The Account of the Conquest of the Island of Crete and Zadar by Sipahizade Ahmed Çelebi of Livno

Abstract

This paper deals with the work Gazavatname-i Cezire-i Kilid ve Zadre written by Sipahizade  Ahmed Çelebi. Ahmed Çelebi was born in the second half of the 16th century in the town of Livno in southwestern Bosnia. He was a descendent of the local notable Ljubunčić family. He served as judge (kadı) at the various places in the territory of the Ottoman province of Bosnia. In his work he described the war events in Bosnia, Dalmatia and Croatia during the Cretan War (1645–1669). He provides detailed information on the preparation of Ottoman troops in Bosnia for military campaigns and the participation of members of the military and political elite in the battles against the Venetian troops as well as on the Venetian attacks in the Ottoman territory. Moreover, his work is very important for the study of folk literature. For example, Ahmed Çelebi mentioned a folk legend about Queen Kaydefa, whose capital was Solin near Klis, and that she was outwitted by Alexander the Great. This version of the folk tale about Queen Kaydefa was most likely based on the encounter from the epic poem on Alexander the Great written by the Ottoman poet Ahmedi and the Croatian version of Pseudo-Callisthenes’ novel about Alexander the Great. The work of Ahmedi Çelebi is a very important source for the 17th century Bosnia, Dalmatia and Croatia, and deserves to be edited and translated into the Croatian language.