The Seljuqs of Rum had nominal control of the Anatolian peninsula until 1307 AD, but their hold was weakened by a defeat to the Mongols in 1243 AD and by an invasion of the Mamluks in 1276, which led to another Mongol incursion. This left them effectively vassals of the Persian Mongols until their extinction in 1307. When the end finally came, Anatolia fragmented into a group of small states known as "beyliks".

Among these were the Ottomans in the northwest opposite Constantinople, the Isfandiyarids immediately to their east along the coast of the Black Sea, the Qaramanids down the center of the peninsula and including the important city of Konya, the Amirs of Alanya immediately to the west on the Mediterranean coast, the Menteshe further west opposite Rhodes, Aydin immediately north including the ancient city of Ephesus, and Germiyan to the east in the direction of Konya.

Two other groups that are sometimes added to this list are the Eretnids and the Sharaf Khans of Bitlis. Both of of these groups controlled territory lying to the east of the Qaramanids, but they were under the direct authority of the Persian Mongols, not under the Seljuqs. Consequently they did not become independent in the early 1300's but a half-century later when the Mongol state collapsed. Also, their coins use Persian denominations, not the Turkish akcheh. There are also some common coins of this period that cannot be identified to any specific beylik, so a catchall category is needed, the "Anatolian Beyliks".

By the mid-1300's the Ottomans were beginning to achieve a dominant position within Anatolia and were also crossing the Dardanelles and extending their power into Europe. Timur (Tamerlane) caused a temporary disruption in 1402 when he defeated and captured the Ottoman ruler Bayezit I. But the expansion soon resumed, marked by the conquest of Constinople in 1453 and Egypt in 1517. The Empire reached the height of its power under Sulayman I the Magnificent (1520-66), with territory extending across north Africa and through the Balkans into Hungary.

The main coins of the beyliks and the early Ottomans were the silver akcheh, and the copper manghir. In the 1300's the inscriptions varied, but in the 1400's the Ottomans developed the practice of putting the accession date onto their silver coins along with the name of the mint and the ruler. The coins are so small, however, that some of this information is often missing.

TO SUMMARIZE...


The Beyliks

Isfandiyarids
Qaramanids
Alanya Amirs
Menteshe
Aydin
Germiyan
Eretnids
Sharaf Khans
Anatolian Beyliks

The Ottomans

Ottoman Empire