Mehmet I of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey), also known as Şemseddin Mehmet, was the second bey of

Karaman Beylik The Karamanids ( tr, Karamanoğulları or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğulları Beyliği), was one of the Anatolian beyliks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Pr ...

, a Turkish principality in

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 re ...

in the 13th century. His father was

Karaman Bey Karaman, historically known as Laranda ( Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. Accordi ...

Life

After the death of his father around 1261, Mehmet collaborated with the governor of

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

to start a rebellion against the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

who were the

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

of Seljuk lands. However, after the governor of Niğde was killed by the Mongols, Mehmet lost his capital

Ermenek Ermenek is a town and district of Karaman Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. As ancient Germanicopolis (in Isauria; has namesakes), a former bishopric, it remains a Latin Catholic titular see. The district forms the core of the plate ...

. Nevertheless, Mehmet continued fighting, and in 1276 he defeated the combined forces of Mongols and Seljuks in a surprise attack in the

Göksu River The Göksu ( Turkish for "sky water" also called ''Geuk Su'', ''Goksu Nehri''; la, Saleph, grc, Καλύκαδνος, translit=Calycadnus) is a river on the Taşeli plateau ( Turkey). Both its sources arise in the Taurus Mountains—the norther ...

valley. Next year he allied himself with

Baybars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...

Mamluks Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

. In May he captured

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

, the Seljuk capital. But instead of declaring himself as the sultan he supported his puppet

Jimri {{More citations needed, date=October 2010 Jimri ( tr, Cimri) was a pretender to the Sultanate of Rum, promoted by the Turkmen in the chaos after Baibars’ invasion of Mongol-dominated Anatolia in 1277. He was executed the following year. The prete ...

as sultan, and in turn Jimri appointed him as

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

of the Seljuks on 12 May 1277.Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University page
/ref> As vizier Mehmet issued his famous

firman A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman co ...

(decree) ordering the

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

to be used instead of Persian and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

in government offices. But his service term in Konya lasted only about a month. Hearing news of the approaching Mongol army, both Mehmet and Jimri fled from Konya. But the Mongols chased him, and during a clash in

Mut Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian l ...

Mehmet and his two sons were executed in August 1277. He was succeeded by his brother Güneri.

Firman

Mehmet is known as a devotee of the

. During his brief term as a vizier, he issued a

dated 13 May 1277: , :''Şimden girü hiç kimesne kapuda ve divanda ve mecalis ve seyranda Türki dilinden gayri dil söylemeye.''Culture and Tourism Ministry Karaman page
, :''From now on nobody in the palace, in the divan, council and on walks speak no language other than Turkish.''

Legacy

The university of

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda ( Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. Accordin ...

city is named after him.(see

Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University ( tr, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Üniversitesi) is a public university in Karaman. History Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University (KMU) is one of new seventeen universities which were established in 2007 by the Turkish ...

)

References

{{Authority control Karamanids 1277 deaths Year of birth unknown Turkic rulers 13th-century monarchs in the Middle East Ethnic Afshar people

Life

Firman

Legacy

See also

References