Karasi Bey

Karasi Bey (Karesi Bey; died c. 1328), attested as Carases by Nicephorus Gregoras, was the eponymous Bey of the Karasids in northwestern Anatolia. Karasi and his father Kalam are thought to have seized the frontier of the Byzantine Empire near the ancient Mysia, excluding coastal regions, at an uncertain date. Karasi is absent from the chronicles of contemporary authors other than Gregoras. Later Ottoman sources described him as a nöker (vassal) of Sultanate of Rum, during the first reign of Mesud II ((r. 1284 – 97)). Karasi likely died before 1328, when his son Demir Khan is known to have signed an agreement with the Byzantine Empire.

Life
The father of Karasi (or Carases as attested by Nicephorus Gregoras) was Kalam (referred to as Calames by Gregoras), who was the son of Yaghdi Bey. The epitaphs of members of the Karasi family in Tokat, Kutlu Melek and his son Mustafa Chelebi, tie their ancestry to the Danishmendids, a dynasty who ruled over northeastern Anatolia during the 11–12th centuries. Modern historian Claude Cahen holds that the homonymy between the central Anatolian family and the dynasty in northwestern Anatolia may not be a sufficient evidence for a connection.

Later Ottoman sources referred to Karasi as a nöker (vassal) during the first reign of Mesud II ((r. 1284 – 97)), the Sultan of Rum. Kalam and Karasi Bey are thought to have taken over the region around Balıkesir during Mesud's reign and claimed independence at an unknown date. Fifteenth century Byzantine Greek historian Doukas wrote that they appeared in the region during the rule of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II ((r. 1282 – 1328)). It corresponded to the ancient region of Mysia, excluding the towns of Artaki, Pegae, Adramytion, Pergamon, and Dardanellia. However, Cahen proposes that the state appeared much later as medieval writers Ramon Muntaner and George Pachymeres do not mention the Karasids. Cahen disputes historian Mordtmann's connection of the Lamisai mentioned by Pachymeres and the Calames (Karasi's father Kalam) of Nicephorus Gregoras.

Following the Byzantine campaign in western Anatolia allied with Catalan Company and Alans between 1302 and 1308, Karasi expanded into Lesser Mysia and reached south bordering the Sarukhanids. In 1311, Karasi is also known to have laid support to the Sari Saltuk tribe led by Ece Halil who clashed with the Byzantine Empire in Thrace. Karasi Bey accepted troops who survived the struggle to take refuge in his realm. Karasi is thought to have died before 1328, when his son Demir Khan made an agreement with the Byzantines. Some researchers set the year as 1334 or 1336 based on later Ottoman sources, which attested to the death of a Karasid ruler, Ajlan. Although Cahen proposed Ajlan as the nickname of Karasi, these sources referred to Ajlan as the son of Karasi, whereas Karasi's son Yakhshi is also known as Ajlan. There is a türbe (tomb) dedicated to Karasi in the Mustafa Fakih neighborhood of the town of Balıkesir, in proximity to the Pasha Mosque. The tomb houses five additional graves, along with Karasi's, reputed to be of his sons. Karasi's sarcophagus is ornamented with inscriptions in the Kufic script.