Anatolian beyliks
Anatolian beyliks were Turkish principalities in Anatolia governed by beys, the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A second and more extensive period of establishment took place as a result of the decline of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm in the latter half of the 13th century.
One of the beyliks, that of the Osmanoğlu of the Kayı branch of Oghuz Turks, from its capital in Bursa completed its incorporation of the other beyliks to form the Ottoman Empire by the late 15th century.
The word beylik denotes a territory under the jurisdiction of a bey, equivalent to a duchy or principality in other parts of Europe.
History
Following the 1071 Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert and the subsequent conquest of Anatolia, Oghuz Turkic clans began settling in present-day Turkey. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum's central power established in Konya was largely a result of using these clans under appointed beys called uç bey or uj begi ; uç is a Turkish term that denotes a border or frontier territory equivalent to marches, with the similar term margrave used in other parts of Europe. These clans, led by beys, would receive military and financial support from the Seljuks in return for their fealty.However, Mongol invasions from the East saw a decline in Seljuk power. The Ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia then gained strength and authority which encouraged the beys, who had until then been vassals to the Sultanate of Rum, to declare sovereignty over their dominions. With the fall of Seljuk centralized power in Konya, many beys joined forces with the atabegs, and other religious Muslim leaders, in addition to employing Ghazi warriors from Persia and Turkestan.
As the Byzantine Empire weakened, their cities in Asia Minor became gradually less and less able to resist these attacks, and many Turks began to settle in western parts of Anatolia. As a result, many more beyliks were founded in these newly conquered realms, who engaged in power struggles with the Byzantines, the Genoese, the Knights Templar, as well as between each other.
By 1300, the Turks had reached the Aegean coastline, held momentarily two centuries before. In the beginning, the most powerful states were the Karamanids and the Germiyanids in the central area. The Beylik of Osmanoğlu, who would later go on to become the Ottoman Empire, was situated in the northwest, around Söğüt, and was at that stage relatively small and possessed modest military power. Along the Aegean coast, from North to South, were the principalities of Karasi, Saruhan, Aydin, Menteşe, and Teke. The Candar dynasty reigned in the Black Sea region around the provinces of Kastamonu and Sinop in what was the Beylik of Candar.
Under its eponymous founder, Osman I, the Beylik of Osman expanded at Byzantine expense westwards and southwards of the Sea of Marmara in the first decades of the 14th century. With their annexation of the neighboring Beylik of Karasi and their advance into Rumelia starting in 1354, they soon gained strength to emerge as the principal rivals of the Beylik of Karaman, who at the time were thought to be the strongest. Towards the end of the 14th century, the Ottomans advanced further into Anatolia either through the acquisition of towns or by cementing marriage alliances. Meanwhile, wary of an increase in Ottoman regional power, the Karamanids repeatedly engaged in conflict with the Ottomans with the help of other beyliks, Mamluks, Aq Qoyunlu, 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 Karamanids 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, who reincorporated most of these beyliks into Ottoman territory in a period of about 25 years. The final blow to the Beylik of Karaman 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 territories of the Beylik of Ramadan and the Beylik of Dulkadir in 1515 during his campaign against the Mamluk Sultanate, and his son Süleyman the Magnificent who more or less completely united the present territories of Turkey in his 1534 campaign. Many of the former Anatolian beyliks subsequently became the basis for the administrative subdivisions in the Ottoman Empire.
List of beyliks
Beyliks founded after Manzikert (1071)
In the list below, only the beyliks that were founded immediately after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, mostly situated towards eastern Anatolia, and who were vassals of the centralized power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum based in Konya are listed.| Beylik's name | Capital city | Duration of rule |
| Beylik of Smyrna | İzmir | 1081–1098 |
| Shah-Armens | Ahlat | 1110–1207 |
| Artuqids | Hasankeyf, Mardin, Harput | 1102–1409 |
| Danishmend | Sivas | 1071–1178 |
| Dilmaçoğlu | Bitlis | 1085–1398 |
| İnaloğlu | Diyarbekir | 1095–1183 |
| Mengujekids | Erzincan, later Divriği | 1072–1277 |
| Saltukids | Erzurum | 1072–1202 |
| Çubukoğulları | Harput | 1085–1112 |
| Beylik of Tanrıbermiş | Alaşehir | 1071–1098 |
Beyliks founded after Köse Dağ (1243)
A second group beyliks emerged as a result of the weakening of this central state under the Mongol blow with the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, which had the indirect consequence of extending Turkic territory in Western Anatolia toward the end of the 13th century.| Beylik's name | Capital city | Duration of rule |
| Ahiler | Ankara | c. 1290–1362 |
| Alaiye | Alanya | 1293–1471 as vassals to Karamanids |
| Aydinids | Birgi, later Ayasluğ | 1300–1425 |
| Canik | Samsun, Amasya and the vicinity | ?–1460 |
| Candar | Eflani, later Kastamonu, last Sinop | 1291–1461 |
| Chobanids | Kastamonu | 1211–1309 |
| Dulkadirids | Elbistan, later Maraş | 1348–1522 |
| Eretnids | Sivas, later Kayseri | 1335–1390 |
| Erzincan | Erzincan | 1379–1410 |
| Eshrefids | Beyşehir | 1285–1326 |
| Germiyanids | Kütahya | 1300–1429 |
| Hamidids | Eğirdir | 1300–1391 |
| Kadi Burhan al-Din | Sivas | 1381–1398 |
| Karamanids | Larende | 1250–1487 |
| Karasids/Karası | Balıkesir, later Bergama and Çanakkale | 1296–1357 |
| Ladik | Denizli | 1262–1391 |
| Menteşe | Milas | 1261–1424 |
| Ottomanids | Söğüt, later Bursa, Dimetoka, Edirne and Istanbul | 1299–1922 |
| Pervâneid | Sinop | 1277–1322 |
| Ramadanids | Adana | 1352–1608 |
| Sahib Ataids | Afyonkarahisar | 1275–1341 |
| Sarukhanids | Manisa | 1300–1410 |
| Teke | Antalya, later Korkuteli | 1321–1423 |