70

realm.
10
Predictably, his policies caused discontent at various levels of society.
11
However,
voices of discontent calling for the reversal of some of these policies were not raised until the
reign of his son Bayezid II, because Mehmed II, having the prestige of the capture of
Constantinople, never came close to giving up his autocratic rule.
IV. B. Higher Educational Institutions during Mehmed IIs reign
A significant component of the imperial program was architectural: to build monuments of
various types mosques, higher educational institutions, bathhouses, marketplaces etc. to
convert old Byzantine buildings to new purposes, and to project the new imperial vision on
Constantinople and other cities in stone.
12
Another component was to increase the importance of
Ottoman cities, especially Constantinople, as centers of learning. The result was the construction
of a number of higher educational institutions in Constantinople and elsewhere by Mehmed II
and his dignitaries.
It seems that Mehmed II introduced Islamic learning to Constantinople by converting
some churches into institutions of higher education and appointing prominent scholars to teach in
them. For example, according to Ta!kprizade, Molla Zeyrek taught in one of the churches that
Mehmed II assigned for teaching before the establishment of his educational institutions in
Constantinople. When Hocazade Muslihuddin defeated Molla Zeyrek in an academic debate, the

10
For his cancellation of former freehold properties and religious foundations, see $nalck,
Mehemmed II; idem., The Policy of Mehmed II, 245, and Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror
and His Time, 447.

11
Kafadar, Between Two Worlds, 147"8, and Stefanos Yerasimos, Kostantiniye ve Ayasofya
Efsaneleri, trans. "irin Tekeli (Istanbul: Ileti!im, 1993), 7"11.

12
For a brief overview of the architectural works, undertaken during Mehmed IIs reign, see
Ekrem Hakk Ayverdi, Fatih Devri Mimari Eserleri (Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaas, 1953).
71
latter was dismissed and the former assumed his position.
13
It seems that these churches"turned"
higher educational institutions were discontinued after Mehmed II founded his own educational
institutions in Constantinople. On the other hand, when the Church of Hagia Sophia was
converted into a mosque following the capture of the city, part of it was reserved for teaching,
and the prestigious scholar Molla Hsrev was appointed to this job. Unlike in other churches,
teaching in the Hagia Sophia did not stop, and a separate building was constructed for teaching
in the following period.
14

In 1459, Mehmed II established his first institution of higher education in the area, known
today as Eyp, outside the walled city of Constantinople. During the siege of Constantinople,
Mehmed IIs mentor, Ak!emseddin, determined, with spiritual insight, the area as the burial
place for the Prophets companion, Halid b. Zeyd (known as Ab& Ayy&b al"Ans'r(), who
supposedly joined the Umayyad army that attempted to capture Constantinople in 672. After the
capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II ordered the construction of a complex, including a
mosque, a tomb for Halid b. Zeyd, a higher educational institution, and a soup kitchen in this
area.
15
He also established a religious foundation for the maintenance of these institutions within
the complex.
16


13
ShN, 125.

14
OM, 474"5.

15
Fahri Unan, Kurulu"undan Gnmze Fatih Klliyesi (Ankara: Trk Tarih Kurumu Basmevi,
2003), 50, and Baltac, XV"XVI. Asrlarda Osmanl Medreseleri, 201"5. For the endowment deed
of the institution, see Fatih Sultan Mehmed Vakfiyeleri (Istanbul: amlca Kltr ve Yardm
Vakf, 2003), vol. 2. The endowment stipulated that Mehmed II be the administrator of the
foundation and that his descendants succeed to this task. If his progeny became extinct, the ruler
in the area would take over the administration. For this, see ibid., 346"8.

72
Mehmed IIs more important contribution to education arose in his building complex,
which included a mosque, eight higher educational institutions, eight preparatory schools, an
elementary school, a library, a hospital and a soup kitchen, in Constantinople. The complex was
constructed in 1463"1470. The eight higher educational institutions in this complex clearly
surpassed all previous Ottoman investments in education both in size and in the extent of
endowment. The endowment deed provided eight scholars and their assistants with decent
salaries. In addition, all 120 students in the eight institutions were assigned stipends.
17
It is
obvious that with the construction of these institutions of higher education, Mehmed II wanted to
impress his contemporaries with his generosity to scholars as well as to emphasize his
commitment to learning.
In addition, Mehmed II encouraged his statesmen and dignitaries to establish institutions
in Constantinople in order to contribute to the prosperity of the city.
18
Mahmud Pa!a (d, 1474),
19

Murad Pa!a (d. 1473)
20
and Davud Pa!a (d. 1498"9)
21
established building complexes, including
higher educational institutions, in Constantinople.

16
For the endowment deed for these institutions, see Ibid., vol. 3. According to endowment deed,
the ruler in the realm had the right to administer these institutions. For this, see ibid., 40.
17
Unan, Kurulu"undan Gnmze Fatih Klliyesi, 51"67.

18
$nalck, The Policy of Mehmed II, 235"41, and Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 21"8.

19
For Mahmud Pa!as architectural patronage, see Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 267"87. The
endowment deed stipulated that his descendants administer the foundation after him. If they
became extinct, then their freedmen would take over the administration. It seems that Mahmud
Pa!as progeny became extinct by 1546. For this, see ibid., 265"6. For an interpretation of
architectural features for his institutions in Constantinople, i%dem Kafesio%lu, The Ottoman
Capital in the Making: The Reconstrcution of Constantinople in the Fifteenth Century, (PhD
diss., Harvard University, 1996), 163"183.

20
For Murad Pa!as architectural patronage in Istanbul, see Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 415"
6. See also Kafesio%lu, The Ottoman Capital in the Making, 190"6. For Murad Pa!as
73
Although Constantinople became the locus for most of the public architectural patronage
during Mehmed IIs reign, some other cities had their share and also acquired higher educational
institutions. For example, Rum Mehmed Pa!a established a mosque and a higher educational
institution in skdar;
22
Mahmud Pa!a constructed a higher educational institution in Krklareli
and his son Ali Bey built another one in Edirne.
23
Molla Hsrev (d. 1480)
24
and $shak Pa!a (d.
1487)
25
founded higher educational institutions in Bursa and $negl respectively.
The capacity of the Ottoman dynasty to patronize religious scholars through
appointments to institutions which they themselves established seems to have doubled during
Mehmed IIs thirty"year reign. In addition, the higher educational institutions established by
dignitaries enabled a greater number of religious scholars to live and be employed in
Constantinople and other cities.

endowments in Edirne for the maintenance of his institutions in Istanbul, see M. Tayyib
Gkbilgin, XV."XVI. Asrlarda Edirne ve Pa"a Livs: Vakflar, Mlkler, Mukataalar (Istanbul:
ler Basmevi, 1952), 335"7.

21
OM, 183"8.

22
For Rum Mehmed Pa!as architectural patronage in Istanbul, see Stavrides, The Sultan of
Vezirs, 413"4. See also Kafesio%lu, The Ottoman Capital in the Making, 183"90. For the
endowments of these institutions, see Gkbilgin, XV."XVI. Asrlarda Edirne ve Pa"a Livs, 334"
5.

23
For Mahmud Pa!as buildings in Krklareli, see Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 278"9. For Ali
Beys higher educational institution in Edirne, see Ibid., 446. For its endowments, see Gkbilgin,
XV."XVI. Asrlarda Edirne ve Pa"a Livs. 322"3.

24
For Molla Hsrevs higher educational institution and others built in Bursa in this period, see
Mefail Hzl, Osmanl Klasik Dneminde Bursa Medreseleri (Istanbul: $z Yaynclk, 1998), 109"
31.

25
For $shak Pa!as institutions in $negl, see Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 412"3.
74
IV. C. Mehmed IIs Attempt to Monopolize Patronage for Religious Scholars
In the previous chapter, it was emphasized that higher educational institutions, established in the
pre"Ottoman period or by people other than the members of the Ottoman dynasty, provided an
alternative for religious scholars and strengthened their positions vis""vis the ruling authority.
However, it seems that Mehmed II disregarded the religio"legal principle that the religious
foundations were inviolable and that their endowment deeds were binding for all people in
generations to come and attempted to bring some higher educational institutions, not built by the
Ottoman dynasty, under his direct administrative and financial control. This squared with
Mehmed IIs decision to annul all freeholds, including private properties (mlks) and
foundations, and use their revenues for military purposes.
During the Ottoman expansion, newly conquered lands were recognized as state lands
(miri), and their revenues were mostly assigned to Muslim and Christian soldiers in return for
their service during the campaigns.
26
On the other hand, the status of Muslim and Christian
foundations was recognized, and their revenues from lands and other sources were intact.
27
In
addition, the hereditary rights of some Muslim families for tax revenues remained intact after the
Ottoman expansion into Anatolia.
28
Moreover, the Ottomans themselves assigned some state

26
Halil $nalck, Stefan Du!andan Osmanl $mparatorlu%una: XV. Asrda Rumelide Hristiyan
Sipahiler ve Men!eleri in his Osmanl #mparatorlu$u, Toplum ve Ekonomi (Istanbul: Eren,
1993), 90"3, and idem., Ottoman Methods of Conquest, SI 2 (1954): 13"6.

27
Eugenia Kermeli, Central Administration versus Provincial Arbitrary Governance: Patmos
and Mount Athos Monasteries in the 16
th
Century, Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies 32
(2008):189"202.

28
mer Ltfi Barkan, Trk"Islam Toprak Hukuku Tatbikatnn Osmanl Imparatorlu%unda
Ald% "ekiller I: Malikane"Divani Sistemi, Trk Hukuku ve #ktisat Tarihi Mecmuas 2 (1932"
9): 119"84. Oktay zel, Limits of the Almighty: Mehmed II's 'Land Reform' Revisited,
JESHO 42/2(1999): 231"2.
75
lands and buildings as freehold property for various purposes.
29
For example, Mehmed II granted
houses and building lots as freehold to people who came to Constantinople after the conquest in
order to facilitate and quicken resettlement and prosperity in the city.
30
However, in the last
decade of his rule, Mehmed II decided to abolish all types of freeholds and ordered them to be
converted into state lands and their revenues to be assigned to soldiers. According to a report, the
status of some twenty thousand villages was changed to state land as a result of Mehmed IIs
order.
31
A corollary of this reorganization of property rights, related to our purposes, was the
elimination of alternative patronage sources for religious scholars in the Ottoman realm.
Ta!kprizades grandfather Hayreddin Halil b. Kasms (d. 1474/5) biography in the al"
Shaq%iq illustrates the change during Mehmed IIs reign with regard to religious foundations,
higher educational institutions and religious scholars. Hayreddin Halil received his education in
Edirne and Bursa. His professor Molla Yegan recommended him to the ruler of Kastamonu
$smail Bey (r. 1443"1461) for appointment to the higher educational institution called the
Muzafferuddin Medrese in Ta!kpr. He received thirty aspers a day from the foundation of the
institution and fifty silver coins from the revenue of copper mine in Kre. When Mehmed II
defeated $smail Bey and annexed his domain in 1461, Hayreddin Halil forwent his income from
the copper mine. Later, when Mehmed II completed his eight educational institutions in 1470, he
ordered Hayreddin Halil to come to Constantinople and teach in one of them. Hayreddin Halil,
however, did not follow the sultans order. In return, Mehmed II dismissed him from his teaching

29
Ibid., 242"3

30
$nalck, The Policy of Mehmed II," 240"3.

31
zel, Limits of the Almighty, 227.
76
position in the Muzafferuddin Medrese in order to force him to go and teach in Constantinople.
In the end, Hayreddin Halil did not go and earned his living by preaching in Kre.
32

Hayreddin Halils career and relationships with rulers epitomizes significant aspects and
changes in scholarly life in the middle of the fifteenth century. First of all, his movement from
Bursa to Ta!kpr and his employment in non"Ottoman territories points to the lack of formal
and informal barriers for scholars to move between different polities. In addition, he probably
gave up his income from the mine because it did not come from the foundation of the institution
and because Mehmed II claimed its revenue for the Ottoman treasury. However, he clearly did
not expect Mehmed II to dismiss him from his position when he rejected Mehmed IIs offer,
because he served in a pre"Ottoman institution with a foundation. Mehmed IIs firing of
Hayreddin Halil illustrates his attempt to monopolize the patronage of scholars within the
Ottoman realm. Nevertheless, Hayreddin Halil did not yield to Mehmed II, in order to
demonstrate the autonomy of religious scholars.
In addition, Mehmed II interfered in appointments to institutions established by
dignitaries who were not part of the Ottoman family.
33
Moreover, he attempted to involve
himself in the affairs of institutions whose founders were still alive. For example, he appointed
Molla Manisazade to Mahmud Pa!as institution in Constantinople.
34

Mehmed IIs decision to enlarge the Ottoman dynastys investment in education and
learning and to bring the administration of most, if not all, of the educational institutions in the

32
ShN, 120"3. See also HSh, 139"42.

33
Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, 483.

34
ShN, 190. See also HSh, 209. According to Mecdi, Mehmed II himself did not make the
appointment but advised Mahmud Pa!a to do so.
77
Ottoman realm under his control provided him with the opportunity to attract a growing number
of religious scholars to his court in search of employment. Then he put them in a hierarchy and
drew rules for their promotions.
IV. D. Creation of a Hierarchy for Government Officials
Mehmed IIs ambitions to claim the legacy of the Byzantine and Roman Empires and to
reconstruct Constantinople in order to make it an imperial capital led him to undertake immense
projects that had architectural, intellectual and social aspects. In addition to his eight higher
educational institutions, he constructed two palaces in Constantinople. He encouraged and
sometimes forced people to move to Constantinople in order to increase the population and
enliven the economy and social life. Meanwhile, the number of military personnel, bureaucrats
and scholars affiliated with the Ottoman dynasty, increased. Thus, in the 1470s, Mehmed II
decided to organize all his men in a hierarchy, to clearly designate their ranks in a protocol and
to draw rules of promotion in his service.
35
He fulfilled this task, in the manner of rulers in the
post"Mongol period, by issuing a law code (kanunname) and declaring rules and regulations on
his own authority.
36

Mehmed IIs law code on the organization of officials includes a number of clauses on
the hierarchy and ranks of religious scholars. However, since all of its earliest extant copies are

35
For an interpretation of Mehmed IIs law code as an instrument of organization of religious
scholars and military and civil administrators, attached to the dynasty and of administrative
centralization, see Necipo%lu, Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power, 16"21. See also Stavrides,
The Sultan of Vezirs, 29"30.

36
Cornell H Fleischer, Bureaucrat and Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire: The Historian
Mustafa li (1541"1600) (Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1986), 197; Halil $nalck,
Osmanl Hukukuna Giri!, rfi"Sultani Hukuk ve Fatihin Kanunlar, in his Osmanl
Imparatorlu$u, Toplum ve Ekonomi (Istanbul: Eren, 1993), 319"23; idem, Kanun and
Kanunname,EI
2
.
78
dated to the seventeenth century and include some anachronistic elements, their authenticity is
questionable.
37
Nevertheless, evidence from other sources for Mehmed IIs legal enactments to
organize the officials is so abundant that the existence of an original law code cannot be
denied.
38
In fact, Cornell H. Fleischer argues that the existence of anachronistic elements in the
more recent copies does not indicate forgery but its continuing importance for later generations.
According to Fleischer, in the Ottoman understanding, the law codes of rulers were accretive
and, within limits, mutable, and hence Mehmed IIs law code was subsequently amended as
needed.
39

Thus, it is possible to consider that the current document known as Mehmed IIs law code
is an amended version of the original document. It seems impossible, however, to reconstruct the
original precisely with our current knowledge and the available historical sources. Nevertheless,
an examination of the clauses in the extant document gives an idea about Mehmed IIs purposes
and the nature of his legal activity.

37
Konrad Dilger, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des osmanischen Hofzeremoniells im 15. und
16. Jahrhundert (Mnchen: Dr. Rudolf Trofenik, 1967), 16"20 and 34"6. Dilger mainly sees this
law code as attributed to Mehmed II as a result of the tendency of historians in the sixteenth and
seventeenth century to base their arguments on an authority in a far"distant past. For
anachronisms in the law book, see also R. C Repp, The Mfti of Istanbul: A Study in the
Development of the Ottoman Learned Hierarchy (London: Ithaca Press, 1986), 36"42.

38
The historian Idrisi Bitlisi (d. 1520) gave information about the content of Mehmed IIs law
book at the beginning of the sixteenth century. See Abdlkadir zcan, Fatihin Te!kilat
Kanunnamesi ve Nizam" Alem Iin Karde! Katli Meselesi, #stanbul niversitesi Edebiyat
Fakltesi Tarih Dergisi 33 (1980"1), 8. In the late sixteenth century, several authors discussed
this law book and give information about its content. See, ibid., 9"10 and Fleischer, Bureaucrat
and Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire, 192.

39
Ibid., 197"200. For a similar argument, see Necipo%lu, Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power,
20.
79
Mehmed IIs law book, as we have received it, contains three sections. The first section
treats the ranking of people in his service, their places in the protocol, their privileges and duties,
and rules for their promotion. The second section organizes life in the private part of the royal
palace, i.e., the daily personal life of the Ottoman ruler and his relationship with his servants and
the outside world. The third section deals with the fines imposed on criminal offenses, the
salaries of certain people in his service and the titles and honorifics used in addressing them. The
clauses related to religious scholars are located in the first section. The scholars are treated
together with the other people in the rulers service and placed in a ceremonial hierarchy in
which the grand vizier occupies the top position.
It is noticeable that in this law code, religious scholars were shown as eligible to serve in
positions which they normally would not be able to undertake in the late sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, when they became specialized in the educational and judicial services.
40

For example, a judge at the level of a 300"asper income could be promoted to the position of
finance director (defterdar); a judge at the level of a 500"asper income could undertake a
governor"general position; higher"level professors had a monopoly on the chancellor position,
and professors could serve as the financial official (mal defterdar).
41
Since these clauses do not

40
Josef Matuz, Das Kanzleiwesen Sultan Sleymans des Prchtigen (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner
Verlag GmbH, 1974), 33"45; Fleischer, Bureaucrat and Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire, 214"
231; idem., Preliminaries to the Study of the Ottoman Bureaucracy, Journal of Turkish Studies
10 (1986):135"41; idem., Between the Lines: Realities of Scribal Life in the Sixteenth Century,
in Studies in Ottoman History in Honour of Professor V. L. Mnage, edited by Colin Heywood
and Colin Imber, 45"61(Istanbul: The Isis Press, 1994); Linda T. Darling, Revenue"Raising and
Legitimacy: Tax Collection and Finance Administration in the Ottoman Empire 1560"1660
(Leiden, NewYork, Kln: E. J. Brill, 1996), 49"67, and Christine Woodhead, After Celalzade:
the Ottoman Ni!anc c. 1560"1700, in Studies in Islamic Law: A Festschrift for Colin Imber,
Andreas Christmann and Robert Gelave, eds., 299"304 (Oxford and New York: Oxford
University Press, 2007).

80
accord with the more specialized realities of the late sixteenth" and seventeenth"century Ottoman
bureaucracy, there is no reason to assume that these clauses were interpolated later to bring the
law book up to date. Therefore, we can reasonably consider them as authentic and reflecting the
understanding of an administrative hierarchy without strict specialization.
The law code contains a number of clauses ordering promotions of religious scholars
specifically. For example, a professor could serve in the higher educational institutions graded
according to his pay, anywhere between twenty and forty aspers, before reaching Mehmed IIs
institutions and some others paying fifty aspers. After teaching in these educational institutions at
the top of the institutional hierarchy, professors could move to judicial positions or financial,
scribal and military positions, as mentioned above.
42
In fact, some of these clauses have come
under attack by contemporary historians because of elements anachronistic to the fifteenth
century. For example, the usages of the terms sahn for Mehmed IIs eight higher educational
institutions, dahil and haric for the institutions below the eight institutions and judgeship at
the level of 500"aspers for certain judicial positions seem to have been interpolated to the code
in later centuries.
43
It is impossible to determine if these anachronistic elements entered into the
law book as a result of changes in the names of these positions or as a result of amendments due
to the changes in the organization of bureaucratic life and royal service.
Nevertheless, taking the extant copies of the law code, despite their updates, as a
reflection of the spirit and purpose of Mehmed IIs reorganization, we can observe that Mehmed

41
OK, vol. 1, 321.

42
Ibid., 324.

43
Dilger, Untersuchungen, 16; zcan, Fatihin Te!kilat Kanunnamesi , 39 and Repp, The
Mfti of Istanbul, 32"41.
81
II desired to establish a hierarchy for his servants, officials and religious scholars primarily for
ceremonial purposes. In addition, he encouraged their attachment to the Ottoman dynasty and
enterprise by determining rules for promotions and creating career expectations. However, as
will be seen, Mehmed II was not able (or not willing) to establish a self"regulating bureaucracy
with definite rules for promotions, dismissals and appointments; he always preferred to have a
personal relationship with his servants, officials and religious scholars and to handle their affairs
according to his wishes.
IV. E. Mehmed II and Religious Scholars
IV. E. 1. Mehmed IIs Interest in Learning and Scholars in His Service
Mehmed II was eager to attract prominent scholars, artists and bureaucrats to his court.
Claiming the legacies of both the Roman and Byzantine Empires and wishing to be recognized
as emperor in both East and West, he was keen on acquiring the services of learned men
belonging to different confessions. He himself was interested in learning, enjoyed the company
of scholars and aspired to be a great patron of learning and scholarship.
It is known that, after the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II wanted to keep
Byzantine Greek scholars of the city in their places. He established a personal relationship with
George Scholarius Gennadius, presumably discussed Christian dogma with him, and installed
him as the patriarch in Constantinople to preside over the religious affairs of the Greek Orthodox
community in the Empire in the manner that the patriarchs had been doing in the Byzantine
period.
44
In addition, Mehmed II was able to attract Christian learned men from other parts of the
Empire to his court and benefit from the renown of their work and their support of his
ideological claims. For example, Kritovoulos of the Aegean island Imbros wrote a history of a

44
Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, 104"5 and 118.
82
part of Mehmed IIs reign in Greek and, in it, presented him as emperor.
45
George Amirutzes of
Trabzon tutored Mehmed II on geography and prepared for him a single world map combining
partial maps in Ptolemys work.
46
Another scholar, George of Trabzon, recognized Mehmed II as
the inheritor of the Roman Empire and possessor of the right to rule the whole world. George
received Mehmeds support for his philosophical and geographical studies.
47
Moreover, Mehmed
II invited famous Italian artists and scholars and offered them patronage at his court. For
instance, he commissioned Gentile Bellini to draw his portraits and received the services of
architects Aristotele Fioravanti and Filarete in the construction of his palaces and building
complexes, including the higher educational institutions.
48

However, Mehmed IIs interest in faith, arts and the sciences articulated by the Byzantine
Greeks and Italians should not obscure his interest and investment in the development of Muslim
culture and traditions. Among his significant architectural legacies, which reflected his devotion
to Muslim culture, is his famous building complex, which includes a magnificent mosque and
higher educational institutions, as well as a soup kitchen. Throughout his reign, he competed
with other Muslim rulers of the day to be considered the greatest patron of learning. He invited
Abulfazl Muhmud Gilani (Ab& al"Fa)l Ma#m&d b. Shaykh Mu#ammad of Gilan), Abdurrahman
Cami (Abd al"Ra#m'n al"J'm() (d. 1492) and Celaleddin Devvani (Jal'l al"D(n al"Daww'n() (d.

45
See Kritovoulos, History of Mehmed the Conqueror, trans. Charles T. Riggs (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1954), esp. 3"6.

46
Ahmet T. Karamustafa, Introduction to Ottoman Cartography, in Cartography in the
Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, eds., J. B. Harley and David Woodward, 210
(Chicago & London: Chicago University Press, 1992), and Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror
and His Time, 247"8.

47
Ibid., 248"51.

48
Necipo%lu, Architecture, Ceremonial, and Power, 13"5.
83
1501) to his domain, and even though they did not come he sent them handsome gifts.
49
He
convinced Ali Ku!u, the famous theologian, astronomer and mathematician, to leave the court
of his Akkoyunlu rival Uzun Hasan and teach in Constantinople. Upon Ali Ku!us arrival in the
Ottoman domain, Mehmed II sent his servants to welcome him and accompany him on the way
to Constantinople. He ordered the spending of one thousand silver coins at every stop of the
caravan. He appointed Ali Ku!u to the teaching position in the Hagia Sophia with the salary of
two hundred silver coins a day.
50
His sending gifts to illustrious learned men and the spectacle of
Ali Ku!us reception and appointment demonstrates their importance to Mehmed II. This
munificence was intended to display his sincerity and generosity in the support of intellectual
pursuits and to demonstrate his superiority to the other Muslim rulers in that respect. In addition,
Mehmed II worked for the recognition of scholars in his service by their colleagues in other
realms in order to increase his credentials as a patron of scholars. For example, Mehmed II
financed the copying of Molla Granis books and had them sent to Mecca, presumably in order
to be distributed to scholars from around the Islamic world during the pilgrimage season.
51

In addition to the scholars Mehmed II personally invited, many others chose the Ottoman
lands as their new residence. There was surely an array of motivations that led the different
scholars to decamp and settle in the Ottoman realm. As briefly discussed in the last chapter, after
Timur died in 1405, his empire was divided among his descendants. Political fragmentation in

49
Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time, 471"2. Von Hanna Sohrweide, Dichter and
Gelehrte aus dem Osten im Osmanischen Reich (1453"1600), Eine Beitrag zur trkisch"
persischen Kulturgeschichte, Der Islam 46 (1470): 265"6. For Mehmed IIs relationship with
Cami, see Ertu%rul $. kten, "J'm( (817"898/1414"1492): His Biography and Intellectual
Influence in Herat" (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2007), 193"4.

50
ShN, 159"62. See also Mecdi, HSh, 180"4.

51
ShN, 89. See also HSh, 108"9.
84
the lands of his empire continued throughout the fifteenth century. The rise in the fifteenth
century of the Oghuz genealogy as the source of political legitimacy brought about the
establishment of two main Turcoman polities, the Karakoyunlus (1380"1469) and Akkoyunlus
(1403"1508). The struggle of the Timurids and Turcomans for the control of more or less the
same territories Iran, Azerbaijan, Khorasan and Transoxania caused political destabilization
and rapid changes in the rulers in these areas. The importance of these developments for our
purposes is that they caused many scholars, bureaucrats, artists and poets who were closely
affiliated with the disintegrating Timurid dynasties to leave their lands. Some of these came to
the Ottoman territories. For example, when Uzun Hasan defeated the Timurid Sultan Abu Said
(Sul*'n Ab& Sa(d) in 1469, the latters seal"keeper and doctor Hekim Kutbuddin Acemi, who
had to leave Khorasan, came to the Ottoman lands and received Mehmed IIs patronage.
52

Similarly, Sirac Hatib had to leave the East because of the political turmoil there. He came to the
Ottoman lands and was appointed as the prayer leader in Mehmed IIs mosque in
Constantinople.
53

It is more difficult to discern the motivations of other scholars for moving to Ottoman
lands. For example, Musannifek (d. 1470"1) received his education and taught in Herat. He
moved to Anatolia in 1444"5 and began to teach in Konya, which was under the Karamanids at
the time. The grand vizier Mahmud Pa!a arranged for his transfer to Constantinople, and

52
ShN, 220, and HSh, 235"6. See also Sohrweide, Dichter and Gelehrte aus dem Osten im
Osmanischen Reich (1453"1600), 267 and 283"4.

53
ShN, 218"9, and HSh, 234"5. See also Sohrweide, Dichter and Gelehrte aus dem Osten im
Osmanischen Reich (1453"1600), 267. Sohrweide suggests that Sirac Hatib was affiliated with
Karakoyunlus and that when they were defeated by Akkoyunlus in 1467, he migrated to the
Ottoman lands.
85
Mehmed II assigned him a salary of eighty aspers a day.
54
In addition, Hekim "ukrullah "irvani,
Hekim Lari Acemi and Hoca Ataullah Acemi came to the Ottoman territories from the East.
55

Moreover, Molla Alaeddin Arabi and Hekim Arab moved to the Ottoman domain from Aleppo
and Jerusalem respectively and found favor with Mehmed II.
56

On the other hand, during Mehmed IIs reign, only a few scholars left the Ottoman
territories to receive their education. Alaeddin Ali b. Yusuf Fenari (d. 1497"8), Molla "emseddin
(d. 1494"5), Molla Melihi and Meyyedzade Abdurrahman (d. 1516) went to the Eastern lands
and Fenari Hasan elebi (d. 1481) to Egypt to receive education.
57
The fact that the Anatolian
students were not as interested in going abroad for their education as they had been in the
previous period shows the success of Ottoman investment in higher educational institutions and
the high level of education that they provided during Mehmed IIs reign. In fact, many of the
prestigious scholars whom Mehmed II favored were of Anatolian origin and received their
education in Anatolia. For example, Hocazade Muslihuddin studied under Mehmed b. Kadi of
Ayasolu% in Isparta and Hzr Bey in Bursa. He was Mehmed IIs favorite among the religious
scholars. He was involved in a number of academic debates and rewarded for his success at
Mehmed IIs court.
58
In addition, Molla Kestelli and Molla Hayali received their education from

54
ShN, 165. See also HSh, 186.

55
ShN, 224"5. See also HSh, 236"9.

56
ShN, 239. See also HSh, 171"6.

57
ShN, 181"5, 185"8, 216, 217"8 and 290"4. See also HSh, 199"204, 204"6, 231"2, 232"4 and
308"11.

58
ShN, 126"39. See also HSh, 145"58.
86
Hzr Bey in Bursa.
59
Samsuni Hasan b. Abdussamed and Molla Manisazade were Molla
Hsrevs students in Constantinople.
60
All of these scholars reached prestigious educational and
judicial positions in the Ottoman Empire.
IV. E. 2. Positions Taken by Religious Scholars
During Mehmed IIs reign, the number of educational and judicial positions to which the
Ottoman ruler appointed religious scholars increased, and more religious scholars became
affiliated with the Ottoman dynasty and enterprise. As mentioned, Mehmed II constructed new
higher educational institutions and supported them through elaborate foundations. In addition, he
attempted to monopolize the patronage of religious scholars by abolishing religious foundations
supporting the higher educational institutions built in the pre"Ottoman period and by interfering
in appointments to the institutions constructed by people outside the Ottoman family.
It seems that, during Mehmed IIs reign, more scholars were centrally appointed to
judicial positions around the Empire. In the biographies in al"Shaq%iq, we see reports of
appointments of judges to Ottoman towns during Mehmed IIs reign, while there is no mention
of appointments to the same towns in the period preceding Mehmed IIs reign. At least from the
beginning of the fifteenth century, the Ottoman rulers themselves appointed religious scholars as
judges to Bursa and Edirne. In addition, they continuously appointed judges from amongst the
religious scholars in Constantinople after 1453. Hzr Bey b. Celaleddin was the first judge in
Istanbul.
61
Ta!kprizade mentions the appointments of Hocazade Muslihuddin to the judgeship
in $znik, of Hachasanzade and Molla Vildan to the judgeship in Gelibolu, of Sinan Pa!a to the

59
ShN, 139"42 and 142"7. See also HSh, 148"61 and 161"6.

60
ShN, 157 and 190"2. See also HSh, 179 and 208"10.

61
ShN, 92. See also HSh, 113.
87
judgeship in Seferihisar, of Mfti Ahmed Pa!a (d. 1521) to the judgeship of skp and of
Ibrahim Pa!a to the judgeship of Amasya.
62

Ta!kprizades evidence may seem insufficient to argue for the extension, from the
center to outlying towns, of a centralized judicial administration and the appointment of religious
scholars, as judges during Mehmed IIs reign. However, a complaint submitted to Bayezid II (r.
1481"1512) in the early years of his reign and published by Halil $nalck points out a transition in
the judicial administration and provides evidence for the centers increased involvement in the
appointment of judges.
63
The anonymous author of the document informs Bayezid II of
appointments of people who have not received the proper religious education and of those who
were suitable for and demanded lower positions as judges. He gives a list of judges belonging to
these two groups and mentions some other judges, in the province of Anatolia, as having
improper habits, such as receiving bribes and drinking wine. He blames Molla Vildan, who
became the military judge of Anatolia when Bayezid II ascended the throne in 1481,
64
for not
preventing these unqualified people from receiving the judicial positions and calls on Bayezid II
to dismiss them.
The document shows that certain judgeships in Anatolia were registered and organized in
a hierarchy possibly according to the salary of the holder. For example, the judgeship of Mazin
was registered as that of fifteen silver coins and the judgeship of Kestel as that of thirty aspers.
65


62
ShN, 131, 158, 198, 175, 178 and 204. See also HSh, 150, 179, 215, 195, 197 and 222.

63
Halil $nalck, A Report on Corrupt Kadis under Bayezid II, in Studia Ottomanica, Festgabe
fr Gyrgy Hazai sum 65. Geburtstag, Barbara Kellner"Heinkele and Peter Zieme, eds., 75"86
(Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1997).

64
Ibid., 75, and ShN, 198"9, and HSh, 215"7.

88
According to the author, military judges had the right and responsibility to make
appointments to judgeships; they mishandled this task, however, because they conceded to the
demands of intercessors on behalf of the unqualified.
66
For example, the incumbent judge of
Kestel, who had been the administrator of the grand vizier Gedik Ahmed Pa!as freehold
properties (d.1482), somehow received a judgeship. He was able to receive the judgeship of
Mazin and then that of Kestel with the help of Molla Vildans steward Hac Yusuf.
67

In addition, the author of the document consistently complains about the appointment of
unqualified people to judgeships. In his opinion, the people qualified for these positions were
those who received their education from prominent religious scholars (mev%li"i i&%m), and these
people were very few and could not find supporters to receive proper positions. On the other
hand, the unqualified people were not properly educated but were able to ascend to judgeships
after serving another judge as assistant. According to him, there were more unqualified than
qualified among the incumbent judges.
68

Since the author of the document blames Molla Vildan and does not mention a new
arrangement during the early years of Bayezid IIs reign, we can assume that the practice of
appointing judges to certain provinces from the center began during the reign of Mehmed II. It
seems that a transition in the judicial administration was underway. The military judges
undertook the task of appointing and dismissing judges in the provinces and establishing a

65
$nalck, A Report on Corrupt Kadis under Bayezid II, 79"80.

66
Ibid., 78"9.

67
Ibid., 79"80.

68
Ibid., 78"9. This approach is a precursor to the attack against the foreigners in the Ottoman
bureaucracy in the political writings of the late sixteenth" and seventeenth"century authors.
89
centralized judicial administration. However, people with local connections (the unqualified, in
the authors view) were still preferred (or had the power to ensure their appointment) over those
with a religious education from the center (the qualified), to serve in the judicial administration
in the provinces.
We do not have an exact date for the beginning of the appointment of judges to the
provinces by the military judges in the center. A report in al"Shaq%iq suggests its existence at
the beginning of Mehmed IIs reign. According to that report, Mehmed II offered his tutor Molla
Grani a vizieral post. Molla Grani rejected the offer, with the explanation that vizier posts
were for the slave servants in the royal household and that if somebody from outside this
hierarchy received a vizierial position, the slave servants would be disappointed. Pleased with
this explanation, Mehmed II appointed Molla Grani as the military judge. However, according
to the report, Molla Grani handled the affairs of this position so independently that he did not
even inform Mehmed II of his appointments to educational and judicial institutions.
Consequently, Mehmed II arranged Molla Granis removal from the position of military
judge.
69

It is known that towards the end of Mehmed IIs reign (possibly in 1477 or 1480)
70
two
military judges began to be appointed instead of one. One of them was responsible for affairs in
Anatolia and the other for affairs in Rumelia. Ta!kprizade ascribes this change to the grand
vizier Karamani Mehmed Pa!as fear that the incumbent military judge Molla Kestelli could
lobby against him before Mehmed II and his consequent desire to have a second military judge to

69
ShN, 85. See also HSh, 104"5.

70
Mustafa "entop, Osmanl Yarg Sistemi ve Kazaskerlik (Istanbul: Klasik, 2005), 37
90
attend the meetings with Mehmed II and to inform him of what Molla Kestelli said about him.
71

No matter what the immediate reasons behind this division in the office of military judge, it
certainly shows that, by this time, the office of military judge had assumed the responsibility of
appointing judges in the provinces. For if the military judge had continued to be the
administrator of justice only in the army during campaigns, this division of the office according
to geography would have been meaningless.
In addition to positions of professorship, judgeship and military judgeship, some religious
scholars were appointed to the office of chief jurist, which may have been established during
Murad IIs reign, and issued religio"legal opinions. During Mehmed IIs reign, Molla Grani,
Molla Hsrev and Molla Abdulkerim served as chief jurists.
72
Moreover, a number of religious
scholars served as tutor to Mehmed II. According to Ta!kprizades account, Hocazade
Muslihuddin, Hatipzade Muhyiddin, Samsuni Hasan b. Abdussamed, Molla $yas, Hoca
Hayreddin, Sinan Pa!a, Molla Abdulkadir and Ahmed Pa!a b. Veliyyuddin (d. 1496) tutored
Mehmed II.
73

Finally, we see some scholars serving Mehmed II in capacities not directly related to their
expertise in the religious sciences. Some scholars had competence in medicine and served
Mehmed II in that capacity. On the evidence of Ta!kprizade, we can mention Hoca Ataullah
Acemi, Hekim "ukrullah "irvani Hekim Lari elebi, Hekim Kutbuddin Acemi, Yakub Hekim,
Arab Hekim and Molla Altnczade as Mehmed IIs personal physicians.
74
In addition, religious

71
ShN, 143. See also HSh, 162.

72
HSh, 102"11, 135"9 and 176"8. See also Repp, The Mfti of Istanbul, 125"74.

73
ShN, 126"39, 147"50, 157, 169"70, 170"1, 173"7, 179"80 and 200"2.

91
scholars provided scribal services in this period. Two religious scholars, Karamani Mehmed Pa!a
and Molla Siraceddin served as chancellors to Mehmed II.
75
Moreover, although there was a
tendency after the capture of Istanbul to appoint people with slave or non"Muslim backgrounds
to vizierial posts and military posts,
76
one does come across some scholars in those positions. For
example, the above"mentioned Karamani Mehmed Pa!a became grand vizier in 1476.
77
Sinan
Pa!a and Ahmed Pa!a b. Veliyyuddin were also appointed as viziers during Mehmed IIs reign.
At the end of his career, the latter served as governor in Bursa.
78

IV. E. 3. Hierarchy, Rank and Intellectual Capacity of Religious Scholars
As mentioned, Mehmed II attempted to put certain religious scholars affiliated with himself in a
hierarchy. In his law code, he determined the places of certain scholars in court ceremonies and
promulgated rules for their promotion according to rank. For once, we may assume the
authenticity of the all statutes in the code and scrutinize their effectiveness in describing or
prescribing Mehmed IIs acts with regard to religious scholars. The biographical data in al"
Shaq%iq provides us with certain glimpses into Mehmed IIs understanding of hierarchy and his
relationship with religious scholars.
According to the law code, the top educational positions were the professorships in
Mehmed IIs eight higher educational institutions and in the Hagia Sophia. The holders of these

74
Ibid., 220"5.

75
HSh, 214"5. See also Woodhead, After Celalzade, 299.

76
Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 59"67, and Heath W. Lowry, The Nature of the Early Ottoman
State (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003),115"30.

77
Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 66"7.

78
HSh, 217"20.
92
professorships could hope to reach a judgeship at the level of 500"silver coins and then the office
of military judge. It is not altogether clear which judgeships were at the level of a 500"silver coin
income. In any case, the point of these stipulations was clearly to establish a hierarchy of offices
governing the promotion of religious scholars, and it is clear that they required a professor in the
highest educational position to serve in a judgeship before attaining the position of military
judge.
The careers of seven out of the eleven scholars who reached the position of military judge
during Mehmed IIs reign follow the pattern described in the code. The paths of Molla Kestelli,
Alaeddin Ali b. Yusuf Fenari, Molla Manisazade, Hachasanzade Mehmed, Ahmed Pa!a b.
Veliyyuddin, Molla Vildan and Ali Fenari to the post of military judge were more or less the
same. Each reached one of the highest"level educational positions and served as judge before
taking the post of military judge.
79
On the other hand, the careers of other three scholars are not
congruent with the law codes prescriptions.
80
Hocazade Muslihuddin taught at a low"level
institution in Bursa. After he was involved in a debate with Molla Zeyrek and refuted his
opinions, Mehmed II chose him as his tutor. Then he was appointed as military judge.
81
Molla
Abdulkerim was appointed as military judge after serving as professor in Mehmed IIs

79
Alaeddin Ali b. Yusuf Fenari taught in the monastery, which Orhan turned to an educational
institution, in Bursa, before he was appointed to the judgeship of Bursa. However, his salary in
the teaching position was sixty silver coins a day. Thus, considering that the salary in Mehmed
IIs institutions was fifty silver coins a day, we can surmise that he was treated as a high"level
professor.

80
Ta!kprizade does not provide information about the positions that Kpelio%lu Muhyiddin
received before the position of military judge.

81
ShN, 126"39.
93
institutions.
82
Samsuni Hasan b. Abdussamed taught in Mehmed IIs institutions and tutored
Mehmed II, before becoming a military judge. It is possible to say that Mehmed II had a concept
of a hierarchy of positions, as reflected in the law code, and mostly made appointments
accordingly. However, he evidently considered himself beyond the rules and as having the right
to elevate anyones rank at his will.
Some other reports in al"Shaqaiq about appointments and dismissals from office of
religious scholars shed further light on the personalized nature of the hierarchy during Mehmed
IIs reign. Reading these reports, one gets the impression that the hierarchy did not have an
objective basis outside his will. It was Mehmed IIs creation but did not bind him. For example,
as mentioned, Molla Manisazade reached the position of military judge by following the steps
described in the law codeafter teaching in Mehmed IIs higher educational institutions and
serving as judge in Istanbul. Mehmed II once asked Molla Manisazade about an Arabic verse.
Since Molla Manisazade could not remember its provenance, Mehmed II dismissed him from the
office of military judge.
83

Mehmed II was keen on reminding religious scholars that he was the dispenser of
patronage in the Ottoman realm. It seems that he frequently visited different educational
institutions and listened to lectures. According to Ta!kprizade, Mehmed II, together with
Mahmud Pa!a, attended the lectures of Alaeddin Tusi, Molla Abdulkerim and Hocazade
Muslihuddin without prior warning.
84
In addition, he frequently organized academic debates in
his court and rewarded the victors. Hocazade Muslihuddin seems to have figured in most of these

82
HSh, 176"8.

83
ShN, 190"2. See also HSh, 208"10.

84
HSh, 117"20.
94
debates. On Mehmed IIs order, he confronted Molla Zeyrek, Molla Abdulkadir and Alaeddin
Tusi and was declared to be the winner.
85

Mehmed II established new higher educational institutions, attempted to bring other
educational institutions under his control and established a hierarchy for religious scholars in his
service. Significant though his acts were in order to increase the Ottoman prestige as a patron of
learning and to initiate the formation of a group of religious scholars who identified with the
Ottoman enterprise, he could not exhaust the options available to religious scholars and force
them to seek employment from him and lose autonomy. We have mentioned Ta!kpri Hayreddin
Halils distant relationship with Mehmed II. Mehmed II dismissed him from his teaching post to
oblige him to come to Istanbul in search of employment. Hayreddin Halil, however, refused to
go to Istanbul, stayed in the area of his hometown and earned his living by preaching.
86
Alaeddin
Tusi left for Transoxania, when Mehmed II favored Hocazade Muslihuddin against him in an
academic debate.
87
Similarly, Molla Zeyrek left for Bursa and received the patronage of a
merchant in order to continue his studies after he had lost a competition with Hocazade. It is
reported that, although Mehmed II later offered him a position in Istanbul, Molla Zeyrek rejected
the offer.
88
In addition, the religious scholars were aware of the options available to them
collectively and of Mehmed IIs need to keep them in the Ottoman domain. When Mehmed II
imprisoned Sinan Pa!a b. Hzr Bey, the religious scholars protested saying that unless he was
released, they would burn their books and leave the Ottoman domains. Apparently, they had in

85
HSh, 117"20, 142"5 and 198"9.

86
ShN, 160"3.

87
Ibid., 163"5.

88
HSh, 142"5.
95
mind emigrating to Mamluk Syria or Egypt or to the Turcoman and Timurid lands in the East.
Thus, Mehmed II had to accede to their request and released Sinan Pa!a.
89

It was certainly prestigious to have a close relationship with Mehmed II and to climb to
the top positions in the hierarchy he envisaged. However, according to the understanding of
religious scholars at the time and even that of Mehmed II, proximity to Mehmed II or the
particular positions themselves did not ascribe an agreed level of intellectual competence. For
example, Hatipzade Muhyiddin claimed to be superior to Hocazade Muslihuddin intellectually,
because he was Mehmed IIs tutor. Mehmed II did not like Hatipzades claim and dismissed
him.
90
It seems that Sadeddin Taftazani and Seyyid "erif Crcanis studies were considered the
pinnacle of intellectual achievement. Once, Hoca Hayreddin and Efdalzade Hamiduddin claimed
that Crcani were infallible. Hocazade refuted this by showing Crcanis contradictions.
91

However, given the high esteem Taftazani and Crcani enjoyed in the Ottoman realm, religious
scholars made claims to excellence by claiming that they surpassed these two laureates. For
example, Molla Zeyrek claimed to be superior to al"Jurjani, while Molla Abdulkadir claimed
superiority to both Taftazani and Crcani.
92
As mentioned, Hocazade Muslihuddin got the better
of both scholars. However, he later lost a debate to Molla Hayali.
93


89
ShN, 175.

90
Ibid., 147.

91
Ibid., 126"39.
92
HSh, 142"5 and 198"9.
93
ShN, 139"42.
96
These examples illustrate that, in the understanding of the time, intellectual achievement
was not considered directly related to achievements in the rulers service. There existed a
hierarchy of respect different from Mehmed IIs codified system. In fact, some scholars
considered receiving a position from the ruler as reflecting adversely upon their intellectual
achievement. For example, one of Ta!kprizades professors, Alaeddin Yetim refused to receive
a position and taught students for free.
94
In addition, some scholars not averse to being employed
by the ruler considered judgeship positions as impediments to intellectual progress. According to
Hocazade, one of the reasons why he could not reach Crcanis intellectual level was that he had
served as a judge.
95
The famous scholar Molla Hsrev reluctantly accepted positions of
judgeship but considered his years in these positions as wasted time.
96


94
Ibid., 338.

95
Ibid, 126"39.

96
Molla Hsrev, Durar al"'ukk%m f( Shar) Ghurar al"A)k%m, vol. 1 (Istanbul: Matbaa"i
Mehmed Esad 1299/1881), 3.