Karaja Bey Dulkadiroglu

Origin

Karaja was the head of the clan from the Oguz tribal group Bozok , whose summer pastures were in eastern Taurus ^[1] . According to the Turkish Ottomanist R. Yunanch, the communities formed by the people of Dulkarir consisted of the Bayat , Afshar and Beidil tribes, but it is not known which of them belonged to the Dulkadir Bey. Representatives of the Bayat tribe made up the majority of future Dulkadirites, therefore it is possible that the Bay also left the Bayat tribe ^[2] . There is an inscription on the Suleyman-Bey mosque near Zamanta’s castle stating that the family’s roots were in Khorasan ^[3] .

Judging by the fact that Karaju Bey was called Karaj bin Dulk (g) adir, his father's name was Dulk (g) adir. The meaning and origin of the name or nickname Dulkadir is not exactly known. It is assumed that it is of Turkic origin. Perhaps this is the distorted name Aldulkadir . A. von Gabyne proposed another interpretation of the name: tulga + dar = helmet holder ^[1] . Arab sources used the spelling Dulgadir and Tulgadir . The preserved early inscription on the Suleyman-Bey Mosque also contains the name (nickname) Dulkadir ^[1] . Subsequently, this name was Arabized and distorted. The Arabic forms D (Z) u'l-Qadr and D (Z) y'l-Qadir ( powerful, mighty ) are found in later Ottoman sources, and are an adaptation of the (supposedly Turkish) name ^{[1] [4] [5]} .

Beylik formation.

Cities at various times belonging to the Dudkadirids

Aljait’s son, Abu Saeed , died in 1335. After his death, the collapse of the state of the Hulaguids began . In Anatolia, there was a troubled time when many dynasties of the rulers of small states gained independence. In May 1335, Zayneddin Karaja first invaded the territory of Cilician Armenia with 5,000 horsemen ^{[1] [6]} .

Tarakli Khalil, the Turkmen bait, like Karaja, captured the Elbistan region in 1337 and sent a hundred horses as a present to the Mamelukes from the Aleppo Vali (governor), for which the Bahra Sultan Muhammad an-Nasir recognized him as the ruler of the city ^{[1] [7] [8 ] ] [9]} .

The appearance of another Turkmen Bey began to bother Karaju, who sought to gain power over the Turkmens in the region. He immediately sent his son Khalil with an army to Elbistan against Taracl Khalil. In a bloody battle, the son of Karaja defeated Tarakla Khalil and captured the city (738/1337) ^[7] .

Khalil, wounded in the battle of Tarakla, fled and took refuge at the Vali (governor) Aleppo Altunbogi. Since Tarakli Khalil was a Mamluk vassal, Altunboga demanded that Karajah immediately arrive in Aleppo. Karaja Bey refused to comply with this requirement, realizing the danger due to hostility wali. However, having discussed the situation with his entourage, he decided to win the friendship of Altunbogi, Vali Aleppo, and Tengiz, Vali Damascus. Karaj sent 200 horses and valuable gifts to Tengiz, ruler of Damascus. The envoy of Karaji stated that he wants to keep the territories he conquered as a vassal of the Sultan. Vali Damascus conveyed this request to Sultan Nasir, adding that in the person of Karaja the sultanate will acquire a strong vassal. At the same time, Vali Aleppo spoke to the Sultan in defense of Taracla Khalil. Sultan Nasir summoned both Beys to Cairo. The sultan chose Karaja and gave him a letter in which he recognized as the emir of all Turkmen ^[7] .

Thus, in 1337, under the auspices of the Mamluk Sultanate, the foundations of the principality were laid, which lasted about two centuries. When Karaja Bey was leaving, the Sultan led him with great honors. The capture of Elbistan and the official recognition of his bailik encouraged Karaj to expand the territory at the expense of the surrounding cities. The collapse of Mongol rule in Anatolia facilitated the promotion of Karaji Bey ^[10] .

Expanding Borders

In August 1338, Vali Darende, Merjan Khadim went to Sivas to the Bay for advice. This took advantage of Karaja Bay and attacked the city. At night, the soldiers of Dulkadirid climbed the city walls along the ropes that one of the guards of the fortress lowered to them. After a short but bloody battle, the guards were killed, and the castle passed into Karaja’s hands. Karaja Bey immediately reported this to Vali Damascus, Tengiz, and asked him to send people to take Darende into control. Having received the conquered city, Sultan Nasir expressed his gratitude by sending a gown (honorable robe) to Karaja Bey ^[11] .

Bey Eretna was enraged by this attack, and in 1339 a battle took place between him and Karaja Bey. Both sides lost 500 people. When Alaeddin Eretna fled the battlefield, Karaja Ahmed captured both his sons, as well as rich prey.

Soon, through the mediation of Sultan Nasir, the Dulkadiri had to return part of the 20,000 cattle that were captured from Eretna ^[11] . During the raid of Karaji Bey on the land of Eretna, the son of the Turkmen emir, Tashgun, attacked Dulkadir. Tashgun received the support of the Vali Aleppo Altunbogi, who was embittered by the fact that Elbistan was taken from his protégé Tarakla Khalil Karadzha. In order to cope with Tashgun, Karaj had to ask for help from Tengiz, Vali Damascus. Tengiz pressured Altunbog to punish Tushgun, and in the end, Tushgun was imprisoned. When Tengiz returned from his expedition to Chukurov in 1340, he tried to kill Tashgun, but he escaped from prison with the help of his loyal people. The peace between Karaja-bay and Eretna-bay did not last long. In 1340, Karaj again invaded the territory of a neighbor. This attack, according to historian R. Yunanch, was carried out by order of the Mameluk Sultan. When the ambassador of Eretna arrived in Cairo to complain about the robbery by the Dulkarids, he was accused of not reading the name of the Mameluk Sultan in the Eretna beilik in the Khutba , and the money was not minted on behalf of the Sultan. Taking advantage of impunity, Karaja Bay continued to raid the territory of Eretna, and Tengiz continued to support the actions of Karaja. When Eretna Bay gathered in Cairo, Tengiz as a Vali of Damascus did not allow him to travel through its territory. This friendship aroused fear among the Sultan that Tengiz would unite with Karaj and raise a rebellion. The Sultan summoned Tengiz to Alexandria and imprisoned him. A little later, immediately after the death of Sultan Nasir in 1341, Tengiz was executed ^[12] .

Temporary Alliance with Eretna Bey

Karaj was upset over the murder of his friend and patron Tengiz. Bay broke off his relationship with the Mamluk Sultanate and sought to take advantage of the riots in Egypt to achieve independence. To this end, he contacted Eretna, making peace with him, and even organized a joint campaign against Aleppo. Vali Aleppo, Tashtimur, hastily asked Cairo for help ^{[12] [13]} . But at that time, a change of power took place in Cairo. Emir Kavsum overthrew the son of al-Nasir Abu Bakr and enthroned another son of al-Nasir, the seven-year-old Kujuk ^{[k 1]} . These changes led to the fact that Tashtimur himself rebelled against Cairo. Faced with danger, Tashtimur fled from Aleppo with the help of Karaja and sought refuge in Eretna ^{[14] [15]} . Vali Damascus Altunboga pursued Tashtimur and his ally, Karaju, to Antep . Meanwhile, some Mamluk commanders took advantage of the absence of Altunbogs in Damascus, captured the city and declared the next son of al-Nasir, Ahmed , the sultan, killing all supporters of the emir Kavsum. Ahmed invited Tashtimur to Cairo to a new post. When Tashtimur went to Cairo, he was accompanied by Karaja Bey. But soon Tashtimur was arrested and executed by order of Ahmed. The reasons for this are unclear, since Tashtimur was a loyal supporter of Ahmed. Fearing for his life, Karaja returned to Marash ^[16] .

Eretna Bey Break

At the beginning of 1343, Bey Eretna defeated Sheikh Hassan in Karambuk. He sent part of the trophies to Aleppo as an offering for the Vali Aleppo Elbogi. However, when passing through the lands of Dulkadir, the caravan was robbed. Elboga regarded this as a robbery and in March 1343 he sent an army to punish Karaj. But the beater of Dulkadir defeated the Mamluks, and they were forced to retreat. This defeat forced Elboga to approach the organization of the next campaign more seriously. Gathering a large army, Elboga himself led it to Karaju. Bey realized that he could not resist such a force and hastily retreated to Mount , not having time to lift the convoy with provisions to the mountain. Elboga captured the train, having received all the supplies of the Dulkadir army, as well as women and children ^[16] . After this success, Elboga lost his vigilance and ordered the attack on the Turkmen who settled on the mountain, despite the fact that the advisers discouraged him from this. When the Mameluk army began to climb the slopes, the Dulkadiri attacked from the ambush and defeated it. ^{[9] [17]} . The horse of Elboga was hit by an arrow, he hardly saved his life by losing the flag. However, Karaja was careful. Fearing revenge, he sent an apology to Cairo, blaming Aleppo for the conflict. In order not to incur the wrath of the Sultan, he also sent captive Mamluks and captured robbers who attacked the caravan to Cairo ^[18] .

Enmity with Emir Ariktai

This victory over Elboga raised the prestige and reputation of Karajah. Many Turkmens wanted to become his subjects. The situation of Karajah and his beylik strengthened. As a result, Sultan Ismail al-Salih was forced to accept his apologies and confirm that he recognized the independence of Dulkadir ^[18] . In 1345, Karadzha Bey took advantage of the turmoil in Cilician Armenia and captured the castle of Geben in the north of the Chukurov Valley. King Kostandin III tried to return the city, but was defeated. As a vassal, Karaja informed the Sultan of a new conquest. However, the bay was faced with the intervention of the new Wali of Aleppo, Ariktai. Ariktai wanted to place his soldiers in the castle of Geben, arguing that each new conquest should belong to the sultanate. Faced with the resistance of Karaj Bey, Ariktay tried to capture the fortress. This led to a feud between him and the bay of Dulkadir ^[18] . This conflict took advantage of Kostandin III, who managed to return the castle in October 1346 ^[19] . Karaja-bay kept Geben only for a year ^[9] .

The Dulkadiro-Mamluk relationship was closely related to the relationship between Karaja Bey and Aleppo Wali. The appointment of Aleppo Argun Shah instead of Ariktai corrected the situation. Yagmuroglu Serimyuddin Ibrahim, the Mamluk of Argun Shah, was supposed to ensure obedience to Karaj Bey. He lived in Marash and levied a monthly fee ^{[20] [21]} .

A year later, the relations of Karaj Bey with the Mamluks again deteriorated. In 1347, Al-Hassan al-Nasir came to power in Cairo, who in March 1348 re-appointed Aleppo's foe Karaj-Bey, Ariktai, to the post of Aleppo. Karaja Bey regarded this as a manifestation of hostility on the part of the Sultan. Karajah used the instability in the Mameluk state caused by the frequent change of power and coups as a good opportunity to achieve real independence. It got to the point that Bay Dulkadir demanded that the king of Cilicia Armenia pay him the tribute that Cairo charged. In 1348, Karaja in letters refers to himself imperially "Malik al-Zahir" ^{[20] [21]} . The assassination of Argunshah in 1349 exacerbated Karaj Bey's hatred for the Mamelukes. He did not hesitate to join all the rebellions in Syria against Cairo ^[22] .

Rebellion of the Emir

In 1351, Emir Taz ousted Al-Hasan and enthroned the next son of al-Nasir, Salih Salahuddin . This caused bloody unrest both in Cairo and in Syria ^[22] . In August 1352, Beibog Kasim declared himself a sultan in Syria, he was supported by the Wali Hama and Tripoli . Karaja Bay took part in this rebellion. He took the opportunity to go to Damascus and plunder the city and region. Vali Damascus Argun al-Kamil fled to Gaza to the Sultan, and said that he must personally crush the rebellion. Sultan Salih, with the Caliph Mutezid and four Qadi, went to Damascus at the head of the army. Upon learning of this, Karaja Bay retreated to Dulkadir. The rebel vali decided to take refuge in Aleppo, but the inhabitants of the city did not let them in. For some time the rebels besieged the city, but were soon forced to retreat and flee to Elbistan. Arriving in Damascus, Sultan Salih sent to Aleppo Argun al-Kamil, Emir Taz and Emir pursue the rebels. They sent a message from Aleppo Karaja Bey with a proposal to convey the fugitives to them, promising forgiveness from the Sultan for participating in the rebellion. Despite all the demands, Karaja Bay refused to extradite the rebels. This behavior of Bey Dulkadir infuriated the Sultan and he transferred the rights to the rulers of the neighboring Beylik Ramazanogullara on the territory of Dulkadir ^{[23] [24]} .

Last Campaign Against Karajah

Vali Aleppo Argun al-Kamil sent another message to Karaj Bey and reminded him of the consequences of the war, trying to explain its destructiveness. This time, Argun al-Kamil asked the Sultan to allow the preparation of the raid and send up to 120 agents to be scattered among the residents in Dulkadir. As a result, Karaja Bey lost his influence on the Turkmen, he did not feel their support and therefore issued the rebel emirs hiding from him, who were immediately executed. Emir Taz and Sheikh, who ruled Egypt, were determined to punish Bey Dulkadir. According to their plan, Argun al-Kamil was to capture Karaj-bei, luring him into a trap. It was assumed that Argun al-Kamil would invite the bey to Aleppo to receive a bathrobe. However, Karaja Bay refused to go to Aleppo, feeling the danger. There was only one way to get rid of Karaj Bay - a military campaign. Therefore, the order came from Cairo to Vali Aleppo Argun al-Kamil to organize and carry out a campaign on Dulkadir. But Argun al-Kamil apologized to the ruling emirs, reminding them that he had promised Karaj Bey not to start a war against him if he betrayed the rebels ^[25] .

Emir Taz and Sheikh did not leave the idea to capture the Bay of Dulkadir and occupy Elbistan. They sent Izzeddin Toktay to Argun with an order to convince Argun al-Kamil. Toktai's mission was successful, and Argun al-Kamil went to Elbistan. Under his leadership was the Syrian army, as well as the Turkmens, who were at enmity with Dulkadir. The Mamluk army destroyed and burned Elbistan. Not only was the city ruined - the Mamelukes burned and the surrounding villages. Realizing that he could not resist the enemy, Karadzha Bay retreated to Mount Dyuldyul ^[25] . He fought against the Mamluks for twenty days at the foot of the mountain and on the pass ^[26] . Surrounded on all sides, Karaja Bay managed to escape. While his son Khalil attacked the left flank of the enemy with a detachment of twenty-one people, Karaja-Bey withdrew the main forces and saved the convoy. Two sons of Karaji were captured in this battle. The Mamluks captured women, children, and livestock, and then sold them in Syria and Egypt. Karaja Bay himself took refuge in Kayseri . There he was captured by one of the Mongol commanders from the army of Eretna. By that time, Mehmed Eretnaoglu had already received messages from the Mamluk governors demanding to capture Karaju, if he appears in Eretna, and send to Aleppo. On September 22, 1353, Eretneoglu Mehmed sent Karaj to Argun al-Kamil. Prior to the order of the Sultan, Karaja-bey was imprisoned in the Aleppo fortress, and then Alaaddin Taiboga, one of the Mamelukes of Argun al-Kamil, delivered the captive to Cairo ^{[8] [9] [27] [28]} .

Captivity and Execution

Караджа-бея доставили в Каир и показали султану, а затем заключили в цитадель Каира. Через несколько недель сын Караджа-бея подговорил арабские племена восстать против мамлюков и напал с ними на Алеппо. Он надеялся оказать давление на Каир и освободить отца, но проиграл в битве и потерял 700 человек убитыми. После этого султан Салих, который был в Сирии, послал приказ в Каир убить Караджа-бея ^[27] . После 48 дней заключения 11 декабря 1353 года Караджа был подвергнут пыткам и повешен в Каире в возрасте восьмидесяти трех лет. Тело его три дня было выставлено в Баб Зувейле. Через два года вали Эльбистана мамлюки признали сына Караджи, Халила ^{[8] [9] [28] [29]} .

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