Anadolu Selçuklu Uç Beyliğinden Müstakil Beyliğe Geçiş Sürecinde Batı Anadolu'da Siyasi Oluşumlar ve Meşruiyet Arayışları (1261-1350)

Abstract

The subject of this study is the changes experienced by the Turkmen beyliks on the Byzantine border of the Anatolian Seljuk State between 1261-1350 in the direction of state organization and their search for legitimacy in the political arena. The end beyliks are located in two rows around the line descending from Kastamonu to Antalya province. In the first row, from north to south, the Çobanoğulları, Osmanoğulları, Germiyan, Hamid and Eşrefoğulları; in the second row, the maritime beyliks: Karesi, Saruhan, Aydın and Menteşeoğulları. Ostensibly vassals of the Seljuks, these beyliks enjoyed a great deal of freedom of movement due to their location on the fringes, far from the control of the central government. The beys took advantage of the collapse of the Byzantine border defense line in 1261 and launched a westward conquest movement. The fact that the territories they conquered belonged to them due to the right of conquest strengthened the Turkmen's "sense of belonging" to the lands they lived in. This sense of belonging played a major role in the beyliks' resistance against the increasing Ilkhanid pressure in Anatolia after 1256. Turkmen beys and tribes were at the forefront of the uprisings against the Seljuk-Ilkhanid rule, and the gains they achieved at the end of each rebellion brought the beyliks one step closer to full independence. The beyliks, which had made a name for themselves through their struggles, emerged independently as the Seljuk-Ilkhanid authority gradually disappeared from Anatolia. On the other hand, the Turkish tribal principles that gave the beys "hereditary ownership" (inheritance from father to son) of their positions and "full sovereignty" over the lands they held in their hands needed to be supported with new arguments, because the sense of political of the period demanded it. At this stage, the aim of this thesis is to trace the actions taken by the beyliks of Western Anatolia in order to be accepted both internally and externally. The starting point of the study is the impact and contribution of faith-based instruments such as the approval of the caliphate, jihad/ghazā and close relations with religious communities, which come from the Islamic political tradition, whose impact on time and geography is undeniable, on the Western Anatolian beyliks seeking legitimacy for their existence. In addition, it underlines how all the socio-cultural activities of the beys, who assumed the identity of a Muslim-Turkish ruler, gained importance as complementary elements in the acquisition of legitimacy and the construction of the sultanate.