Kadi Ahmad Burhan al-Din (8 January 1345, Kayseri – 1398, Sivas) was a Turcoman poet, scholar, and statesman. He was vizier to the Eretnid rulers of Anatolia. In 1381, he took over Eretnid lands and claimed the title of sultan for himself. He is most often referred to by the title Qadi, a title for Islamic judges, which was his first occupation.
To maintain the independence of his principality, he fought against the Ottomans, Mamluks, Karamanids, and Aq Qoyunlu for 18 years. He composed poetry in a Turkic language close to modern Azerbaijani Turkic. In addition to his poems in Turkic, he also wrote in Persian and Arabic and conducted studies on Islamic law. His divan is regarded as the first divan written in the Turkic language. He is considered one of the founders of modern Azerbaijani and Turkish literature, playing a significant role in the development of poetry in the Azerbaijani Turkic language.
On May 7, 2019, by Decision No. 211 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Qadi Burhan al-Din was included in the list of authors whose works are declared state property in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Early life and education The first ancestor of Burhan al-Din who migrated to Anatolia was a Khwarezmian named Muhammad Rasul Sevinc. He belonged to the Salur tribe of the Oghuz Turks. Aziz al-Astarabadi records Burhan al-Din's lineage as follows: Shams al-Din Muhammad, son of Suleyman Siraj al-Din, son of Husam al-Din, son of Jalal al-Din Habib, son of Muhammad, son of Rasul, son of Sevinc. Burhan al-Din's great-grandfather was born around the 1290s in the Kastamonu region. He gained recognition from the qadi of Kayseri, who arranged his marriage to his daughter, which subsequently earned him an official position. According to Aziz al-Astarabadi, many of his descendants also served as qadis. Thus, Burhan al-Din's family upheld the position of qadi for generations. A. Krymsky described Burhan al-Din as "the son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson of a qadi." Additionally, Burhan al-Din’s great-grandfather married a woman from the Seljuk dynasty, and his son Suleyman Siraj al-Din became a highly respected figure. As a result, Suleyman married the daughter of the last Sultan of the Seljuks of Konya. His son, Shams al-Din Muhammad, adhered to family tradition and served as a qadi in Kayseri. Ibn Arabshah, while writing about the rulers of the Eretnids, also mentioned Burhan al-Din's father, noting that he was one of the viziers of the Eretnid ruler and described him as the most powerful among them.
Burhan al-Din was born on the 3rd of Ramadan, corresponding to January 8, 1345. His mother came from a noble family and was related to Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw of the Seljuks. Burhan al-Din’s maternal grandfather, Abdullah Chalabi, was a vizier and the son of the prominent Seljuk bureaucrat Jalal al-Din Mahmud Mustawfi. According to Abdullah ibn Ali Kashani, the author of "Tarikh-e Olcaytu", Burhan al-Din’s mother was also the sister of the Eretnid ruler. She died when Burhan al-Din was only one and a half years old. As a result, he was raised and educated under the guidance of his father. In his youth, Burhan al-Din mastered Persian and Arabic, as well as disciplines such as Islamic law, logic, horsemanship, swordsmanship, and archery.
In 1356, Burhan al-Din accompanied his father to Damascus for educational purposes. Two years later, they traveled to Cairo. Historians believe this journey may have been prompted by political reasons, possibly due to his father's exile or forced departure from Kayseri. In Cairo, Burhan al-Din studied jurisprudence, hadith, and Quranic exegesis. Later, in 1362, he returned to Damascus to study poetry under Qutb al-Din al-Razi for a year and a half. After the death of Qutb al-Din in 1364, Burhan al-Din's father also died shortly thereafter. Following the deaths of his father and teacher, Burhan al-Din returned to his hometown.
After his return to Kayseri in 1364, the Eretnid ruler Muhammad Bey appointed him as qadi and arranged his marriage to his daughter. In 1365, Muhammad Bey died under unclear circumstances. Some speculate he was killed during a campaign to suppress rebellions in Amasya (led by Haji Shadgeldi), Milas (led by Haji Amir Ibrahim), or Karahisar (led by Kılıç Arslan). Others suggest he may have been assassinated due to political conflicts. Burhan al-Din's role in these events remains unknown. The renowned Scottish orientalist E. Gibb, citing Ibn Hajar, notes that Burhan al-Din married the ruler's daughter, but their relationship eventually soured, leading Burhan al-Din to kill his father-in-law and seize power.
At the time of Muhammad Bey’s death, his son Alaeddin Ali was only 13 years old and thus incapable of governing effectively. Taking advantage of the ensuing instability, the Karamanids captured Niğde and Aksaray. In 1375, Alaeddin Bey of the Karamanids seized Kayseri, forcing Alaeddin Ali to flee to Sivas. In 1378, Burhan al-Din reclaimed Kayseri and expelled Alaeddin Karamanid. Consequently, Alaeddin Ali appointed Burhan al-Din as his vizier. However, Burhan al-Din’s aspirations for power created tensions between them. Burhan al-Din ultimately emerged victorious in this struggle, consolidating both military and political control. His authority was solidified when he was granted the title of beylerbeyi or malik al-umara, titles previously used during the Seljuk era.
During his tenure as vizier, Burhan al-Din implemented measures to stabilize the region. A conflict arose between Burhan al-Din and Emir Haji Shadgeldi over the control of Amasya, which the latter had seized from Alaeddin Eretnid. In 1380, Alaeddin Ali succumbed to the plague in Kazabad. At the time of his death, his son was only seven years old. Although a public assembly urged Burhan al-Din to govern the state as regent, he declined. Consequently, the regency was entrusted to Kılıç Arslan, who was from the Seljuk dynasty and had married Alaeddin Ali’s widow. However, this decision caused widespread discontent, as many believed Burhan al-Din was better suited for leadership. Alarmed by Burhan al-Din’s growing influence, Kılıç Arslan plotted to eliminate him. However, Burhan al-Din acted first, killing Kılıç Arslan on February 19, 1381. Following this event, the public assembly once again supported Burhan al-Din, and he assumed the regency. Later that year, Burhan al-Din defeated his main rival, Haji Shadgeldi of Amasya, and declared his sovereignty in Sivas. After delivering a khutbah in his name, he sent envoys to rulers across Anatolia, Syria, and Iraq to announce his ascension to power.
Sources Aziz ibn Ardashir Astrabadi (also known as Abdulaziz Baghdadi) served as the court poet of Qadi Burhan al-Din and authored the work Bazm wa Razm. In this work, he provided information about Burhan al-Din, his patron. This work was utilized by the renowned 15th-century Arab historian Ibn Hajar (1372–1448). Ibn Hajar's work, in turn, was referenced by the 16th-century Ottoman historian Daskopruzade. The famous orientalist E.J.W. Gibb, in his work, benefited from the materials that Daskopruzade had derived from Ibn Hajar.
Another source providing information about Burhan al-Din's life is the work of Ibn Arabshah (1392–1450), a scholar from Damascus. Ibn Arabshah, who spent many years in captivity under Timur, later wrote his own biography. Krimski notes that, curiously, Gibb did not use or was unaware of Ibn Arabshah's work, which contains considerable information about Burhan al-Din. Additionally, Ibn Arabshah was familiar with the work of Aziz ibn Ardashir, noting that it was preserved in Karaman and consisted of four volumes.
The description of Burhan al-Din’s execution and the annexation of his state by the Ottoman Empire can be found in the memoirs of Johannes Schiltberger, who was captured by the Ottomans at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396). Schiltberger participated in the Ottoman campaign that annexed Sivas and provides details about these events.
The correspondence between Kadi Burhan al-Din and rulers of neighboring states, as well as between those rulers themselves, also serves as a valuable source of information about his life and activities.
Historical Context In the early 14th century, the Anatolian Seljuks, centered in Konya, fell under the pressure of the Ilkhanate. Following their collapse, various beyliks emerged in their place. In 1335, Eretna Bey, one of the Ilkhanid governors in Anatolia, declared his independence. However, he temporarily accepted vassalage to the Mamluk Sultan. The initial capital of the Eretnid Beylik was Erzincan, later moving to Kayseri. During this period, the newly formed beyliks frequently engaged in conflicts with one another over territorial disputes. The Eretnid Beylik was governed by Eretna Bey's descendants until 1381, when Qadi Burhan al-Din declared himself an independent ruler.
Rise to power Although he was favored by the sultan, Burhan al-Din secretly participated in the rebellion of the local magnates which led to Ghiyath al-Din's killing in 1365. Burhan al-Din's popularity spread as he was serving as the of Kayseri, bolstering his political strength. He built strong personal relations, especially with local nomadic tribes. By 1376, he had become a military commander with significant power in a realm that was facing political turmoil. The previous year, Karamanids captured Kayseri in a surprise attack with the help of the Mongol tribes of Samargar and Chaykazan, prompting Ala al-Din Ali to flee to Sivas. Burhan al-Din tried to fend off the Karamanids with the hopes that he could claim Kayseri for himself. He wasn't successful, getting arrested when Ali uncovered his true intentions. The Emir of Sivas, Hajji Ibrahim, who allied with the leader of Samargar, Khidr Beg, rescued Burhan al-Din and imprisoned Ali instead. Ali was eventually liberated by Burhan al-Din in 1378. In June of that year, Burhan al-Din was made vizier by Eretnid emirs in order to prevent a possible revolt of peasants disgruntled by Ali's incompetence.
Reign Referring to Sa'd al-Din Efendi, Gibb mentions that Burhan al-Din captured Sivas and Kayseri and ruled for 20–30 years. However, this is an exaggeration. Based on information from sources, it becomes evident that Burhan al-Din ruled for either 17 or 18 years. His years of rule were marked by continuous conflicts with rebellious local rulers as well as struggles against powerful states such as the Ottomans, Mamluks, and Aq Qoyunlus.
In 1381, after murdering the (deputy) of the ruler of Eretna, he formally proclaimed himself the ruler, initially using the title atabeg and later sultan. He issued his own coins and had the khuṭba delivered in his name. He was continuously involved in skirmishes with neighboring states. He gained many enemies with his rise to power, including the Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire, Aq Qoyunlu, Qara Qoyunlu, Karamanids, and local emirs, such as those of Amasya and Erzincan, one of whom, Mutahharten, was a worthy rival. To reduce the number of his opponents, Burhan al-Din pardoned many of whom he had defeated. He followed no set principle but only the benefit of his political existence in forging relations with neighboring powers. The sultanate Burhan al-Din usurped had a large Turkmen and Mongol population but also consisted of many of the older, established urban centers of the Seljuk and Ilkhanid Anatolia. His sultanate resembled these states more than the Turcoman beyliks.