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Çaka
Bey
Modern representation of Çaka in the Istanbul Naval Museum
1st Bey of Smyrna
Reignc. 1081 ‒ 1093
SuccessorSon of Çaka Bey (name unknown)
BornUnknown
Died1092
Sultanate of Rum
IssueAyşe Hatun
ReligionIslam

Çaka Bey (Template:Lang-tr)[dn 1] (Template:Lang-gr), or Çağa Bey[1] [2] was an 11th-century Seljuk Turkish military commander who ruled an independent beylik based in Smyrna after the Battle of Manzikert. He is regarded as the first Turkish admiral in history as he formed the first navy in Turkish history. [1] He joined the Seljuk raids in Anatolia after 1071 and was captured by the Byzantine Empire around 1078, attracted the attention of Emperor Nikiforos III and was taken to the palace with the title of protonobilissimus. When Alexios I became emperor in 1081, he was expelled from the palace because the title and privileges given to him were taken back. In the same year, he achieved the first Turkish domination in the history of Smyrna. After a while, he expanded his realm and gained control over some islands in the Aegean Sea and some parts of the coastline of the sea. Around 1092, he besieged Abydos, but after the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I provoked the Sultan of the Rum Seljuk Sultanate, Kılıç Arslan I, he was killed by Kılıç Arslan and the siege failed.

Life Before Establishing His Beylik

Very little is known about his life, and that mostly from only one source, the Alexiad of the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He is also mentioned in the 13th-century Danishmendname as Chavuldur Chaka (Template:Lang-tr),[3] but it is not a very reliable source due to the semi-legendary nature of its material.[4]

In 1071, after the Battle of Manzikert between the Great Seljuk Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes was captured, and the Anatolian beyliks, established by the Turkmen tribes, emerged in Anatolia.[1] In 1080, Çaka Bey, a member of the Chavuldur tribe of the Oguz, who participated in the raids organized in the Byzantine lands as a Bey of Danishmend Gazi, the founder of the Danishmend Dynasty founded in Sebastia, was captured by Byzantium in one of the raids around 1078.[1] According to the Alexiad, Çaka was taken as a prisoner by the Byzantines during the reign of Nikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 1078–1081). He entered Byzantine service and advanced rapidly through imperial favour, receiving the title of protonobilissimus and rich gifts. (He learned Greek here and rose to good positions in the palace like some other Turkish prisoners.[1] However, when Alexios I Komnenos deposed Botaneiates in 1081, he lost his position and fled Byzantium.[5] He then reunited with the Oguz in Anatolia.'[1] [6]

Establishment and development of the principality

Taking advantage of the struggle between Byzantium and the Pechenegs, Çaka Bey captured Smyrna, which was held by Byzantium in 1081, with approximately 8,000 soldiers.[1] He formed a 50-piece fleet consisting of rowing and sailing ships[7] by employing Christian craftsmen here.[1][8] The year 1081, when the Navy was created, is also regarded as the foundation date of the Turkish Naval Forces. [9] [10] Çaka Bey, who was aware of the Byzantine conflicts in the Balkans and with the Pechenegs, first eliminated Klazomenai in the framework of the aim of expanding the borders of his Smyrni-based beylik.[8][11] Then he annexed the city in his first attack on Phokaia.[8][11] After a while, with the letters he wrote to Alopus, who is responsible for the administration of Lesbos, he stated that he would punish him if he did not leave the city.[8] After these threats, while Alopus left the island, in 1089 forces under the command of Çaka Bey [12] captured the city of Mytilene, without encountering any resistance.[8] However, the city of Mithymna on the other side of the island could not be captured due to its strong walls and unsuitable geography for attacks.[13] Learning that Lesbos was under the control of Çaka Bey, Byzantine Emperor Alexios I immediately sent a fleet to the island.[11] On the other hand, Çaka Bey, who left Lesbos, took the island under his control after his first attack on Chios in 1090.[8][14] That same year, he won the battle at Chios with Byzantine forces under the command of Niketas Kastamonites. After this defeat, the emperor sent another Byzantine fleet under the command of Constantine Dalassenos to Chios.[15] Çaka Bey, who left Smyrna with 8,000 Turkmen after the siege of the castle on the island by Dalassenos; On May 19, 1090, won the naval battle around the Oinousses Islands between Chios and Karaburun, and after this victory, captured some Byzantine ships.[11][16] After the battle, Çaka Bey met with Dalassenos for peace talks and said that if he was given Byzantine titles by the emperor and if his own son was accepted to marry a daughter of the emperor that he was ready for peace and would return the islands he conquered. However, these demands were not accepted by the emperor.[11][17] After Çaka Bey returned to Smyrna, the commander Dalassenos took back Chios, but before the end of 1090 the island was again under the control of Çaka Bey.[18] In 1090 and later, he dominated the islands of Rhodes and Samos.

[13] After increasing his power, Çaka Bey aimed to besiege Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and also the city that gave him the title of emperor, contacted the Turkish clan Pechenegs in the east of the empire, Thrace for a joint attack.[19][11][20] On the other hand, Emperor Alexios I, who agreed with the Kipchaks of another Turkish tribe, slaughtered the Pechenegs, including women and children, on April 29, 1091 and removed this danger.[21][11] Immediately afterwards, he established a relationship with Seljuk Sultan Kılıç Arslan I, who took the throne in Nicaea.[22] Meanwhile, Çaka Bey had married his daughter to I Kılıç Arslan.[11]


In 1092, in spring according to theAlexiad, Alexios I sent the navy under the command of Konstantinos Dalassenos and the land army under the command of John Doukas to Çaka Bey.[23] While the Byzantine forces besieged Lesbos under the rule of Çaka Bey's brother Yalvaç, Çaka Bey was stationed off the island with his fleet.[22][23] After three months of struggles, Çaka Bey left the island on the condition that he could return to Smyrna freely.[23] Immediately after, the Byzantine fleet took back Samos and returned to Constantinople.[22] Also, during his return to Smyrna, Dalassenos attacked the Turkish fleet, which was almost destroyed.[5][24] After a while, Çaka Bey took advantage of the Byzantine navy dealing with the uprisings in Crete and Cyprus and re-established his domination over the Aegean islands, he also took control of Western Anatolia as far as the Dardanelles.[22] After capturing Adramyttium in the same year, he besieged Abydos and upon this, Alexios I established an alliance with Kılıç Arslan I against Çaka Bey, arguing that Çaka Bey was a danger to both Byzantine and Seljuks.[22] During the siege of Abydos, the Byzantine navy took action against Çaka Bey from the sea and the Seljuk army from the land. Çaka Bey, unaware of the alliance between the two states, requested a meeting with Kılıç Arslan I. Welcoming him with a ceremony, Kılıç Arslan I killed Çaka Bey by drawing his sword during the feast.[22][5][25]


After Death

After the death of Çaka Bey, Alexios I initiated the First Crusade by mobilizing the Christian states in Europe in order to expel Kılıç Arslan I from Nicaea and repel possible Turkish attacks. The Crusaders, who captured the city in 1097, handed it over to Byzantium.[22] While the Crusaders, advancing towards the interior of Anatolia, defeated the Seljuks in the Battle of Dorylaeum, the Byzantine forces attacking Smyrna also surrounded the city from land and sea. Although the Turkish commander here surrendered the city, around 10,000 Turks were slaughtered in the summer of 1097.[22] The Byzantine army, which also took over Ephesos, which was in the hands of another Turkish lord Tanrıvermiş, distributed about 2,000 Turks captured to the islands.[22]

Çaka Bey's Turkmens retreated first to Polybotum and then to Philadelphia. After the capture of Philadelphia by Byzantium, these Turkmens declined further east, as far as Gerede.[22]

Legacy

Çakabey Mahallesi of Çeşme district of İzmir province takes its name from Çaka Bey.[26] In 2008, a monument including a bust of Çaka Bey was erected by the Çeşme Municipality and the Turkish Naval Forces Command in the İnönü neighborhood of İzmir's Çeşme district. Built on an area of 600 square meters, the monument consists of a 2-meter bust of Çaka Bey on a 3.5-meter pedestal placed between two sail figures, one 20 meters high and the other 17 meters high.[27] A bust of Çaka Bey is exhibited in the Istanbul Naval Museum in Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, and the exhibition hall in the museum bears the name of Çaka Bey. On the other hand, there are primary schools named after Çaka Bey in Kuşadası district of Aydın, Kartal district of İstanbul, Buca district of İzmir and Derince district of Kocaeli, Gölcük Çakabey Anatolian High School named after Çaka Bey in Gölcük district of Kocaeli. and Private Çakabey Schools in Çiğli district of İzmir. One of the sea buses in İDO Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. and a ferry that joined İZDENİZ's ferry fleet in 2014 was named after Çaka Bey.

In 1976, the book Çaka Bey, written by Yavuz Bahadıroğlu and in which Çaka Bey's life was novelized, was released. In 2005, a novel by Mehmet Dikici with the same name was published by Akçağ Publications.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Tzachas" is the Hellenized form of a Turkish name which does not appear in any historical documents, but was likely "Chaka", "Chagha", or "Chaqan". The name "Chaka", in the modern Turkish alphabet "Çaka", prevailed especially in modern Turkey, after Akdes Nimet Kurat used it in his work Çaka: 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.)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h İnalcık 2013, p. 52.
  2. ^ Kurat 1996, p. 21.
  3. ^ Alexander Daniel Beihammer, (2017), Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130, p. 272
  4. ^ Mallett 2013
  5. ^ a b c Brand 1991, p. 2134.
  6. ^ Kurat 1996, p. 24.
  7. ^ "Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Tarihçesi" (in Turkish). Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Komnene 1928, p. 183.
  9. ^ "Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Tarihçesi" (in Turkish). Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı. Çaka Bey, İzmir'de o döneme göre modern sayılabilecek bir tersane yaptırmış ve tersane civarındaki bölgeyi deniz üs kompleksine dönüştürmüştür. Bu aşamadan sonra gemi inşa faaliyetlerine geçilmiş, kürekli ve yelkenli gemilerden oluşan 50 parçalık ilk Türk Donanması 1081 yılında inşa edilmiştir. Bu yıl, Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri açısından son derece önemlidir. Çünkü, 1081 yılı Deniz Kuvvetlerinin kuruluş yılı olarak kabul edilmektedir. Aynı yıl Emir Çaka Bey, ilk Türk Donanması ile Ege'nin sıcak sularına yelken açmıştır.
  10. ^ Ayönü, Yusuf (2009)"İzmir'de Türk hâkimiyetinin başlaması".Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi, 1. sayı. İzmir. p. 4-5. Access date: 25 January 2013
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h İnalcık 2013, p. 53.
  12. ^ Argenti, Philip Pandely (1958)"The Occupation of Chios by the Genoese and Their Administration of the Island, 1346-1566". University of California Press. p. 14.
  13. ^ a b Kurat 1996, p. 28.
  14. ^ Finlay, George (1854). History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from DCCXVI to MCCCCLIII. William Blackwood & Sons. p. 112.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Finlay, George (1854). History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from DCCXVI to MCCCCLIII. William Blackwood & Sons. p. 112.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Bostan, İdris; Özbaran, Salih; Arıkan, Zeki; Sancar, Lütfü (2009)"Türk Denizcilik Tarihi". Boyut Yayıncılık. p. 52. ISBN 9754095469.
  17. ^ Komnene, 1928 & p. 184-185.
  18. ^ Kurat 1996, p. 38.
  19. ^ Ayönü, Yusuf (2009)"İzmir'de Türk hâkimiyetinin başlaması".Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi, 1. sayı. İzmir. p. 4-5. Access date: 25 January 2013
  20. ^ Finlay, George (1854). History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires from DCCXVI to MCCCCLIII. William Blackwood & Sons. p. 112.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Ayönü, Yusuf (2009)"İzmir'de Türk hâkimiyetinin başlaması".Türk Dünyası İncelemeleri Dergisi, 1. sayı. İzmir. p. 4-5. Access date: 25 January 2013
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j İnalcık 2013, p. 54.
  23. ^ a b c Kurat 1996, p. 44-45.
  24. ^ Anna Komnene. Alexiad, IX.1 (Dawes 1928, pp. 214–217).
  25. ^ Anna Komnene. Alexiad, IX.3 (Dawes 1928, pp. 219–220).
  26. ^ "Çeşme Belediyesi-Mahalleler". YerelNET. In 14 March 2016 archived by "this source".. || access-date = 27 January 2013. |
  27. ^ "Çeşme'ye Türk Denizci Çakabey Anıtı". VatanBir. 12 Agust 2008. In 1 November 2013 archived by "this source".. | access-date = 26 January 2013.. |

Sources

Further reading

  • Template:Cite article
  • Brand, Charles M. (1989). "The Turkish element in Byzantium, eleventh-twelfth centuries". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 43: 1–25. doi:10.2307/1291603. JSTOR 1291603.
  • 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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