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Founding
Founding of Eretnids
Turkish Beylik in Anatolia, between 1335-1381
- 1335
- Sivas
- Middle East
Founding
Turkish Beylik in Anatolia, between 1335-1381
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
The Eretnids (Turkish: Eretna Beyliği) were a dynasty that ruled a state spanning central and eastern Anatolia from 1335 to 1381. The dynasty's founder, Eretna, was an Ilkhanid officer of Uyghur origin, under Timurtash, who was appointed as the governor of Anatolia. Some time after the latter's downfall, Eretna became the governor under the suzerainty of the Jalayirid ruler Hasan Buzurg. After an unexpected victory at the Battle of Karanbük, against Mongol warlords competing to restore the Ilkhanate, Eretna claimed independence declaring himself the sultan of his domains. His reign was largely prosperous earning him the nickname Köse Peygamber (lit. 'the beardless prophet').
Eretna's son Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad I, although initially preferred over his older brother Jafar, struggled to maintain his authority over the state and was quickly deposed by Jafar. Shortly after, he managed to restore his rule, although he could not prevent some portion of his territories from getting annexed by local Turkoman lords, the Dulkadirids to the south, and the Ottomans to the west. In 1365, when he had recently put an end to the revolt of his vizier (chief minister), he was murdered by his emirs (vassals) in Kayseri, the capital.
His 13-year-old son, Ala al-Din Ali, was largely not allowed to interfere in administrative matters by the local emirs, who had been enjoying a substantial degree of autonomy since Eretna's demise. Ali lacked necessary skills of governance and was described to have only cared for personal pleasures. The state's borders continued to shrink, and the capital temporarily came under Karamanid control. Kadi Burhan al-Din rose to power as the new vizier and further dispatched Ali to command several largely unsuccessful campaigns. Ali died of the plague in August 1380 amidst one of those expeditions. The fourth Eretnid sultan, Muhammad II Chelebi was 7 years old when his father died. His regent Burhan al-Din toppled him in less than a year and proclaimed himself as the new sultan by January 1381, ending the Eretnid dynasty's political presence.
There is a scant number of surviving buildings and literary works identified with the rule of the Eretnids. This contrasts with the neighboring contemporary states, who left a greater architectural legacy.
The Ilkhanate emerged in West Asia under Hulagu Khan (r. 1256–1265) as part of the division of the Mongol Empire that started with Möngke Khan's reign (r. 1251–1259). After half a century, the death of the seventh Ilkhan, Ghazan (r. 1295–1304), marked the height of the state, and while his brother Öljaitü was capable of maintaining the empire, his conversion to Shiism sped up the impending fall and civil war in the region.
Of Uyghur stock, Eretna was born to Jafar or Taiju Bakhshi, a trusted follower of the second Ilkhanid ruler Abaqa Khan (r. 1265–1282), and his wife Tükälti. His name Eretna is popularly explained to have originated from the Sanskrit word ratna (रत्न) meaning 'jewel'. This name was common among the Uyghurs following the spread of Buddhism, and Eretna may have come from Buddhist parentage.
Eretna migrated to Anatolia following his brothers' execution due to a rebellion they joined and his Chobanid master Timurtash's appointment as the Ilkhanid governor of the region by Ilkhan Abu Sa'id and his father, Chupan. Eretna's master Timurtash eventually rebelled against the Ilkhanate in 1323, during which time Eretna went into hiding. However, the Ilkhan's weak authority and influence over the state of Timurtash's father, Chupan, led to the pardoning of Timurtash and the restoration of his position as the governor of Anatolia. He later led an extensive series of campaigns against the Turkoman emirates in Anatolia. Upon the news of his brother Demasq Kaja's death on 24 August 1327, Timurtash retreated to Kayseri, and following his father's death, he fled to Mamluk Egypt in December while also planning to come into terms with Abu Sa'id. He was later killed on the orders of the Mamluk sultan. Fearing punishment during Timurtash's absence, Eretna took refuge in the court of Badr al-Din Beg of Karaman. Timurtash was replaced by Emir Muhammad from the Oirat tribe, who was the uncle of Abu Sa'id.
Eretna was later involved in a plot against the Ilkhan in 1334 but received a pardon and returned to Anatolia from the Ilkhanid court in Iran. With Abu Sa'id's death in 1335, the Ilkhanid period practically came to an end, leaving in its place continuous wars between several warlords from princely houses, namely the Chobanids and Jalayirids. Back west, Eretna came under the suzerainty of the Jalayirid viceroy of Anatolia, Hasan Buzurg, but had already established his supremacy in the region to a considerable degree. Hasan Buzurg left Eretna as his deputy in Anatolia when he departed east to oppose the Oirat chieftain Ali Padishah's attempt to occupy the Ilkhanid throne. Eretna was officially appointed as the governor of Anatolia by Hasan Buzurg following his victory against Ali Padishah. However, shortly after, Hasan Kuchak gained power in the Ilkhanid domains in the east in 1338. Hasan Kuchak was the son of Timurtash and had effectively become the pretender of his father's legacy. He defeated the Jalayirids near Aladağ and pillaged Erzincan.
Due to constant upheavals in the east, Eretna forged an alliance with the Mamluks, who confirmed him as the Mamluk governor of Anatolia. On the contrary, Eretna did very little to uphold Mamluk sovereignty, minting coins on behalf of the new Chobanid puppet Suleiman Khan in 1339. Thus, the Mamluks started viewing the rising Turkoman leader Zayn al-Din Qaraja of Dulkadir more favorably. In 1338–1339, Eretna lost Darende to Qaraja, who was continuing to enlarge his realm at the expanse of Eretna. Having been robbed of the wealth he had stored in the latter city, Eretna confronted the Mamluk sultan, who brought up his failure to declare Mamluk sovereignty. In return, Eretna finally minted coins for the Mamluks in 1339–1340. Despite the loss of Darende, Eretna was able to gain control of Konya from the Karamanids as well as Sivas on an unknown date.
Eretna's attempt to be on good terms with the Chobanids was hindered by Hasan Kuchak's capture of Erzurum and siege of Avnik. He still insisted on his obedience to Suleiman Khan, although by 1341, he had gained enough power to be able to issue his coins in his own name. He first declared his independence in 1341 as it was when he first used the title sultan in his coins. Though, he did not hesitate to send his ambassadors to Cairo to secure Mamluk protection and his status as a na'ib (viceroy) amidst political turmoil within the Mamluks. This elicited a new expedition by Hasan Kuchak in Eretna's lands.
Choosing to stay in Tabriz, Hasan Kuchak dispatched his army to Anatolia under Suleiman Khan's command. The battle took place in the plain of Karanbük (between Sivas and Erzincan) in September–October 1343. Eretna initially faced defeat but was able to flank Suleiman Khan and his guards. The Chobanid army disintegrated when Suleiman Khan fled the scene. Eretna's victory was unexpected for most actors in the region. This victory resulted in the Eretnid annexation of Erzincan and several cities further east, also marking the beginning of Eretna's independent reign. Hasan Kuchak's death at the hands of his wife prevented any retaliation for Eretna's earlier victory.
After the battle and Hasan Kuchak's death, Eretna assumed the title sultan, dispersed coins in his name, and formally declared sovereignty as part of the khutbah (sermon). He took the laqab (honorific nickname) Ala al-Din, which was attested in his coins and the Maghrebi traveller Ibn Battuta's Rihla. Eretna additionally expanded his borders beyond Erzurum. He faced a reduced number of threats to his rule in this period: Despite the intentions of the new Chobanid ruler Malek Ashraf (r. 1343–57) to wage a war against him, such an expedition never came to be. The political vacuum in Mamluk Egypt, following the death of Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad (1341; r. 1293–1294, 1299–1309), allowed Eretna to take Darende from the Mamluks. The Dulkadirid ruler Qaraja's focus in pillaging the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and tensions with the Mamluk emirs also made an attack from the south unlikely. Eretna further took advantage of the Karamanid ruler Ahmed's death in 1350, capturing Konya. Overall, Eretna's realm extended from Konya to Ankara and Erzurum, also incorporating Kayseri, Amasya, Tokat, Çorum, Develi, Karahisar, Zile, Canik, Ürgüp, Niğde, Aksaray, Erzincan, Şebinkarahisar, and Darende, with the capital initially situated in Sivas and later Kayseri.
Eretna benefited from the support of the significant population of Mongol tribes in Central Anatolia (referred to as Qara Tatars in sources) in asserting his rule. He thus highlighted his succession to the Mongol tradition despite his Uyghur origin. When he stopped referring to an overlord after 1341–2 and issued his own coins, he utilized the Uyghur script, which was also used for Mongolian, to underline the Mongol heritage he sought to represent. Eretna's identification with the Mongol tradition and hesitancy to enact Mamluk sovereignty is in parallel with the overall character of other local rulers, who responded to the downfall of traditional concepts of legitimacy by practicing substantially different means to justify their rule. Still, instead of the Mongols, who were numerous in the region from Kütahya to Sivas, Eretna appointed mamluks (slave-soldiers) and local Turks in administrative positions fearing the rebirth of the Mongol rule.
Eretna was a fluent Arabic-speaker according to Ibn Battuta and was considered a scholar among the scholars of his era. He was famously known as Köse Peyghamber (lit. 'the beardless prophet') by his subjects who looked upon him favorably because his rule preserved order in a region that was politically crumbling apart. He promoted and reinforced the sharia law in his domains and showed an effort to respect and sustain the ulama, sayyids, and sheikhs (Islamic dignitaries). An exception to the praise he received was al-Maqrizi's accusation that he allowed the state to later fall apart. Eretna died in February, March, or August 1352 and was buried in the kumbet (dome) located in the courtyard of Köşkmedrese in Kayseri.
Muhammad was liked by most Eretnid emirs (regional feudal lords), and upon his father's death, Eretna's vizier (chief minister), Khoja Ali Shah, secretly invited Muhammad to Kayseri to become the new sultan, although Muhammad's older brother Jafar was already residing there. Jafar was imprisoned by Muhammad for some time, but he eventually escaped to Egypt. However, Muhammad's rule did not fare well due to his debaucherous behaviour and unfair treatment of his siblings. Since he was young, authority came into the hands of his emirs. Turkoman tribes took control of the northern region of Canik near the Black Sea coast. Although the Dulkadirids to the south expanded their borders at the expense of the Eretnids, the Dulkadirid beg Zayn al-Din Qaraja would soon seek protection in Muhammad's court fleeing from the Mamluks, who were preparing to prosecute him for the rebellion he led. On 22 September 1353, Muhammad deported Qaraja to Mamluk-controlled Aleppo in exchange for a payment of 500 thousand dinars by the Mamluks, who would later transport Qaraja to Cairo for his execution. This did not affect the fate of Muhammad, as he was deposed by his emirs in 1354, and his half-brother Jafar reigned for a year (until 1355).
After losing the throne to his half-brother, Muhammad fled to Konya, which had been regained by the Karamanids, and later moved north to Sivas. The governor of Sivas, Ibn Kurd, recognized him and assisted him in the restoration of his rule. In April 1355, Muhammad faced Jafar at the Battle of Yalnızgöz. Muhammad came to terms with the vizier Ali Khoja and killed Jafar, reclaiming his rule. In 1361, as a reprisal to a raid by Tatars of the Chavdar tribe, Ottoman ruler Murad I captured Ankara Castle from the Eretnids. Muhammad allied himself with the Dulkadirids in September 1362 in a joint campaign successfully driving the Mamluks from Malatya. The Mamluk governor of Damascus, Yalbugha, and his 24 thousand-strong force marched north and raided Eretnid and Dulkadirid lands. However, this effort failed to regain Mamluk control.
According to historian Kemal Göde, Muhammad reversed into conflict with Khoja Ali Shah, whom he killed near Zamantu on 30 May 1358. This deviates from İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı's earlier work which explains that Khoja Ali Shah led an uprising against Muhammad in 1364 and marched towards Kayseri. Muhammad was defeated and had to request assistance from the Mamluk Sultan Al-Kamil Sha'ban. Upon a decree by the Mamluk Sultan, the governor of Aleppo sent his forces to aid Muhammad, with which he subdued and executed Khoja Ali Shah in 1365.
Soon after in October 1365, other emirs who wanted to preserve their autonomy, such as Hajji Shadgeldi and Hajji Ibrahim, killed Muhammad in Kayseri before he could reinforce his authority, enthroning his son Ali. Around that time, the eastern part of the realm, including Erzincan, Erzurum, and Bayburt, had come under the rule of a local figure, Ahi Ayna.
Ala al-Din Ali was crowned at 13 years old, following the murder of his father. Ali was particularly known to have solely cared for pleasure and lacked the skills to consolidate his authority. He was largely disregarded in political matters. After Muhammad's death, local emirs obtained control of much of the region with the former vizier Khoja Ali Shah's son Hajji Ibrahim in Sivas, Sheikh Najib in Tokat, and Hajji Shadgeldi Pasha in Amasya. The Karamanids invaded Niğde and Aksaray, and local Mongol tribes started disrupting the public order.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Eretnid dynasty”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.