Preface and Sources
You can see the original version of these posts in my thread. I will be making three posts. This first one will be about tags, topography, products of the RGO's, and maybe religion. The second post will be a list of all my placename suggestions and the dynamic naming suggestions. The third post will be on cultures solely. I am doing it this way because I do not want the less contentious, more objective parts featured in the first two posts caught in the Greco-Turkish flame war, plus it would be way too long otherwise. This first post's sources are mostly "Anadolu Beylikleri ve Ak Koyunlu, Kara Koyunlu Devletleri (Anatolian Beyliks and the Aq Qoyunlu and Qara Qoyunlu States)", written by İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılıoğlu on the behest of Turkish History Association. The latest version of the book is in 1969, and Ispil on the forums sent it to me. Speros Vryonis' tome also proved somewhat useful, but I'll cite that in the culture post. About the Ahis of Ankara, a collection of historical comments is available thanks to Celal Metin of Ankara University. I used Nişanyanmaps, an online project documenting old place names in Turkey made by Turkish-Armenian linguist Sevan Nişanyan for the placenames and informations about historical status of the plaecs themselves. I’ve also consulted a few primary sources like the History of Aşıkpaşazade, Travel Book of Ibn Battuta, Anna Comnene’s History and Selçukname (Those detail the beyliks' history pretty well)
The Tags
Karesids were not yet annexed in 1336, though it is a common misconception of Ottoman historiography that they did, and I am really impressed you managed to catch that. However, one of their heirs was in the Ottoman court at the time, and upon the death of the bey in 1341 he would send the Ottomans onto the Karesid land, which resulted in annexation. Hope there is an event to simulate that. The current ruler is Demir Han Bey, son of Karesi Bey himself. This beylik had a strong naval tradition and apparently a powerful navy rival to the local Greeks. Their land set up is mostly okay, though they should own Bergama, currently under Saruhanids. Uzunçarşılıoğlu mentions Yahşi Han, Demir Han’s brother, ruling over that region.
Saruhanids also had a small navy, but if Bergama is given to Karesids as I formerly mentioned this won’t really work. They also collected annual taxes from Genoese in Foça, so maybe they could start with Foça to represent that. Foça would be renamed to Aliağa or Dikili, and a new Foça province would be given to Venetians. They are also said to have an army of ten thousand men. At the start date they were ruled by the eponymous Saruhan Bey. They did not join the Ottomans out of their own volition, so no need for special content about that in this case.
Aydınids were centered in Birgi. Their patriarch Aydın oğlu Mehmed Bey had just died, and a thirty years old, very bold man called Umur Bey was their leader. He owned nearly three hundred ships, and constantly engaged in piracy in the Aegean Islands, Morea, even as far as Cyprus and Wallachia. He was allied with Emperor Andronikos, whom he helped in a campaign against Albania. Uzunçarşılıoğlu also says the Byzantines had given him Chios in exchange for him to lift his siege of Philadelphia. In 1344, a coalition of Cyprus, Papacy, Venice, and Rhodes captured İzmir to put an end to Aydınid piracy. He at some point tried to cross the Dardanelles too, alongside the rulers of Saruhanids and Karesids. He died in a siege though, and his brother Hızır was not all that aggressive. After that, the Aydınids regressed. The same source that gives army numbers for all beyliks states the Aydınids had seventy thousand riders, definitely an exaggeration, but it is obvious that they could have been the strongest contenders for Anatolian reunification. No special interactions with Ottomans needed for them either.
Menteşeids (for the sake of consistency) also were a Turkish naval power. They always had ambitions to invade Rhodes, which was not possible due to the Knights being fierce warriors and had good connections. They owned an “excellent navy of two hundred ships” apparently, and sources say they had a hundred thousand soldiers. This is once again an exaggeration aimed at showing how strong they were. They apparently “did not fear any other state other than the Germiyanids”. They had important ports, one of which is said to have been a market center and traded a lot with the Venetians. They became very rich off of this trade and had multiple madrasas in their land. Their bay in the start day was Şücaüddin Orhan Bey, who will soon die and leave his place to İbrahim Bey. Ottomans simply defeated them with brute force twice, once before Timur’s death and once after.
İnançids were also known as the beys of Ladik. They were a vassal state of the Germiyanids. They should be a vassal of Aydınids, to eventually be annexed by them. They apparently had ten thousand soldiers. Their bey around 1337 is İnanç Bey himself! Around here was also another small beylik in Tavas, another Germiyanid vassal state, which is said to have four thousand men. Tavas is already a province, but their existence isn’t all that crucial in my opinion.
The Ottomans are also out of my scope, I assume other Turks can be much more correct about them. But to give a short rundown, they were on top of their game back then. Maximum acceleration, and their size was about to expand trifold. Orhan Bey or Orhan Ghazi, the longest living Ottoman ruler and a really talented general led the realm back then. His eldest son and heir was Süleyman Paşa, reportedly also a great general. He was the leader of the Ottoman force that set foot in Thrace and thus Europe, but later died in a hunting accident.
Now that I’ve touched upon Ottomans, I also want to say a few words about Byzantines. There are people who know Byzantium much better than me, but I will only talk about Byzantine holdouts in Anatolia. Philadelphia was a very militarized fortress town that couldn’t be conquered despite numerous attempts by all the beyliks. It had a medium sized population of Greeks and a favorable position. Ereğli on the Black Sea was a trade post and an imperial outpost essentially, of little note. However, Vryonis notes that Biga was a refuge for Byzantine refugees from Anatolia. It was so overpopulated and overstretched, famine and plague took place, killing many of the people. Seeing them in a food shortage at the start would be an interesting challenge. Also, seventeenth century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi notes that the Menteşe bey captured Eskihisar to the east of Milas from the Byzantines in 1345, which might or might not be true, given how it isn’t on any map and how Evliya Çelebi is not a very reliable narrator.
Let’s move on to a very important beylik, the Germiyanids. They were once a really glorious state, they had sent Aydın Bey, Saruhan Bey and Karesi Bey westwards, all of those beys were their vassals and their total number of soldiers exceeded two hundred thousand. Yakub I, who ruled the realm for over forty years, died in 1341, upon which all their vassals in the west became de jure independent as well as de facto. They often competed with both the Ottomans and Karamanids, causing their decline. In 1363, Yakub’s son Mehmed Bey died, and his son Süleyman Şah became the bey. The Karamanids were especially aggressive in this period, so he married his daughter off to the Ottomans, gifting them Tavşanlı, Simav, Emet and most importantly his capital Kütahya, which proved pivotal to the rise of Ottomans. Süleyman Şah’s son Yakub II first sided with Timur to get these lands back, then became an Ottoman vassal, and since he had no heirs, he named his son-in-law Murad II of Ottomans as his successor. Some unique content on their marriage and gift relations with the Ottomans would be welcome. Also, they were the nominal overlords of Aydınids until 1341, so there might also be some content related to that.
Sahibids had their name changed just like I suggested! They took the place of earlier Eshrefids, who were wiped off the earth by son of Emir Choban, Temürtash, when he was sent to discipline Anatolian emirs. Sahibids had merely four thousand men, and no towns other than Karahisar. They willingly became a vassal of the Germiyanids out of their fear of the Mongolians, and the Germiyanids later annexed them. Nusretüddin Ahmed should be the bey in 1337.
Hamidids and “Teke” were both ruled by the Hamidid family, albeit different branches of it. They were very much interlinked together and behaved as the same realm. Vryonis’ map includes Teke as Southern Hamidids, and Uzunçarşılıoğlu omits them altogether, saying they were not a beylik. He says that Teke was not a family name nor a polity, just a region and a tribe that gave its name to the region. I am of the opinion that this should be one beylik, since none of the Karamanid branches apart from Alaiye are represented. They essentially sold their land to Ottomans to escape Karamanid incursions, which could be an event, I think. In 1337, İshak ruled the Isparta branch and Hızır ruled the Antalya branch.
Çandarids were ruled by yet another man named Süleyman Paşa, who had already reigned for more than thirty years at that point and would die in two years after the game’s start. They were a vassal of the Ilkhanate until 1335 too, and they had got Sinope from Pervane Beylik twenty years prior to the game’s start date. They had about thirty thousand riders and were allied to the Mamluk ruler during his reign. His son İbrahim Şah rebelled against him at the end of his reign because he was not the heir despite being the eldest son and won. Çandarids would eventually split into two realms, centered in Kastamonu and Sinope respectively. The Sinope branched survived longer, and it was led by İsfendiyar Bey, and thus that branch can be an event releasable called İsfendiyarids. The Kastamonu Çandarids would help Ottomans for some time against the other beyliks, but eventually turn against them and ally Kadı Burhaneddin, then perished. İsfendiyarids fought against the Ottomans quite a bit, but eventually became their vassal, and then got annexed in 1459, becoming a noble family in the Ottoman court. None of this should be facilitated events to be honest, maybe except the division into two. The Çandarids also owned a strong navy, as well as a quite lucrative port in Sinope.
The so called “Beyliks of Canik” really do not have much information about them, even their borders are not exactly known. Kubadids would lose Samsun, Ladik and Merzifon to the Taşanids in 1350, who are not currently on the map, led by Taşan Bey. Eretna would give out Tokat and Amasya to Kutlu Şah Bey, founder of a beylik called Şadgeldis or Kutluşahids, in 1340. Kubadids should be ruled by Taceddin Altunbaş, with Keykubad as his heir. Taşan was the court teacher of this Keykubad. Keykubad’s son became a vassal to Kutluşahids later on. Taceddinids should be founded in 1346 and should not be on the map but be a part of Kubadids at the start. Emir Taceddin Bey is their founder. They were sworn enemies of Kadı Ahmed Burhaneddin. Hacıemirids descend from Danishmend Beylik, a very important early Turkish conqueror. They were founded by Hacıemir İbrahim Bey. There is not a single speck of information about the Bafra Beylik, not even the ruling family. This entire spider web of beyliks were vassals of the Eretna, many of whom turned against Kadı Burhaneddin when he usurped the Eretna throne. They tried to retake Samsun several times from the Ottomans, and Ottomans finally killed most of their local beys. These beyliks were founded by the Chepni tribe of Oghuz Turks and succesfully Turkified the Samsun area.
I will omit the Empire of Trebizond, Sutayids (who would leave their place to Arabic and Kurdish chiefdoms upon collapse) or Ayyubids as I feel they are not really all that relevant to Anatolian beyliks, or in the case of Trebizond they are not my area of expertise or research. However, Artuqids are actually a remnant of the first beyliks era, before the consolidation of Rûm. Their bey is Al-Malik Al-Salih in 1337. There is not much information about this later era of them. Speaking of, I will also omit the Qoyunlu states because they will not be in the 1337 setup, but I hope Paradox is cooking something for them.
The Ahis were one of the four primary social organizations that helped social security and Islamization in beyliks era and early Ottoman Anatolia: Ahiyân-ı Rûm, Bacıyân-ı Rûm, Abdalân-ı Rûm and Gâziyân-ı Rûm. The Brothers, Sisters, Wanderers, and Veterans of Anatolia respectively. The Ahis promoted futuwwa, which was a concept of altruism and common good that shaped their existence as middle class artisans, proving them with a moral framework. Their rule in Ankara is a very tenuous subject, which I hope won’t be abused and memeified. It was kind of an interregnum between Rûm and Ottomans, there was no real authority, and Ahi Hüsameddin and his son Ahi Şerafeddin were de facto independent in Ankara for some forty years despite being nominally under the Eretna. They gave the control to the Ottomans in the first opportunity. Ahis should give to the strongest Anatolian beylik unless player controlled, because there was no explicit republic or anything there. It was just regression to mayoral rule due to instability and should be a city state which is annexed by whichever power has the highest potential to unify Anatolia that can also exert control over Ankara. Their ruler isn't clear from sources, but it is highly probable that son of Ahi Şerafeddin Ahi Hüseyin or his son Ahi Bayezid was the leader. They weren't much of a dynasty but you could call them Hüsameddinids I suppose. See Celal Metin's article in Turkish.
Now, on to Eretna. It was founded by Alaeddin Eretna, a Uyghur statesman and general who served under the Ilkhanate. After the collapse of the Ilkhanate, he became independent in a large stretch of land from Kırşehir to Erzurum. His favorite candidate in the succession wars was defeated, so he allied the Mamluks and hoped for the best. After some fifty years of rule, a grandson of Eretna ascended to the throne a child, and Kadı Burhaneddin Ahmed usurped the throne. I believe this should be an event, as this had consequences on the Canik beyliks. Eventually, the Qara Qoyunlu leader killed Kadı Burhaneddin, the former judge of Kayseri, and his realm fell off. His son Alaaddin was far too young, and the entire realm just surrendered itself to the Ottomans due to their fear of Timur. This could also be an event, but I am not sure if it would be too railroading. I think the most important thing about Eretna/Kadı Burhaneddin Beylik is that their succession crises were incredibly destructive, and they were one man’s realms. It should be okay as long as this is sufficiently represented. Eretna himself should be ruling this country at the start of the game.
Alaiye has no known beys at this time, was ruled by small branches of Karamanids, and should be Karamanid lands rather than an independent tag. Later this became a Mamluk vassal in 1428. As for Karamanids proper, Bedrüddin İbrahim Bey should be their ruler at this period. They should be allied to or protected by Mamluks at this point of time. They were eventually beaten down by Ottomans, so no specific events needed. They had a lot of trade with the Europeans due to the ports they had, and also made a lot of money off of mountain passes. They were more organized than other beyliks due to the legacy of Rûm, but they still had quite destructive succession crises, often dividing the beylik into two for extended periods of time. If Alaiye is to be represented, the several Ermenek, Konya and Niğde branches that came out of succession crises could also be represented. I am okay with their 1337 setup too, but their ownership of Niğde, Kırşehir and the surrounding area is kind of tenuous, as sources mention Eretna as the owner of these lands.
Dulkadirids were nomadic Turkomans, who seized Elbistan from Eretna in 1339 actually. They shouldn’t be a part of the starting map but should arrive soon and become a Mamluk vassal. Their first leader was Zeynüddin Karaca Bey, who achieved victories against Cilician Armenians, and was recognized as the bey of all Turkomans by the Mamluks. He also fought the Mamluks eventually though, and seized control of Aleppo. I think a simple scripted arrival that gives them their core land, or what you currently have is fine. Also, my ancestors fought for these guys.
Ramazanids were Turkomans of the Oghuz Yüreğir tribe. They were awarded Cilicia (which was gradually conquered by the Dulkadirids in the first few decades of the game) due to the disloyalty of Dulkadirids. They kept Adana for almost three hundred years after that. They occupied what was left of Cilician Armenia and settled there en masse. I think a Ramazanid spawnable is a must for this region. Furthermore, these two tags should have the same “technology group” or whatever equivalent there is as the Mamluks, they were not really Anatolian beyliks in they did not descend from the Rûm.
Dynasties
The dynastic setup is looking quite okay. Artuqids were very Arabized by this point, often using Arabic names, so they could be al-Artuqiyyun I guess. Also worth noting that Mengücek were relevant much earlier. I would want the dynastic name pool to be made up of Ottoman élite's surnames to be honest. Âli Selçuk also feels better to me than Al-e Saljuq, for consistency if nothing else, unless they are Persian. I also can't find the ruling family of Bafra, but calling them Bafralıoğlu is probably better than leaving Bafra, which would feel weird as a Turkish surname at that time.
Locations
The locations look quite okay in size, but I will still list new provinces I think should be added. Milas should be divided into two or three, Didim could be added to the north as Yoranda. Edremit looks awkward too, maybe adding Burhaniye in the south is a good idea. Çeltik, Kalecik and Polatlı are also massive but those regions are essentially a desert devoid of anything meaningful so I am leaving that to someone else.
As for location renames, I will go region by region, so it doesn’t turn into a giant text block. First off, Marmara Region. Şile should be Şilli in this period. İzmit could or could not be İznikmid, both are acceptable. Adapazarı was a small village at the time and should be Sapanca instead. Atranos should be Edrenos. Bilecik could be Bilecük. Nallıhan is anachronistic as it is named after a caravanserai built in 1595, could be Ballıca or Sobran. İnegöl should be Eynegöl. Susurluk should be Fart or Farat back then. Çanakkale should be named Kale-i Sultaniye, Çanakkale is a later name. Lapseki should be Lapsekü. These “i->ü” transformations are to better reflect Old Anatolian Turkish, which is the developmental stage of Turkish back then. It is entirely optional since you are apparently avoiding Middle Chinese and Middle English too.
Moving onto Aegean region. Gördes should be Gördos due to Old Anatolian Turkish. Demirci could be Demircü. Dursunbey could be renamed to Balat as Balat is the older name, but there is another Balat in Muğla. Kütahya could be Kütâiye. Aslanapa should be replaced with Giregi, the pre-republican center of this region. Domaniç should be Hisar/Hisarköyü as Domaniç was the administrative unit. Emirdağ should be Cırgın, as Emirdağ is a republican era name.
In the Mediterranean region, Dinar in Pisidia should be Geyikli as Dinar is a modern name. Seydişehir could be corrected to Seydişehri in that era. Eğridir should be Eğirdir, it is a typo, but it could also be called Felekabad as long as it is under Hamidid rule since they named it in honor of Feleküddin Dündar Bey. Gelendost should be Gelendos at that point, the modern name is a folk etymology. Ermenek should be the earlier İrmenek. Anamur was the name of the administrative unit, Mamuriye is the town. The town between Silifke and Tarsus should be Erdemoğlu. Hatay area seems okay.
Onto Central Anatolia, my home region. Eskil should be made Eskiil, reflecting its name back then. Ilgın should similarly be Yılğun or Yılğun Bazarı. Bekarlar is a modern name and should be Nenezi instead. I would replace Bor with Kilisehisar, historical Tyana, as it was more important until the nineteenth century. Nevşehir received its name meaning “new city” in around 1720 when it was rebuilt, it should be called Muşkara instead. Kırşehir could be Kırşehri, as a minor correction. Hacıbektaş is named after a mausoleum built in honor of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli in the sixteenth century, and as such it should be named Sulucakarahöyük. Karahisar-ı Develi should be Everek. Boğazlıyan was built in the nineteenth century, Urumdiğin (an Armenian town with its name meaning the Greek woman) should be better. Ankara should be called Engüri, optionally. Çubuk could be Çubukpazarı, but Çubuk is also correct. Kıbrıscık is a region name and as such the location should be called Karadoğan. Beypazarı was Beğpazarı in Old Anatolian Turkish. Kurşunlu is also a region, with its center at Karacaviran. Bayat should be Bahaeddin. Çorum could be Çorumlu, but not very clear on that. Çankırı is a twentieth century spelling and should be Kengırı or Kengiri until then. Sungurlu was unimportant back then and could be Budaközü. I would replace Çandır with Çayırşehri, as it was more important back then. Sorgun’s primary town was called Büyük Köhne.
Going further east into Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. Şarkışla should be Şehirkışla. Keban could be Ribat-i Keban, its name back then. Sivrice was founded on Atatürk’s orders, Hefthisar should be fine instead. Çermik would be Çermuk in Old Anatolian Turkish. Genç should be Daraheni, as real life Genç Fort is thirty kilometers to the east, and it was renamed in the republican era for political reasons. Adaklı should be Azakpert. Bingöl should be Cevlik back then. Eğil should be Egil and Hani should be Heni, as it was their names back then. Diyarbakır should be Diyarbekr. Kızıltepe should be Dunaysir, its historical name. Pasinler should be Hasankale.
Onto the last region, Black Sea coast. Ordu should be Bayramlu, as Ordu didn’t exist until the eighteenth century. Araç should be Arac back then. Yenice is anachronistic and should be Yenicepazarı. Düzce should be Konrapa, as Düzce is a later name. Akçakoca should be Akçaşehir, as it was changed to Akçakoca in 1934 to commemorate a general of early Ottomans. You already implemented half of my suggestions, which gives me hope! Thanks!
Provinces
Provinces seem fine. Karasi and Karesi should be consistent, but either is correct. Usak is Uşak, and Çanik is Canik. Içel is İçel, but I do not know if you have that character. Southern part of Konya could be split off as Karaman. Muğla should be named Menteşe, and Antalya should be named Teke probably, for consistency and accuracy.
Terrain
Climate wise, it seems fine and AeronSulphur is the expert in such things anyway. I do agree Oceanic is missing. Also curious about that random spot of Mediterranean in Sinope.
Topography seems fine, except I would add a few mountains to the Aegean region, and I think Istanbul should be hills, as its poetic nickname is "City of the Seven Hills" and it has a million sloped streets that kill me all the time.
Vegetation could be improved by turning most of the grassland in the Aegean region into forest or woods as the region was and still is rather forested, even with short trees. Also the lack of farmlands is intriguing. The area of River Meander all the way through should be farmlands. Çukurova, irrigated by the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers should be farmland. Probably farmlands representing the areas where Kızılırmak and Yeşilırmak pour into the sea are needed too, maybe around the Bafra Plain.
Raw Goods
Raw goods setup is good, you especially did alum and marble really well. I think Nevşehir should be stone, at least one province of it. I am otherwise not very informed about or invested in this.
Markets:
I do not have many opinions on the market setup, The Central Anatolian darkness is interesting though. This was a period of prosperity and power for the beyliks. Maybe an Ayasuluk or Konya or Kayseri market?
Population:
Population seems fine, and you have your own tools, though I think there was at least one person in Üsküdar at the time.
Religion
I am not going to talk about who lived where in this post, but I agree West and East Syriac should be separate with one being Miaphysite Patriarchy. Alevism is very important and a cause of lots of Ottoman era rebellions, and is relevant to Shi'ites too, but not strictly Shi'ite as can be seen from Cahen and Routledge's collection on Medieval Islam and Christianity in Anatolia. There should be small patches of Muslim Greeks and Armenians as well as Christian Turks. Optionally, a small amount of Tengri pops in the Aegean could be cool, as the Tahtacı Turkoman of Muğla were very syncretic. I am also pretty dumbfounded by that Syria. Was it really that Christian back then?
Conclusion and Other Posts
I do not have many complaints in this section, Tinto did good. All in all it's pretty satisfying. Once I make the other posts, I will link all of them to each other. Thanks for reading!
