THE TITLES AND EPITHETS RECEIVED BY THE QARAMANIDS ACCORDING TO THE INSCRIPTIONS

Abstract

In Turkey, there are a few carved inscriptions (tombstones, building and commemorative inscriptions) belonging to the Qaramanids in the provinces of Antalya, Larende, Ermenak, Konya, Laranda, Niğde, and Aksaray. Most of these inscriptions were published between 1911 and 1912 by the Turkish scholar Halil Edhem Eldem (1861-1938), who was the director of the Museum of Antiquities in Istanbul in 1910. In addition to them, the late Turkish historian Mükrimin Halil Yinanç (1900-1961), from Istanbul University, recorded copies of the inscriptions belonging to the Anatolian Seljuks and Anatolian Principalities, including that of the Qaramanids into the daftars (notebooks). These notebooks, which have not been published yet, are protected by the family of the deceased Professor Refet Yinanç (1939-2019). Most of the inscriptions, I used in this article, are basically based on these two sources.
 The Qaramanids, a Turkish-Islamic State and politically opposed to the Ottomans, used Turkish, Arabic and Persian words as titles and epithets. They inherited most of these titles and epithets from the Anatolian Seljuks. While emphasizing the Central Asian Turkish roots with the Turkish words they used, they also emphasized that they supported Islam and the caliphate with Arabic words. With these words, they openly stated that they were the helpers of Islam and Muslims and that they were engaged in jihad. In addition to making conquests in the name of Islam, they also declared that they were fighting against polytheism and atheism. They always expressed their support for the caliph. Karamanoğlu Ibrahim Bey II declared himself as a caliph. They claimed that they were the heirs of the Iranian shahs with Persian words. They stated that they attach importance to justice and bestowal. They clearly wrote in the inscriptions that they were protecting the believers but were the enemies of the unbelievers.