Until today, many works have been written about the great Sufi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (d. 672/1273). Among these, “Risâla-i Sipahsâlâr der-Menâkib-i Hazret-i Khudâvendigâr” is the first and most important of the Masnavis written by Sultan Walad (d. 712/1312), as it is a first-hand source, apart from his famous work called Waladnâme. The author of the work, Majduddin Fereydoun bin Ahmed Sipehsalar, according to his statement, served Rumi for forty years and was the first person, other than Sultan Walad, to write an independent work in this field, touching on the subject of Rumi’s life, teachings and caliphs. Another feature of this work is that some of the information it provides is not mentioned in Rumi’s works or the works of his son Sultan Walad. In this sentence, Fereydoun bin Ahmed is the first to mention Rumi’s birth date without specifying the month.  

The author, about whom there is very little information in the sources, was the son of one of the Anatolian Seljuk commanders named Ahmed. He atten ded the conversation meetings of Sultanü’l-ulemâ Bahaeddin Veiled at an early age, and after the death of his father, he obtained the title of sipehsâlâr, but after a while he left this position and joined Melana. It has been reported that he was a disciple.

This work consists of an introduction and three sections. The first part of the work is devoted to Rumi’s father, Sultanol-Ulama Bahaeddin Walad. In this section, important issues such as Bahaeddin Walad’s lineage dating back to the first caliph Abu Bakr, the historical events of his time and turmoil among scholars and his coming to Anatolia due to leaving Balkh are discussed.

The second part which is devoted to Rumi is the longest section of the treatise. In this section, Rumi’s life is discussed from different angles, his worship and asceticism are mentioned, and why he performs sema and recites poetry are explained.

The last chapter is devoted to Rumi’s conversation companions, disciples, and caliphs. Information about the lives, lifestyles, spiritual positions, and ranks of personalities such as Burhanuddin Tirmizi, Shams-i Tabriz, Salah al-Din Zarkub, and Husameddin Chelebi has been given.

The Sipehsalar Treatise, the first example of the hagiography genre in the Rumi tradition, has been the source of many works written in this field and other fields. The most prominent of these works, again in the same field, is the work called “Manaqeb al-Arefin”, written by Eflaki on the orders of Ulu Arif Chelebi, Rumi’s grandson.

While writing the treatise, Majduddin Fereydoun bin Ahmed used Bahaeddin Walad’s Maarif, Attar’s Tazkirat al-Awliya, Sultan Walad’s Waladname, Rumi’s Masnavi, Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi and Fihi Ma Fihi as sources. He probably also benefited from what he heard.

Apart from these works, Fereydoun bin A hmed quotes the poems of poets such as Saadi Shiraz, Kamal al-Din Isfahani, Awhad al-Din Kerman, Nizami Ganjavi, and Al-Mutanabbi and completes his work with these poems, which on the one hand make the treatise rich in literary literature. He forgave and on the other hand, strengthened and supported the issue.

According to what is described in the Sipahsalar treatise, Ruknuddin, the sultan of the period, was Rumi’s disciple and spiritual son. Rumi calls him his son. One day, a Pir (murshid) named Buzagu comes to Konya and in a short time, his fame spreads that he has extraordinary qualities. Hearing this, the sultan comes into the presence of the Pir. During his speech, Pir addresses Sultan Ruknuddin as his son. When the Sultan investigates Pir’s situation, he learns that the stories are not true and regrets visiting him. However, these things were delivered to Rumi the next day. Rumi is saddened by this incident and says, “It is easy, if another father and the Sheikh (phylarch) appear for him, we will choose another son.” In this work, the murder of the Sultan by the Mongols is associated with Rumi’s suffering. However, according to historical sources, this incident was likely a result of the provocation of Emir Parvane. Emir Parvane who had established a strong authority, now begins to see the sultan as an obstacle to his power. For this reason, he convinces the Mongols that Sultan Ruknuddin will unite with the Egyptian Sultan Baybars and attack them and that he wants to kill himself because he wants to prevent this. Therefore, the Mongols lured him to Aksaray and killed him there under, the pretext that an important decision regarding Ilkhan would be discussed and Sultan Ruknuddin would have to come.

Sultan Ruknuddin arrives at Rumi upon the invitation of the Mongols and asks him permission to accept their invitation. This situation occurs in the context of declaring the Sultan’s respect for and loyalty to Rumi and the importance he attaches to his advice.

His Majesty Khudâvendigâr did not find it appropriate for the Sultan to leave. However, because the Sultan had to, he set out for Kayseri. A few later, the Sultan is martyred. In feeling this, His Holiness Khudâvendigâr sings a ghazal for this event.

Another poem whose cause is mentioned is the earthquakes that are rumored to have occurred during Rumi’s death. According to Sipahsalar, there were four consecutive earthquakes in Konya for forty days before Rumi’s death. Both the lower class and the people’s elderly, devastated by what happened, came to Rumi and asked why the incident was and asked him to pray for it to be eliminated. Rumi consoles them and says, “Don’t worry because the land is hungry and wants a fatty morsel. It will soon get its wish, and thus you will be saved from this disaster.” However, although such natural events concern all people in the place where they occur, Sultan Walad did not give even the slightest information about the earthquake in the Sipahsalar treatise, and this event was described only by Eflaki and in different narrations due to the death of Sultan Walad and his son, Ulu Arif Chelebi. This makes this situation suspicious. It would be more accurate to look for the reason for this situation in the value Islam gives to scholars and knowledge.