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A frontier warrior (alperen) who played an active part in the Turkification and Islamisation of Anatolia and the Balkans; a figure whose legendary renown outran his historical record.
It is difficult to establish his historical identity with certainty. The source states this limit plainly: the period of his life down to 697 (1297-98) can be connected with historical information only in part, while what precedes 1263 remains obscure.
According to the account of Yazıcıoğlu Ali, Sultan Izz al-Dîn Kaykâ'ûs II, after his defeat by Mongol-backed forces, fled around 1261-62 with his Turkmen followers to Dobruja (present-day Romania). Sarı Saltuk moved about the region at the head of these groups and passed to western Anatolia around 1304.
He died in 697 (1297-98). Kemâleddin Serrâc presents him as having died in Dobruja at about the age of seventy.
His Circle of Influence — Sarı Saltuk is a syncretic figure embraced in different aspects by Sunni, Alevi and Bektashi circles; he lives on as a figure bridging the Islamic tradition and local traditions. He is connected to the Rifâî chains through his sheikh, Şeyh Mahmud; the biographical details, however, are contested.
His Tomb and Complex — He has more than one shrine in the Balkans and Anatolia: Kaliakra (Bulgaria), Babadağ (Romania), Blagaj (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ohrid (North Macedonia), Krujë (Albania), as well as Tunceli, Diyarbakır, Niğde, İznik and Istanbul. The lodge at Babadağ was turned into a complex in 1484 by the order of Bayezid II. Russian invasions destroyed the complex; restoration work after 1828 kept a plain domed structure standing, and the building was reopened to visitors in October of 2007.
Miracles
What follows are reports which appear in the source as transmissions; the atlas records them not as "thus it happened" but as "thus the sources transmit".
The seven coffins. The best known element of the legend is the account of seven coffins, which explains the multiplicity of his shrines. Kemâleddin Serrâc gives a simpler form of it: Sarı Saltuk's body was moved to different graves in order to prevent a Christian ruler from exploiting it for a political purpose. (Source: Kemâleddin Serrâc, Tuffâhu'l-ervâh, 1315)
What was told at Baba Saltuk. Ibn Battûta recorded in 1331-32, at the town of Baba Saltuk (present-day Babadağ), the legends told about him. (Source: Ibn Battûta, er-Rihle)
Differing Scholarly Views
The historical person and the legendary renown come apart. The source states that his legendary renown outran the historical documentation; for this reason the dates in this record are records that can be connected only in part.
The sources differ in age and in value. Kemâleddin Serrâc's Tuffâhu'l-ervâh (1315) precedes Ibn Battûta's record (1331-32) and is the oldest known source. Ebülhayr-i Rûmî's Saltuknâme (1480), for its part, adds legendary elements; against this, the source also records that the work is accepted in academic circles because, compared with the other sources, it is full of real historical stories. The two judgements stand together.
The Saltuknâme was commissioned. The work was ordered from Ebülhayr-i Rûmî after Cem Sultan's visit to Sarı Saltuk's tomb and was completed in 1480; the text should be read together with this context.
The multiplicity of his shrines. He has shrines in many places in the Balkans and Anatolia; the atlas does not select one of them as the "real grave" but records them all as shrines.
Three traditions, three readings. Sunni, Alevi and Bektashi circles have embraced him in different aspects; the atlas does not place one of these readings before the others (rule #9, principle 5).
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Machiel Kiel · vol. 36, pp. 147-150, entry “SARI SALTUK”
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000137 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.
External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article