Ahī Ayna Beg
Emir adil[lower-alpha 1]
Emir of Erzincan
Reign1348–1362
SuccessorPīr Ḥusayn
Died2–3 July 1362
ReligionIslam

Ghiyāth al-Dīn Ahī Ayna Beg (Armenian: Yaxiayna Bēk; Medieval Greek: Αχχὴς Ἀϊναπάκ; Old Anatolian Turkish: اخـی ایـنبـك; died 2–3 July 1362) was Emir of Erzincan from 1348 until his death. Thought to be a local ahī, he gained control of the region and city of Erzincan through a purchase from his predecessor sometime before 1348. He was initially loyal to Eretna, after whose death he practiced some degree of autonomy within the Eretnid Sultanate. He waged multiple wars against the Empire of Trebizond and Kingdom of Georgia. He is recorded to have died a shahīd (martyr) and was succeeded by Pīr Ḥusayn.

Background

The region around Erzincan was located to the south of Empire of Trebizond. Although not part of it, it had significant commercial links with Trebizond, being mostly inhabited by Christian Armenians but administered by a Muslim ruler.[2] It came under the rule of Ilkhanid officer Eretna at an unknown date in the first half of the 14th century. After his victory in 1343 at Karanbük (between Erzincan and Sivas) against the Chobanid army led by Suleiman Khan, Eretna declared independence as the sultan of his domains, minting his own coins and having the khuṭba delivered in his name.[3]

Rough extent of Eretna's domains

Reign

A local ahī, Ahī Ayna purchased control of Erzincan from his predecessor sometime before 1348 according to Bazm-u Razm written by Aziz bin Ardashir-i Astarabadi.[4] Ahī Ayna first appears in records as a vassal of Eretna circa 1348.[3] Michael Panaretos wrote that in June 1348, Ahī Ayna led a joint attack against the Empire of Trebizond together with Tur Alī Beg of Aq Qoyunlu Turkmens and Muḥammad Rikābdār, the emir of Bayburt. He returned to Erzincan after 3 days of campaign was inconclusive.[5]

Following Eretna's death, Ahī Ayna exercised autonomy and attempted to increase his sphere of influence.[6] An Armenian colophon of 1355 mentions that Ahī Ayna was attacked by "Khochay Yali," likely Khoja Latif of Bayburt.[7] In June 1362, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Ahī Ayna Beg went on an expedition in Georgia. He captured Akhaltsikhe, Samstskhe, and Atsquri, took 12,000 people captive, and had Manglisi pay jizya.[1] On 6 August 1361, Ahī Ayna continued his expedition in the region of Lazica, i.e. eastern territories of the Empire of Trebizond. In October of that year, he besieged but wasn't able to capture the fortresses of Golacha and Koukos.[8][lower-alpha 2]

Ahī Ayna was the suzerain of three other emirates, namely those in Erzurum, Bayburt, and Karahisar. His core territory stretched from the Erzincan Plain southwards to Upper Euphrates Valley near Çaltı. Kemah was under the administration of a governor instead of a vassal emir like Ahī Ayna.[9] Although Ahī Ayna acted semi-independently during the reign of Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad I of the Eretnid Sultanate, an Eretnid coin minted in Erzincan from the year 1359 indicates that Ahī Ayna's subordinate position continued and he never declared independence.[10]

Ahī Ayna died on 2–3 July 1362 reportedly as a shahīd (martyr), suggesting a violent death.[11] Pīr Ḥusayn, who was originally the ruler of Karahisar, arrived in Erzincan on 8 June 1362 and succeeded Ahī Ayna Beg. He "gained independence" on 10 July, having clashed with emirs who fled to Bayburt and Tercan. In Abū Bakr Quṭbī's Ta'rīkh-i taqwīm, he is mentioned as an emīr-zāda (lit. 'son of an emir') following the statement about Ahī Ayna's demise, hinting at the possibility he was Ahī Ayna's son.[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Abū Bakr Quṭbī's Ta'rīkh-i taqwīm.[1]
  2. ↑ Panaretos reported on the siege of Golacha and that it took 16 days. Some "siege machines" were used. Abū Bakr Quṭbī mentions the siege of Koukos in his work Ta'rīkh-i taqwīm.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Yücel 1971, p. 669.
  2. ↑ Bryer 1975, p. 125.
  3. 1 2 Yücel 1971, p. 666.
  4. ↑ Shukurov 1994, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Yücel 1971, p. 667.
  6. ↑ Yücel 1971, p. 668; Sinclair 1989, p. 439.
  7. ↑ Shukurov 1994, p. 32–33.
  8. 1 2 Shukurov 1994, p. 33.
  9. ↑ Sinclair 1989, p. 439.
  10. ↑ Yücel 1971, p. 668–669; Sinclair 1989, p. 439.
  11. ↑ Shukurov 1994, p. 35–36.
  12. ↑ Shukurov 1994, p. 36.

Bibliography

  • Bryer, Anthony (1975). "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 29: 113–148. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  • Shukurov, Rustam (June 1994). "Between Peace and Hostility: Trebizond and the Pontic Turkish Periphery in the Fourteenth Century". Mediterranean Historical Review. Routledge. 9 (1): 20–72. doi:10.1080/09518969408569663.
  • Sinclair, T. A. (31 December 1989). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey. Vol. II. Pindar Press. ISBN 978-0-907132-33-2.
  • Yücel, Yaşar (October 1971). "Mutahharten ve Erzincan Emirliği" [Mutahharten and the Emirate of Erzincan]. Belleten (in Turkish). 35 (140): 665–719. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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