Mentese

The Beylik was named after its founder, Menteşe Bey. The beylik’s core

territory corresponded roughly to present-day Muğla Province in Turkey,

including the province’s three protruding peninsulas.

Among important centers of the Beylik were the cities of Beçin, Milas,

Balat, Finike, Kaş, Mağrı (Fethiye after 1911), Muğla, Çameli,

Acıpayam, Tavas, Bozdoğan and Çine. The city of Aydın (formerly

Tralles) was controlled by this Beylik for a time and was named

Güzelhisar under the Menteşe. They later transferred it to their

northern neighbors of Aydınoğlu who re-named the city after the founder

of their dynasty. Beys of Menteşe also held Rhodes between 1300-1314

and were a serious regional naval power of their time. They also left

important works of architecture such as the Firuz Bey Mosque in Milas

and İlyas Bey Mosque in Balat.

Menteşe Beys submitted to Ottoman power for the first time in 1390

under the reign of Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. After 1402, Tamerlane

restored the beylik to Menteşeoğlu İlyas Bey, who later recognized

Ottoman sovereignty in 1414. It was incorporated into the Ottoman realm

in a definite manner in 1424.

The present-day Muğla Province of Turkey was named the sub-province

(sanjak) of Menteşe until the early years of the Republic of Turkey,

although the province seat was moved from Milas to Muğla with the

establishment of Ottoman rule in the 15th century.

Germiyan

For a brief period in the second half of the 14th century, Germiyan

Dynasty was second only to Karamanoğlu Dynasty in its rising power. But

they were later taken over by the neighboring Osmanoğlu dynasty, who

were to found the Ottoman Empire later.

Germiyans played a crucial role in settling Turkish populations along

the coastal regions of the Aegean Sea, the founders of the Beyliks of

Aydınoğlu, Saruhan, İnançoğlu and Menteşe having started out as

Germiyan commanders.

The beylik was probably established by members of the Afshar clan of

Oghuz Turks. Because of various factors arising from the Mongol

invasion, their branch of the clan had left the regions of Fars and

Kirman, and headed west into Anatolia, having remained for a time

around Malatya, and then moving to the Kütahya area, where their beylik

was formed rather rapidly.

They rebelled against the central power in 1283, upon the execution of

the sultan Kaykhusraw III by the Mongols, and placing of Mesud II on

the Seljuk throne. The struggle between combined Mongol-Seljuk forces

based in Konya and the rebel forces of Germiyan continued until 1290.

An agreement could only be reached in 1299, upon which the Germiyan

Dynasty also entered into possession of Ankara. When the Ilkhanid

governor Emir Çoban took over Anatolia in 1314, they declared

allegiance and concentrated on raids towards the regions to their west.

 Their western offshoots that were the Beyliks of Menteşe, Aydınoğlu,

İnançoğlu, Saruhan and Karesi were all subject to the Germiyan in the

early periods of their foundation, while the Beyliks of Sâhib Ata and

Hamidoğlu to the south had to rely on them for protection against

attacks from the Karamanoğlu. As for the northern regions of Anatolia,

Byzantine sources record Umur Bey, a commander and son-in-law to the

Germiyan family, to be the possessor of Paphlagonia, where Candaroğlu

dynasty was to rule only after Germiyan power weakened.

Their strong political entity was eventually surrounded by newer states

established by their own former commanders, leaving the Germiyan no

outlet to the coastline or to Byzantine territory. Their powerful

Karamanoğlu neighbors exerting constant pressure from the east,

Germiyan gradually fell under the rising influence of the Ottomans.

The actual Turkish province of Kütahya was called the sub-province

(sanjak) and later province (vilayet) of Germiyan until the early years

of the Republic of Turkey, when which it was re-named after its central

town.

The founding dynasty of the beylik produced descendants who illustrated

themselves either under the Ottoman Empire or in present-day Turkey, a

notable one among these being the 19th century grand vizier Abdurrahman

Nureddin Pasha.

Aydinoglu

It is named after its founder Aydınoğlu Mehmed Bey.

The Beylik of Aydınoğlu also held parts of the port of İzmir all

through their rule and all of the port city with intervals. Especially

during the reign of Aydınoğlu Umur Bey, the sons of Aydın were a

serious naval power of their time [1].

The Beylik was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire for the first time

in 1390, and after the passage of Tamerlane in Anatolia in 1402 and the

ensuing period of troubles that lasted until 1425, its territories

became again part of the Ottoman realm, this time definitely.

The Beys of Aydınoğlu left important architectural works, principally in Birgi and Ayasluğ (Selçuk), their capital cities.

The city of Aydın was named after the dynasty.

Dulkadir

For a while, the Beylik of Dulkadir had an influence extending from

Kırşehir to Musul, but with the rise of the Ottomans, they became a

buffer state between the Ottomans and the Mameluks of Egypt. They

became part of the Ottoman Empire in early 16th century. Until the

mid-19th century, the region around Maraş was often referred to as

Dulkadir (or Zulkadriyye) in Ottoman documents.

Saruhan

It was founded by the tribal chief Saruhan about 1300. It lasted until

1410, when Sultan Mehmed I killed Hizir, the last Saruhan ruler, and

absorbed the province into the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish province of Manisa was named the sub-province and then

province (sanjak, then vilayet) of Saruhan until the early years of the

Republic of Turkey.

Mengucek

Little is known about the founder Mengücek Gazi. He was probably one of

the commanders sent by the Great Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan to occupy

parts of Anatolia after the victory at Manzikert over the Byzantine

Empire, and his principality seems to have been founded in the years

following the battle.

The Mengücek dynasty is remembered primarily for its monuments in

Divriği. The Divriği Great Mosque was built in 1228 by Mengücekoğlu

Ahmed Shah. The adjoining medical center, or Darüşşifa, was built in

the same year by Turan Melek Sultan, daughter of the Mengücek ruler of

Erzincan, Fahreddin Behram Shah. Both buildings are on UNESCO’s World

Heritage List.

Ahlatshahs

The dynasty is sometimes also called Sökmenli in reference to the

founder of the principality, Sökmen el Kutbî, literally Sökmen the

Slave, one of the commanders of the Great Seljuk Alp Arslan. Ahlatshah

Sökmenli should not be confused with the Artuklu dynasty branch of

Sökmenli which ruled in Hasankeyf during approximately the same period.

Another title Sökmen and his descendants assumed, as heirs to the local

Armenian princes according to Clifford Edmund Bosworth, was Shah-i

Arman, often rendered as Ermenshahs (Ermenşahlar).

The Beylik was founded by the Turkish slave commander Sökmen who took

over Ahlat (Khliat or Khilat) in 1100. Ahlatshahs were closely tied to

Great Seljuk institutions, although they also followed independent

policies like the wars against Georgia in alliance with their neighbors

to the north, the Saltuklu. They also acquired links with the branch of

the Artuklu dynasty based in Meyyafarikin (now Silvan), becoming part

of a nexus of Turkish principalities in Jazira and Eastern Anatolia.

The Ahlatshahs reached their brightest period under the fifty-seven

year reign of Sökmen the Second (1128 – 1185). He was married to a

female relative (daughter or sister) of the Saltuklu ruler Saltuk.Since

Sökmen II was childless, the beylik was seized by a series of slave

commanders after his death. In 1207, the beylik was taken over by the

Ayyubids who had long coveted Ahlat and had come to the city at the

invitation of the last Sökmenli ruler.

The Ahlatshahs left a large number of historic tombstones in and around

the city of Ahlat. Local administators are currently trying to have the

tombstones included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, where they are

currently listed tentatively.

Saltuklu

The Beylik was founded by Emir Saltuk, one of the commanders of the Great Seljuk Alp Arslan.

The first known Saltukid is Ali, who was ruler of Erzurum in 1103. His

son and successor was Saltuk, who succeeded him sometime after 1123.

Saltuk had a female relative, a daughter or sister, who married Shah-i-

Armind of Akhlat, Sukman II.

The Beys of Saltuk left important works of architecture, particularly in Erzurum and Tercan.

The Saltuklu dynasty is also notable for having a woman, Melike Mama

Hatun, sister of Nâsırüddin Muhammed, directly administering its realm

for an estimated nine years, between 1191 and 1200. She was later

dethroned by the Beys and replaced by her son Melikşah once she had

started searching for a husband among the Mameluk nobility. Mama Hatun

built an impressive caravanserai in the town of Tercan, where her

mausoleum also stands. Tercan itself used to be called "Mamahatun", and

is sometimes still called as such locally.

The name of the ruling dynasty of the Beylik should not be confused

with that of Sarı Saltuk, a Turkish mystic and saint; who is of later

date, more associated with western Anatolia and the Balkans (especially

Dobruja), and to whom the epic Saltuknâme is dedicated.

Karesi

They were the first beylik to be taken over by the neighboring

Osmanoglu dynasty, who were later to found the Ottoman Empire. The

acquisition of Karesi allowed the Ottomans to begin the conquest of

European lands in Rumelia across the Dardanelles.

The Turkish province (sanjak, later vilayet) of Balıkesir was called

the sub-province (sanjak, later vilayet) of Karesi until the early

years of the Republic of Turkey, after which it was re-named after its

central town Balıkesir.

Caka Bey

He was taken as a prisoner during a war with the Byzantine Empire by

Emperor Nicephorus III Botaniates. In this war he had fought

independently, without the Seljuk Empire’s army. He took the emperor’s

interest, and was taken to the palace. He was very appreciated there

and allowed to act on his own. When Alexius I Comnenus became the new

basileus in 1081, Çaka Bey was granted his freedom.

The first Anatolian Turkish naval fleet, which consisted of 33 sail

ships and 17 oar ships, was established at the port of İzmir by Çaka

Bey in 1081, following his conquest of İzmir, Urla, Çeşme, Sığacık,

Foça and the surrounding Aegean coast of Anatolia in that same year.

The ships were built at the naval arsenals of İzmir and Ephesus, which

Çaka Bey had established.

Çaka Bey’s fleet conquered Lesbos (1089) and Chios (1090), before

defeating the Byzantine fleet near the Koyun Islands off Chios on May

19, 1090, which marked the first major Anatolian Seljuk naval victory

in a sea war. In 1091 Emir Çaka Bey’s fleet conquered the islands of

Samos and Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.

The Byzantines prepared a new naval force in order to take back these

islands from Çaka Bey, but they seemed to fear him so much that they

didn’t get past Chios.

Çaka Bey’s province was famous for its naval force, which was the first in Anatolian Turkish history.

Çaka Bey, furthermore, was the father-in-law of Sultan Kılıç Arslan I of the Anatolian Seljuk Turks.

In 1095, during a campaign against the Byzantine Empire with the

support of Kılıç Arslan, Çaka Bey’s fleet conquered the strategic port

city and gulf of Adramyttium (Edremit) on the Aegean coast of Anatolia,

and the city of Abydos on the Dardanelles Strait, during the siege of

which Çaka Bey died.

Byzantine sources say he was killed by Kılıç Arslan; his name however

appears in papers after that period, showing quite the opposite for

those who do not believe this version of the story. Some historians

indicate that it was in fact his son who was appointed to take his post.

After Çaka Bey’s death, his beylik (principality) disappeared from

history. The Byzantines would soon recapture the area under the

leadership of Alexius I. On the whole, Çaka Bey was a feared enemy for

Byzantium, and a valiant warrior who expanded the Seljuk territories in

western Anatolia, albeit for a brief time.