Ali Şah Pasha

## Ali Şah Bey

Ali Şha Pasha and Ahmed Şehinşah Bey

**Ali Şah Bey** knowing also as **Ali Şah Pasha** (Yoman Language: علی شاه بیگ; b. 1228/1229) was the son of Orhan I and Hasma Hatun. He's know for his probably relation with his step-brother Ahmed Şehinşah Bey, being the only possible case of incest in the Yomann imperial family.

## Early life

Ali Şah born between 1228 and 1229, his birth was a cause for celebration for the empire, being that he was the first son born to Orhan I after his accession to the throne.

Mustafa Çelebi described Ali as kind and gentle with eyes sparkling with wisdom, and known for his unwavering sense of justice. Ali at the age of 16 sent to Kutlur province as a sanjakbey.

## Personal life

The true situation of Ali's harem is not known, the fact is that in any case he had no children, Mustafa Çelebi describes Ali's harem as desolate but with so much pomp, typical of Kutlur buildings, with few women.

Mustafa wrote that on one occasion Ali attempted to have sexual intercourse with a concubine named Laeyla, however the intercourse was so traumatic that Ali never had further intercourse. Musta later recounts that Ali had affairs with a young man from Kutlur province, and that he fell in love with one of his soldiers but it was never reciprocated. It is not known whether the things told by Mustafa really happened or not, he assures that all his writings are derived from in-depth research, even if most of his stories are globally accepted as true, it cannot be excluded that some facts have been invented to make history.

### Relation with Ahmed

It is said that Ali entered into a relationship with Ahmed, this is now globally accepted by the historical community, mainly due to the fact that when Işa I ascended the throne in 1262, and executed his brothers, the document contained the names of all the brothers alive, including those of Ali and Ahmed, but their name was not reported in the list of those executed (together with that of Halil), later in 1300 a legend told by a certain Hasmat Efendi tells of two princes who ran away to escape from execution by Sultan Isa I. All this together with the fact that Mustafa Çelebi claims to have found other papers, some dating back to 1260-80 and others to 1300 (mostly belonging to Hasmat Efendi himself) where they declared a relationship between Ali and Ahmed, suggests that the two actually were in a relationship

Ali and Ahmed certainly saw each other many times before they started their relationship, it is likely that Ali was present at Ahmed's birth. However, they never really had a conversation until 1254, when the Yşryin Palace harem was destroyed and was temporarily moved to Kutlur Palace, as it was large and close to the capital. Ali was around 26 while Ahmed was at least 15, probably he was around 17.

Despite significant age difference of 10 years the brothers started a relationship. At the end of 1254 the two had to separate, the harem of the sultan was moved again once the construction of the new harem in the a construction called Turfeş was completed. Orhan took advantage and decided to appoint Ahmed sanjakbey of Hemêyûn.

The province of Kutlur was very close to that of Hemêyûn, Orhan purposely decided that the two provinces were close so that Ali could educate Ahmed, in fact Orhan wrote to Ali in 1255 to temporarily leave the province of Kutlur and help his brother Ahmed in his province , Orhan was worried that Ahmed could not rule peacefully, he was the youngest of his sons and Orhan liked him very much and he was motherless.

Ali and Ahmed spent at least a year together in Hemêyûn province, if the two did not begin a relationship in 1254 they certainly did so during Ali's stay in the province.

It is not known for certain how their relationship developed, they probably wrote letters and when they met they spent a lot of time together, even Mustafa is very vague about what happened between 1254 and 1262.

## Escape

Once Orhan died, Isa took the throne, to maintain his power he decude to murdered his brothers systematically, fully respectting the law of fratricide. The young princes soon found themselves in grave danger.

Realizing the perilous path that lay ahead, Ali and Ahmed hatched a plan to escape their brother's clutches. They confided in a loyal palace servant named Farid.

Işa became increasingly unpopular outside the capital, many complained of taxes and debts related to the jurisdiction of the camps, so several protests and hardships began which resulted in insurrections. Many say that Ali and Ahmed participated in the insurrections, stating that the two remained within the empire, however most likely they left the empire forever, fleding together to one of the hopeful city of desert.

## In popular culture

* Mustafa Çelebi wrote about their story in his book "The Collection of the Yoman Empire" (1925), a collection of stories concerning the lesser-known members of the imperial family;
* *"Aşık" iki prensin karanlık hikayesi* (1978) a critical work, which describes the relationship between Ali and Ahmed as a relationship more similar to pederasty than to a love relationship, indicating Ali as the one who forced Ahmed, the younger brother, to have sexual relations, even against the young man's will, abusing of his position as instructor and older brother;
* In the series *"Eski Sultan"* Ali is played by Turkish actor Emree Sadatat.
* A depiction was found in the chambers of Sultan Kasim I where the two princes are probably depicted. Indicating that their history is already known at the time in the 1500s.