Background During the 11th century, much of
West Asia was subject to
Seljuk rule. A branch of the
Seljuk dynasty formed the
Sultanate of Rum, an Islamic state in
Anatolia, which saw its height from the late 12th century to 1237. Germiyan likely came from
Kerman or
Fars province, and perhaps headed west with the
Khwarazmshahs. After the death of
Jalal al-Din Mangburni, they remained in the Malatya area. Germiyan is first mentioned in the 1162 chronicle of the
Armenian author
Matthew of Edessa in regards to a battle near
Azaz in 1119 under the
Turkoman lord
Ilghazi against the Crusader
Joscelin I,
Count of Edessa (). Matthew locates the Germiyan north of the
Artuqids near
Malatya, indicating their location wasn't "immediately obvious" to his audience. Matthew mentioned Germiyan a second time when Ilghazi gathered Turkmen contingents from the lands of
Rum and Germiyan to aid Ghazi,
Emir of
Ganja, who suffered a decisive defeat against the
Kingdom of Georgia in 1122. Germiyan is later attested to in
The Georgian Chronicles three times. The Turkmens of Germiyan thus reappeared in 1160 in a joint offensive with the Turkmens of
Diyar Bakr against Georgia. In 1185, the Turkmens of Germiyan joined a composite army in
Erzurum against
Queen Tamar (). The Germiyan first appeared in Islamic sources in 1239 under
Kaykhusraw II's rule of the Sultanate of Rum. Muzaffar al-Din, Yakub I's paternal grandfather, was tasked with subduing
Baba Ishak's
rebellion in the area around Malatya. Kaykhusraw II faced a major defeat by the
Mongol Empire at the
Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, which resulted in the vassalization of Rum, which was forced to pay a major annual tax. With the
division of the Mongol Empire, Anatolia came under the influence of the
Ilkhanate, which was founded by
Hulegu Khan (). Some Turkomans, among whom were the predecessors of Germiyan, migrated to the fringes of the peninsula following Mongol pressure. Amidst the chaos caused by the Anatolian campaign of the
Mamluk Sultan Baibars of
Egypt in 1277, Ala al-Din Siyavush, commonly known as
Jimri, revolted against the Mongols as a pretender to the Seljuk legacy. Husam al-Din, a member of Germiyan, fought against Jimri and
Mehmed of
Karaman in western Anatolia. Although Jimri and Mehmed were eliminated, the Karamanids' presence in Anatolia persisted, signaling further division in the region, which was symptomatic of the downfall of the Seljuks.
Origins Thirteenth-century Iranian historian
Ibn Bibi referred to Germiyan in his
Selçukname as () and (). Additionally, Ibn Bibi mentioned that the Germiyanid Muzaffar al-Din gathered an army from
Kurds and Germiyan to defeat Baba Ishak. Thirteenth-century Syrian historian
Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad attested to Ali Shir as . In his , 14th-century
Maghrebi traveler
Ibn Battuta referred to Germiyan as , claiming they are rebellious and descended from
Yazid I, second
Umayyad Caliph (). In his book from 1968, modern historian
Claude Cahen suggested a mixed
Turkish and Kurdish origin for Germiyan. This theory most likely drew from Ibn Battuta's use of the term , which may have not necessarily identified the modern-day
Yazidis, a mainly
Kurdish-speaking ethnoreligious group primarily inhaibiting northern
Iraq and northeastern
Syria. Several modern historians have adopted the claim or accepted the possibility put forward by Cahen, while others have disputed or questioned it. Sixteenth-century
Ottoman historians
Neshri and
Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali claimed that the Germiyanids were
Tatars associated with the
Chavdar tribe. Later Ottoman historian Ahmed Tevhid repeated this claim. Modern historian
İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı dismissed Neshri and Ali's claims as a mistake. On the other hand, Varlık highlights that Neshri and Ali's works lack any such claim, and Ahmed Tevhid and Uzunçarşılı likely misunderstood these texts. Several early modern historians proposed a
Kangly-
Kipchak origin from Khwarazm based on Ahmed Tevhid and the presence of the
Horzum tribe in the region. Nineteenth-century historian
Hayrullah Efendi identified the Germiyan with the
Afshar tribe, which appears in local
oikonyms but lacks clear evidence. Historians, such as
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü and Uzunçarşılı, solely relayed Hayrullah Efendi's view in their works.
Yakub I (c. 1300 – c. 1340) The Germiyan attempted to declare independence from the Sultanate of Rum when
Mesud II became the
sultan following the execution of his father,
Kaykhusraw III, by the Mongols in 1283. The conflict between the Germiyanids and the Seljuks went dormant upon Mesud II's death, and
Yakub agreed to become a vassal of the new ruler,
Kayqubad III. At that time, Yakub's realm extended as east as
Ankara. His domain included
Denizli and
Karahisar, according to
Nicephorus Gregoras, and
Tripolis on the Meander, according to
George Pachymeres. Contemporary historian
al-Umari described Yakub as the most powerful Turkish
emir, being the suzerain of many of his neighbors, with the
Byzantine Empire paying him 100,000 pieces of gold each year. Al-Umari further relayed the observations of travelers Haydar al-Uryan and Balaban, that Yakub's domains included about 700 settlements. He possessed 40,000 cavalry and was able to raise 200,000 troops in times of war, although historian Varlık considers this number exaggerated. Yakub eventually conquered the regions of
Simav and
Kula, which were later regained by the
Catalan Company. Similarly,
Philadelphia (later known as Alaşehir), which he had earlier taken over, was lost to the Catalans in the spring of 1304, but the town started paying him
jizya by 1314. Yakub had hostile relations with the
Ottoman state, and provoked the
Tatars of the Chavdar tribe near
Karacahisar to attack them in 1313. After having eliminated the
Hamidid and
Eshrefid begs in 1325,
Timurtash, the Ilkhanid governor of Anatolia, attempted to enact authority over the rulers of western Anatolia and seize the territory of Germiyan, Philadephila, Denizli, and Menteshe. Yakub's son-in-law, who was the lord of
Afyonkarahisar, fled to
Kütahya from
Eretna, who was an officer under Timurtash tasked to capture the city. When Yakub was about to engage in a battle with Eretna, the latter was called back by Timurtash in 1327. It was around that period, when the traveller and scholar
Ibn Battuta remarked that he needed to be escorted by horsemen on his way to Denizli, because the surrounding plain was "infested by a troop of
brigands called al-Jarmiyān", referring to the Germiyanids. The region under Yakub was economically prosperous and saw an increase in literary and scientific patronage.
Rumi's grandson
Ulu Arif Chelebi visited the region by 1312 and maintained spiritual authority over Yakub. Yakub struck a single type of coin late into his reign. An unnamed coin minted in 1307 mentioning the title
Khan-i Germiyan is identified with Yakub I. In the inscriptions of the castle of
Sandıklı, which were later moved to a nearby fountain, he was referred to as
Sultan al-Germiyaniyya Chelebi al-Azam (). Yakub owned a
waqf (charitable endowment) for the
mevlevihane (congregational place for the
Mevlevi Order) of Karahisar. According to
İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, he possibly owned another
waqf at the
zawiya of the village of Hacim near
Uşak, which dates to 1321. However, there the owner's father was recorded as Mehmed. Yakub is known to have exchanged letters with the
Mamluk Sultanate in 1340; these are the latest known records of his life, and his exact year of death is unknown. According to the 17th-century traveler
Evliya Çelebi, who wrote three centuries after Yakub's death, he was buried at the hill of Hıdırlık near Kütahya.
Mehmed (c. 1340 – 1361) and Suleiman (1361–1387) Mehmed, nicknamed
Chakhshadan, retook Kula and Angir from the Catalan Company. Suleiman was the elder son of Mehmed Chakhshadan, the second Bey of Germiyan. He ascended to the throne upon the death of his father. Suleiman Shah's reign was initially peaceful. However, when Husam al-Din Ilyas of
Hamid took refuge at his court from
Ala al-Din of Karaman, Suleiman Shah assisted the Hamidids in recovering their lands lost to the Karamanids. This initiated a rivalry between Ala al-Din and Suleiman Shah. Suleiman Shah sought new alliances as protection from the neighboring Karamanids and the ever-expanding
Ottomans. He arranged a marriage between his daughter
Devletşah Hatun and
Murad I's son
Bayezid. Murad I accepted the offer, hoping to expand the Ottoman influence over Anatolia. He sent the
kadi of
Bursa, Mehmed Efendi, Aksungur Agha, as well as their consorts,
Chavushbashi Demirhan, and the nanny of Bayezid to
Kütahya to formally request marriage with Suleiman's daughter. Suleiman Shah dispatched the Islamic scholar Ishak Fakih to the Ottoman capital, who returned with a gift from the Ottomans including the famous Germiyan
atlas,
Denizli clothes, silver, and gold. Moreover, Suleiman gave Kütahya,
Simav,
Eğrigöz, and
Tavşanlı to the Ottomans as part of the
dowry. Apart from these towns, many smaller settlements were annexed by a force of 2,000–3,000 Ottoman troops escorting the wedding convoy. The exact reason why he left the capital to the Ottomans is a matter of dispute. Ottoman chroniclers explained it through the rivalry between Karaman and Germiyan and the latter's preference for Ottoman protection. The wedding took place in 1381 in Kütahya, after which Bayezid became the governor of Kütahya, and Suleiman Shah had to retreat to
Kula. Suleiman died in early 1387 before April and was buried in Gürhane Medrese.
Yakub II (1387–1429) Yakub was the (governor) of
Uşak and
Şuhut during his father's reign. He inherited the throne when his father died in 1387 and maintained peace in the realm until 1390. He supported the
Ottoman Sultanate at the
Battle of Kosovo along with other local rulers. However, when the Ottoman Sultan Murad I died in battle and was succeeded by his son Bayezid I, Yakub, along with
Kadi Burhan al-Din and other local rulers, sided with the
Karamanids in a war against the Ottomans with the hopes that they could reclaim their land. While Karaman seized
Beyşehir, Yakub started capturing some of the former possessions of Germiyan that his father had given to the Ottomans as part of Devletşah Hatun's dowry. Intimidated by Bayezid's later seizure of much of Anatolia, Yakub attempted to return to good terms with him through various gifts but was nevertheless imprisoned and kept in the castle of
Ipsala. In 1390, the entire realm of Germiyan came under Ottoman control, with Yakub no longer as its ruler. Sari Timurtash Pasha was appointed as the
beylerbey (governor) of
Anatolia Eyalet. Yakub sought the protection of
Timur () in 1399, having escaped from prison and traveled to
Syria in disguise through the
Mediterranean Sea presumably the same year. He allied with Timur against the Ottomans with the guarantee that his rule would be restored, and fought for him at the
Battle of Ankara in 1402. The former troops of Germiyan, Aydın, and Menteshe were initially under Bayezid's command, but switched sides when it became clear that their leaders had sided with Timur. Yakub recognized the sultan during the skirmish and had him captured. The Ottomans were ultimately defeated, and Timur restored the former Germiyan possessions to Yakub. Timur stayed in Kütahya for some time, subjecting the inhabitants to a one-time tax and confiscating the treasury of Sari Timurtash Pasha. During the
Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413), Yakub allied himself with the future Ottoman sultan
Mehmed Chelebi (), one of the sons of Bayezid, against his brothers. As a result, Germiyan–Karaman relations gradually transitioned into hostility, as the latter's rivalry against the Ottomans ensued. This escalated to a war between the two in September 1410, and Kütahya fell to
Mehmed II of Karaman () the next year, which effectively ended Yakub's second reign. Mehmed II further laid siege to
Bursa for 31 days in 1413 and set the city on fire, which prompted Mehmed Chelebi to quickly return to Anatolia after having defeated his brother,
Musa Chelebi, in
Rumelia. When Musa's remains were brought to Bursa, signaling the defeat, Mehmed II of Karaman retreated in a hurry and left the territories he had taken from Germiyan. Mehmed Chelebi reinstated Yakub's rule in Germiyan in 1414. Yakub accommodated and supplied the Ottoman army during the following campaigns against Karaman. His rule until 1421 was largely free of threats. When Mehmed Chelebi's son
Murad II rose to the Ottoman throne, Yakub's relations with the Ottomans took a new turn. Murad's younger brother and
governor of Hamid,
Mustafa Chelebi was sponsored by Yakub, Karaman, and the
Turghudlu tribe of Turkmens as a claimant to the Ottoman throne. Mustafa besieged and gained control of
Iznik, and declared himself ruler, taking advantage of Murad's investment in the
Siege of Constantinople (1422). However, the local Ottoman guardians did not allow Mustafa to depart from the city, on the orders of the sultan. Murad swiftly reclaimed control of the city and executed Mustafa. Yakub then reverted to friendly interactions with Murad. Even though Aydın and Menteshe were already under direct Ottoman control, Murad did not attempt to enact his sovereignty in Germiyan. By then, it had become subordinate to the Ottomans with their constant military involvement in the region. Likewise, Yakub bequeathed his domains to Murad, as he had no sons and did not want to hand over the rule to his sister's children, who were Murad II's half-uncles. In 1428, at an old age, he traveled to Bursa and paid respects to the graves of
Osman I and
Orhan. He was later welcomed by Murad in a lavish ceremony in
Edirne and formally declared his will there. Sometime after returning to Germiyan, he fell sick, dying in January 1429. Murad annexed Germiyan as requested by Yakub, which brought its history to an end. ==Culture==