AN ORTHODOX GREEK VILLAGE ON THE SHORES OF LAKE BEYŞEHIR ACCORDING TO TURKISH SOURCES: THE CASE OF THE VILLAGE OF KESI

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 58, 1 - 18, 12.12.2025

Mehmet Akif Erdoğru

Öz

The establishment of the Orthodox Greek settlements along Lake Beyşehir and its islands dates back to the Roman and Byzantine periods. With the conquests of the Anatolian Seljuks in the 12th century, these regions came under Turkish rule, and the process of Turkification and Islamization began. Some of these Greek villages, which were between the Byzantine Empire and the great powers such as the Anatolian Seljuks, Karamanids and Ottomans, continued their existence until the beginning of the 17th century.
With the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the weakening of the Orthodox Church, they were left without a patron and were forced to establish relations with the Turks. The islands in Lake Beyşehir became a hiding place for the local Greeks to protect themselves from their enemies, the Turks and Greeks.One of these villages was Kesi, located in the Cezire district of Beyşehir. In the second half of the 13th century (the exact date is not given), the income from this village was donated to the Atabekiyya Madrasah in Konya by the Seljuk atabak Arslan Doğmuş b. Yaruk Inal. Over time, the peasants came under Turkish influence and were introduced to Islam.
The non-Muslim inhabitants (dhimmis) of this village, which we know was under Ottoman rule in 1466, continued to pay jizya and customary taxes to the Atabakiyya Madrasah. A portion of the revenues of the village was allocated to the fief-holders. The exact location of this village, which had a population of approximately 1,300 in 1466, is unknown.
However, although the village itself no longer exists today, its name survives on an island in Lake Beyşehir (Kesi Island). Traces of the village name can also be found in local sites (Kesi Boğazı). During the Ottoman period, between 1466 and 1584, the population of the village more than doubled. By the end of the sixteenth century, Islamization and Turkification was nearly complete. The village was subjected to pressure from surrounding Sunni Turkish villages and Yörüks from the Antalya region. Qizilbash Tekelü Turkomans, in particular, began settling in the village and engaging in animal husbandry and agriculture in the vacant lands of the village. The area of Kaşaklı was largely invaded by the Serik Yörüks. Pressure from both the Yörüks, the surrounding Sunni Turks, and the trustees of the foundation of Atabak accelerated this process. However, interestingly, the village was abandoned in the early 17th century and disappears from Ottoman registers. The registers do not clearly state the reason for the abandonment. However, it is documented that some Muslim peasants from Kesi migrated to the center of Beyşehir. Non-Muslims from Kesi, presumably due to family problems such as not being able to marry Muslims, migrated to Orthodox Greek villages along the lakeshore, such as Kıstıvan and Girapa (Akburun). There, they lived as non-Muslims for a while longer.
The main reasons for their abandonment of their villages are the inconvenient location, heavy taxation, lack of public order, floods in the lake, the pressure of Tekelü Shiite Turkomans and Yoruks, and the lack of political and religious patrons.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kesi , Beyşehir , Greeks , Islamization , Turkification , Anatolia , Village

Kaynakça

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