It would appear that the rulers of the White Tatars, alluded to by Clavijo, belonged to the family of the Joulkadyr. It was, at any rate, against that dynasty, Timour despatched a force after the capture of Sivas, to punish it for its hostility towards himself, when besieging that city (Weil., Gesch. d. Chalifen, v, 82); and the Mongols soon afterwards carried off all the herds belonging to a prince of this house, whose encampment was near Palmyra (ibid., 91). As was the case with the White Tatars of Clavijo, those mentioned by Schiltberger drew their rulers, at least in part, from princes of this house. It was Bajazet’s desire, that his son should marry the daughter of Nazr uddin Joulkadyr, who would not have been forgotten at the distribution of prisoners taken at Nicopolis. This Nazr uddin had received his fugitive relative, the son of Bourhan uddin, the brother-in-law, according to Schiltberger, of the ruler of the White Tatars. It appears to me that the seeming diversity in the statements made by various authors, with regard to the nationality of the troops who went over to Timour at the battle of Angora, is to be explained by admitting, that the Tatars who betrayed the cause of Bajazet, were Turkomans who acknowledged the authority of the Ben Ramazan and the Joulkadyr; that is to say, that their rulers were princes holding possessions in Asia Minor. Our author’s recital enables us to understand, why Oriental writers would seem to be at issue as to the nationality of the “Tatar Regiments” (Weil., Gesch. d. I. V., 437) which deserted their colours at the battle of Angora.—Bruun.
[(6.)] “Greater Armenia.”—Armenia proper is here called Greater, to distinguish it from the Lesser, which was understood to be the eastern part of Cappadocia, near the Euphrates. In the middle ages, the denomination Lesser Armenia included the whole of Cappadocia, inasmuch as it was inhabited by Armenians who had been expelled from their own country by the Seljouks and Turkomans (11th and 12th centuries). At a subsequent period, the Armenians occupied nearly the whole of Cilicia and the west of Syria, anciently called Commagen, and afterwards known as Euphrates. All these new acquisitions were included under the name of Lesser Armenia.—Bruun.
CHAPTER IV.
[(1.)] “Karanda.”—This city, on the site of ancient Laranda, is now known as Karaman, so named after the son of a certain Sophy, upon whom it was bestowed (1219–46) by Ala uddin, sultan of Iconium, together with a portion of Cappadocia and of Cilicia, that is to say, of Lesser Armenia. Mohammed, the son of Karaman, extended the limits of his states in every direction, and even took possession of Iconium or Konieh. His son Ali Bek, surnamed Ala uddin, was married to Nefise, the sister of Bajazet, an alliance, however, that did not restrain him from invading Ottoman territory, an act which resulted in war between the brothers-in-law, and he was made a prisoner by the Turks after the fall of Iconium, in 1392. According to Saad uddin (Zinkeisen, Gesch. d. O. R., i, 350), Karaman was killed by Timour Tash, governor of Angora, without the knowledge of Bajazet, who would have spared his brother-in-law. Ahmed and Mohammed, the sons of Karaman, were afterwards reinstated by Timour in their possessions, which included, besides Laranda, evidently the “Karanda” in the text, the cities of Alaïa, Derendeh, Sis, Veysheher, Konieh, Aksheher, Akseraï, and Anazarba.—Bruun.
CHAPTER V.
[(1.)] “Sebast.”—Sebaste, called Sivas by the Turks, and Sepasdia, Sevasdia, Sevasd, by the Armenians—the capital of Lesser Armenia, after being long subject to Constantinople, was ceded, in 1021, by the emperor Basil to Senckharim, king of Armenia, in exchange for Vasbouragan. It was taken in 1080 by the Greeks, who lost it to the Seljouks (J. Saint Martin, Mem. sur l’Arménie, i, 187).—Ed.
CHAPTER VI.
[(1.)] “Wirmirsiana.”—According to Chalcocondylas, Orthobulus or Ertoghrul, the eldest son of Bajazet, was made a captive by Timour at Sebaste, in 1400, and shortly afterwards put to death; but no Arabian or Persian chroniclers have asserted this, nor does Shereef uddin allude to the circumstance. Arabshah (Weil., Gesch. d. Chalifen, ii, 82) says that Souleiman, the son of Bajazet, was governor of Sebaste, which he must have quitted before its conquest by the Mongols.—Bruun.