'' (1375). The caption next to the seated ruler reads: "Asia Minor also called Turkey, where there are many cities and castles." The map is shown upside down. Following the 1071
Seljuk victory over the
Byzantine Empire at the
Battle of Manzikert and the subsequent conquest of Anatolia,
Oghuz Turkic clans began settling in present-day
Turkey. The
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum's central power established in
Konya was largely a result of using these clans under appointed
beys called
uç bey or
uj begi (especially in border areas to ensure safety against the Byzantines);
uç is a Turkish term that denotes a border or frontier territory equivalent to
marches, with the similar term
margrave used in other parts of Europe. These clans, led by
beys, would receive military and financial support from the Seljuks in return for their fealty. However,
Mongol invasions from the East saw a decline in Seljuk power. The
Ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia then gained strength and authority which encouraged the
beys, who had until then been
vassals to the
Sultanate of Rum, to declare sovereignty over their dominions. With the fall of Seljuk centralized power in Konya, many
beys joined forces with the
atabegs (former Seljuk leaders), and other religious Muslim leaders, in addition to employing
Ghazi warriors from Persia and Turkestan. As the
Byzantine Empire weakened, their cities in
Asia Minor became gradually less and less able to resist these attacks, and many Turks began to settle in western parts of Anatolia. As a result, many more beyliks were founded in these newly conquered realms, who engaged in power struggles with the
Byzantines, the
Genoese, the
Knights Templar, as well as between each other. By 1300, the Turks had reached the
Aegean coastline, held momentarily two centuries before. In the beginning, the most powerful states were the
Karamanids and the
Germiyanids in the central area. The Beylik of
Osmanoğlu, who would later go on to become the
Ottoman Empire, was situated in the northwest, around
Söğüt, and was at that stage relatively small and possessed modest military power. Along the
Aegean coast, from North to South, were the principalities of
Karasi,
Saruhan,
Aydin,
Menteşe, and
Teke. The
Candar dynasty (later also known as Isfendiyar) reigned in the
Black Sea region around the provinces of
Kastamonu and
Sinop in what was the Beylik of Candar. Under its eponymous founder,
Osman I, the Beylik of Osman expanded at Byzantine expense westwards and southwards of the
Sea of Marmara in the first decades of the 14th century. With their annexation of the neighboring
Beylik of Karasi and their advance into
Rumelia starting in 1354, they soon gained strength to emerge as the principal rivals of the
Beylik of Karaman, who at the time were thought to be the strongest. Towards the end of the 14th century, the
Ottomans advanced further into
Anatolia either through the acquisition of towns or by cementing marriage alliances. Meanwhile, wary of an increase in Ottoman regional power, the Karamanids repeatedly engaged in conflict with the Ottomans with the help of other beyliks,
Mamluks,
Aq Qoyunlu ("White Sheep Turkomans"),
Byzantines,
Pontics and
Hungarians, failing and losing power every time. By the close of the century, the early Ottoman leaders had conquered large parts of land from Karamanids and other less prominent beyliks. These had a short respite when their territories were restored to them after the Ottoman defeat suffered against
Tamerlane in 1402 in the
Battle of Ankara. But the Ottoman state quickly collected itself under
Mehmed I and his son
Murad II, who reincorporated most of these beyliks into Ottoman territory in a period of about 25 years. The final blow to the
Beylik of Karaman was struck by
Mehmed II, who conquered their lands and re-assured a homogeneous rule in Anatolia. The further steps towards a single rule by the Ottomans were taken by
Selim I who conquered territories of the
Beylik of Ramadan and the
Beylik of Dulkadir in 1515 during his campaign against the
Mamluk Sultanate, and his son
Süleyman the Magnificent who more or less completely united the present territories of Turkey (and much more) in his 1534 campaign. Many of the former Anatolian beyliks subsequently became the basis for the
administrative subdivisions in the Ottoman Empire. ==List of beyliks==