Shaban Sūlī Beg (Turkish: Şaban Süli Bey; died May 1398), also known as Sevli Beg, was the third ruler of Dulkadir from 1386 to 1398. Sūlī's father was Zayn al-Dīn Qarāja, a Turkoman chieftain, who founded a client state of the Mamluk Sultanate in southern Anatolia and northern Syria. Sūlī succeeded his older brother Ghars al-Dīn Khalīl, who was assassinated on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Barqūq. Sūlī was involved in a series of clashes with the Mamluks, in which he was initially victorious, forcing Barqūq to recognize him as the new ruler. However, Barqūq continued supporting Sūlī's rivals, and in 1389, Sūlī joined a rebellion against the state. He was pardoned in January 1391 but this time allied himself with Tīmūr, perpetrating the invasion of Syria. Sūlī faced a major loss at the hands of the Mamluks in March 1395 and was assassinated in May 1398 as commissioned by Barqūq. The throne was inherited by his son, Ṣadaqa.

Early life and background

During the thirteenth century, the region around Marash in southern Anatolia was ruled by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The region came under the dominion of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in 1298. Sūlī's father, Zayn al-Dīn Qarāja, was one of the Turkoman lords, or begs, dwelling there who were granted the right to administer part of the region by the Mamluks.^[1] Qarāja ultimately revolted against the Mamluks but was caught and executed on 11 December 1353.^[2]

During Khalīl's rule, the Dulkadirids considerably expanded their borders and increased diplomatic relations with the Mamluks and Kadi Burhan al-Din, a former vizier to the Eretnids who usurped the rule. Khalīl's overall domain included Marash, Zamantu, Darende, Tephrike, Melitene, Harpoot, Besni, Amid, and Amuq. Khalīl's wish to become independent and increase his influence like his father exacerbated Mamluk-Dulkadirid relations.^[3] Along with his brother, Sūlī took part in the defense against Mamluk forces near Marash in 1381. Sūlī had to relocate to Harpoot following a defeat. He fell out with Khalīl and fled to the court of the governor of Aleppo, similar to his other brothers, Ibrāhīm, Isā, and 'Usmān, who took refuge in Cairo.^[4] The Mamluks quickly advanced to Elbistan, which was left defenseless. These major losses prompted Khalīl to seek new alliances. Kadi Burhan al-Din was a rising figure who usurped the Eretnid throne as the former vizier. With Burhan al-Din's support, Khalīl plundered the Mamluk-controlled towns of Darende and Divriği, also recapturing Elbistan and Marash in 1384 only to keep it for a brief time. To further thwart Dulkadirid activity, the new Mamluk sultan, Barquq, took advantage of rivalries between Khalīl's brothers and commissioned Khalīl's brother, Sarim al-Din Ibrahim, to assassinate Khalīl. Ibrahim ambushed and murdered his brother in April 1386.^[1]

Reign

Shortly after Sūlī rose to the throne, the Mamluk Sultan Barqūq dispatched the Syrian Mamluk army towards Elbistan, the capital of Dulkadir. However, a defeat at Göksun forced him to grant Sūlī the manshūr (diploma), recognizing him as a legitimate ruler. Despite that, Barqūq's rivalry persisted such that he kept Sūlī's brother and claimant to the throne, Dāʾūd, in Cairo and bestowed upon him the title amīr ʿashara.^[1] He also released Ibrāhīm and 'Usmān to initiate an internal conflict within the dynasty. In the spring of 1387 near Marash, Sūlī defeated Ibrāhīm bin Yaghmur, a local lord supported by the Mamluks. Barqūq then sponsored Sūlī's nephew Nasir al-Dīn Meḥmed, who forced his uncle to flee to Develi with the aid of the Mamluk governor of Sis in the summer of 1389.^[4] That year, Sūlī joined the rebellion of the Mamluk governors of Malatya and Aleppo, Mintash and Yalbugha al-Umari,^[4] for an independent Syria, which would continue until 1393. In late September 1390, Sūlī and his brother 'Usmān^[4] occupied the town of Aintab with a force of 10,000 troops, although they could not capture the fortress.^[1] Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī produced a firsthand description of the damage caused by the siege, during which he and his brother hid in the citadel.^[5] Sūlī sought a pardon for his actions in January 1391, and Barqūq recognized Sūlī once again. Conversely, Sūlī attempted to provoke Tīmūr into invading Syria, which started another war with the Mamluk authorities, who crushed Sūlī in March 1395. In addition, constant raids of merchants from Sivas by Turkmens ignited a new conflict with Kāḍī Burhān al-Dīn in 1398.^[1]

  Dulkadir, c. 1400

Assassination

Sūlī was stabbed to death when he was sleeping in his tent on the way to the yaylak near Marash in May 1398.^[1] His assassination was carried out by a member of his son Ṣadaqa's retinue, ʿAlī Khān, on the orders of Barqūq.^[6]

References

Bibliography

• Alıç, Samet (2020). "The Dulkadir's Emirs Killed by the Mamluks". The Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute (in Turkish) (43): 83–94. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
• Peirce, Leslie (2003). Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520228924. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
• Venzke, Margaret L. (2000). "The Case of a Dulgadir-Mamluk Iqṭāʿ: A Re-Assessment of the Dulgadir Principality and Its Position within the Ottoman-Mamluk Rivalry". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 43 (3): 399–474. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
• Venzke, Margaret L. (2017). "Dulkadir". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Stewart, Denis J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. E. J. Brill.
• Yinanç, Refet (1988). Dulkadir Beyliği (in Turkish). Ankara: Turkish Historical Society Press.
• Yinanç, Refet (1994). "Dulkadiroğulları". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 9 (Dârüsaâde – Dulkadi̇roğulları) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 553–557. ISBN 978-975-389-436-4.