Mehmet II and the Fall of the Karamanids
The Karamanids
The Karamanids (Turkish: Karamanoğulları) are also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman. Their origin story is contested, but they were probably members of the Salur tribe of Oghuz Turks, or the Afshar tribe. They moved to the western Taurus Mountains, near the town of Larende (modern-day Karaman), under Seljuk rule in the 13th century. Karaman Bey (1221-1263) expanded his territories, capturing a series of castles in 1225 (possibly later). You can see the reconstructed Karaman castle today.
The Karamanids (Turkish: Karamanoğulları) are also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman. Their origin story is contested, but they were probably members of the Salur tribe of Oghuz Turks, or the Afshar tribe. They moved to the western Taurus Mountains, near the town of Larende (modern-day Karaman), under Seljuk rule in the 13th century. Karaman Bey (1221-1263) expanded his territories, capturing a series of castles in 1225 (possibly later). You can see the reconstructed Karaman castle today.
(Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Karamanids rebelled against the Seljuks in 1261, but despite several defeats, they managed to assert their independence, with the help of the Mamluks. A further expansion of Karamanid power occurred after the fall of the Ilkhanids in the 1330s. The first contact with the Ottomans happened through the marriage of Karamanoğlu Alâeddin Ali Bey to Nefise Hatun, the daughter of the Ottoman Sultan Murat I.
After Timur’s defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, the Karamanids benefited from the subsequent Ottoman civil war. A Karamanid army under Mehmet Bey managed to capture Bursa, although they withdrew when the Ottomans recovered. They again took advantage of the Ottoman focus on the Balkans by capturing Ankara during the Crusade of Varna in 1443-44. On his victorious return, Ottoman Sultan Murad II (Mehmed’s father) forced the submission of the Karamanids.
The Karamanid state was organised in a similar way to the Seljuks, with a strong military and administrative organisation. They valued culture and learning and built many public buildings, some of which have survived to this day. Taxes on land and animals were the primary source of revenue, although customs duties through the southern ports were also significant. Karaman horses and rugs were much sought after, not just in Turkey, but in the Middle East and Europe.
After Timur’s defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, the Karamanids benefited from the subsequent Ottoman civil war. A Karamanid army under Mehmet Bey managed to capture Bursa, although they withdrew when the Ottomans recovered. They again took advantage of the Ottoman focus on the Balkans by capturing Ankara during the Crusade of Varna in 1443-44. On his victorious return, Ottoman Sultan Murad II (Mehmed’s father) forced the submission of the Karamanids.
The Karamanid state was organised in a similar way to the Seljuks, with a strong military and administrative organisation. They valued culture and learning and built many public buildings, some of which have survived to this day. Taxes on land and animals were the primary source of revenue, although customs duties through the southern ports were also significant. Karaman horses and rugs were much sought after, not just in Turkey, but in the Middle East and Europe.
Mehmed and the Karamanids
According to 15th-century Italian sources, the Grand Karaman, as he was called to distinguish from the Grand Turk, was the most significant rival to the Ottomans. They had built diplomatic contacts with Western European powers since Murad II’s accession. The offer of concerted pincer attacks from East and West was an attractive proposition to both.
Mehmed had to address a range of problems on his accession to the throne. The Byzantines held his second cousin, Orhan, as a potential rival, but Emperor Constantine XI was quick to temper this with financial tributes and the continuation of friendly relations. This enabled Mehmed to focus on Anatolia, where Karaman’s Ibrahim Bey was seeking to forge a new empire from the nearby beyliks. He captured Ottoman forts and laid waste to nearby territories. Mehmed sent an army led by his Anatolian governor, Ishak Bey, to deal with the rebellious beyliks. When they reached Karaman, Murad joined the army, and Ibrahim Bey abandoned the Ottoman towns and fled to the mountains. He sent envoys to Mehmed pleading for forgiveness, which Mehmed accepted on the understanding that he would receive his territories back as a gift from the Sultan.
According to 15th-century Italian sources, the Grand Karaman, as he was called to distinguish from the Grand Turk, was the most significant rival to the Ottomans. They had built diplomatic contacts with Western European powers since Murad II’s accession. The offer of concerted pincer attacks from East and West was an attractive proposition to both.
Mehmed had to address a range of problems on his accession to the throne. The Byzantines held his second cousin, Orhan, as a potential rival, but Emperor Constantine XI was quick to temper this with financial tributes and the continuation of friendly relations. This enabled Mehmed to focus on Anatolia, where Karaman’s Ibrahim Bey was seeking to forge a new empire from the nearby beyliks. He captured Ottoman forts and laid waste to nearby territories. Mehmed sent an army led by his Anatolian governor, Ishak Bey, to deal with the rebellious beyliks. When they reached Karaman, Murad joined the army, and Ibrahim Bey abandoned the Ottoman towns and fled to the mountains. He sent envoys to Mehmed pleading for forgiveness, which Mehmed accepted on the understanding that he would receive his territories back as a gift from the Sultan.
(MapMaster, CC BY-SA 2.5)
Ibrahim Bey died in 1464, leaving six legitimate sons (by his wife, who was Mehmed’s aunt) who had already quarrelled with him over his favouritism towards another son, Ishak, the child of an enslaved woman. Ibrahim had awarded him the valuable coastal city of Silifke, and the outraged sons had besieged their father in Konya. Ibrahim escaped but died in his mountain retreat. The sons then fell out, with the eldest, Pir Ahmed, taking power. He exiled his half-brother Ishak and excluded two of his legitimate brothers (Suleyman and Nure Sufi) from the throne. The legitimate brothers fled to Mehmed, who settled timars (fiefs) on them. Another son, Kasim, fled to the Mamluks. Ishak proved to be the most dangerous enemy, as he initially turned to the Mamluks, and then to the White Sheep Turcomans. They provided an army to enable him to depose Pir Ahmed, who fled to the Ottomans. Some sources argue that the White Sheep had already planned to invade Karaman to give them access to the Mediterranean.
The White Sheep were enemies of the Ottomans, so Ishak offered Mehmed the cities of Aksehir and Beysehir on the understanding that his two half-brothers with the Ottomans should receive them. Mehmed refused, insisting on a return to the old boundary fixed under Sultan Bayezid I, along the Çarşamba River. Ishak rejected this, and Mehmed ordered his new governor of Anatolia, Hamza Pasha, to invade. The campaign ended at the Battle of Ermenek, or, alternatively, Dağ Pazarǐ, north of Mut. The Ottomans were victorious and put Pir Ahmed back on the throne, regarding him as an Ottoman vassal. However, like previous Karaman rulers, Pir Ahmed developed an independent foreign policy, building contacts with the Venetians.
In 1468, having secured the Balkan front, Mehmed mobilised his army for a new Anatolian campaign. Pir Ahmed refused to send troops and, according to Ottoman sources, raided neighbouring territory. Mehmed captured Aksehir and Konya, the Karaman capital. His Grand Vizier, Mahmud Pasha, defeated the Karaman army near Laranda (Karaman) and ruthlessly pursued the remnants across the Taurus Mountains. In the next few years, all aspects of the Karaman state were destroyed, and much of the population was resettled. There may have been one further campaign to quell a revolt in 1471. Some were resettled in various parts of Anatolia and Azerbaijan. However, the largest group were moved to the Ludogorie region of north-eastern Bulgaria as well as parts of Greece and Macedonia. The Ottomans created the Karaman Eyalet from the former Karamanid territory in 1487.
The White Sheep were enemies of the Ottomans, so Ishak offered Mehmed the cities of Aksehir and Beysehir on the understanding that his two half-brothers with the Ottomans should receive them. Mehmed refused, insisting on a return to the old boundary fixed under Sultan Bayezid I, along the Çarşamba River. Ishak rejected this, and Mehmed ordered his new governor of Anatolia, Hamza Pasha, to invade. The campaign ended at the Battle of Ermenek, or, alternatively, Dağ Pazarǐ, north of Mut. The Ottomans were victorious and put Pir Ahmed back on the throne, regarding him as an Ottoman vassal. However, like previous Karaman rulers, Pir Ahmed developed an independent foreign policy, building contacts with the Venetians.
In 1468, having secured the Balkan front, Mehmed mobilised his army for a new Anatolian campaign. Pir Ahmed refused to send troops and, according to Ottoman sources, raided neighbouring territory. Mehmed captured Aksehir and Konya, the Karaman capital. His Grand Vizier, Mahmud Pasha, defeated the Karaman army near Laranda (Karaman) and ruthlessly pursued the remnants across the Taurus Mountains. In the next few years, all aspects of the Karaman state were destroyed, and much of the population was resettled. There may have been one further campaign to quell a revolt in 1471. Some were resettled in various parts of Anatolia and Azerbaijan. However, the largest group were moved to the Ludogorie region of north-eastern Bulgaria as well as parts of Greece and Macedonia. The Ottomans created the Karaman Eyalet from the former Karamanid territory in 1487.
Conclusion
Sources for Karaman before the Ottoman conquest are limited, as few original documents have survived, and the one chronicle is unreliable. Ottoman records are available, but are not without bias. There has been a debate over why the Ottomans triumphed over other Anatolian states, such as Karaman. It is argued that they failed to adopt developments in military technology, particularly firearms, and they were a Nomadic state, but without enough nomads. They became a coastal state, yet failed to develop naval power as a substitute for the limited resources available in their territory. The competing beyliks also failed to consolidate their resources to face the Ottomans. In contrast, the Ottomans had the advantage of a nearby and weak enemy in Byzantium, an early turn from nomadic towards sedentary warfare and the ability to develop resources in Europe from the 1370s.
Sources for Karaman before the Ottoman conquest are limited, as few original documents have survived, and the one chronicle is unreliable. Ottoman records are available, but are not without bias. There has been a debate over why the Ottomans triumphed over other Anatolian states, such as Karaman. It is argued that they failed to adopt developments in military technology, particularly firearms, and they were a Nomadic state, but without enough nomads. They became a coastal state, yet failed to develop naval power as a substitute for the limited resources available in their territory. The competing beyliks also failed to consolidate their resources to face the Ottomans. In contrast, the Ottomans had the advantage of a nearby and weak enemy in Byzantium, an early turn from nomadic towards sedentary warfare and the ability to develop resources in Europe from the 1370s.
Wargaming
We have very little detail on how the Karaman army was organised. Vatican sources refer to Karaman being able to muster 40,000 men. Arab sources refer to 25,000 riders and 25,000 ‘saracens’. They could also rely on some Turkmen tribes and their warriors.
Most wargame army lists either ignore the Karamanids or group the Anatolian emirates together. DBA list IV/49, Anatolian Turkoman 1260-1515 AD, goes for a mix of noble cavalry and horse archers, supplemented by spearmen and archers. This looks about right, although, as the Karamanids retained a nomadic culture, famous for their horse breeding, they may have retained more horse archers, closer to the Seljuk army structure. The list gives the option of only four elements of foot, which looks about right for a pick-up game, although they would have deployed cavalry-only armies in attacks against the Ottomans.
L’Art De La Guerre (ADLG), list 260, Turkoman, takes a similar approach, with a much higher proportion of cavalry. Here, the player has the option of taking no infantry, with the only compulsory units being light cavalry, horse archers. This looks like a closer fit for the Karamanids.
Field of Glory has an Anatolian Turcoman list, only as allies of the Ottomans, which is not correct. However, the list is similar to ADLG, with only light horse archers as compulsory.
To the Strongest! sadly doesn’t have a list as yet, but that can be rectified with Simon Miller’s flexible PDF approach to army lists. Midgard is also flexible enough to accommodate the Karamanids. I would make the nobles Heavy Riders (Medium Cavalry), although Light Riders (Noble Riders) is an option for some or all. The horse archers are Light Riders (Scouts), and if you want some infantry, a unit of Warriors (Formed Archers) and/or Skirmishers (Shooters). The spearmen would be Warriors (Heavy Infantry); however, I would take the ‘reduce armour to 2’ option.
For skirmish games, Lion Rampant and Saga are easily adaptable for the Karamids. Both have Crusades supplements, from which army lists can be adapted. Other rules are, of course, available, but these are the ones I use most frequently.
For wargame figures, I would start with the Seljuk ranges. In 28mm, Perry Miniatures do Turcoman and Seljuk horse archers and heavy cavalry in their superb Crusades: Muslim range. Footsore also have some very nice Seljuk cavalry and horse archers. Gripping Beast have Seljuks and Turcoman horse archers, and some light infantry. For plastics, Victrix have a Medieval Islamic Cavalry box.
In 15mm, Donnington have their Armies of Islam range with Seljuks and Turcoman cavalry. Khurasan, Timecast and Essex also have suitable ranges. Baccus has Seljuk cavalry and infantry in 6mm.
We have very little detail on how the Karaman army was organised. Vatican sources refer to Karaman being able to muster 40,000 men. Arab sources refer to 25,000 riders and 25,000 ‘saracens’. They could also rely on some Turkmen tribes and their warriors.
Most wargame army lists either ignore the Karamanids or group the Anatolian emirates together. DBA list IV/49, Anatolian Turkoman 1260-1515 AD, goes for a mix of noble cavalry and horse archers, supplemented by spearmen and archers. This looks about right, although, as the Karamanids retained a nomadic culture, famous for their horse breeding, they may have retained more horse archers, closer to the Seljuk army structure. The list gives the option of only four elements of foot, which looks about right for a pick-up game, although they would have deployed cavalry-only armies in attacks against the Ottomans.
L’Art De La Guerre (ADLG), list 260, Turkoman, takes a similar approach, with a much higher proportion of cavalry. Here, the player has the option of taking no infantry, with the only compulsory units being light cavalry, horse archers. This looks like a closer fit for the Karamanids.
Field of Glory has an Anatolian Turcoman list, only as allies of the Ottomans, which is not correct. However, the list is similar to ADLG, with only light horse archers as compulsory.
To the Strongest! sadly doesn’t have a list as yet, but that can be rectified with Simon Miller’s flexible PDF approach to army lists. Midgard is also flexible enough to accommodate the Karamanids. I would make the nobles Heavy Riders (Medium Cavalry), although Light Riders (Noble Riders) is an option for some or all. The horse archers are Light Riders (Scouts), and if you want some infantry, a unit of Warriors (Formed Archers) and/or Skirmishers (Shooters). The spearmen would be Warriors (Heavy Infantry); however, I would take the ‘reduce armour to 2’ option.
For skirmish games, Lion Rampant and Saga are easily adaptable for the Karamids. Both have Crusades supplements, from which army lists can be adapted. Other rules are, of course, available, but these are the ones I use most frequently.
For wargame figures, I would start with the Seljuk ranges. In 28mm, Perry Miniatures do Turcoman and Seljuk horse archers and heavy cavalry in their superb Crusades: Muslim range. Footsore also have some very nice Seljuk cavalry and horse archers. Gripping Beast have Seljuks and Turcoman horse archers, and some light infantry. For plastics, Victrix have a Medieval Islamic Cavalry box.
In 15mm, Donnington have their Armies of Islam range with Seljuks and Turcoman cavalry. Khurasan, Timecast and Essex also have suitable ranges. Baccus has Seljuk cavalry and infantry in 6mm.
Perry Miniatures Seljuks
A longer version of this article appeared in Slingshot, the journal of the Society of Ancients.
