Early life Mehmed was one of the sons of the
Danishmendid Emir Gazi. During his father's reign, Mehmed served under his father in various military campaigns, first appearing in 1124 when the young Mehmed captured the important city
Melitene on his father's behalf. In 1127, Mehmed was himself captured by the
Armenian prince
Thoros and the
Seljuk prince Arab, who imprisoned Mehmed at his capital of
Ankara before his father took the city in a siege, freeing Mehmed.
Reign Mehmed later succeeded his father as
melik (
king) upon the latter's death in 1134, but was soon beset by revolts from his two brothers Yaghi and Ayn al-Dawla. Sensing weakness, the
Roman emperor John II Komnenos campaigned against Mehmed in the winter of 1135 and captured the city of
Kastamon, but Mehmed was able to prevent any further losses by persuading his
brother-in-law the
Sultan of
Iconium Mesud I to abandon his alliance with John. By 1137, Mehmed had stabilised his realm and prepared a campaign to expand his domain at the expense of John II, adopting the title "Great Melik of all Rhōmanía and the East" () to symbolise his claim to the Roman territories in
Anatolia. First, Mehmed renewed the Danishmendid-Seljuk alliance by marrying his second son
Dhu’l Nun to a daughter of Meusd. Then he attacked John's
Crusader subjects in
Marash but failed to make any major territorial gains. After withdrawing north, John, at
Antioch at the time, came to his subject's aid, capturing the key fortress of
Kapniskerti from Mehmed. The following year, an
Armenian source records that Mehmed was again campaigning in
Cilicia. Mehmed's fortunes reversed after the emperor returned to
Constantinople in 1139. Danishmendid forces simultaneously invaded
Bithynia and
Cilicia and Kapniskerti, as well as another fortress Vakha, were retaken by Mehmed. By the end of the year John was back in Anatolia, but a
Pyrrhic victory against Mehmed's larger force in February 1140 meant the emperor had to again return to Constantinople in order to rebuild his army.
Death Mehmed died on 6 December 1142 before Komnenos could begin his next invasion, the emperor himself dying the following April. Mehmed was succeeded as
melik by his second son Dhu’l Nun, but civil war again broke out amongst the Danishmendid as Mehmed's brothers and other sons refused to recognise Dhu’l Nun's appointment. Mehmet'd body was
mummified. His
Kümbet is in
Melikgazi,
Kayseri. His mummy was
vandalized in 1935, cutting off one of his hands. In 1978, the mummy was partially burned. ==References==