Köse Mihal

Köse Mihal (Turkish for "Michael the Beardless"; 13th century – c. 1340)[1] accompanied Osman I in his ascent to power as an Emir and founder of the Ottoman Empire. He is considered to be the first significant Byzantine renegade and convert to Islam[2][3] to enter Ottoman service. (see Nöker)

He was also known as 'Gazi Mihal' [4] and 'Abdullah Mihal Gazi ' [5]

Life

Köse Mihal, was the Byzantine governor of Chirmenkia (Harmankaya, today Harmanköy) and was ethnically Greek. His original name was "Michael Cosses".[6] The castle of Harmankaya (also known as Belekoma Castle) was in the foothills of the Uludağ Mountains in Bilecik Turkey.[4][7] Mihal also eventually gained control of Lefke, Meceke and Akhisar. [8]

Even before his conversion to Islam, Mihal had an amicable relationship with the Ottoman leader, Osman Gazi.[9] He was an ally of Osman and his people in war, and also acted as a leader of the local Greek population. Additionally, he acted as a consultant and diplomatic agent for Osman I.[10][11] The sources describing the reason behind Mihal's change of faith vary. One tradition emphasises the influence exerted by his friendship with Osman Ghazi, whilst another describes him having experienced a significant dream which convinced him to become a Muslim.[12][13] His conversion is thought to have occurred between 1304 and 1313.[14][15][16] As a Muslim he was known as Köse Mihal 'Abd Allah (Abdullah), Abdullah being a name commonly adopted by converts.[17]

Up to the conquest of Bursa in 1326 Köse Mihal played an important role as a diplomatic advisor and envoy of Orhan I, the son and successor of Osman Ghazi.[18] Köse Mihal was the first important Christian renegade to become an Ottoman subject, and he played a significant role in the creation of the Ottoman state. [19][20] Köse Mihal's descendants, known as the Mihaloğlu were famous, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were a politically and militarily successful family of Ottoman dignitaries in Rumelia. However, they did not reach the very highest public offices.[21]

After the taking of Bursa, Köse Mihal is no longer mentioned in the sources. Kreutel notes that Köse Mihal died around 1340.[22] According to some historians Köse Mihal was buried at Türbe, Edirne (Adrianople), in a mosque he himself built,[17] in this tradition Köse Mihal was believed to have lived until after the Ottoman capture of Adrianople by Murad I in the year 1361. He would therefore have lived to a very advanced age indeed. However, Franz Babinger appears to have made a mistake. He confused Köse Mihal with Ghazi Mihal Bey, a grandson of Köse Mihal. Ghazi Mihal Bey built a now ruined Mosque complex, with an Imaret and Hamam, in Edirne, which was completed in 1422. The cemetery adjoining the complex holds the tomb of Ghazi Mihal Bey.[23]

Literature

References and notes

  1. ↑ Joseph Hammer Purgstall:History of the Ottoman Empire. Erster Band, Pest 1827, p. 48
  2. ↑ The Last Great Muslim Empires By H. J. Kissling, Bertold Spuler, F. R. C. Bagley, pg.3
  3. ↑ American studies in altaic linguistics By Denis Sinor, pg.5
  4. 1 2 http://www.osmanli700.gen.tr/english/individuals/k24.html
  5. ↑ http://www.os-ar.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=240347
  6. ↑ Majoros Ferenc u. Bernd Rill:The Ottoman Empire 1300-1922, Wiesbaden 2004, p. 96
  7. ↑ http://www.turkeytravelplans.com/english/index.php/bilecik/467-where-to-visit-bilecik
  8. ↑ http://www.osmanli700.gen.tr/english/sultans/01estaplishment.html
  9. ↑ Nicolae Jorga after Leunclavius (Lewenklaw) :Annales sultanorum othmanidarum, Frankfurt 1596, Sp 129
  10. ↑ pdf İbrahim Kaya - Şahin:AŞIKPAŞA-zade AS Historian: A STUDY ON THE TEVARiH AL-i-iOSMAN. P. 14
  11. ↑ Dervish Ahmet-i 'Aşıki (called' Aşık Paşa, son):Menakıb u tevarih-i 'Al-i' Osman(Denkwürdigkeiten and times of the House Osman). In Kreutel Richard Franz (Hrsg. / Editor):From Shepherd Tent to Sublime Porte. Ottoman historian Vol 3, Graz 1959, p. 32ff
  12. ↑ Dervish Ahmet-i 'Aşıki (called' Aşık Paşa, son):Menakıb u tevarih-i 'Al-i 'Osman (Denkwürdigkeiten and times of the House of Osman). In Kreutel Richard Franz (Hrsg. / Editor):From Tent to Shepherd High Pforte. Ottoman historian Vol 3, Graz 1959, p. 46
  13. ↑ İbrahim Kaya - Şahin: AŞIKPAŞAAS-zade Historian: A STUDY ON THE TEVARiH AL-i-iOSMAN. P. 125
  14. ↑ Leunclavius:Annales sultanorum othmanidarum, Frankfurt 1596, Sp 129
  15. ↑ Mehmed Nesrî: Kitab-i Cihan-Nümâ- Nesrî Tarihi 1.Cilt, Ed: Prof. Dr. Mehmet A. Köymen and Faik Resit UNAT
  16. ↑ İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı:Osmanli Tarihi Cilt I-IV Ankara1972 - 1978
  17. 1 2 Franz Babinger:Mikhalik-OGHLU. In E. J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam. Leiden 1913 - 1936, S.493-495
  18. ↑ Mehmed Neşrî, quoted inJournal of the German Oriental Society '. 13. Volume 1859, p. 214
  19. ↑ Nicolae Jorga:The history of the Ottoman Empire,presented by source, unchanged reissue, Primus Verlag Darmstadt 1997, Vol 2, p. 204
  20. ↑ Hans Joachim Kissling:Dissertationes orientales et Balcanica collectae, III. The Ottomans and Europe. Munich 1991, p. 217-225
  21. ↑ Richard F. Kreutel:life and deeds of the Turkish emperor. The anonymous vulgärgriechische Chronik Codex Barberinianus Graecus 111 (Anonymus Zoras). Graz et altera 1971, p. 94f
  22. ↑ Dervish Ahmet-i 'Aşıki (called' Aşık Paşa, son):Menakıb u tevarih-i 'Al-i' Osman(Denkwürdigkeiten and times of House Osman). In Kreutel Richard Franz (Hrsg. / Editor):From Shepherd Tent to Sublime Porte. Ottoman historian Vol 3, Graz 1959, p. 299
  23. ↑ Gazi Mihal Bey Camii (images, text, Turkish) queried on 8 September 2008
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