Beylik of Erzincan was a principality ( tr, beylik) in East

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.

Background

After the

battle of Kösedağ A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1243, Ilkhanid Mongols became the de facto rulers of Anatolia. However, after Ilkhanids disintegrated in the fourteenth century, former generals and bureaucrats of Ilkhanids as well as tribes under Ilkhanid yoke declared independence. The beylik of Erzincan was one of them.

Emergence of the beylik

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...

was an east frontier town of the beylik of Eretna. Pir Hüseyin, the governor of the city died in 1379 and a certain Mutaharten (also known as Trata or Tahirten) replaced him. His origin is obscure. But probably he was of Uyghur origin and a relative of the bey of Eretnids. (Uyghurs served as bureaucrats in Mongol states.) After the interregnum in Eretnids in 1380, he declared independence.Prof.Yaşar Yücel-Prof Ali Sevim:''Türkiye tarihi I'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, 1991, pp 260-310 However, after Kadi Burhanettin declared himself as the ruler of the former Eretnid territory in 1381, Mutaherten saw himself in a difficult situation; for all of his neighbours, namely dominions of Burhanettin, Empire of Trebizond,

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

, Sultanate of Akkoyunlu (White sheep Turkmens) etc. were more powerful than his small principality. So he adopted a policy of intrigue to protect the independency.

Mutaherten's last years

Burhanettin died in 1398. But Ottoman sultan Beyazit I annexed the former Eretnid territory to his realm and began threatening the beylik of Eretna.

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

’s invasion of Anatolia at the beginning of the fifteenth century was a brief period of relief for Mutaherten who readily accepted the suzerainty of Timur. But shortly after the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...

in 1402, victorious Timur left Anatolia. The next year Mutaherten died.

Last years of the beylik

After his death the beylik ceased to play any role in the affairs of Anatolia. According to

Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo Ruy may refer to: Arts and Entertainment * Ruy, the Little Cid, Spanish animated television series * Ruy Blas, a character in the eponymous tragic drama by Victor Hugo People *another form of Rui, a Portuguese male given name *another form of the ...

, a Spanish envoy to Timur, Mutaherten's nephew Ali tried to succeed him. But Mutaherten's son (whose name is not known) was able to ascend to throne. In 1410, Şeyh Hasan, Mutaherten's grandson was the ruler of the city. But Kara Yusuf, the sultan of

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...

, captured Erzincan and put an end to the beylik.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey Anatolian beyliks States in medieval Anatolia States and territories established in 1279 History of Erzincan Province