27 Facts About Eretna

Ala al-Din Eretna was the first sultan of the Eretnids, reigning from 1343 to 1352 in central and eastern Anatolia.

Eretna took part in Timurtash's campaigns to subdue the Turkoman chiefs of the western periphery of the peninsula.

Eretna later sought recognition from Mamluk Egypt to consolidate his power, although he played a delicate game of alternating his allegiance between the Mamluks and the Mongols.

Eretna's life coincided with this political turmoil, which would eventually make him an heir to parts of the Ilkhanid dominion.

The growing influence of Chupan, a Mongol general, who Eretna was likely serving at the time, prompted various commanders such as Qurumushi and Irinjin to conspire a revolt.

Eretna migrated to Anatolia following his brothers' deaths and the appointment of his new master Timurtash as the Ilkhanid governor of the region by Abu Sa'id and his father, Chupan.

Eretna later led an extensive series of campaigns against the Turkoman emirates in Anatolia.

Eretna further manipulated the Konya-based Mevlevi dervish Ulu Arif Chelebi's son, Chelebi Abid, as a divine intermediary to subdue and gather the Turkoman commanders of the peripheral regions under the rule of Timurtash, who was proclaimed as a messiah by himself and his supporters.

Eretna was later killed on the orders of the Mamluk sultan.

Eretna was later involved in a plot against the Ilkhan in 1334 but received a pardon and returned to Anatolia from the Ilkhanid court in Iran.

Back west, Eretna came under the suzerainty of the Jalayirid viceroy of Anatolia, Hasan Buzurg but had already established his supremacy in the region to a considerable degree.

Eretna was officially appointed as the governor of Anatolia by Hasan Buzurg following his victory against Ali Padshah.

Eretna still insisted on his obedience to Suleiman Khan, although by 1341, he had gained enough power to be able to issue his coins in his own name.

Eretna first declared his independence in 1341 as it was when he first used the title sultan in his coins.

Eretna promptly gathered an army of Mamluk forces, Mongols, and local Turks.

Eretna's victory was unexpected for most actors in the region.

Eretna faced a reduced number of threats to his rule in this period: Despite the intentions of the new Chobanid ruler Malek Ashraf to wage a war against him, such an expedition never came to be.

The political vacuum in Mamluk Egypt, following the death of Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad in 1341, allowed Eretna to take Darende from the Mamluks.

Eretna further took advantage of the Karamanid ruler Ahmed's death in 1350, capturing Konya.

Eretna was a fluent Arabic-speaker according to Ibn Battuta and was considered a scholar among the scholars of his era.

Eretna promoted and reinforced the sharia law in his domains and showed an effort to respect and sustain the ulama, sayyids, and sheikhs.

Eretna benefited from the support of the significant population of Mongol tribes in Central Anatolia in asserting his rule.

Eretna thus highlighted his succession to the Mongol tradition despite his Uyghur origin.

Eretna was still not totally successful in the long run, as his descendants would be evicted from the throne by Kadi Burhan al-Din, who highlighted his maternal Seljuk descent but depended on the military support of some of the Mongol tribes.

Eretna's wives included Suli Pasha, Togha Khatun and Isfahan Shah Khatun.

Eretna was known to have had three sons: Hasan, Muhammad, and Jafar.

Eretna's successor and youngest son, Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad I was born to Isfahan Shah Khatun, who was a relative of the Jalayirid ruler Hasan Buzurg.