Ahmet Şahap ÜNLÜ Kişisel Web Sayfası

Ahmet Şahap ÜNLÜ

Information about Delikanli Tribe and their leader family Emirsamzade'ler writen by Ahmet Şahap unlu son of the late leader Mehmet Selahattin Unlu

Ahmet Sahap was born in Melikanlı village of Province Islahiye of Gaziantep city in Turkey in1944. After graduating from TED Ankara Collage he completed his higher education in Friedrich Wilhelms University in Germany and Faculty of Agriculture in Ankara University with Msc degree as Agriculturel Engineer. At present he is the president of Batservice Holding in istanbul.

His father Mehmet Selahattin Ünlü was the leader of DELİKANLİ Tribe. An educated farmer who started his career as a public prosecuter in ELAZIĞ , then   became a member of parliament from Democrat Party (1950-1960) from   Gaziantep city in Turkey. While Father Ünlü was member of parliament, there was a military coup, on 27 May 1960 in Turkey.

The military regime set up a court in Yassıada island where all Democrat Party parliamenterians were imprisoned. The court sessions took one and half year. The military Regime decided to execute the Prime Minister Adnan Menderes , Foreign Affairs Minister Fatin Rüstu Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan.

The rest of democrat party members of Parliament were jailed in KAYSERİ city jail. They were all imprisioned in Kayseri jail until the declaration of amnesty in early 1963.

Despite the military pressure, and all these cruelties of military coup, while Selahattin Ünlü was in prison, the first Parliamentery Elections were held in 1961 .Upon the secret parole of Selahattin Ünlü from jail ''Folks ,Suleyman have planted Rice, irrigate it well,dont let the rice dry '' People understood the parole and elected his nephew Suleyman Ünlü as a member of parliament From AP Justice Party in Gaziantep (1961-1969) , who then served as Mayor of Islahiye (1984-1989)

His mother Ayse Unlu (1909-1989) had extensive knowledge about the regional tribes .She was the niece of Cherkas -Kabartay Noble Aslan Bey from Afşın, the daughter of BELİKANLİ tribe leader Şeh Mehmet Aga(1880-1939) and the daughter in law of DELİKANLİ tribe leader Mustafa Aga.

According to official state   documents and information narrated by his ancestors the origin of EMİRŞAMZADE name is an Arabic Persian mixture word meaning decendents of Ruler of Damascus.The noble names and social ranks were prohibited by Surname law issued on the 21st of 1934 in Turkey.Families who had surnames recalling nobility, were obliged to take a new ordinary surnames.The Emirşamzade family took the surname ÜNLÜ which means famous,well known. Family roots are going back to early 12th century to The AYYUBI's who first moved from AZARBAYCAN to Tigrit IRAQ then to ALEPPO and DAMASCUS SYRIA in the year (1137) The EMİRŞAMZADE's lived as leader's of DELİKANLI tribe in the Syrian geography until 1515. DELİKANLİ tribe supported the OTTOMAN forces during YAVUZ SULTAN SELİM KHAN'S expedition of Syria They fought together with Ottoman forces against the MEMLUK army in MERCIDABIK battle (1516) which paved the way to conquer all Arabia and North Africa by the Ottomans.After the victory   against the Memluks ,Yavuz Sultan Selim Khan honoured the Delikanli tribe by giving them the rank Reputable Chief of Region.

( Boy Beyi ) By an Imperial order the, Delikanli tribe was entitled to live in the valley of Gor which is between the city of Aleppo and Kahramanmaraş,since then they have been living in this geography.

Currently, the settlement area of Delikanli tribe is located on the East and West banks of KARASU river. Totaly 12.000.-people belonging to Delikanli tribe are living in this territory. These villages on the east bank are Musikanli, Melikanli, Gulukanli, Kazıklı. The villages on west bank are Yenikoy, Karapınar, Çolaklar, Şerikanli jer, Şerikanli jor, Ağalarobasi and Haydarkanlı. About 3.000 people from Delikanlı tribe are living in İslahiye town.
According to the information, regarding to the document presented to Sultan Abdulaziz Khan by Ahmed Cevdet Pasha in   1866 , Delikanlı Tribe population was 1836 and muslim.

Early 19th century when the activities of outlaw's,bandits and revolts came to ungovernable point The Ottoman government planned a Reform Package. Accordingly; a well organized administraive regiment under the Command of AHMET CEVDET PASHA and a well organized Military Regiment Under the command of DERVİŞ PASHA were sent to the region to suppress the disobidience in 1865, who then redesigned the town of Islahiye
(Ancient periods Nikeopolis city of Hitites) meaning (place of reform) and township of Hassa meaning (spec.

Ahmet Cevdet Pasha invited the nomad tribes to settle in Islahiye and formed a stable governing unit of Ottoman administration . Among the invited tribe leaders Huseyin Aga represented DELİKANLİ tribe, Senturk family of today represented CELİKANLI tribe, Kose family of today represented BELİKANLI tribe, in the first council of Islahiye town hall. This was how Islahiye was built and a stable administration was established. Islahiye then became one of the most strategic points of Turkey in The South of Turkey along the Syrian border.

By the end of first World War Gaziantep was occupied by French Army .During the occupation operations of French army, Delikanlı tribe leader Mustafa Aga, with his small civilian militia force showed a great resistance against the French armed forces. French armed forces suffered a lot at Guvercinli Passage battle.

Delikanlı tribe have kinship with Okcu İzzettinli, Şehismail and Amiki tribes in Syria. Emirşamzade family is connected to most of the elite families in the region through marriages. Among them are; Milli Tribe in Urfa. Moroğulları, Celikanlı, Belikanlı, Tribe leader families living between Kahramanmaras and Hatay, Mursaloğulları, Çirkinler, Resa'lar Saribaylar and Karabaylar in Hatay.

We hope that the misiterprerations on the concepts of tribes and big families will be clarified by the historians .The nation should have the concience that our passed Ottoman empire and todays Republic were all built together with the efforts of tribes and big families side by side. Had there not been the  Kayı Tribe There would have not been the Ottoman Empire   Had there not been Hohenzollern and Haubsburg families there would havenot been Germany and Austria likewise the Borgias the Medicis the Sforza's were the builders of Italy. Had there not been the Mursaloglu Mustafa Pasha,Tayfur Sokmen the president of Hatay state,Kocho Aga of Elbistan, Çirkinler,Reşalar,Kılbozlar families, Hatay would have not been within the borders of Turkish Republic. These families served a lot and sincerly for the annexation of Hatay, These heros and families kept Hatay within the borders of Turkey with Mustafa Kemal pahsa and his friends. God bless them all. Envy and jealousy does not help the development of any other. Let us revive these values instead of damaging them.