The Earliest Narrative of a Major War in Ottoman History: The Battle of Frenkyazısı between the Ottomans and the Karamanids (1386/1387)

Abstract

The first narrative of a major pitched battle based on Ottoman sources dates back to the reign of Murad I. A detailed book of victory/conquest (zafernâme/ fetihnâme) on the Battle of Frenkyazısı, which took place between the Ottomans and the Karamanids a couple of years before the Battle of Kosovo (late 1386 – early 1387), survived in the history of Neşri, one of the early Ottoman chronicles penned in the fifteenth century. This battle was not touched upon by Âşıkpaşazâde, another early Ottoman chronicler. İbn Kemal and İdris-i Bitlisî, two historians writing later than Neşrî, however, mentioned it in their works. Moreover, some anonymous Ottoman chronicles and Behiştî described the battle briefly. It should also be added that Neşrî, İbn Kemal and İdris-i Bitlisî did not rely on each other; their account should rather be based on an another text. On the other hand, the Karamannâme of Şikarî, a sixteenth-century source reflecting the Karamanid point-of-view, presents an alternative approach. Şikarî’s narrative is consistent with Ottoman narratives along general lines, if not in detail. The information included in these chronicles has a special significance because the Battle of Frenkyazısı demonstrates the transformation in classical Ottoman warfare before the Battle of Kosovo. These texts point to the emergence of a divergence between the Ottoman system based on infantry and classical Turcoman tactics. Finally, the battle paved the way for the Karamanid acknowledgement of Ottoman superiority.