Ghars al-Din Khalil

Khalīl was the son of Zayn al-Din Qarāja, a Turkoman chieftain who, after a series of clashes with other local Turkoman lords and Mamluk governors, was recognized by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad as the na'ib of the lands stretching from Marash to Elbistan in 1337.[1] During Qarāja's rule, Khalīl actively took part in his father's military campaigns. He captured Elbistan in the name of his father from the rival Turkoman lord Ṭaraqlu Khalil bin Tarafī,[2] in 1335[3] or 1337, which was going to serve as the capital until the fall of the Dulkadirids.[4]

Qaraja's domains.

Qarāja, who had rocky diplomatic relations with the Mamluks, eventually declared independence in 1348.[5] As a result, the Mamluks sacked and occupied Elbistan, prompting Qarāja to escape to the mountains. In order to help his father gain some time, Khalīl attacked the Mamluk army with 20 of his men but was captured.[6] In 1353, Qarāja took refuge in the court of the Eretnid ruler Giyath al-Din Muhammad,[3] but at the request of the Mamluks he was chained and sent to Aleppo on 22 September 1353, for which Muhammad was paid 500 thousand dinars. One of Qarāja's sons agreed with the Bedouin leader Jabbar bin Muhanna to attack Aleppo in order to save his father. This was unsuccessful, and further angered Sultan Salih, who demanded Qarāja's transfer to Cairo. Sultan Salih scolded him in person and kept him in the Citadel of Cairo. After being imprisoned for 48 days, he was tortured to death on 11 December 1353. His corpse was left hanging in Bab Zuweila for 3 days.[7]

After the death of Qarāja, the Mamluks did not recognize Khalīl as the new ruler of his father's domains. On 10 June 1354, Ramadan Beg of the Ramadanids visited Cairo with a gift of one thousand horses for the Mamluk sultan, wishing to be granted the right to rule the lands of deceased Qarāja. The Mamluks thus recognized him as the emir of the Turkomans. However, Ramadanids, who led the Üçok tribal confederation in Çukurova, were not able to establish their authority over the neighboring Bozok tribal confederation, which was under the influence of the Dulkadirids and Khalīl Beg. When it became clear that the Ramadanids could not consolidate their power and there was the possibility of a clash between the Dulkadirids and the Ramadanids, the Mamluks finally recognized Khalīl as the new ruler of the Dulkadirids in 1355.[8]

During Khalīl's rule, the Dulkadirids considerably expanded their borders and increased diplomatic relations with the Mamluks and Kadi Burhan al-Din, a former vizier to the Eretnids who usurped the rule. Khalīl's overall domain included Marash, Zamantu, Darende, Tephrike, Melitene, Harpoot, Besni, Amid, and Amuq. Khalīl's wish to become independent and increase his influence like his father exacerbated Mamluk-Dulkadirid relations.[9]

In 1352 or 1353, just before he inherited the throne from his executed father, Khalīl sought to expand the Dulkadirid lands towards the Euphrates corridor[10] and seek revenge for his father's demise which he considered a betrayal.[11] This included an attempt to capture Malatya and the castle of Zamantu, the first of which ended up unsuccessful, since the natives secured Mamluk authority in 1360, while the latter became core Dulkadirid territory.[10] The fortress of Harpoot, initially controlled by the Eretnids,[11] changed hands for several times, first surrendering to Khalīl in 1364 but returning to the Mamluks in the winter of 1366. Khalīl retook Harpoot in September 1378 after defeating the Mamluk forces. This victory was followed by a joint Dulkadir-Ramadanid attack on the Mamluk emir Tīmūrbay of Aleppo near Ayas in February 1379 as well as a major Dulkadirid victory near Marash.[10]

As a response to continuous Dulkadirid raids near Aleppo, the Mamluks took Marash and quickly advanced to Elbistan, which was left defenseless. These major losses prompted Khalīl to seek new alliances. Kadi Burhan al-Din was a rising figure who usurped the Eretnid throne as the former vizier. Khalīl started cooperating with him and further married his son and heir Mehmed to Kadi Burhan al-Din's daughter. With Burhan al-Din's support, Khalīl plundered the Mamluk-controlled towns of Darende and Divriği, also recapturing Elbistan and Marash in 1384 only to keep it for a brief time. In order to further thwart Dulkadirid activity, the new Mamluk sultan, Barquq, took advantage of rivalries between Khalīl's brothers and planned Khalīl's assassination.[10]

The Mamluks commissioned Khalīl's brother, Sarim al-Din Ibrahim, to kill Khalīl. Ibrahim had earlier traveled to Cairo to seek recognition from the Mamluks as the lord of Harpoot.[10] From Aleppo, Ibrahim deployed his troops to the yaylak between Marash and Aintab, where Khalīl was residing and ambushed him. Khalīl's severed head was sent to Cairo, while his body was buried in the turbe of Malik Ghazi located below the Zamantu Castle. Khalīl was past his sixties when he died.[9]

Khalīl had 2[12] or 3 sons: Mehmed, Ali, and Hamza (who might have been Ali's son instead). Ali became the governor of Elbistan, while Mehmed was the fifth ruler of the principality.[13] During their father's reign, Mehmed and Ali received land around Aleppo from Barquq, although it is unknown if this required duty or was merely honorific.[14]

• Alıç, Samet (2020). "The Dulkadir's Emirs Killed by the Mamluks". The Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute (in Turkish) (43): 83–94. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
• Har-El, Shai (1995). Struggle for Domination in the Middle East: The Ottoman-Mamluk War, 1485-91. E.J. Brill. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
• Kaya, Abdullah (2014). "Dulkadirli Beyliği'nin Eratnalılar ile Münasebetleri". Mustafa Kemal University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences (in Turkish). 11 (25): 81–97. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
• Merçil, Erdoğan (1991). Müslüman-Türk devletleri tarihi (in Turkish). Turkish Historical Society Press.
• Mordtmann, Johannes Heinrich; Ménage, Victor Louis (2012). "Ḏh̲u ' l- Ḳadr". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. E. J. Brill.
• Sinclair, Thomas Alan (1987). Eastern Turkey An Architectural and Archaeological Survey. Vol. II. Pindar Press.
• Venzke, Margaret L. (2000). "The Case of a Dulgadir-Mamluk Iqṭāʿ: A Re-Assessment of the Dulgadir Principality and Its Position within the Ottoman-Mamluk Rivalry". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 43 (3): 399–474. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
• Venzke, Margaret L. (2017). "Dulkadir". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Stewart, Denis J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. III. E. J. Brill.
• von Zambaur, Eduard Karl Max (1927). Manuel de généalogie et de chronologie pour l'histoire de l'Islam avec 20 tableaux généalogiques hors texte et 5 cartes (in French). H. Lafaire. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
• Yinanç, Refet (1988). Dulkadir Beyliği (in Turkish). Ankara: Turkish Historical Society Press.