Felek al-Din Dündar

Felek al-Din Dündar Beg (died 1324 or October 1326) was Beg of Hamid from c. 1300 until his death. Felek al-Din changed his headquarters from Uluborlu to Eğirdir, which he renamed to Felekabad after himself. Although Dündar occasionally declared his loyalty to the Ilkhanate, he expanded his territory in times of internal struggles in the east. He captured Antalya and appointed his brother Yunus as its ruler, forming the Teke branch of the Hamidids. Emboldened by his victories, Dündar declared himself a sultan and minted coins without the mention of an overlord. On the other hand, the Ilkhanid governor of Anatolia, Timurtash led an extensive campaign to restore the Ilkhanid authority over the Turkmen rulers in the western frontier of Anatolia, such as Dündar. Upon the siege of Felekabad, Dündar sought protection under his nephew Mahmud in Antalya. Mahmud did not resist Timurtash and surrendered his uncle to him. Dündar was executed by Timurtash and would be succeeded by his son Khidr Beg.

Early life and background
The Hamidids' eponymous founder, Hamid Beg and his tribe originally inhabited northern Syria and later migrated to Anatolia, where he served under the Sultanate of Rum by giving military training to the ruler Kayqubad I's children and army. In 1240, Kayqubad's successor Kaykhusraw II granted him land around Isparta and Burdur as the local frontier commander. The Mongol invasions and conquests gradually reached the region, and Kaykhusraw II faced a major defeat by the Mongol Empire at the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243. With the division of the Mongol Empire, Anatolia came under the influence of the Ilkhanate, which was founded by Hulegu Khan ((r. 1256 – 65)). Hamid Beg, along with various other Turkmen rulers in the western frontier region in Anatolia, rebelled against the Mongol rule in 1290. Hamid attempted to form an independent state around Burdur and Isparta, with the latter as his capital. When the Sultan of Rum, Mesud II ((r. 1284 – undefined)) was unable to extinguish these revolts, he sought help from Ilkhan Gaykhatu ((r. 1291 – 95)), who ransacked and massacred in the region of Beyşehir, ruled by the Eshrefids, as well as Eğridir, Isparta, and partially Burdur. When the next Ilkhan, Ghazan ((r. 1295 – 1304)), dismissed Mesud II, Hamid took advantage of the political vacuum and declared his independence in the region spanning Isparta, Burdur, Eğridir, Agros, Gönen, Parlais, Keçiborlu, and the fortified town of Uluborlu as his capital. He further expanded his realm to include Yalvaç, Şarkikaraağaç, Avşar, Sütçüler, İncirli, and Ağlasun.

However, in 1299–1300, Hamid accepted the Ilkhanid authority by minting coins in the name of Ghazan in Uluborlu, Eğirdir, and Burdur. The same year, he minted coins for the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad III ((r. 1298 – 1301)). Waqf inscriptions belonging to the Koyungözü Baba Zawiya in the village of Genceli from 1302–3 indicate that he might have been alive in those times and resided in Uluborlu. The same inscriptions referred to him as as-Sultanu'l-a'zam wa padishahu'l-muazzam sultan-ı selatinu'l-Arab wa'l-Ajam as-Sultan Hamid, which were titles historically reserved for the sultans of Rum. Though, it is unclear when Hamid died and whether he was alive in those years, as various sources list his death as the late thirteenth century. After Hamid, Dündar's father Ilyas Beg took over. His donations to an Islamic dignitary, Sheikh Shikem, reveal that he governed from Uluborlu. He presumably died in the early fourteenth century.

Dündar ruled the vicinity Burdur for some time during his father's reign. The Grand Mosque of Burdur, located in the neighborhood of Pazar, was built during Dündar's administration and is also known by Dündar's name. The inscriptions on the mosque dated to 1300–1 refer to him as maliku'l-umara. In Felekabad (Eğridir), he built a madrasa (school) known as Dündar Bey Medrese or Taşmedrese, the inscriptions on which (1301–2) use the title ispahsalar for Dündar in addition to maliku'l-umara.

Reign
Dündar changed the state's capital from Uluborlu to Eğirdir. Uluborlu had lost its strategic importance as much of the frontier region with the Byzantine Empire had come under Muslim control. The latter was easier to defend and was situated on the trade and military routes between the major cities of Antalya and Konya. Dündar commissioned Eğridir's reconstruction from 1301–2 onwards, including the reparation of its citadel and city walls. He renamed the city to Felekabad, deriving from his laqab (nickname) Felek al-Din (lit. 'the sky of the religion').

In 1307–8, Dündar minted silver coins for Öljaitü ((r. 1304 – 16)) as a demonstration for his allegiance to the Ilkhanate. Öljaitü appointed his uncle Irinjin as the governor-general of Anatolia. Taking advantage of Irinjin's poor administration troubled by local revolts, Dündar expanded his borders towards Antalya, Denizli, and Germiyan, promptly seizing Irle, Asi Karaağaç, and Tefenni. On the other hand, he circulated coins in the name of Öljaitü in Burdur and Uluborlu in 1309–10. When Öljaitü came out unsuccessful in his campaign against the Mamluk Sultanate, who reached Mosul, Dündar further took Gölhisar and Istanoz, reaching the city of Antalya.

Upon the death of Mesud II, the last Sultan of Rum, the Karamanids annexed Konya claiming the legacy of the fallen Seljuk rule. Öljaitü sent Chupan as the head of a large army to Anatolia to reenact Ilkhanid authority over the region. Chupan set his headquarters near Karanbük, between Sivas and Erzincan, where Dündar similar to most Turkmen lords pledged his loyalty to Chupan with valuable gifts and received a robe of honor. After returning to Felekabad, Dündar issued silver coins for Öljaitü once again in 1314–15 and started paying an annual tax of 4000 dinars to the Ilkhanate.

The Ilkhanid authority was at stake following Chupan's departure from Anatolia, and the internal struggles caused by twelve-year-old Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan's ((r. 1316 – 35)) rise to the throne when his father Öljaitü died in December 1316. The Karamanids reconquered Konya, while Dündar took the major Mediterranean port city of Antalya and trusted his brother Yunus and his nephews with its administration, giving rise to the Teke branch of the dynasty. He declared independence by assuming the title sultan, and although he did not directly use his name in his silver coins from 1321, Dündar dropped Abu Sa'id's mention. He became the suzerain of various other local states, namely the Aydinids, Sarukhanids, and Menteshe. Dündar's increase in power is also echoed by the disputed notion that Osman Ghazi, the founder of the future Ottoman Empire, sought protection from Dündar against the Germiyanids. Then, Dündar ruled over nine cities, apart from Antalya, and fifteen fortresses, with 30 thousand troops and cavalry under his command.

In 1320, Timurtash, who succeeded his father Chupan as the Anatolian governor-general, restored Ilkhanid rule in Konya in 1320, but two years later, declared sovereignty through the khutbah (sermon) and coins in his name. Threatened by Timurtash, Dündar and Suleiman II of the Eshrefids complained to Chupan and Abu Sa'id, who did not heed their complaint until Timurtash attempted to forge an alliance with the Mamluks. Chupan arrived in Anatolia and negotiated Timurtash out of the insurrection. Timurtash was pardoned by Abu Sa'id.

Having returned to his position as the governor of Anatolia, Timurtash led a campaign to subjugate the Turkmen lords of the western periphery of Anatolia. He gained control of Beyşehir, the capital of the Eshrefids, and killed its ruler Suleiman. Timurtash later laid siege to Felekabad. Dündar fled from the city and took refuge in Antalya, then governed by his nephew Mahmud. Timurtash pursued him and approached Antalya. Mahmud was in fear of Timurtash and handed Dündar over to him. Timurtash immediately executed Dündar. While several sources note Dündar's death year as 1324, historian İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı wrote that it was in October 1326, a short while after the Eshrefid ruler Suleiman's death. Sometime after the occupation of the region by Timurtash, Dündar was succeeded by his son Khidr Beg in 1325 or 1327.