Background

Sultanate of Rûm

Sultanate of Rûm

The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...

 was a medieval state in Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 founded by Seljuq Turks who had recently converted to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. Although initially a part of the Great Seljuk Empire, it lasted longer than the Great Seljuks, reaching its apogee during the reign of Alaattin Keykubat I. But in the mid 13th century, Seljuks faced the problem of refugees. The Mongols

Mongols

Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...

 had defeated the Khwarazm Empire at the east, and Oghuz Turk clans were escaping from the Turkistan

Türkistan

*Türkistan is the local name for Turkestan, a region of Central Asia.*Türkistan, Kazakhstan is a historic city and place of pilgrimage in southern Kazakhstan...

 area to Anatolia. These clans were nomadic and mostly Tengriist

Tengriism

Tengriism is a Central Asian religion that incorporates elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Despite still being active in some minorities, it was, in old times, the major belief of Turkic peoples , Bulgars, Hungarians and Mongols...

, i.e. non Muslim. The Seljuk sultan Gıyasettin Keyhüsrev II attempted to settle these people in Southeast Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 (Asiatic part of modern Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

), but they defied his diktat. They started to convert to Islam, but their interpretation of Islam was more tolerant than that of the settled population, and they were regarded as heretics. However they were supported by the nomadic Turkmen people of Central Anatolia who had migrated earlier than the newcomers but had the same problems.

The revolt

Gıyasettin had ceded power to his ministers, notably Sadettin Köpek who excelled at political murder and repression. He had the leaders of Khwārazm people (like Kirkhan) imprisoned. The revolt began in 1239 around Samsat (in modern Adıyaman Province

Adiyaman Province

Adıyaman Province is a province in south-central Turkey. The province was created in 1954 out of part of Malatya Province. Area 7,614 km². Population 590,935 , up from 513,131 in 1990. The capital is Adıyaman....

), and spread quickly to Central Anatolia. Baba Ishak

Baba Ishak

Baba Ishak, also spelled Baba Ishaq, Babaî, or Bābā’ī, a charismatic preacher, led an uprising of the Turkmen of Anatolia against the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm c. 1239 until he was hanged in 1241.-Sources:...

 who led the revolt was a follower of Baba İlyas, the kadı

Qadi

Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...

 (judge) of Kayseri

Kayseri

Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...

. Although the Seljuk governor of Malatya

Malatya

Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...

 tried to suppress the revolt he was defeated by the revolutionaries around Elbistan

Elbistan

Elbistan is a district in Kahramanmaraş Province in southern Turkey. Elbistan city center's population is 85,642 ....

 (in modern Kahramanmaraş Province

Kahramanmaras Province

Kahramanmaraş is a province of Turkey. Its provincial capital is Kahramanmaraş city, the traffic code is 46.-Districts:Kahramanmaraş province is divided into 10 districts :*Afşin*Andırın*Çağlayancerit*Ekinözü*Elbistan*Göksun*Kahramanmaraş...

). The revolutionaries captured the important cities of Sivas, Kayseri and Tokat

Tokat

Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....

 in Central and North Anatolia. The governor of Amasya

Amasya

- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...

 killed Baba Ishak in 1240, but this did not mean the end of the revolt. The revolutionaries marched on Konya

Konya

Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...

, the capital. The sultan saw that his army could not suppress the revolt, and he hired mercenaries of French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 origin. The revolutionaries were defeated in a decisive battle on the Malya plains near Kırşehir

Kirsehir

Kırşehir, formerly Macissus and Justinianopolis, is a city in Turkey. It is the capital district of the Kırşehir Province. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 121,947 of which 105,826 live in the city of Kırşehir.-History:The history of Kırşehir dates back to the Hittites...

.

Aftermath

The revolt was suppressed with much bloodshed. But with the diversion of resources needed to suppress the revolt, the Seljuk army was severely affected. The defence of the eastern provinces was largely ignored, and most of Anatolia was plundered. The Seljuks lost the valuable trade colony in the Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

, on the north of the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

. The Mongol commander Bayju saw this as an opportunity to occupy East Anatolia, and in 1242 he captured Erzurum

Erzurum

Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...

. In 1243, he defeated Keyhüsrev's army in the battle of Kösedağ, and the Seljuks became vassals of the Mongols.