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The Anatolian Turkish Beylik of Menteşe (1260-1424), with capital in Milas in southwest Anatolia and headquartered in Beçin castle near that city, was one of the frontier principalities established by Oghuz Turkish clans after the decline of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.
The Beylik was named after its founder, Menteşe Bey. The beylik's core
territory corresponded roughly to present-day Muğla Province in Turkey,
including the province's three protruding peninsulas.
Among important centers of the Beylik were the cities of Beçin, Milas,
Balat, Finike, Kaş, Mağrı (Fethiye after 1911), Muğla, Çameli,
Acıpayam, Tavas, Bozdoğan and Çine. The city of Aydın (formerly
Tralles) was controlled by this Beylik for a time and was named
Güzelhisar under the Menteşe. They later transferred it to their
northern neighbors of Aydınoğlu who re-named the city after the founder
of their dynasty. Beys of Menteşe also held Rhodes between 1300-1314
and were a serious regional naval power of their time. They also left
important works of architecture such as the Firuz Bey Mosque in Milas
and İlyas Bey Mosque in Balat.
Menteşe Beys submitted to Ottoman power for the first time in 1390
under the reign of Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. After 1402, Tamerlane
restored the beylik to Menteşeoğlu İlyas Bey, who later recognized
Ottoman sovereignty in 1414. It was incorporated into the Ottoman realm
in a definite manner in 1424.
The present-day Muğla Province of Turkey was named the sub-province
(sanjak) of Menteşe until the early years of the Republic of Turkey,
although the province seat was moved from Milas to Muğla with the
establishment of Ottoman rule in the 15th century.
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