Suleimān I
As-Sultānu'l-a'zam
Bey of Jandar
Reign1309–1341
PredecessorYaman
SuccessorIbrahim
Died1341
Issue
  • Ibrahim
  • Ali
  • Choban
DynastyJandar
FatherYaman
ReligionIslam

Shujāʿ al-Dīn Suleimān I Pasha (Medieval Greek: Σολυμάμπαξι; died 1341) was Bey of Jandar from 1309 until his death. On 16 July 1309, Suleimān took Kastamonu and reigned under the suzerainty of the Ilkhanate until the last Ilkhān Abū Saʿīd died in 1335. During his last several years, he issued his own coins and declared independence. He maintained stable relations with his neighbors but still continued to raid the Byzantine Empire in spite of an offer of peace. He intended to hand over the rule to his youngest son Choban, which resulted in a successful revolt by his oldest son Ibrahim, who instead became his successor.

Background

During Sultan of Rum Mesud II's first reign (1283–1298), his brother Kilij Arslan arrived in Sinop from Crimea and declared himself the ruler and appointed the governor of Kastamonu, Yavlak Arslan, as his atabeg. Mesud marched on his brother with Mongol support but was defeated and caught. Suleimān's father, Yaman, from the Turkmen Jandar family,[1] rescued Mesud in a clash that killed Yavlak Arslan. He was granted the control of Kastamonu by Ilkhān Gaykhatu.[2]

Anatolia, c. 1300

Reign

Upon the death of Suleimān's father, Kastamonu came into the hands of its former ruler, Mahmud, which forced Suleimān to retreat to Eflani.[3] On 16 July 1309, Suleimān led an unexpected attack on Kastamonu, killing Mahmud and claiming the city as his capital. Suleimān reigned under the suzerainty of the Ilkhanate until its last head's demise, Ilkhān Abū Saʿīd, in 1335. When the Ilkhanid influence in the region first started to wane, Suleimān pledged allegiance to the governor and vizier Chupan, which allowed him to expand the boundaries of his realm. Suleimān vassalized Mu'in al-Din Parwana's son Ghazi Chelebi of Sinop, after whose death in 1322 he assumed direct control of the city and trusted his elder son Ibrahim with its administration.[4] Sinop's annexation opened up trade with the Republic of Genoa.[5] Suleimān additionally seized Safranbolu and granted its rule to his son Ali. From 1335 to his death, Suleimān minted coins in his name instead of the Ilkhanate,[4] assuming the title as-Sultānu'l-a'zam and declaring independence.[6] He maintained stable relations with his neighbors such as the Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Sultanate, and the Beylik of Tadjeddin as he did not attempt to expand in the direction of south and west. However, he persisted in raiding and besieging Byzantine territory despite a peace offer.[5]

Suleimān had a close relationship with the family of famous Sufi scholar and poet Rumi. He was visited by Rumi's grandson Ulu Arif Chelebi twice in an attempt to reduce the influence Rāfiḍi sheikhs had over uch beys like Suleimān.[5]

According to Ibn Battuta, who visited Safranbolu and Kastamonu in 1331–2,[5] Suleimān frequently consulted with the pious and faqihs and was long-bearded, good-humored, graceful, and formidable.[7] Suleimān gifted Ibn Battuta clothes and a horse from a good breed.[5] In his works Masālik al-abṣār and at-Taʾrīf, Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari wrote that he ruled over forty cities and castles and had 25–30,000 cavalry under his command. Al-Umari attested to amicable diplomatic relations between Suleimān and the Mamluk Sultanate.[7] He mentioned that quality horses and hawks were raised in Suleimān's realm.[5] Suleimān was also touched on by various other contemporary historians, Abū’l-Fidāʾ and Pachymeres, who referred to him as Σολυμάμπαξι.[8] Moreover, Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi authored the Persian work Intihab-i Suleimāni dedicated to him in July 1309, when Suleimān had recently conquered Kastamonu. In 1329, Suleimān ordered the reparation of a madrasa that was initially built in the name of Yavlak Arslan in Taşköprü.[7] Overall, Suleimān's reign was likely economically strong and bureaucratically advanced.[5]

When Suleimān designated his youngest son Choban as his heir, his older son Ibrahim rebelled in 1339 and captured Kastamonu, declaring himself as the new ruler.[9] He was over eighty years in age at his death based on Ibn Battuta's earlier description of him as about seventy years old. Neither Suleimān's death cause nor Choban's fate is known. İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı proposes that his grave was located in the mevlevihane of Kastamonu as indicated by an inscription there before the grave was removed.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Mordtmann 1978; Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 121.
  2. ↑ Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 121.
  3. ↑ Uzunçarşılı 1969, pp. 121–122.
  4. 1 2 Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 122.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yücel 1993, pp. 146–147.
  6. ↑ Yücel 1993, p. 146.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Uzunçarşılı 1969, p. 123.
  8. ↑ Mordtmann 1978.
  9. ↑ Uzunçarşılı 1969, pp. 122–123.

Bibliography

  • Mordtmann, J. H. (1978). "Isfendiyār Og̲h̲lu". In van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. & Bosworth, C. E. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume IV: Iran–Kha (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 758278456.
  • Uzunçarşılı, İsmail Hakkı (1969). Anadolu Beylikleri Ve Akkoyunlu, Karakoyunlu Devletleri [Anatolian Beyliks and Aq Qoyunlu, Qara Qoyunlu States] (in Turkish). Turkish Historical Society Press. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  • Yücel, Yaşar (1993). "Candaroğulları". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 7 (Ca'fer es-Sâdik – Ci̇ltçi̇li̇k) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 146–149. ISBN 978-975-389-434-0.
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