(Redirected from Anatolian beyliks)'Anatolian Beyliks' or 'Turkmen Beyliks' (in
Turkish 'Anadolu Beylikleri', in
Ottoman Turkish 'Tevâif-i mülûk') were small
Turkish emirates or
Muslim principalities (
Beylik) governed by
Beys, which were founded across
Anatolia as of the end of the
11th century in a first period, and more extensively after the decline and fall of the
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate in the second half of the
13th century.
The word "
Beylik" denotes the territory (hence the
suffix -lik) under the jurisdiction of a
Bey. Aside from its Anatolian context, the term is also used with reference to the
Ottoman governmental institutions as of the
16th century in the largely autonomous regencies along the coastline of present-day
Tunisia and
Algeria [1].
History
Following the
1071 Seljuk triumph over the
Byzantine Empire in the
Battle of Malazgirt (
Battle of Manzikert) and their ensuing conquest of
Anatolia,
Oghuz clans began settling in present-day
Turkey. The
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate's central power established in
Konya employed these clans especially in border areas, in order to ensure safety against the
Byzantines, under
Beys called 'uç beyi' or ''uj begi'' (''uç'' is a Turkish term for a border territory, compare
marches). These clans, led by beys, would receive military and financial aid from the Seljuks in return for their services, and acted as if owing full allegiance to their sovereignty.
However, with the
Mongol invasions from the east, the Seljuk power deteriorated and instead
Ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia gained strength and authority, which encouraged the beys to declare sovereignty openly. Following the fall of the centralized power in Konya, many Beys joined forces with the
atabegs (former Seljuk leaders) and other religious Muslim leaders and warriors from
Persia and
Turkistan fleeing the Mongols, invading the Byzantine empire where they established emirates. To maintain control of their new territory, these reestablished emirs employed
Ghazi warriors from
Persia and
Turkistan who also fled the Mongols. The ghazis fought under the inspiration of either a
mullah or a general, trying to assert Islamic power, their assaults of the reestablished emirs upon the Byzantine Empire reaching even further expanded the power sphere of the beyliks.
When the Byzantine empire weakened, their cities in
Asia Minor could resist the assaults of the beyliks less and less, and eventually many Turks settled in western parts of
Anatolia. As a result, many more beyliks were founded in these newly conquered western regions who entered into power struggles with the
Byzantines, the
Genoese, the
Knights Templar as well as between each other.
By 1300, Turks had reached back to the
Aegean coastline, held momentarily a century before. In the beginning, the most powerful states were the
Karamanoğlu (or the
Karamanid) and the
Germiyan in the central area. The Beylik of
Osmanoğlu Dynasty who were later to found the
Ottoman Empire was situated to the northwest, around
Söğüt, and was a small and at that stage, insignificant power. Along the Aegean coast, from north to south, stretched
Karesi,
Saruhan,
Aydınoğlu,
Menteşe and
Teke principalities. The
Candaroğlu (also called ''
İsfendiyaroğlu'') controlled the
Black Sea region round
Kastamonu and
Sinop.
[2]
Under its eponymous founder,
Osman I, the Beylik of Osmanoğlu expanded at Byzantine expense south and west of the
Sea of Marmara in the first decades of the
14th century. With their annexation of the neighboring Beylik of Karesi and their advance into
Roumelia as of 1354, they soon became strong enough to emerge as the main rivals of Karamanoğlu, who at that time were thought to be the strongest. Towards the end of the 14th century, the Ottomans advanced further into Anatolia by acquiring towns, either by buying them off or through marriage alliances. Meanwhile the Karamanoğlu assaulted the Ottomans many times with the help of other beyliks,
Mamluks,
Ak Koyunlu (''White Sheep'')
Turkmens, Byzantines,
Pontics and
Hungarians, failing and losing power every time. By the close of the century, the early Ottoman leaders had conquered large parts of land from Karamanoğlu and other less prominent beyliks. These had a short respite when their territories were restored to them after the Ottoman defeat suffered against
Tamerlane in
1402 in the
Battle of Ankara.
But the Ottoman state quickly collected itself under
Mehmed I and his son
Murad II re-incorporated most of these beyliks into Ottoman territory in a space of around 25 years. The final blow for the
Karamanoğlu was struck by
Mehmed II who conquered their lands and re-assured a homogeneous rule in Anatolia. The further steps towards a single rule by the Ottomans were taken by
Selim I who conquered
Ramazanoğlu and
Dulkadir territories in 1515 during his campaign against the
Mamluks, and his son
Süleyman the Magnificent who more or less completely united the present territories of Turkey (and much more) in his 1534 campaign.
Many of the former Anatolian beyliks became the basis for
administrative subdivisions in the Ottoman Empire.
List of the Anatolian beyliks
In the list below, a distinction should be made between the beyliks that were founded immediately after the
Battle of Malazgirt (
1071), mostly situated towards the Eastern Anatolia, and who were vassals (or sometimes at war) to the centralized power of
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate based in
Konya, and between those beyliks that emerged as a result of the weakening of this central state under the
Mongol blow with the
Battle of Köse Dag in 1275 which had the indirect consequence of extending the
Turkish aire in Western Anatolia toward the end of the
13th century.
Two specific cases involve entities that lasted during the reign of one man:
Çaka Bey's Beylik centered in
İzmir and parallel to the first Turkish spread in western Anatolia in late 11th century, and the Beylik of
Kadı Burhaneddin, vizier of the
Eretna who replaced the ruling dynasty and reigned as centered in Kayseri between
1381-
1398. The Beylik of
Alaiye, centered in
Alanya, were vassals either to Karamanoğlu, or to other neighboring powers for the most part of their existence. Many of the other Beyliks also owed allegiance or were tributary to outside powers during parts of their existence.
'Founded after the Battle of Malazgirt:'
'Founded after the Battle of Köse Dağ:'
List of the non-Turkic (non-Muslim) Anatolian states
★ Three Anatolian regions remained Christian until their defeat and Ottoman conquest:
★
★
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia with
Tarsus and
Sis (now
Kozan) as patriarchal seats, until 1375,
★
★
Empire of Trebizond, initially (1204) a breakaway Byzantine territory, in
Trebizond (now
Trabzon) on the south eastern
Black Sea coastline,
★
★ Philadelphia (now
Alaşehir) held by
Christian knights until the Ottoman conquest in 1390.
Art
In spite of their limited sources and the political climate of their era, art during the Anatolian beyliks flourished, probably building the basis for
Ottoman art. Although the artistic style of the Anatolian beyliks can be considered as representatives of a transition period between
Seljuks and Ottomans, new trends were also acquired. Especially wandering traditional
crafts artists and
architects helped spread these new trends and localized styles to several beyliks across Anatolia, which resulted in innovative and original works particularly in
architecture.
Wood and stone carving, clay
tiles and other similar decorative arts of the Seljuks were still used, however with the influence of the pursuit for new spaces and its reflections in other arts as well.
Some representative examples of the Anatolian beyliks' architecture are ''İlyas
Mosque'' at
Balat (Milet) (1404), ''
İsabey Mosque'' at
Selçuk (1375), ''Ulucami Mosque'' at
Birgi (1312) built by the Aydın beylik. The above mosques, although being successors of Seljuk architecture, differ greatly in the increase of decorations in the interior and exterior spaces and the different placement of the
courtyards and
minarets. Karaman beylik also left noteworthy architectural works, such as ''Ulucami Mosque'' in
Ermenek (1302), ''Hatuniye
Madrassa'' in Karaman (1382), ''Akmedrese Madrassa'' in
Niğde (1409), all of which respect a new
style that considers and incorporates the exterior surroundings also. One of the first examples of the Anatolian beylik architecture hinting at the forming of the
Ottoman architecture that aims at uniting the interior space beneath one big
dome and forming a
monumental architectural structure is ''Ulucami Mosque'' in
Manisa (1374) built by the Saruhan beylik. Also worth noting is the increase in constructions of madrassas that points at the beyliks' attaching greater importance to sciences.
See also
★
Islamic architecture
References
★
The Origins of the Ottoman Empire ISBN 0791408191, Mehmet Fuat Köprülü (translated by Gary Leiser, , , State University of New York Press, 1992, (limited preview)
★ Westermann ''Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte'' [in German]
External links
★
Osmanlı Medeniyeti (Ottoman Civilization)
★
Beyliks chapter of Turkish history
Footnotes
1. (limited preview) Histoire économique et sociale de l'Empire ottoman et de la Turquie (1326-1960) ISBN 9068317997, Mohamed Hedi Cherif - Daniel Panzac, , , Peeters Publishers, 1995,
2. (limited preview) European and Islamic Trade in the Early Ottoman State: The Merchants of Genoa and Turkey ISBN 0521642213, Kate Fleet, , , Cambridge University Press, 1999,
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