86 | A Shaykh, a Prince, and a Sack of Corn
the expedition, he [Bayezid] is boundlessly agonized and depressed. Thanks to
your high efforts, some of the mischief-makers and strayed ones have joined
us. Only three or four people remained on their side. He [Bayezid] is con-
stantly reproaching his tutor and some of us since he is quite upset with the
contents of your letter.... He keeps pressuring your servant [me] because
he suspects that I am in alliance with you.... There is now discord among
the mischief-makers and they continually argue. I am sure that God will curse
the traitors.The Amasyans, Bayezid in particular, were aware that Mehmed II’s decision for
meeting in Konya could only mean the enthronement of Bayezid’s rival, Cem,
and the consequent elimination of Bayezid and his Amasyan faction (including
the Halvetiye). Mehmed II was not fond of his older son Bayezid. The tension be-
tween father and son became so great that a European account reported a rumor
of a serious intention of the sultan to kill Bayezid. Moreover, it was common
knowledge that the sultan’s poor health would not allow him to survive the jour-
ney. This expedition, many believed, was the Karamani network’s machination
to enthrone Cem in Konya and quickly eliminate Bayezid with the army that was
ready for an expedition.
Karamani was among the shaykhs around Bayezid who faced a difficult deci-
sion. On one side, their patron Bayezid needed them. On the other side, Bayezid
was the least likely candidate for the Ottoman throne, and open support for him
could dissolve their hopes of ever establishing their orders in the Ottoman heart-
land. Some of these shaykhs chose to be loyal. Karamani’s partner, İskilibi, was
one of the loyal shaykhs. Yet he could not afford to stay in Amasya. He decided to
leave Anatolia for a pilgrimage to Mecca, and on his way he stopped in Amasya
to comfort the anguished prince. “You will be the Sultan before I return from
Mecca,” İskilibi told Bayezid. Karamani on the other hand stayed in İskilip and
made a last-minute political maneuver, which involved him in Ottoman politics
at its heart and completed his Ottomanization. Yet as the developments of the
spring of 1481 would show, that move cost him dearly.
Dreams, Mystical Experiences, and Concerns
about Becoming Ottoman
Karamani immediately began to compose a letter to Mehmed II, in which he de-
clared open support for Mehmed II’s candidate and Bayezid’s rival for the throne,
Cem. However, one of his favorite dervishes, Seyyidi Halveti of Amasya (d. 1533)
signed the letter. Karamani might have refrained from signing the letter himself
for a few reasons. Perhaps he did not want to openly betray Bayezid, or perhaps
he believed he had to play both sides to guarantee the future of his order. Alter-
natively, he might have considered himself too august or venerable to dabble in
daily politics.