The Establishment of the Menteşâ Emirate and the Spelling of Menteşâ

Abstract

The Mongol invasion, which caused the collapse of political unity in the Seljuk State of Turkey, led to the beginning of the 2^nd Principalities Period, which was the last phase of the Turkification process of Anatolia. At the same time, the beginning of this period continued with the collapse of the Turkish Seljuk State and the organization of Turkmen (begs) as independent or semi-independent states in the regions where Seljuk authority was lost and on the eastern borders of Byzantium, whose central authority was weakened.

One of the political formations established in Western Anatolia during this period was the Menteşâ Emirate. There are various opinions about Menteşâ Bey, who is considered to be the founder of the emirate since 1934. However as the documents about the early periods of the emirate have not survived to the present day or have never been compiled, the existing opinions on the subject are not conclusive. This situation not only brings about various debates on the origin of the Emirate of Menteşâ but also causes deviations from the focal point, making it difficult to solve the problem. In studies carried out during the 90-year period on the subject, the spelling of Menteşâ was evaluated as a personal name, and solutions were sought for the problem.

In this study, by making use of sources of period as well as research works, the emergence of the emirate and the transcription of the spelling “منتشا “have been determined, and the subject has been re-evaluated from a different perspective within the existing propositions and new approaches have been obtained. In this way, the confusion between the result and the problem has been eliminated greatly, and more explicit data on the emirate’s emergence have been reached.