Shah Suwar
Shah Suwar was the ruler of Dulkadir from April 1466 to 4 June 1472. Upon the assassination of his brother, Malik Arslan, he competed for the throne against his other brother Shah Budak, who took over with the support of the Mamluk Sultanate. Shah Suwar was welcomed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who appointed him to a number of positions in his realm. Six months into Shah Budak's reign, Shah Suwar defeated him and instead became the new ruler in April 1466. The Mamluks fiercely disputed Shah Suwar's reign. The Sultans Khushqadam and Qaitbay launched multiple consecutive campaigns to subdue him. Shah Suwar initially triumphed over the Mamluks and expanded his territory, occupying the entirety of the Ramadanid realm.
Shah Suwar started loosening his ties with the Ottomans, who disapproved of the constant warfare between him and the Mamluks. In 1468, he declared himself a sovereign ruler and circulated coins in his name. Three years later, the Mamluk Sultan negotiated with the Ottomans for them to cut ties and halt their support for Shah Suwar. Qaitbay seeded mistrust among Turkmen lords loyal to Shah Suwar and sought their support for the Mamluks. Shah Suwar gradually lost many of his supporters as well as the lands he had conquered to the Mamluk forces. In April 1472, Shah Suwar retreated to his residence at the Zamantu Castle. After a lengthy siege, he surrendered to the Mamluks on 4 June 1472. He and many of his brothers were brought to Cairo on 24 August 1472, where he was executed. Shah Budak replaced him as the new ruler.
Background
The Beylik of Dulkadir was founded by Zayn al-Din Qaraja, a Turkmen lord, as a client state of the Mamluk Sultanate, in southern Anatolia and northern Syria. Qaraja eventually rebelled against the Mamluks and was executed in 1353. The conflict between the Dulkadirids and the Mamluks persisted with the consecutive rule of his sons Ghars al-Din Khalil and Shaban Suli, who were both assassinated on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq. With the reigns of Shah Suwar's grandfather, Mehmed, and father, Suleiman, the Dulkadirids attempted to forge amicable relations both with the Ottoman state and the Mamluk Sultanate by marrying into the royal family. During the rule of Suleiman's son, Malik Arslan, the Dulkadirids were involved in the succession wars within the Karamanids as well as a struggle against Uzun Hasan. Malik Arslan was assassinated in October 1465 on the orders of Sayf al-Din Khushqadam, who was discontent over Malik Arslan's hesitation to support Mamluk interests in the internal struggles of the Karamanids.Rise to power
The assassination of Shah Suwar's brother, Malik Arslan, ignited a conflict over the throne between Shah Suwar and his other brother, Shah Budak. Shah Budak claimed the rule through Mamluk support but faced opposition from Dulkadirid dignitaries. Shah Suwar had taken refuge under the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II who appointed him as the sanjak-bey of Chirmen, located in Thrace. On 4 December 1465, four days after Mamluk confirmation of Shah Budak's rule, Shah Suwar was made the wali of Bozok and Artukabad through a that noted those lands as formerly belonging to his father, Suleiman. Shah Suwar was officially granted authority over the Dulkadir and Bozok nomads, who had scattered over the region near Bozok and Tokat disgruntled by Shah Budak's reign or for other reasons. Shah Budak requested Mamluk aid, and the Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam sent Berdi Beg, the governor of Aleppo, to assist him. Shah Suwar defeated Shah Budak near the Zamantu Castle before the Mamluk forces could come to Shah Budak's aid, prompting Berdi Beg to return to Aleppo in April 1466.War with Khushqadam
Shortly after Shah Suwar's rise to power, the Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam supported Shah Suwar's uncle Rustam Beg and assigned Yashbak al-Bajasi, the governor of Aleppo, to help Rustam gain the throne. Shah Suwar informed Mehmed II of this threat through his congratulatory embassy for Mehmed's annexation of Albania. In response, Mehmed II requested Shah Suwar to deliver the appeal he wrote to the Mamluk sultan. In that appeal dated back to November 1466, Mehmed II emphasized the affinity he felt towards Egypt and that Shah Suwar was the legitimate ruler of his realm. It is unknown whether this letter reached Cairo or had any significant impact on their relations as Khushqadam's endorsement of Rustam Beg continued.First Mamluk campaign
Rustam Beg eventually abandoned the conflict, which emboldened Shah Suwar to expand his territory. Shah Suwar captured Birecik, Besni, Gerger, and Rumkale from the Mamluks. An Armenian colophon from 1467 mentioned that Shah Suwar "committed much destruction in his land; he slew many who were called Apaneri; and he committed many atrocities." The colophon further relayed that after taking Vahka, Shah Suwar raised the city and citadel of Sis on fire on 2 June and departed south, where he captured the cities of Adana, Tarsus, Ayas as well as other towns.Khushqadam urgently ordered the Mamluk governors of Syria to topple Shah Suwar and restore Shah Budak's rule. Shah Suwar was preparing for a battle in Çukurova and informed the Ottomans. Mehmed II's grand vizier Mahmud Pasha advised Shah Suwar to diplomatically settle the dispute but also relayed Ottoman support for Shah Suwar. An army under the command of the governor of Damascus, Berdi Beg, and guided by Shah Budak marched north to subdue Shah Suwar. A Mamluk-backed Turkmen lord Eslemezoghlu attacked the Dulkadirid forces in order to weaken them until the Mamluk army's arrival but soon sought safety under Pir Ahmed of Karaman. The Mamluk army entered the Dulkadirid realm in September 1467. Waiting for the right moment to flank, Shah Suwar allowed the Mamluks to reach Turnadağ, near Göksun. There, on 4 October 1467, Shah Suwar led an unexpected attack, capturing Berdi Beg and killing several Mamluk commanders, such as Kanibeg Hasan, the governor of Tripoli, as well as Qaraja al-Zahiri and Almas al-Ashrafi, the atabegs of Aleppo and Damascus, respectively. Although Berdi Beg later escaped, he was imprisoned in Jerusalem by the Mamluks, who claimed him responsible for the defeat.
Second Mamluk campaign
The Mamluks prepared for another campaign against Shah Suwar. They dispatched a new army from Cairo under Janibeg Kulaksiz in February 1468. All of the Syrian Mamluk governors and their forces joined this army near Aleppo. In May, they reached Aintab, which was under Dulkadirid control. Shah Suwar waited for several days. He ambushed a reconnaissance force of the Mamluks and approached Aintab, successfully provoking the Mamluk army to pursue him. On 30 May 1468, he defeated the Mamluk army near a forested area, capturing Kulaksiz and killing many of the Mamluk emirs, while Uzbek, the governor of Damascus, escaped the massacre through the Ramadanid ruler Hasan Beg's assistance.Shah Suwar grew braver with this victory. While a portion of his army ransacked the Kurdish-populated areas toward Aleppo, another group started occupying the cities and fortresses controlled by the Ramadanids in the west. Taking advantage of the Ottoman campaign against the rival Karamanids, Shah Suwar took Vahka and trusted his brother Yunus Beg with its control. Shah Suwar besieged Sis and installed his supporter Umar Beg as the new Ramadanid ruler.
War with Qaitbay
By 1468, many Turkmen lords started shifting their allegiance. While Shah Suwar's former rival Rustam Beg entered the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan service, nobles under Aq Qoyunlu sided with the Dulkadirids and the Ottomans. Furthermore, the Mamluk governors of Aleppo and Damascus communicated their respect for Mehmed II to Shah Suwar. When he informed Mehmed II of this news and his attacks on Aleppo and Darende, Mehmed II noted his appreciation for Shah Suwar's service to the Ottomans but expressed his discontent with the outright conflict between Shah Suwar and the Mamluks. The Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay consulted the Caliph Al-Mustanjid and four women to finance a campaign against Shah Suwar at a time of economic distress. Despite his council's disapproval, Qaitbay confiscated the properties of the mosques and monasteries to raise money for the campaign. Meanwhile, Shah Suwar was trying to ransom the Mamluk commanders he had captured.These economic gains boosted Shah Suwar's ambition to become an independent sultan. In a meeting with Turkmen notables, he claimed that he was a sultan equal to his Ottoman counterpart and declared a revolt against Mehmed II. He had the read in his name, issued his own coins, and took the title, inviting the people of Syria to come under his rule. In his letters from September 1468, he assured that he would protect the traders in the region and their properties. He started raiding the city around this time. Qaitbay sent a preliminary force of 500 troops to Aleppo to make up for the insufficient garrison in the city. In November 1468, after a long-lasting siege, Darende fell to Shah Suwar, who drove its Mamluk governor, Balabanoghlu, away. Shah Suwar then sought peace with the Mamluks, but Qaitbay rejected his embassy in Cairo.
Third Mamluk campaign
By that time, the arrangements for a new campaign were complete. Another army under Uzbek and Shah Budak departed Cairo and merged with other forces near Aleppo in February 1469. The Dulkadirid forces confronted the Mamluks on the left bank of the Ceyhan River to the southwest of Marash in April 1469. The Dulkadirid forces were crushed, and Shah Suwar's brother Mughulbay was killed in battle. Shah Suwar fled to Kars through the mountains, with his forces stationed on the paths to the town. In June 1469, when the Mamluk army was preparing to return to Egypt due to a shortage of subsistence, the Dulkadirids struck back. Apart from a significant amount of casualties, the Mamluk commander Uzbek was able to return to Egypt.As soon as the Mamluk forces retreated, Shah Suwar's brother Yahya besieged Malatya. The city's Mamluk governor, Korkmaz, hid his forces until the Ramadanid aid arrived. In August 1469, they broke the siege by killing 500 Dulkadirid troops as well as capturing Yahya and several other relatives of Shah Suwar and sending them to Aleppo. The Ramadanids took advantage of this victory by restoring their control over Sis in October 1469. The next month, Shah Suwar released Janibeg Kulaksiz to appease Qaitbay. In January 1470, Shah Suwar's embassy arrived in Cairo with his conditions for peace, which included the recognition of his sovereignty and the placement of Dulkadirid garrison in Aleppo in exchange for Aintab's transfer to Mamluk rule. The negotiations were fruitless, and in March 1470, the Dulkadirid prisoners were transported to Cairo, where they would be presented to Qaitbay as a sign of Mamluk victory and were later kept in the city's castle. Shah Suwar responded to the Mamluk rejection of his terms by retaking Ayas and then Tarsus, Adana, and Sis in June 1470. Having almost wholly seized the Ramadanid realm, Shah Suwar directed his attacks towards Aleppo, which prompted Qaitbay to reinforce the city's garrison.