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, a petty dynasty in Anatolia. The princes of Mentes̲h̲e first appear in history after the break up of the Seld̲j̲ūk empire. The founder of the family is said to have been a certain Mentes̲h̲e Beg b. Behāʾ al-Dīn Kurdī. He had his court at Mīlās (Mylasa) in the ancient Caria, and not far from it his stronghold Paičīn (Petsona). His descendants also lived in Mīlās until they moved their court to Miletus. The son of Mentes̲h̲e was Urk̲h̲ān Beg, who is known from an inscription on a building in Mīlās and from Ibn Baṭṭūṭa who visited him in 1334 in Mīlās (cf. Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, Voyages, ed. Defrémery, Paris …

, an old Ottoman noble family. This family traces its descent to the feudal lord Köse Mīk̲h̲āl ʿAbd Allāh, originally a Greek (cf. F.-A. Geuffroy in Ch. Schefer, Petit traicte de l’origine des Tureqz par Th. Spandouyn Cantacasin, Paris 1696, p. 267: L’ung desdictz Grecz estoit nommé Michali…. Dudict Michali sont descendus les Michalogli), who appears in the reign of ʿOt̲h̲mān I as lord of Chirmenkia (Ḵh̲irmend̲j̲ik) at the foot of Olympus near Edrenos, and later as an ally of the first Ottoman ruler earned great merit for his share in aiding the latter’s expansion (cf. J. v. Hammer, in G.O.R.,…

, daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. Mihr-i Māh (sometimes also written Mihr-u-māh: cf. Ḳaračelebizāde, Rawḍat ul-Ebrār, p. 458) was the only daughter of Suleimān the Magnificent [q. v., as well as F. Babinger, in Meister der Politik, ii.2, Berlin 1923, p. 39—63]. While still quite young she was married to the grand vizier Rustem Pas̲h̲a (cf. F. Babinger, G. O. W., p. 81 sq.) in the beginning of December 1539 (cf. J. H. Mordtmann, in M. S. O. S., Year xxxii., Part 2, p. 37), but the marriage does not seem to have been a happy one. She used her enormous wealth — St. Ger…

, an Ottoman Grand Admiral whose real name was Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī Ḥusein Pas̲h̲a. Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī Ḥusein Pas̲h̲a, known as Mezzomorto, i. e. “half-dead” because he was severely wounded in a naval battle, came from the Balearic Islands, if A. de la Motraye’s statement ( Voyages, The Hague 1727, i. 206) that he was born in Mallorca is right. He probably spent his youth sailing with corsairs on the seas off the North African coast. He first appears as a desperate pirate in the summer of 1682 in the Barbary States. When France was preparing to deal a …

, Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Mūsā, an Ottoman S̲h̲aik̲h̲ of an Order and Saint. Merkez Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Mūsā b. Muṣṭafā b. Ḳilid̲j̲ b. Ḥad̲j̲dar belonged to the village of Ṣari̊ Maḥmūdlu in the Anatolian district of Lād̲h̲ikīya. He was at first a pupil of the Mollā Aḥmad Pas̲h̲a, son of Ḵh̲iḍr Beg [q. v.], and later of the famous Ḵh̲alwetī S̲h̲aik̲h̲ Sünbül Sinān Efendi, founder of the Sünbülīya, a branch of the Ḵh̲alwetīya, head of the monastery of Ḳod̲j̲a Muṣṭafā Pas̲h̲a in Stambul (cf. on him: Brūsali̊ Meḥemmed Ṭāhir, Ot̲h̲mānli̊ Müʾellifleri̊, i. 78 sq.). When the latter died in 936 (1529), Merke…

(T. "white castle"), name of several towns. 1. The best known is Aḳ Ḥiṣār in Western Anatolia, formerly in the wilāyet of Aydi̊n, since 1921 in that of Manisa, situated in a plain near the left bank of the river Gördük (a sub-tributary of the Gediz), 115 m. above sea level. Known as Thyatira (see Pauly-Wissowa, s.v.) in antiquity and Byzantine times, it owes its Turkish name to the fortress on a neighbouring hill. Annexed by the Ottomans in 784/1382, it was lost again during the disorders which followed Tīmūr’s invasion, and recaptured from the rebel Ḏj̲unavd [ q.v.] by Ḵh̲alīl Yak̲h̲s̲h̲ī B…

, Athens, capital of Greece. The history of Athens in pre-Islamic times will not be treated here. The first closer—admittedly hostile—contact with the Muslims was made in 283/896, when Saracen pirates occupied the town for a short time (cf. D. G. Kambouroglous, ‘H ἄλωσις ’Αθηνῶν ὑπὸτῶν Σαρακηνῶν Athens 1934). Certain Arabic remains, and influences on the ornamental style in Athens, have been traced back to this event (cf. G. Soteriou, Arabic remains in Athens in Byzantine times, in: Praktiká ( Proceedings ) of the Academy of Athens , iv (Athens 1929), reproduced by D. G. Kambouroglous, l.c…

, Seyyid ʿImād al-Dīn , known as Nesīmī, an early Ottoman poet and mystic, believed to have come from Nesīm near Bag̲h̲dād, whence his name. As a place of this name no longer exists, it is not certain whether the laḳab should not be derived simply from nasīm “zephyr, breath of wind”. That Nesīmī was of Turkoman origin seems to be fairly certain, although the “Seyyid” before his name also points to Arab blood. Turkish was as familiar to him as Persian, for he wrote in both languages. Arabic poems ar…

Meḥmed Čelebi Pas̲h̲a , Yes̲h̲ild̲j̲e , known as Küčük Nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊, an Ottoman historian. He was born in Merzifūn [ q.v.] and was the son of a certain Ramaḍān Čelebi. He was a secretary in the dīwān , became in 960/1553 chief defterdār , in 961/1554 reʾīs ül-küttāb or secretary of state, and in 965/1558 secretary of the imperial signature ( ṭüg̲h̲ra [ q.v.]). He was later appointed defterdār of Aleppo, then governor of Egypt and finally sent to the Morea to make a survey ( taḥrīr ). He retired in 970/1562 and died in D̲j̲umādā I 979/September-October 1571…

, the name of three Ottoman princes. The name would appear to originate in the Old Turkish (especially, Eastern Turkish) word saw “word, piece of discourse, utterance”, found as early as the Ork̲h̲on inscriptions, then in the Turfan Uyg̲h̲ur texts, in the late 5th/11th century Ḳutadg̲h̲u bilig [ q.v.] and up to the 8th/14th century, after which it is not attested as a separate word (Clauson, An etymological diet, of pre-thirteenth century Turkish, 782-3). Cf. also the name of the slave commander of the Sald̲j̲ūḳ sultan Alp Arslan, Sāwtigin. Sawd̲j̲i̊ would according…

, also called Dimotiḳa , a town in the former Ottoman Rumeli. Dimetoḳa lies in western Thrace, in a side valley of the Maritsa, and at times played a significant role in Ottoman history. The territory has belonged to Greece since the treaty of Neuilly (27 November 1919), again bears its pre-Ottoman name of Didymóteikhon, and lies within the administrative district (Nomos) of Ebros. It has a population of about 10,000, and is the seat of a bishop of the Greek church as well as o…

, an old Ottoman noble family. This family traced its descent to the feudal lord Köse Mīk̲h̲āl ʿAbd Allāh, originally a Greek (cf. F.-A. Geuffroy, in Ch. Schefer, Petit traicte de l’origine des Turcqz par Th. Spandouyn Cantacasin , Paris 1696, 267: L’ung desdictz Grecz estoit nommé Michaeli … Dudict Michali sont descenduz les Michalogli ), who appears in the reign of ʿOt̲h̲mān I as lord of Chirmenkia (K̲h̲irmend̲j̲ik) at the foot of Mount Olympus near Edrenos, and later as an ally of the first Ottoman ruler earned great merit for his share in aiding the latter’s expansion (cf. J. von Hammer, in G…

(p.), the name for Muslim rulers, especially emperors. The Persian term pād-i s̲h̲āh , i.e. (according to M. Bittner, in E. Oberhummer, Die Türken und das Osmanische Reich , Leipzig 1917, 105) “lord who is a royalty” in which the root pad is connected with Sanskrit patis , lord, husband, fern, patni , Greek πότνια and δεσ-πότης, Lat. potens (G. Curtius, Griech . Etymol ., 377), was originally a title reserved exclusively for the sovereign, which in course of time and as a result of the long intercourse of the Ottomans with the states of…

, Ottoman historian. Among the Ottoman historians who bore the mak̲h̲laṣ ʿAbdī (cf. Babinger, 432 f.), the secretary ( kātib ) of Yūsuf Ag̲h̲a, chief of the eunuchs, is worthy of mention. He was an eye-witness of the magnificent festivities organized in Adrianople in June and July 1675 on the occasion of the circumcision of the crown-prince Muṣṭafā, son of Muḥammad (Meḥmed) IV, and of the marriage of the princess Ḵh̲adid̲j̲e with the second vizier Muṣṭafā Pas̲h̲a (cf. Hammer-Purgstall, vi, 307…

(a. nāḥiya “district, vicinity”), an administrative term of the Ottoman empire. It is found as a general term for the subdivisions of a wilāyet or province as early as the 9th/15th century, but only later becomes a specific term for the rural subdivision of a ḳaḍāʾ [ q.v.] or ḳażā ; this latter term may be compared with the French arrondissement and is governed by a ḳāʾim-maḳām [ q.v.], while the nāḥiye is under a mudīr . This official, who used to be appointed by the wālī , the governor of the province, received his instructions from the ḳāʾim-maḳām, to whom he was subordinate. The subdivis…

, an administrative district and a port on the Danube in Bulgaria (often wrongly called and written as Rus̲h̲čuk), officially in Bulgarian Ruse (Pyce). It is situated at the confluence of the Rusenski Lom (Tk. Ḳara Lom) and the Danube, which then reaches a width of 1,300 m/4,264 feet. It faces the Rumanian port of Giurgiu (Tk. Yer Köki) and spreads out along terraces of loess, above the level of flooding. It is the main port on the Danube and the fourth largest town of Bulgaria, being a rail and…

(t.), literally, “new system, re-organisation”, the new military units created by the Ottoman sultan Selīm III (1203-22/1789-1807 [ q.v.]). The Treaty of Sistova between the Ottoman Empire and Austria (August 1791) and that of Jassy between the Empire and Russia (January 1792) meant that Turkey had to recognise the loss of the Crimea and the fact of Russian control over much of the Black Sea, although Austria withdrew from its conquests in Serbia, Bosnia and the Danube Principalities. Moreover, the European powers…

, daughter of the Ottoman sultan Süleymān II the Magnificent (926-74/1520-66). Mihr-i Māh (sometimes also written Mihr-ü-māh: cf. Ḳaračelebi-zāde, Rawḍat ul-ebrār , 458) was the only daughter of Süleymān q.v., as well as F. Babinger, in Meister der Politik , ii2, Berlin 1923, 39-63). While still quite young she was married to the grand vizier Rüstem Pas̲h̲a (cf. Babinger, GOW, 81-2) at the beginning of December 1539 (cf. J.H. Mordtmann, in MSOS, xxxii, Part 2, 37), but the marriage does not seem to have been a happy one. She used her enormous wealth—St. Gerlach in …

(?-939/?1532-3), an Ottoman Grand Vizier, belonged to Amasya and was a descendant of the famous D̲j̲alāl al-Dīn of Aḳsarāy and therefore traced his descent from Abū Bakr. He took up a legal career and became successively ḳāḍī of Sofia, Siliwri and Galata, administrator of Meḥemmed IPs kitchen for the poor ( ʿimāret ) in Istanbul, and at the beginning of the reign of Bāyezīd II attained the rank of a first defterdār ( bas̲h̲ defterdār ). In the reign of Selīm I, he distinguished himself by his wise counsel in the Persian campaign (see J. von Hammer, GOR, ii, 412, 417 ff.), was sent in advanc…

, secretary of state for the Sultan’s ṭug̲h̲ra , chancellor, in Ottoman administration. The Sald̲j̲ūḳs and Mamlūks already had special officials for drawing the ṭug̲h̲ra, the sultan’s signature. As their official organisation was inherited in almost all its details by the Ottomans, this post naturally was included. Its holder was called nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊ or tewḳīʿī . The nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊ held the same rank as the defterdār s [ q.v.] and indeed even preceded them, for we find defterdārs promoted to nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊s but never a nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊ becoming a defterdār. The nis̲h̲ānd̲j̲i̊ was i…