Germiyan dynasty

Germiyan
1300–1429
Beylik of Germiyan (light red) in 1300.
Capital
  • Kütahya (c.1300–81, 1402–11, 1414–29)
  • Kula (1381–99)
Common languagesOld Anatolian Turkish
Religion
Islam
GovernmentMonarchy
Bey 
 1300–1340
Yakub I
 1340–1361
Mehmed
 1361–1387
Suleiman
 1387–1429
Yakub II
Historical eraLate Medieval
 Established
1300
 Disestablished
1429
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Sultanate of Rum
Ottoman Empire

Germiyan, or the Germiyanids (Old Anatolian Turkish: كرميان; Turkish: Germiyanoğulları Beyliği or Germiyan Beyliği), were a dynasty that controlled parts of western Anatolia from c.1300 to 1429. Germiyan first appeared in 1239 near Malatya tasked with suppressing the Babai revolt. The tribe relocated to western Anatolia with the encroaching Mongol invasion. During the reign of Yakub I (r.1300–40), Germiyan gained sovereignty with the demise of the Sultanate of Rum and forged war with the neighboring Ottomans and the Byzantine Empire, which continued during his successor Mehmed's rule (r.1340–61).

Amidst the political tension caused by the neighboring Karamanids, Suleiman (r.1361–87) married his daughter Devletşah Hatun to the Ottoman prince and future sultan, Bayezid I (r.1389–1402). The process saw a major dowry payment that transferred much of the Germiyanid realm to Ottoman control, including the capital Kütahya. Yakub II (r.1387–90, 1402–11) was initially on friendly terms with the Ottomans but eventually attempted to reclaim the former lands that were lost following his sister's wedding. He was jailed by his brother-in-law Bayezid I in 1390, and Germiyan wholly came under Ottoman control. Nine years later, Yakub escaped from prison and sought the protection of Timur (r.1370–1405), who, after crushing Bayezid with the help of Yakub at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, restored Germiyan's former boundaries. In 1411, Kütahya fell to Mehmed II of Karaman (r.1398–99, 1402–20), interrupting Yakub's reign a second time. His rule was reinstated by the Ottoman sultan, Mehmed I (r.1413–21), upon the defeat of the Karamanids. Although Yakub meddled with the internal conflicts within the Ottomans, the triumph of Murad II (r.1421–44, 1446–51) over his opponents forced Yakub to revert to amicable relations. Yakub lacked male heirs and left the rule to Murad II in his will shortly before he died in 1429.

The Germiyanid rule produced many literary and architectural works, and the Germiyanid court was a center of science and artisanship. The architectural remnants of Germiyan include külliyes (building complex), imarets, masjids, türbes (tomb), madrasas (school), and libraries. Several earlier Persian works were translated into Turkish under Germiyanid patronage.