Karasi Bey
Karasi Bey, also known as Karasi Khan or Carases, was the eponymous Bey of the Karasids in northwestern Anatolia from the early 14th century to his death. Karasi and his father Kalam are thought to have seized the frontier of the Byzantine Empire near the ancient Mysia, excluding coastal regions, at an uncertain date. Karasi is absent from the chronicles of contemporary authors other than Gregoras. Later Ottoman sources described him as a of Sultanate of Rum, during the first reign of Mesud II. Karasi likely died before 1328, when his son Demir Khan is known to have signed an agreement with the Byzantine Empire.
Background
The father of Karasi was Kalam. The epitaphs of members of a certain Karasi family in Tokat dated 1415, Kutlu Melek and his son Mustafa Chelebi, tie their ancestry to the Danishmendids, a dynasty who ruled over northeastern Anatolia during the 11–12th centuries. Modern historians such as İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı relayed the connection between the Danishmendids and the Karasids in their works. Claude Cahen held that the homonymy between the central Anatolian family and the dynasty in northwestern Anatolia may not be sufficient evidence for a connection. Clifford Edmund Bosworth described the theory connecting the dynasty to the Danishmendids as "almost certainly legendary". Elizabeth Zachariadou explained that while "Malik Danishmend" is a mythical remote ancestor, the rest of the names mentioned in the epitaphs are echoed in contemporary sources, with Baghdi Bey or Yaghdi Bey being the father of Kalam Shah. Based on a mention of "Pagdinis" by medieval writer George Pachymeres, Zachariadou stated the reading of "Yaghdi Bey" should be ignored.The names of Karasi and Kalam might have been connected to two towns near Germa, Kalamos and Akarasos. Zachariadou highlighted Karasi is not a Turkish name and may have been taken from the name of the town he controlled, which was precedented in other Turkish emirates. Karasi was connected to the name "Kara Isa" by some authors, though it was rejected by Uzunçarşılı. The name Kalam might have been Turkish as it was precedented in Byzantine sources as the name of a , who was a Christianized Turk.
Reign
Later Ottoman sources referred to Karasi as a during the first reign of Mesud II, the Sultan of Rum. Kalam and Karasi Bey are thought to have taken over the region around Balıkesir during Mesud's reign and claimed independence at an unknown date. Fifteenth century Byzantine Greek historian Doukas wrote that they appeared in the region during the rule of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II. It corresponded to the ancient region of Mysia, excluding the towns of Artaki, Pegae, Adramytion, Pergamon, and Dardanellia. However, Cahen proposes that the state appeared much later as medieval writers Ramon Muntaner and George Pachymeres do not mention the Karasids. Cahen disputes historian Mordtmann's connection of the mentioned by Pachymeres and the Calames of Nicephorus Gregoras.Following the Byzantine campaign in western Anatolia allied with Catalan Company and Alans between 1302 and 1308, Karasi expanded into Lesser Mysia and reached south bordering the Sarukhanids. In 1311, Karasi is also known to have laid support to the Sari Saltuk tribe led by Ece Halil who clashed with the Byzantine Empire in Thrace. Karasi Bey accepted troops who survived the struggle to take refuge in his realm. Pachymeres reported that the Catalan mercenaries defeated the "Turks" in Germe, east of Pergamos, which Zachariadou suggests were the Karasids. Karasi is thought to have died before 1328, when his son and successor Demir Khan made an agreement with the Byzantines. Some researchers set Karasi's death year as 1334 or 1336 based on later Ottoman sources, which attested to the death of a Karasid ruler, Ajlan. Although Cahen proposed Ajlan as the nickname of Karasi, these sources referred to Ajlan as the son of Karasi, whereas Karasi's son Yakhshi is also known as Ajlan.
There is a türbe dedicated to Karasi in the Mustafa Fakih neighborhood of the town of Balıkesir, in proximity to the Pasha Mosque. The tomb houses five additional graves, along with Karasi's, reputed to be of his sons. Karasi's sarcophagus is ornamented with inscriptions in the Kufic script.