Anatolian beyliks

Anatolian beyliks (Turkish: Anadolu beylikleri, Ottoman Turkish: Tavâif-i mülûk, Beylik Turkish pronunciation: [bejlic]) were small principalities (or petty kingdoms) in Anatolia governed by beys, the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A second more extensive period of foundations took place as a result of the decline of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm in the second half of the 13th century.

A map of independent Turkic beyliks in Anatolia during the 14th century

One of the beyliks, that of the Osmanoğlu from the Kayi tribe of the Oghuz Turks, from its capital in Bursa completed its conquest of other beyliks by the late 15th century, becoming the Ottoman Empire.

The word "beylik" denotes a territory under the jurisdiction of a bey, equivalent in other European societies to a lord.[1]



Seljuq power deteriorated with the Mongol invasions from the east. The Ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia then gained strength and authority and this encouraged the beys to declare sovereignty. With the fall of Seljuq centralized power in Konya, many beys joined forces with the atabegs (former Seljuq leaders) and other religious Muslim leaders and warriors from Persia and Turkistan which were fleeing the Mongols that were invading the Byzantine empire. To maintain control of their new territory, these reestablished beys employed Ghazi warriors from Persia and Turkestan, who also fled the Mongols. The ghazis fought under the inspiration of either a mullah or a general, trying to assert Islamic power, their assaults of the reestablished beys upon the Byzantine Empire reaching even further expanded the power sphere of the beyliks.

As the Byzantine empire weakened, their cities in Asia Minor could resist the assaults of the beyliks less and less, and many Turks gradually settled in the western parts of Anatolia.[2] As a result, many more beyliks were founded in these newly conquered western regions who entered into power struggles with the Byzantines, the Genoese, the Knights Templar as well as between each other.

By 1300, 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 Dynasty who were later to found the Ottoman Empire was situated to the northwest, around Söğüt, and was a small and at that stage, insignificant power. Along the Aegean coast, from north to south, stretched Karasids, Sarukhanids, Aydinids, Menteşe and Teke principalities. The Jandarids (later called Isfendiyarids) controlled the Black Sea region around Kastamonu and Sinop.[3]


But the Ottoman state quickly collected itself under Mehmed I and his son Murad II, who re-incorporated most of these beyliks into Ottoman territory in a period of about 25 years. The final blow for the Karamanids 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 Ramadanids and Dulkadirids in 1515 during his campaign against the Mamluks, and his son Süleyman the Magnificent who more or less completely united the present territories of Turkey (and much more) in his 1534 campaign. Many of the former Anatolian beyliks became the basis for administrative subdivisions in the Ottoman Empire.

List of beyliksEdit

Beyliks founded after Manzikert (1071)Edit


Founded after the Battle of Manzikert
Beylik's name Capital city Duration of rule
Beylik of Smyrna İzmir 1081–1098
Shah-Armens (also called Ahlatshahs) Ahlat 1110–1207
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

Beyliks founded after Köse Dağ (1243)Edit


Founded after the Battle of Köse Dağ
Beylik's name Capital city Duration of rule
Afshar Erzurum 1480-1534
Ahiler [4] Ankara c. 1290-1362
Alaiye Alanya 1293-1471 as vassals to Karamanids
Aydinids Birgi, later Ayasluğ (Selçuk) 1300–1425
Canik Samsun- Amasya and the vicinity ?-1460
Jandarids (later called Isfendiyarids) Eflani, later Kastamonu, last Sinop 1291–1461
Chobanids Kastamonu (preceding the Jandarids) 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 (replacing the Eretnids) 1381–1398
Karamanids Larende (Karaman) 1250-1487
Karasids/Karası Balıkesir, later Bergama and Çanakkale 1296–1357
Ladik (also called İnançoğlu, dependent to Sahib Ataids and Germiyanids) Denizli 1262–1391
Menteşe Milas 1261–1424
Pervâneoğlu Sinop 1277-1322
Sahib Ataids Afyonkarahisar 1275–1341
Sarukhanids Manisa 1300–1410
Teke (issued from the Hamidids) Antalya, later Korkuteli 1321–1423



Combined with the Seljuqs and the immigration of Turkic tribes into the Anatolian mainland, the Anatolian Beyliks spread Turkic language and Islamic culture in Anatolia.[5] Unlike the Seljuqs, whose language of administration was Persian, the Anatolian beyliks adopted spoken Turkic as their formal literary language.[5] The Turkish language achieved widespread use in these principalities and reached its highest sophistication during the Ottoman era.[5]


İsa Bey Mosque in Selçuk near İzmir, built by the Beylik of Aydınids in 1375.




See alsoEdit


  1. ^ (limited preview) Mohamed Hedi Cherif - Daniel Panzac (1995). Histoire économique et sociale de l'Empire ottoman et de la Turquie (1326-1960) (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 90-6831-799-7.
  2. ^ A process described in the pioneering work, Speros Vryonis, The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor: and the process of Islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century, (Berkeley: University of California, 1971) ISBN 978-1597404761
  3. ^ (limited preview) Kate Fleet (1999). European and Islamic Trade in the Early Ottoman State: The Merchants of Genoa and Turkey. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64221-3.
  4. ^ The Ahiler Beylik is sometimes considered one of the Anatolian Beyliks but was a mercantile republic rather than a monarchical dynasty. See Ahiler for more information.
  5. ^ a b c Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters, page 40


External linksEdit