Tzachas (Greek:Τζαχᾶς,romanized: Tzachás), also known asChaka Bey (Turkish:Çaka Bey),[dn 1] was an 11th-centurySeljukTurkish military commander who ruled an independent state based inSmyrna. Originally inByzantine service, he rebelled and seized Smyrna, much of theAegean coastlands ofAsia Minor and the islands lying off shore in 1088–91. At the peak of his power, he even declared himself Byzantine emperor, and sought to assaultConstantinople in conjunction with thePechenegs. In 1092, a Byzantine naval expedition underJohn Doukas inflicted a heavy defeat on him and retookLesbos, while in the next year he was slain by his son-in-lawKilij Arslan I. Smyrna and the rest of Tzachas' former domain were recovered by the Byzantines a few years later, inc. 1097.
According to theAlexiad, Tzachas was originally a raider, who was taken as a prisoner by the Byzantines during the reign ofNikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 1078–1081). Tzachas entered Byzantine service and advanced rapidly through imperial favour, receiving the title ofprotonobelissimos and rich gifts. However, when Alexios I Komnenos deposed Botaneiates in 1081, Tzachas lost his position and fled Byzantium.[2][3]
In 1090/91, the Byzantines underConstantine Dalassenos recovered Chios.[3][5] Undeterred, Tzachas rebuilt his forces, and resumed his attacks, even proclaiming himself emperor (basileus) and seeking to conclude an alliance against Alexios I with thePechenegs inThrace for a joint attack on Constantinople.[2][3] In 1092, Dalassenos and the newmegas doux,John Doukas, were sent against Tzachas, and attacked the fortress ofMytilene on Lesbos. Tzachas resisted for three months, but finally had to negotiate a surrender of the fortress. During his return to Smyrna, Dalassenos attacked the Turkish fleet, which was almost destroyed.[3][6]
^"Tzachas" is the Hellenized form of aTurkish name which does not appear in any historical documents, but was likely "Chaka", "Chagha", or "Chaqan". The name "Chaka", in themodern Turkish alphabet "Çaka", prevailed especially in modern Turkey, afterAkdes Nimet Kurat used it in his workÇaka: Orta Zamanda İzmir ve Yakınındaki Adaların Türk Hakimi, Istanbul, 1936,... yüksek siyasî ve askerî görüş sahibi olarak büyük önem taşıyan bu bey'in adının gerçek söylenişi henüz tamamen kesinliğe kavuşmuş değildir. Bu hususta şimdiye kadar üç ihtimal ileri sürülmüştür: Çaka, Çağa, Çakan. AN Kurat'ın bunu "Çaka" kabûl ederek eserini de "Çaka Bey" diye adlandırması, özellikle memleketimizde Çaka şeklinin yaygınlaşmasına yol açmıştır denebilir. (Tarih Dergisi, Cilt 20, İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, İbrahim Horoz Basımevi, 1983,p. 56.)
Brand, Charles M. (1989). "The Turkish element in Byzantium, eleventh-twelfth centuries".Dumbarton Oaks Papers.43:1–25.doi:10.2307/1291603.JSTOR1291603.
Savvides, Alexis G.C. (1982). "Ο Σελτζούκος εμίρης της Σμύρνης Τζαχάς (Çaka) και οι επιδρομές του στα μικρασιατικά παράλια, τα νησιά του ανατολικού Αιγαίου και την Κωνσταντινούπολη".Χιακά Χρονικά (in Greek).14. Athens:9–24.
Savvides, Alexis G.C. (1984). "Ο Σελτζούκος εμίρης της Σμύρνης Τζαχάς (Çaka) και οι επιδρομές του στα μικρασιατικά παράλια, τα νησιά του ανατολικού Αιγαίου και την Κωνσταντινούπολη".Χιακά Χρονικά (in Greek).16. Athens:51–66.
Savvides, Alexis G.C. (2000). "Can we refer to a concerted action among Rapsomates, Caryces and the Emir Tzachas between A.D. 1091 and 1093".Byzantion.70:122–134.
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