine (‫)آﻮﻡﻠﺠﻥﻪ‬.165

Its Byzantine name was Koumoutzēna (Κουμουτζην ).166 Today it is the city of

Komotēnē (Κομοτην ), the capital of Rhodope district in Greece.167 Gümülcine

was famous for the mosque of Gazi Evrenos Bey, the earliest example of

Ottoman architecture in the Balkans.168

158
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Βερόη’, pp. 95-97.
159
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 38.
160
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 54, Anonymous-Giese, p. 21, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15a, Lütfi Paşa, p.
33, Neşri, p. 196, İbn-i Bibi, p. 103, Anonymous-Paris, p. 32, Oruç, p. 21, ‫ ﻓﻠﺒﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-
Giese, p. 50, Müneccimbaşı, p. 55, ‫ ﻓﻠﻴﺒﻪ‬, Hadidi, p. 125, Filibe, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 32, ‫ﻗﻠﻴﻪ‬
. Also see Bertrandon, p. 200.
161
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Φιλλιπούπολις’, pp. 538-541.
162
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 29-30.
163
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 324-328, II, 485.
164
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 222.
165
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 55, ‫ آﻮﻡﻮﻠﺠﻥﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 51, Müneccimbaşı, p. 54, Lütfi
Paşa, p. 33, Neşri, p. 200, Anonymous-Paris, p. 33, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 34, Oruç, p. 22,
‫ آﻮﻡﻠﺠﻥﻪ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 22, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 15b, ‫ آﻡﻮﻠﺠﻥﻪ‬, Hadidi, p. 88, Gümülcine.
166
Gregoras, II, p. 705, Bertrandon, p. 174. The Turkish Gümülcine derives from the Byzantine
form of the name, see S. Kyriakides, Peri tin istorian tis Thrakis, O Ellinismos ton syghronon
Thrakon, Ai poleis Xanthi kai Komotini (Thessalonica: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1993), p. 52-
55, and C. Asdracha, La region de Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles, Étude de géographie
historique (Athens: Byzantinisch-Neugriechische Jahrbücher, Nr. 49, 1976), pp. 109-113.
167
K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 48.
168
M. Kiel, ‘The Oldest Monuments of Ottoman-Turkish Architecture in the Balkans: The Imaret
and the Mosque of Ghazi Evrenos Bey in Gümülcine (Komotini) and the Evrenos Bey Khan in
the Village of Ilıca/Loutra in Greek Thrace (1370-1390)’, in his Studies on the Ottoman
Architecture of the Balkans (London: Variorum Reprints, 1990), pp. 117-138; in the same see

75
 The latest within the same year of the conquest of Koumoutzēna, the

OttomansprobablyconqueredGratianoupolis(Γρατιανο πολι ),169 Asōmatos

(Ἀσ ματο ),Paradēmō(Παραδημ ),Kranobounion(Κρανοβο νιον),and

Stylarion (Στυλ ριον).170 Gratianoupolis was called ˜årican or Aårican (‫)اﻏﺮﺝﺎن‬

in Ottoman times.171 Today it is the town of Gratinē (Γρατιν ), 11 km. east-

northeast of Komotēnē in Greece.172 Asōmatos is the modern day Asōmatoi

(Ασ ματοι), northwest of Komotēnē, Paradēmō is called today Paradēmē

(Παραδημ ), southwest of Komotēnē, Kranobounion is Megalo (or Mikro)

Kranobouni(Μεγ λο,Μικρ Κρανοβο νι),8and9km.respectivelysouthwest

of Komotēnē, and Stylarion is Stylari (Στυλ ρι), 8 km. east-northeast of

Komotēnē.173 The Ottoman name of Stylarion was BaraòlÕ174 and the one of

Kranobounion ÷unåurlu. 175

Lala Şahin and Evrenos Beg proceeded westwards and conquered the

town of Fire (‫)ﻓﺮﻩ‬.176 This was the Byzantine Bēra (Β ρα) on the west bank of

the Maritsa.177 The other Byzantine variants of its name are Berroia and Phēra

(Β ῤῥοια,Φηρ ). The town was named Bēra after the Monastery of Bēra or

Bēros (Virgin Mary Cosmosoteira) established by Isaac Comnenos in 1151-

also ‘Observations on the History of Northern Greece during the Turkish Rule: Historical and
Architectural Description of the Turkish Monuments of Komotini and Serres, their Place in the
Development of Ottoman Turkish Architecture and their Present Condition’, pp. 415-444.
169
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 260, Gregoras, II, p. 703.
170
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 41515-16.
171
Enveri, p. 67.
172
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 276-277, K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 30.
173
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 467. C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, p. 112. S. Kyriakides, Peri
tin istorian tis Thrakis, p. 58.
174
K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 83.
175
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 321.
176
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55, Lütfi Paşa, p. 33, Oruç, p. 20, ‫ ﻓﺮﻩ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 60, Neşri, p.
210, ‫ ﻓﺮﺝﻚ‬, Hadidi, p. 78, Firecük. See N. Öztürk, ‘Ferecik’in Süleyman Paşa Tarafından Fethine
Dair’, Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4 (1989), pp. 135-145.
177
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 179, Gregoras, II, p. 625, A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’,
p. 220, Bertrandon, p. 179. H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 85, and K. Kreiser,
Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 26.

76
1152.178 Later it was called Ferecik by the Turks. Today it is the town of Ferres

(Φερρ ) in the Evros province of Greece, 20 km. north-northeast of Enez.179

On the other hand, Murad I, attacked the fortress of Çatalca (‫)ﭼﺘﺎﻟﺠﻪ‬, near

Constantinople.180 Müneccimbaşı calls it Catal-Burgaz.181 This, however, must

be an error, since Çatalburgaz is another name for Lüleburgaz, further west.182

This was the Byzantine Metrai (Μ τραι).183 Metrai was situated near the lagoon

of Athyra (Ἀθ ρα), the modern day Büyük Çekmece.184 Today the town holds

its Ottoman name.185

Before conquering Vize, the Ottomans seized the area of óırò Kilise and

Bınar æiöƒrı. They also focused their military operations on the far eastern and

the mountainous northern part of Thrace, in today Bulgaria. We do not know

much about the Byzantine past of óırò Kilise (‫)ﻗﺮق آﻠﺴﺎ‬186 or Saranta Ekklēsiai

(Σαρ ντα Ἐκκλησ αι) in Greek. It is possible that it was founded in the

Ottoman era. Both its Turkish and Greek names mean ‘forty churches’. Two

other variants of this toponym, óır Kilise and óırıò Kilise mean ‘country

church’ and ‘destroyed church’ respectively.187 This interpretation seems to agree

with the existence of the óırklar Tekke (= the convent of the forty) in óırò

178
Samothrakes-Lexicon ‘Φέρραι’, pp. 532-534.
179
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 200-201. For the Ottoman building activity in Ferecik see M. Kiel,
‘Ottoman building activity along the Via Egnatia: The cases of Pazargah, Kavala and Ferecik’, in
The Via Egnatia under Ottoman Rule (1380-1699), Halcyon Days in Crete II, A Symposium held
in Rethymnon 9-11 January 1994, ed. by E. Zachariadou (Rethymnon: Crete University Press,
1996), pp. 145-158.
180
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, Neşri, p. 212, İbn-i Bibi, p. 168, ‫ ﭼﺘﺎﻟﺠﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55,
‫ ﭼﺘﻟﺠﻪ‬, Lütfi Paşa, p. 39, ‫ ﭼﺎﺘﻟﺠﻪ‬.
181
Müneccimbaşı, p. 60, ‫ ﺝﺘﺎل ﺏﺮﻏﺎز‬.
182
Lütfi Paşa, p. 39, footnote, 2.
183
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 42-43.
184
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Μέτραι’, pp. 362-363.
185
Çatalca is the capital of the homonymous county of the province of İstanbul, Türkiye’de
Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 240.
186
Müneccimbaşı, p. 59.
187
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Σαράντα Εκκλησίαι’, pp. 468-469.

77
Kilise,188 where the dervishes, according to a theory, honoured the ‘Forty

Christian Saints’ from Adrianople.189 It is doubtful that its ancient predecesors

wereKarpoudaimon(Καρπο δαιμον),190 Tarpodizos(Ταρπ διζο ),191 or

Heracleia (Ἡρ κλεια).192 It is the modern day Kırklareli, 55 km. east-northeast

of Edirne.193

Bı¤ar æiöƒrı (‫)ﺏﻴﻜﺎر ﺣﺼﺎﺮى‬194 is the Byzantine Pēgai, or Phrourion tōn

Pēgōn,orBrysokastron(Πηγα ,Φρο ριοντῶνΠηγῶν,Βρυσ καστρον).195Its

Greek inhabitants in the Ottoman period called it Brysis (B ρ σι ). Both its Greek

and Turkish names mean spring, fountain. The toponym refers to the more than

forty springs of the River Tearos (Τ αρο ), that Herodotus mentions.196 Today it

is called Pınarhisar and it is located 27 km. east-southeast of Kırklareli.197

The conquest of Vize is dated somewhen after 1368. Vize (‫)وﻳزﻩ‬198 was

the Byzantine Bizyē (Βιζ η).199 The fact that in 1368 the metropolitan of Bizyē

was enthroned as archbishop of Mesēmbria, and the fact that there has not been

any referance to Bizyē in the records of the Patriarchate of Constantinople since

188
F. W. Hasluck, Christianity and Islam under the Sultans, vol. I (New York: Octagon Books,
1973), p. 51.
189
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 161-162.
190
Oberhummer, ‘Karpudaimon’, Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen
Altertumswissenschaft, vol. 10.2 (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung), p. 2009.
191
Oberhummer, ‘Tarpodizo’, Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft,
vol. 4.A.2 (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung), p. 2343.
192
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Σαράντα Εκκλησίαι’, pp. 468-469.
193
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 420-421. Kırklareli is the capital of the homonymous district,
Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 688.
194
Müneccimbaşı, p. 59, ‫ ﺏﻴﻜﺎر ﺣﺼﺎﺮى‬, İbn-i Kemal, p. 176, ‫ ﺏﻜﺎر ﺣﺼﺎﺮى‬.
195
A. Carile, ‘Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romanie’, p. 220. H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis
Thrakiens, p. 66, F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p.
54.
196
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Βρύσις’, p. 126.
197
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 220-221. Pınarhisar is the capital of the homonymous sub-district in
the Kırklareli province, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 910.
198
Ahmedi, p. 66a, Şükrullah, p. 54, Müneccimbaşı, p. 59, Neşri, p. 180, İbn-i Kemal, p. 176,
‫وﻳزﻩ‬.
199
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 67-68, K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der
europäischen Türkei, p. 195.

78
1368 shows that by that time it was conquered by the Ottomans.200 This agrees

with the information given by Sadeddin, who dates the conquest of Bizyē in 1368

by Köse Mihal.201 Today it is the city of Vize.202

Lala Şahin attacked ÷aruyar (‫)ﺹﺎروﻳﺎر‬203 on his way to Sofia. We do not

know its Byzantine name. Today it is called Sarıyar and it is located near

Malkara.204

Accordıng to the account given by Oruç, Lala Şahin seized the stronghold

of Teròoz (‫)ﺗرﻗﻮز‬.205 This corresponds with the Byzantine town of Derkoi

(Δ ρκοι); other variants of this toponym are Derkos, Delkos and Logos (Δ ρκο ,

Δ λκο ,Λ γο ).206 Derkoi was located on the banks of the homonymous lake in

the northwest of Constantinople. Its modern name is Durusu south of the

Durugöl Lake.207

On his way to ˜nc†gez (‫)اﻥﺠﻮآز‬208 Murad I besieged and conquered the

stronghold of Pulunya. ˜nc†gez is the modern day İnceğiz.209 Its Byzantine name

cannot be traced. This town was famous for its ancient ruins.

200
Short Chronicles, II, p. 288, footnote, 62. For the ecclesiastical province of Bizyē, see N.
Bapheides, ‘Η εκκλησιαστική επαρχία Βιζύης’, Archeion tou Thrakikou Laografikou kai
Glossikou Thesaurou, 19 (1954), pp. 193-212.
201
M. T. Gökbilgin, XV-XVI. Asırlarda Edirne ve Paşa Livâsı Vakıflar – Mülkler – Mukataalar
(İstanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınlarından No: 508, 1952), p. 6, footnote,
5.
202
Vize is the capital of the homonymous county in the Kırklareli province, Türkiye’de Meskûn
Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 1019.
203
Müneccimbaşı, p. 59.
204
Sarıyar, in the Şahin sub-district, Malkara county, Tekirdağ province, Türkiye’de Meskûn
Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 952.
205
Oruç, p. 23, ‫ ﺗرﻓﻮز‬, misspelling for ‫ ﺗرﻗﻮز‬.
206
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 69, 108, K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der
europäischen Türkei, p. 58. See also A. G. Giannios, ‘Από την Ανατολικήν Θράκην η επαρχία
∆έρκων’, Thrakika, 13 (1940), pp. 108-209 (pp. 161-169, 192-193).
207
In Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 1060, it is still mentioned as Terkos in the
sub-district of Boyalı, county of Çatalca, province of İstanbul.
208
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, ‫ اﻳﻥﺠآز‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55, Anonymous-Giese, p. 24,
Müneccimbaşı, p. 60, Lütfi Paşa, p. 39, Neşri, p. 212, Anonymous-Paris, p. 35, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 36, ‫ اﻥﺠﻮآز‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 16b, Oruç, p. 23, ‫ اﻳﻥﺠﻮآز‬.
209
K. Kreiser, Die Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 87, H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur
Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 43, footnote, 156, and F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der

79
 According to R. Kreutel, Polunya (‫)ﭘﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬210 is identical with Polos or Eski

Polos.211 This was the Byzantine Skopelos (Σκ πελο ), which was celebrated in

the Late Byzantine period for its fortifications.212 The Ottoman sources confess

that it was only with the help of the God that a part of the walls collapsed and the

Ottomans managed to enter. That is why they gave it the pseudonym ‘God

demolished it’, Ta¤rı Yıòduåı (‫)ﺗآﺮى ﻳﻘﺪوﻏﻰ‬.213 The name Polunya, though,

reminds us of the ancient Apollōnia (Ἀπολλων α),214 which was the Byzantine

Sōzopolis (Σωζ πολι ), the Turkish Süzebolu, and the modern Bulgarian

Sozopol.215 Sozopol, however, is far north from the area that the Ottoman

sources examine. E. Zachariadou argues that it could be possibly identical with

the Byzantine toponym Plagia (Πλαγι ) in the area.216 The modern Turkish

name of Eski Polos is Yoğuntaş on the Yıldız Mountains, 17 km. northwest of

Kırklareli.217 Both its Byzantine and modern Turkish name imply a rocky

mountainous place.

Murad I was informed about the unexpected demolition of a part of the

walls of Polunya, when he was resting under the shadow of a great poplar tree.

The Ottomans named that place ‘The Mighty Great Tree’, Devletl† óaba Aåac

Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, pp. 81-82. Today İnceğiz is a township in the county of Çatalca, in
the İstanbul province, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 543.
210
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, ‫ ﺏﻠﻥﻴﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55, ‫ ﭘﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 24,
‫ ﺏﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 16b, ‫ ﺏﻮﻻﻥﻴﻪ‬, Hadidi, p. 98, Pulonya, Münecimbaşı, p. 60, ‫ ﭘﻮﻠﻮﻥﻴﻪ‬,
Neşri, p. 212, Anonymous-Paris, p. 35, Oruç, p. 23, ‫ ﭘﻮﻟﻥﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 36, ‫ ﻳﻮﻟﻥﻴﻪ‬.
211
R. F. Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte, p. 318.
212
F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p. 52, H. J.
Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 19. Cantacuzenus, I, p. 194.
213
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, ‫ ﺗآﺮى ﻳﻴﻘﺪﻳﻐﻰ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 17a,
Neşri, p. 212, ‫ ﺗآﺮى ﻳﻘﺪوﻏﻰ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 24, ‫ ﺗﻥآﺮى ﻳﻘﺪﻏﻰ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 35, ‫ﻳﻘﺪوﻏﻰ‬
[‫]ﺗآﺮى‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 36, ‫ ﺗآﺮى ﻳﻘﺪﻏﻰ‬, Oruç, p. 23, ‫ ﺗآﺮى ﻳﺎﻗﺪوﻏﻰ‬.
214
M. Konstantinidou, ‘Η Απολλωνία (Σωζόπολις νυν)’, Archeion tou Thrakikou Laografikou kai
Glossikou Thesaurou, 22 (1957), pp. 169-189.
215
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Απολωνία (Σωζούπολις)’, pp. 70-72, P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 454-
456.
216
E. Zachariadou, Istoria kai thryloi, pp. 204-205, footnote, 237. Indeed, Polunya could be a
corrupted form of Plagia.
217
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 446-447. In Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 2, p. 916, it was
still mentioned as Polos, in the province of Kırklareli.

80
(‫)ﺪوﻟﺘﻮ ﻗﺒﺎ اﻏﺎج‬.218 We are unable to trace its Byzantine counterpart. Its modern

name is Devletliağaç near the above-mentioned Yoğuntaş, 33 km. northwest of

Kırklareli.219

After the victory in ÷ırf ÷ınduåi the Ottomans firmed their control over

the Maritsa plain in western Thrace and south Bulgaria. This battle is known as

the Maritsa battle where the Ottomans defeated the allied forces of the Serbian

lords. It actually opened the way to the further conquest of the Balkans. ÷ırf

÷ınduåi (‫)ﺹﺮف ﺹﻥﺪﻮﻏﻰ‬220 is located near Çirmen (‫)ﭼﺮﻡﻦ‬.221 It means ‘Rout of the

Serbs’ and was named so by the Turks.222 The name of ÷ırf ÷ınduåi still survives

today as the name of the village Sırpsındığı near Saraypınar in Turkey.223 Çirmen

was the Byzantine Tzernomianon (Τζερνομι νον) located on the right bank of

the Maritsa River.224 In ancient times it was called Zeirēnia (Ζειρην α).225 Its

modern name is Ormenio (Ορμ νιο), 101 km. north-northeast of

Alexandroupoli, in northern Evros province in Greece.226 At this time the

Ottomans seized Promousoulon (Προμο σουλον), a fortress in the west of the

Maritsa River.227 Its exact location is unknown.228

218
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 60, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗﺒﺎ ﺁﻏﺎچ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 55, Hadidi, p. 99, Neşri, p. 212,
‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗﺒﺎ اﻏﺎج‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 24, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗدﻡﻠﻮ ﻗﻮاق اﻏﺎﺝﻰ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 17a, ‫ﻗﺒﺎ اﻏﺎج‬
‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ و ﻗدﻡﻠﻮ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 60, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻰ ﻗﻮاق‬, Lütfi Paşa, p. 40, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗﻮ اﻏﺞ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p.
36, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗﺒﺎ ﺁﻏﺞ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 37, Oruç, p. 24, ‫ ﺪوﻟﺘﻠﻮ ﻗدﻡﻠﻮ ﻗﺒﺎ اﻏﺎج‬.
219
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 238. Devletliağaç is located in the sub-district of Kofçaz, in the
Kırklareli province, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol. 1, p. 322, K. Kreiser, Die
Ortsnamen der europäischen Türkei, p. 54.
220
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 51, ‫ ﺳﺮف ﺹﻥﺪﻮﻏﻰ‬, Anonymous-Giese, p. 23, Neşri, p. 202, ‫ﺳﺮف ﺹﻥﺪﻏﻰ‬
, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 16a, ‫ ﺹﺮف ﺹﻥﺪﻮﻏﻰ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 55, ‫ ﺹﺮف ﺹﻥﺪﻏﻰ‬, Lütfi Paşa, p.
34, ‫ ﺳﺮف ﺹﻥﻐﻮﻥﻰ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 34, ‫ ﺳﺮف ﻗﻮ ﻥﺪﻏﻰ‬.
221
Anonymous-Giese, p. 23, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 16a, Lütfi Paşa, p. 34, Anonymous-Paris, p.
34, ‫ ﭼﺮﻡﻦ‬, Anonymous-Koyunoğlu, p. 34, ‫ ﭼﻴﺮﻡﻦ‬. See F. Babinger, Beiträge zur Frühgeschichte
der Türkenherrschaft in Rumelien, p. 29.
222
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, pp. 38, 109.
223
Sırpsındığı is a sub-district in the province of Edirne, Türkiye’de Meskûn Yerler Kılavuzu, vol.
2, p. 975.
224
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 191. P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 489-490.
225
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Ζειρηνία’, pp. 195-196, and ‘Τζερνοµιάνου πόλις’, p. 514.
226
K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 68.
227
Cantacuzenus, I, pp. 18924, II, 34821-22.

81
 The administrative and ecclesiastical capital of Western Thrace,

Traianoupolis (Τρα ανο πολι ), was called Urumcıò after the conquest.229 It

was founded by emperor Trajan (98-117 AD) in the place of ancient Doriskos

(Δορ σκο ).230 This city fell into decline at the beginnings of the thirteenth

century. In the middle of the following century it was completely devastated.231

In 1347 the Ottomans demolished every part of the city that had been

reconstructed. Consequently, one cannot speak of an inhabited city in 1371-1372,

when it was conquered.232 It was located east of the modern day Loutra

Traianoupoleōs(Λουτρ Τρα ανουπ λεω )15km.eastofAlexandroupoli.233

Presumably the Ottomans conquered the stronghold of Peristerion

(Περιστ ριον) in order to safeguard the way from the Maritsa River to

Koumoutzēna. Enveri mentions it as G†gercinlik (‫)آﻮآﺮﺝﻥﻠﻚ‬.234 Both the Greek

and the Turkish toponym imply a place with nests of pigeons. Indeed the place,

being an isolated rock on the banks of a river, justifies its name. It is located near

the modern day Pyrgoi (Π ργοι), 3 km. south-southwest of Abas (Άβα ), 7 km.

north-northeast of Alexandroupoli.235

In Western Thrace Evrenos Beg conquered Buru, ˜skete and Marulya.

Buru (‫)ﺏﻮرﻩ‬236 is, most probably, the Byzantine Peritheorion (Περιθε ριον).237

Its ancient name was Anastasioupolis (Ἀναστασιο πολι ) and was named

228
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 417, C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, p. 136.
229
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 110.
230
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Τραϊανούπολις’, p. 525.
231
Cantacuzenus witnessed only ruins in 1343, Cantacuzenus, II, p. 4159-10; Bertrandon, p. 179.
232
C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, pp. 119-120.
233
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 482.
234
Enveri, p. 67; Bertrandon de la Broquière reads Coulony, ‘coulon’ in archaic French means
pigeon, Bertrandon, p. 178.
235
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 277-278.
236
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 61, ‫ ﺏﻮز‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 56, ‫ ﺏﻮرﻩ‬, Müneccimbaşı, p. 61, Neşri, p.
214, Enveri, p. 50, ‫ ﺏﻮرى‬.
237
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 542, Gregoras, II, p. 692, Bertrandon, p. 175. H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur
Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 91.

82
Peritheorion by Andronicos II Palaiologos.238 Peritheorion is located in the

northernmost point of Bistonis (Βιστον ) lagoon. Buru could also be the nearby

Byzantine fortress of Poroi (Π ροι). In some occasions, travelers were referring

to Poroi when mentioning Buru. This is valid for the toponym Baru of Jovan

Maria Angiolello.239 Poroi is the modern day Porto Lagos (Π ρτο Λ γο ) in the

southernmost point of the Bistonis lagoon. The Ottoman name of Poroi is known

as Karaağaç.240 Peritheorion was a significant center that would logically attract

the Ottomans. The whole area in Ottoman times, including the lagoon, was

named Buru. On the other hand, Poroi were on the main artery that connected

Nestos River with G†m†lcine through the Ye¤ice-i óara ÷u (Genisea) plain.241

Today the ruins of Peritheorion are located 3 km. southwest of Koptēro

(Κοπτηρ ) village in Xanthē province in Greece.242

˜skete (‫)اﺳﻜﺘﻪ‬243 is the Byzantine Xantheia (Ξ νθεια).244 Its ancient name

was Xantheia as well, and its location is traced in the east of Bistonis lagoon;

Byzantine Xantheia and modern day Xanthē (Ξ νθη), however, are further

west.245 P. Georgantzis argues that Byzantine Xantheia was located in the place

238
Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Περιθεώριον’, p. 421.
239
G. Vogiatzis, ‘Οι πληροφορίες του Ενετού Τζοβάν Μαρία Αντζολέλλο για τη Θράκη κατά το
έτος 1470 και η σηµασία τους για τη γνώση της πρώιµης Οθωµανοκρατίας στο θρακικό χώρο’,
Balkanika Symmeikta, 8 (1996), pp. 19-46 (pp. 25-26). According to S. Yerasimos, the Peritos of
Bertrandon de la Broquière is Boru (modern day Lagos), see S. Yerasimos, Les Voyageurs dans
l’empire ottoman, p. 107.
240
P. Soustal, Thrakien, p. 412, K. Kreiser, Die Siedlungsnamen Westthrakiens, p. 75.
241
C. Heywood, ‘The Via Egnatia in the Ottoman period: The menzilhānes of the Sol Kol in the
late 17/early 18th century’, in The Via Egnatia under Ottoman Rule (1380-1699), Halcyon Days
in Crete II, A Symposium held in Rethymnon 9-11 January 1994, ed. by E. Zachariadou
(Rethymnon: Crete University Press, 1996), pp. 129-141 (p. 132).
242
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 394-395.
243
Aşıkpaşazade-Ali, p. 61, ‫ اﺳﻜﺘﻴﻪ‬, Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 56, Anonymous-Giese, p. 25,
Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 17a, Neşri, p. 214, Oruç, p. 24, ‫ اﺳﻜﺘﻪ‬, Hadidi, p. 100, İsketye,
Müneccimbaşı, p. 61, Anonymous-Paris, p. 37, ‫ اﺳﻜﻴﺘﻪ‬, Enveri, p. 51, ‫ اآﺴﻴﺎ‬, Anonymous-
Koyunoğlu, p. 37, ‫ اﺳﻜﻴﺖ‬.
244
Cantacuzenus, I, p. 262, Gregoras, II, p. 727. R. F. Kreutel, Vom Hirtenzelt zur hohen Pforte,
p. 313, P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 501-502.
245
C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, p. 93.

83
of ancient Topeiros (Τ πειρο ).246 Besides ˜skete, other variants of its name are

˜sketye, Ksani, Eskice, ˜skece, ˜skite, ˜skit, Eksya.247

Marulya (‫)ﻡﺎﺮوﻟﻴﻪ‬248 is the ancient and Byzantine Marōneia

(Μαρ νεια).249 It was a seaside township of medium importance. According to

Müneccimbaşı, this fortress was known as ‘Avret æiöƒrı (‫)ﻋﻮرت ﺣﺼﺎرى‬.250 Today

the ruins of Marōneia lay 3 km. south of the modern day village of Marōneia.251

The walled seaside town of Polystylon (Πολ στυλον)252 possibly

resisted the attacks for quite a while. The date of its conquest is not known.

Polystylon was the ancient Abdēra. Its name indicates a place with many

columns, probably referring to the ancient ruins. Its Ottoman toponym is

unknown. It is located in modern day Paralia Abdērōn (Παραλ α Αβδ ρων) in

Cape Mpaloustra (Ακρ.Μπαλο στρα), 6 km. south-southeast of Abdēra.253

The same applies to the fortresses of Hagia Eirēnē (Ἁγ α Εἰρ νη) and

Pobisdos (Ποβισδ ).254 Their Ottoman names are unknown. The exact location

of Hagia Eirēnē cannot be traced. Pobisdos is the modern day Podvis village, 2

km. east of Vlahovo in Bulgaria.255

The Byzantine Mosynopolis (Μοσυν πολι ) was recorded devastated in

the first half of the fourteenth century.256 In Roman times it was called Porsulae

andwasthenrenamedintoMaximianoupolis(Μαξιμιανο πολι ).257 Itkeptthis

246
P. Georgantzis, Symvoli eis tin istorian tis Xanthis (Xanthi: 1976), pp. 35-36.
247
See above footnote, 243, and P. Lemerle, L’émirat d’Aydin, p. 167.
248
Aşıkpaşazade-Giese, p. 56, Anonymous-Giese, p. 25, Müneccimbaşı, p. 61, Neşri, p. 214,
‫ ﻡﺎﺮوﻟﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Öztürk, p. 17a, ‫ ﻡﺎﺮﻟﻴﻪ‬, Anonymous-Paris, p. 37, Oruç, p. 24, ‫ ﻡﺎﺮﻟﻴﺎ‬.
249
Gregoras, I, p. 244. C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, pp. 115-117.
250
Müneccimbaşı, p. 61.
251
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 350-351.
252
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 226, Gregoras, II, p. 626, III, p. 564.
253
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 408-410.
254
Cantacuzenus, IΙ, p. 402.
255
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 406-407.
256
Cantacuzenus, II, p. 429, Gregoras, II, p. 705, Bertrandon, p. 175.
257
C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes, pp. 104, 106.

84
name till the ninth century. Its Ottoman name was Misine æiöƒr.258 It is situated

in modern day Messounē (Μεσσο νη), 6 km. west of Komotēnē.259

This concludes the Ottoman operations in Thrace. The Turks crossed the

Nestos River, the natural border between Thrace and Macedonia and continued

their incursions in the central Balkans.

258
H. J. Kissling, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Thrakiens, p. 91.
259
P. Soustal, Thrakien, pp. 369-370, Samothrakes-Lexicon, ‘Μοσυνόπολις’, p. 369, and
‘Μαξιµιανούπολις’, pp. 352-353.

85
 CONCLUSION

The great plains of central Eastern Thrace received the burden of the

Turkish proliferation. In two decades (1352-1373/4) the Ottomans conquered

Thrace cutting off Byzantium from its limited European territories. During this

period Thrace’s communication with the capital city of Constantinople was

rather thorny. The indigenous population decreased even more. In the Late

Byzantine period the Thracians were unable to confront the problems of the civil

wars that had taken place in their lands. The deportation and settlement of

Turkish nomadic colonists and the inclination of the local population to Islam,

which actually concluded in a wave of Islamization, facilitated the Turkification

of Thrace.

The descendants of the Christian inhabitants formed a significant

percentage of the total population mainly in the sea-side regions and the urban

centers. The names of most of the cities and large towns of Thrace clearly derive

from their Byzantine counterparts. For nearly half a century before the conquest

of Tzympē, the Turks were active in Thrace. They learned the topography and

the toponymy of Thrace. In their narrations they mentioned their

accomplishments in the land of the infidels beyond the sea. It was a correct move

to choose Tzympē as their first bridge-head in Europe. Tzympē was close to the

86
Asian shore, which made the crossing of military feedbacks easy. Moreover,

after passing over the Kuru Mountain, the Turks could easily approach the

Thracian inland.

It is possible to argue that the protagonists of the Ottoman conquest of

Thrace were the independent warriors who sought booty in an infidel land. After

the conquest of Bithynia, Thrace appealed to the Ottomans as a great opportunity

for plundering. The Turks of Western Asia Minor were aware of it even from the

beginnings of the fourteenth century. The central Ottoman government channeled

the vigor of the gazis, the unstable nature of the nomadic communities and the

heterodoxy of the dervishes into Thrace. Their ardent enthusiasm was absorbed

in conquest and colonization.

The Ottomans by conquering Thrace gained strong lodgments for further

proliferation in the Balkans. Their victories against the infidels gave them a

prestigious post quite important for their expansion in Asia Minor as well. They

arrived triumphant in Europe and set up claims on the Christian Balkan states.

On the other hand, the Byzantine Empire lost its only remaining

mainland. Beyond Constantinople, the sporadic dominions in Thrace, the Aegean

and Morea could not justify the title ‘Empire’. For a medieval economy, like the

Byzantine, the lack of arable lands and the consequent decrease of agricultural

products were equal to a financial collapse. Byzantium survived for one more

century; but this was due to the period of unrest for the Ottomans, known as

interregnum (1402-1413) and the massive Theodosian walls of Constantinople.

87
THRACIAN TOPONYMS

Ottoman Byzantine Modern

1 Aòca Liman Leukē (?)

2 Akonitēs
3 Aya ¡ilonya
4 Asōmatos Asōmatoi
5 Ayduncuò Kyzikos Edincik
6 Banø oz Panidos Barbaros
7 BaraòlÕ Stylarion Stylari
8 Bolayır Plagiarion Bolayır
9 Bı¤ar æiö ƒrı Pēgai Pınarhisar
10 Buråus Arcadioupolis, Bergoulē Lüleburgaz
11 Buru Peritheorion
12 Cinbi Tzympē
13 Çatalca Metrai Çatalca
14 Çirmen Tzernomianon Ormenio
15 Çorlı Tzouroullos, Tyroloē Çorlu
16 Devletl† óaba Aåac Devletliağaç
17 Dimetoòa Didymoteichon Didymoteicho
18 Ece Ovası Madytos (region of) Eceabat (region of)
19 Edrene Adrianoupolis Edirne
20 Eksamiliye Hexamilion Ortaköy
21 Elaious Eski Hisarlık
22 Enoz Ainos Enez
23 Eski Boulgarophygon, Bourtoudizos Babaeski
24 Fikla Boukelon Matočina
25 Filibe Philippoupolis Plovdiv
26 Fire Bēra Ferres
27 Garella
28 Gelibolı Kallipolis Gelibolu
29 Germiyan Aprōs Kermeyan
30 G”rece Güreci
31 G†gercinlik Peristerion Pyrgoi
32 G†m†lcine Koumoutzēna Komotēnē
33 Hagia Eirēnē
34 ïayrabolı Charioupolis Hayrabolu
35 ïora Chōra Hoşköy

88
36 ˜årican Gratianoupolis Gratinē
37 ˜lbegi Beråozı Empythion Pythio
38 ˜nc†gez İnceğiz
39 ˜pö ala Kypsala İpsala
40 ˜skete Xantheia Xanthē
41 óavaò ßuzlası Aigos Potamoi Karaova
42 Kemer Kemer
43 KeŸan Kissos Keşan
44 óırò Kilise Kırklareli
45 óo¤ur
46 Koprinon
47 Maåalòara Megalē Agora, Megalē Karya Malkara
48 Marulya Marōneia Marōneia
49 Meric Hebros Meriç / Evros
50 Maydos Madytos Eceabat
51 Misine æiö ƒr Mosynopolis Messounē
52 Misini Messēnē Misinli
53 Ödk†kl†k Balabancık
54 Pamphylon
55 Paradēmō Paradēmē
56 Pobisdos Podvis
57 Polunya Skopelos Yoğuntaş
58 Polyboton
59 Polystylon Paralia Abdērōn
60 Promousoulon
61 ÷aruyar Sarıyar
62 ÷azlıdere Sazlıdere
63 Seydi óavaåı Sausadia Kavak
64 ÷ırf ÷ınduåi Sırpsındığı
65 Simavna Ammobounon Kyprinos
66 ÷unåurlu Kranobounion Megalo/Mikro Kranobouni
67 Teròoz Derkoi Durusu
68 ßoåıvine
69 Tek†r ßaåı Hieron Oros Işıklar Dağı
70 Tek†r ßaåı Rhaidestos Tekirdağ
71 TemƒŸƒlıò
72 Tunca Tonzos Tunca
73 Urumcıò Traianoupolis Loutra Traianoupoleōs
74 Viranca
75 Vize Bizyē Vize
76 Zaåra Beroē Stara Zagora

89
CHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST OF THRACE

1352 : Tzympē
1352-1354 : Aòca Liman, Plagiarion, Aya ¡ilonya, Hexamilion,
raids to Hieron Oros; Sausadia, Ödk†kl†k, Madytos, Elaious, óo¤ur
1354 : Gallipoli, Chōra, (sea-side area till Panidos)
1354-1357 : Süleyman raids in the Charioupolis area
1357-1359 : Peaceful period
1359 : Panidos, Tzouroullos, Messēnē, Arcadioupolis, Boulgarophygon, Megalē Agora,
Aprōs, Garella, Pamphylon, Polyboton, Akonitēs, Koprinon, Charioupolis,
Rhaidestos, Kissos, Kypsala, Empythion
1360 : Ammobounon
1361 : Didymoteichon, Adrianople
1361-1365 : Boukelon, Philippoupolis, Beroē
1364/5-1371 : Koumoutzēna, Gratianoupolis, Asōmatos, Paradēmō, Kranobounion, Stylarion,
óırò Kilise
1367 : Pēgai
1368 : Bizyē, ÷aruyar, Derkoi
1371 : Tzernomianon
1371-1372 : Promousoulon, Traianoupolis, Peristerion, Peritheorion, Xantheia, Marōneia
1373-1374 : ˜nc†gez, Metrai, Skopelos, Devletl† óaba Aåac

90
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1972, scale: 1:250.000

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Greece-Turkey-Bulgaria, 1985, scale: 1:250.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, Edirne (ulusal), 1976, scale: 1:500.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, İstanbul, 1975, scale: 1:500.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, Bandırma, scale: 1:250.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, İstanbul, scale: 1:250.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, Çanakkale, scale: 1:250.000

117
• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, Bursa, scale: 1:250.000

• Ministry of National Defence, General Directorate of Mapping,

Republic of Turkey, Edirne, scale: 1:250.000

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Republic of Turkey, Kırklareli, scale: 1:250.000

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Cooper Square Publishers, 1972), Hellespontus and Bithynia

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World (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2000),

Thracia (1:500,000), p. 51, Byzantium (1:500,000), p. 52

118