On Persecution of Ḥamzawīs in Bosnia in 1573

Abstract

The authors present in this work a short sketch of the historical evidence concerning the persecution of the Ḥamzawīs in 1573. The most important in this spectrum of events is undoubtedly the execution of Ḥamza Bali the Bosnian, the spiritual leader of the Ḥamzawī sect.

The Ḥamzawī sect, which is associated with the name of Ḥamza Bali - the Bosnian, was regarded by the orthodox “ulamā” and the authorities as heterodox. This sect was considered particularly dangerous for the established order because its stronghold was in Bosnia, one of the most exposed regions in relation to the Christian Europe. Therefore, it is easy to understand the energetic steps that the government undertook in order to put an end to this heterodoxy.

Four decrees of the Sultan from 1573, found in the Mühimme Defters of the Istanbul Başbakanlik Arşivi are published here. The most important of these decrees is the one containing a warrant for the capture of Ḥamza, who was then in Gornja Tuzla. Four representatives of the “ulamā”, religious officials from Gornja Tuzla, vouched for Ḥamza's innocence at that time. That is why it was ordered that, in case Ḥamza was not arrested and escorted, his guarantors were to be arrested.

From these decrees one can see that the movement led by Ḥamza was organized on a wide scale and that is why the anti-Ḥamzawī measures covered a large territorial region: the orders were sent not only to the sandjak-beg and the qaḍi of Zvornik, but also to the Bosnian and the Herzegovinian sandjak-begs, the sandjak-beg of Požega and the begler-beg in Budim.

On the basis of the order sent to the sandjak-beg and the qaḍi in Zvornik, Ḥamza was arrested and taken to Istanbul. There they tried him and sentenced him to death according to the fetva of Šayḫu'l islām Abu's-Su'ūd Efendi. The verdict stated that he was an arch-heretic (mulḥid) and that he led Muslims astray urging them not to believe, likewise it had been established that he put forward some views insulting the honor of Mulḥammad and denied the resurrection and the Day of Judgement completely. The sentence was carried out under rather dramatic circumstances in Istanbul on June 6, 1573.

In addition to the Turkish documents, the authors also provide a short survey of Western reports referring to the execution of Ḥamza. In this respect there exist reports of Gerlach, Ungnad, and Du Fresne Canaye which, except for some details, show to a large extent agreement with the official documents. These reports attribute to Ḥamza Christian dogmas of Christ, which the authors however take with reservation. Because of such conceptions, Kabiz was tried and executed in 1528, but from what is known of the Ḥamzawī teaching, it is difficult to say that the sectarians would adopt the Christian concept of Jesus.

All of these documents show that Hamza and the Ḥamzawī movement had a firm stronghold in Bosnia, especially in the Tuzla region, where there were similar persecutions in 1582 as well, the documentation on which was published by Prof. M. Tayyib Okić. The Ḥamzawis survived to the 17th and perhaps even to the 18^th centuries Ḥamza's followers were mentioned as late as the first half of the 17th century. It is even likely that the rebellions of the "poturs" in the Tuzla region in the middle of the 18th century were a direct continuation of the Ḥamzawī tradition.