32 | Changing Perceptions along the Frontiers
The third of the warrior epics, the Saltukname, the account of the life and
deeds of the thirteenth-century dervish-warrior Sarı Saltuk, is a collection of leg-
ends that had circulated among the gazis (frontier warriors) of Rumelia since at
least the late thirteenth century. While guarding the Balkan frontiers in Edirne,
Prince Cem became interested in the well-known stories about Sarı Saltuk in the
area and asked EbuɆl-Hayr-i Rumi, a member of his court, to compile them into
a book. EbuɆl-Hayr-i Rumi traveled the Balkans for seven years to collect the
stories from oral tradition and completed the text circa 1480.
Like Melik Danişmend, Sarı Saltuk, originally named Şerif, was a descen-
dant of Seyyid Battal, and both descendants modeled their ancestor. All three
had perfect knowledge about the rival language and religion. Disguised as
Christians, they easily deceived the enemy and broke into enemy castles and
monasteries. The opening story is an account of the earlier achievements of the
“most prominent” gazis of the Muslim world and is followed by a laudatory de-
scription of the country of Rum—the Byzantine Empire—its conquest being the
ultimate goal.
Most important, the scene of action changes as the frontiers kept moving
through conquests, bringing new geographical definitions to the frontier envi-
ronment in which these sources are set. Whereas most of the incidents in the
Battalname occur around Malatya in southeastern Anatolia, the center of action
moves to the northwest with the Danişmendname and even farther west into the
Balkans with the Saltukname. As a result, although the shared subject is gazas
against the infidels in Rum, “Rum” refers to a different geographical area in each
narrative. See figure 2.1.
The Changing Frontiers of Rum
To understand the legacy of the frontier lore adopted and appropriated by the
Turkish newcomers and Malatya’s role as a military base on the Arabo-Byzantine
frontier, a general introduction to the establishment and operation of the thughur
is necessary.
During the early Islamic conquests, the Muslims took possession of many
cities in northern Syria as early as the mid-seventh century. When the Muslim-
Arab armies advanced, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius evacuated the frontier
defenses, which came to be known as thughur, “frontier,” an arc running from
Tarsus along the line of the Taurus Mountains to Maraş (Germaniceia) and then
to Malatya. This frontier zone, a kind of no-man’s-land, was open to attacks
from both sides and constituted the forward strongholds from which raids to
Byzantine territories were undertaken. In the rear area behind the thughur lay a
line of fortresses, the ɇawasim, or “protecting [strongholds].” These strongholds
did not have an offensive role but were organized to defend the whole frontier