Following the death of Mehmed II in 1481, the Ottoman Empire witnessed a much known political struggle for the Ottoman throne. What is less known is the simultaneous struggle between two Sufi orders over ascendancy in Constantinople, which was no less fierce and interesting than the political struggle of the time. Two sufi sheikhs, namely Sheikh Vefa of Istanbul (d.896/1491) and Celebi Halife of Amasya (d.899/1494) each formed a line behind the rival candidates for the throne. According to the hagiographical sources, Sheik Vefa provided protection to the most powerful member of his political faction by composing a vefk (a square amulet) to him. Celebi Halife on the other hand tried to assassinate this political figure by breaking into this magical protection. The victor of this struggle was Celebi Halife, who with the help of luck yet at the expense of losing his daughter, managed to break into the protective circle drawn by Sheikh Vefa and successfully removed a major obstacle in his candidate's path to the Ottoman throne. The story of this struggle was told in the Sufi circles of Constantinople as a proof of Celebi Halife's spiritual vigor and thus his worth as a Sufi master. Celebi Halife, whose initiatic chain was rather unknown and less prestigious than that of Sheikh Vefa, was able to establish his Sufi order in Constantinople thanks to his reputation in the mastery of occult sciences. And when the presence of Celebi Halife's order's in Constantinople became threatened following the death of its political protector in 1512, this story was reproduced with more political tones as a warning to the authorities. This paper will focus on the perceived connection between spiritual/mystical vigor and the mastery of occult sciences at the turn of the sixteenth century Constantinople. Also by contextualizing this connection within the dynastic struggles of preceding and after the reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512) I aim to explore the representation of the interaction between politics, sufism and occult sciences in the hagiographical literature.