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A Yesevî sheikh active in the Seljuk period in the province of Dânişmendiye (the region of present-day Yozgat).
His real name was Şerefüddin İsmâil b. Muhammed. The epithet Emirci is likely to be connected with his sayyid descent, as is understood from the fact that members of his family bore the title Emîr. He belonged to an important Sufi family whose genealogy is documented.
He was active during the reigns of Izz al-Dîn Kaykâ'ûs I, Alâ al-Dîn Kayqubâd I and Ghiyâth al-Dîn Kaykhusraw II.
He established a dervish lodge upon which thirty-three villages were endowed.
He died in Dhu al-Hijja 637 (July 1240). The source draws attention to the fact that this date coincides with the dates of the Babai uprising, and states that the historical records suggest he may have been killed in the fighting between Babai forces and Seljuk troops near the locality of Ziyaret where his lodge stood.
His Tomb and Complex — The lodge he founded came to be known as the Osman Paşa Tekkesi after his cousin Osman Paşa served as its administrator; this office is recorded in a document dated 1392. The lodge in time became an important Bektashi centre and remained so until its suppression in 1826.
Differing Scholarly Views
The connection of his death with the Babai uprising is a possibility. The date of his death (Dhu al-Hijja 637 / July 1240) coincides with the dates of the uprising; the source suggests that he may have been killed in the fighting near his lodge. This is a record of a possibility, not a firm judgement; the atlas carries it in that mood.
The explanation of his epithet is likewise a possibility. That the epithet Emirci is connected with sayyid descent is inferred from his family's bearing the title Emîr; the source does not settle the matter.
The identity of the lodge changed over time. A lodge founded by a Yesevî sheikh later became a Bektashi centre. The atlas does not confuse these two layers: the founder's affiliation and the institution's later identity are separate records.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Ahmet Yaşar Ocak · vol. 11, pp. 153-155, entry “EMİRCİ SULTAN”
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000148 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.
External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article