Danishmendids
Danishmendid Beylik | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1071/1075–1178 | |||||||||
Anatolia in 1097, before the Siege of Nicaea | |||||||||
| Capital | Sivas Niksar | ||||||||
| Common languages | Old Anatolian Turkish Medieval Greek | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Bey, Ghazi, Melik | |||||||||
• 1071/1075–1084 | Danishmend Gazi | ||||||||
• 1175–1178 | Nasreddin Muhammed | ||||||||
| Historical era | High Medieval | ||||||||
• Established | 1071/1075 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1178 | ||||||||
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The Danishmendids or Danishmends (Turkish: Dânişmendliler) were a Turkish dynasty. These terms also refer to the Turkish state in Anatolia. It existed from 1071/1075 to 1178 and is also known as the Danishmendid Beylik (Turkish: Dânişmendliler Beyliği). The dynasty was centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia, and extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103. In the early 12th century, the Danishmends were rivals of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, which controlled much of the territory surrounding the Danishmend lands, and they fought extensively against the Crusaders.
The dynasty was established by Danishmend Gazi for whom historical information is rather scarce and was generally written long after his death. His title or name, Dānishmand (دانشمند) means "wise man" or "one who searches for knowledge" in Persian.