Anatolian beyliks
Anatolian beyliks (also Turkmen beyliks, Tevâif-i mülûk (in Ottoman Turkish) are small Turkish emirates or principalities governed by beys, which were founded in several locations of Anatolia at the end of the 13th century.
History
Following the conquests in Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks, Oghuz clans began invading this region. The Seljuks placed these clans to settle in areas on their borders with the Byzantines to ensure their safety. These clans with leading beys would receive military and financial aids in return for their services from the Seljuks and would act like owing full allegiance to their sovereignty. However, during the end days of the reign of Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I, especially with the Mongol invasions from the east, the Seljuk power deteriorated and instead Ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia gained strength and authority, which caused the beys declaring sovereignty. Many of them, following the fall of the Seljuk empire, joined forces with the dispersed Seljuk elite. Many religious Muslim leaders and fighters from Persia and Turkistan who fled the Mongols were also settled in these small states. Their assaults on the Byzantines reached even further with the help of these fighters and the power sphere of the beyliks expanded.
When the Byzantine empire weakened, their cities could resist less and less to the assaults of the beyliks, and eventually many Turks settled in western parts Asia Minor. As a result, many more beyliks were founded in these newly conquered western regions. However, power struggles and conflicts arose between them.
In the beginning, the most powerful states were the Karamanid and the Germiyan, whereas Ottoman Turks were quite weak relatively. When other beyliks were founded by the coasts, Germiyan became an inner state and lost its influence. With the advancement of the Ottomans into Roumelia and their annexation of Karesi, they became rivals with the Karamanid, who were then thought to be the strongest player. The Ottomans advanced further into Anatolia by acquiring towns either by buying them off or through marriages. Meanwhile the Karamanid assaulted the Ottomans many times with the help of other beyliks, Mamluks, White Sheep Turkmen (Akkoyun or Ak-Qoyun), Byzantines, Pontus and Hungarians, failing and losing power every time. The early Ottoman leaders conquered big parts of the Karamanid land, which was restored after the Ottoman defeat to the Mongol Timur Lenk in 1402. The final blow was made by Mehmed II who conquered Karamanid in order to construct a homogenous dominion in Anatolia. This was achieved by Selim I in 1515 who conquered Ramazan and Dulkadir, finally ending all beyliks in Anatolia and declaring sovereignty on all Turkish possessions in Anatolia.
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 Candaroglu
Danishmend
Dulkadir
Ertena
Hamid
Husameddin
Inanc
Karaman (Karamanid)
Karesi
Kadiburhaneddin
Menguc
Menteshe
Osmanoglu (Ottomans)
Pervane
Ramazan
Sahipata
Saltuk
Saruhan
See also
References
- Kılıçlıoğlu, Safa; Araz, Nezihe; Devrim, Hakkı; (eds.) (1969). ANADOLU Beylikleri. In Meydan-Larousse Büyük Lügat ve Ansiklopedisi, Vol. 1; pp.483-484. Meydan Yayınevi, Istanbul.
- Koprulu, M. Fuat; Leiser, Gary (1992). The Origins of the Ottoman Empire (Suny Series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East). State University of New York Press. ISBN 0791408191.
