Evrenos | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Gazi Baba |
| Born | 1288 |
| Died | 1417 Yenice-i Vardar,Ottoman Empire (nowGiannitsa, Greece) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Kosovo (1389) Battle of Nicopolis (1396) Battle of Maritsa Evrenos conqueredKeşan,İpsala,Komotini,Feres,Xanthi,Maroneia,Serres,Monastir, and, in 1397,Corinth |
| Children | Ali Bey Evrenosoğlu |
Evrenos orEvrenuz[a] (1288–1417,Yenice-i Vardar) was anOttoman military commander.
He served as a general underSüleyman Pasha,Murad I,Bayezid I,Süleyman Çelebi andMehmed I. Legends stating that he lived for 129 years and had an incredibly long career are inaccurate. These sources of confusion may be linked to the deeds of his descendants becoming intertwined with his own achievements in historical retellings.[2] He was also known as Gavrinos, and believed to descend from a Greek family.[3]
Οriginally, Gazi Evrenos was a noble dignitary, a bey in theprincipality of Karasi, joining the Ottomans only after their conquest of the beylik in 1345.[4] A Greek legend[5] maintains that Evrenos' father was a certain Ornos, renegadeByzantine governor ofBursa (Prusa) who defected to the Ottomans, and then on to Karasi, after theSiege of Bursa, in 1326.[6]Stanford J. Shaw states that Evrenos was originally aByzantine Greek feudal prince in Anatolia who had entered Ottoman service following the capture of Bursa, converted to Islam, and later became a leading military commander under both Orhan and Murat.[7]Joseph von Hammer regarded Evrenos as simply aByzantine Greek convert to Islam.[8]Peter Sugar considers the family to be of Greek origin as well.[9] Turkish sources report that the family was of Turkish origin.[10][11] However, others dismiss this, noting that the Evrenos family were certainly of non-Turkish origin.[12]
Evrenos led many crucial Ottoman campaigns and battles inBulgaria,Thessaly, andSerbia. After having participated in the Ottoman conquest ofAdrianopolis in 1362, Evrenos was appointeduc beği (frontier warlord) of Thessaly.[1] Evrenos built a hospice inKomotini following his conquest of the area in 1363.[13] Later, Evrenos also led the conquest ofSerres.[14]
The most famous battle Evrenos participated in was the shattering victory of thebattle of Maritsa,[15] where a small Ottoman force launched a devastating night raid and routed over 50,000Serbian Empire soldiers.[16][17] Later, Evrenos and hisAkinjis fought in theBattle of Kosovo (1389) and theBattle of Nicopolis (1396). Evrenos conqueredKeşan,İpsala,[18]Komotini,Feres,Xanthi,Maroneia,Monastir, and in 1397,Corinth.[2][19] He founded the town Yenice-i Vardar, modernGiannitsa.[20]
Gazi Evrenos died at an advanced age in Yenice-i Vardar. He was buried in a mausoleum there in 1417. The mausoleum survives but was badly mutilated in 19th century and served for a time as an agricultural store.[21]
As one of the most successful Ottoman commanders, Evrenos acquired considerable wealth and founded numerous endowments (awqaf). Several monuments attributed to him survive in southeastern Europe. Of primary importance is histürbe (mausoleum) with its accompanying epitaph in Giannitsa.[21] Ahammam of Evrenos stands to the south of the mausoleum. Two other monuments stand in Greek Thrace.[22]
Some argue that the name Evrenos (also Evrenuz)[23] is not Turkish. Heath Lowry theorized that the father ofHayreddin Barbarossa perhaps was aSipahi cavalry served under Evrenos.[24] What is certain is that Gazi Evrenos was from Ottoman Anatolia and first appears asbey.[11] Lapavitsas even put forward that the founder, Piranki (Prangı)Isa Bey, might've been descended from the mercenaries of theCatalan Company, who razed the coasts of Asia Minor in the early 14th century.[25] But modern historians generally reject these views. In light of a newly discovered vâkfiye (pious endowment charter) drawn up in 1456-1457 by İsa Beğ (one of Evrenos' seven sons), it posits a new explanation for the ethnic origins of the family. In this regard it advances the hypothesis that to his contemporaries 'Evrenos' was actually known as 'Evreniz/Evrenüz' or 'Avraniz/Avranüz.' Further, according toHeath W. Lowry, that his father's actual name was Branko/Pranko Lazart, which, according to Lowry, raises the possibility of aSerbian origin for the family.[26] Others, such asStanford J. Shaw,Dimitri Kitsikis,Peter Sugar, andJoseph Von Hammer propose aGreek origin for the family,[7][8][9][27] with Shaw noting that he was a Byzantine feudal prince in Anatolia who converted to Islam and entered Ottoman service following the capture of Bursa.[7]
Îsâ "Prangi" Bey, Evrenos' father, was, according to some sources, the son of Bozoklu Han, who joinedSüleyman Pasha in his conquest ofRumelia. He is said to have been martyred in the village ofPrangi (also known as Sırcık or Kırcık in Ottoman sources), a busy ferry-place on theEvros river about 6 km (4 mi) east fromDidymoteicho, and that his tomb was built by his son Evrenos (Evrenuz) Bey.[21][23]
Gazi Evrenos Bey was father of seven sons (Khidr-shah, Isa, Suleyman,Ali, Yakub, Barak, Begdje) and several daughters.[28]
Together with theMihaloğulları (from the Beylik of Karasi ),Malkoçoğulları (from Serbia), Ömerli/Ömeroğlu, and theTurahanoğulları, Evrenos' descendants, the Evrenosoğulları, constitute one of the Byzantine families that effectively formed the early Ottoman warrior nobility.[19]
According to a Greek legend, Evrenos Bey's father was the governor of Bursa and a convert
Akınism is not unique to the Ottomans, nor is Evrenosoğulları, Mihaloğulları and Malkoçoğulları, who come from famous raider families, are of Turkish origin.
According to some sources, mainly Greek, Evrenos son of Isa (Jesus) Bey Prangi came from a family of Byzantine origin which transferred its alliance to the Turkish Karasi rulers of western Anatolia and had converted to Islam in the 14th century. Other scholars, generally Turkish, claim that the family was of ancient Turkish origin. Certainly, Gazi Evrenos was first mentioned as a middle-rankingbey.
He [Evrenos] might have even been a descendant of a mercenary of the notorious Grand Catalan Company [...]
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