Ramazan Dynasty

Ramazan Dynasty, Turkmen dynasty (c. 1352–c. 1610) that ruled in the Çukurova (Cilicia) region of southern Anatolia.

In 1352 Ramazan, founder of the dynasty, was recognized by the Mamlūk sultan of Egypt as the ruler of the Üçok branch of Oğuz Turkmen in Çukurova. After a period of attempts to overthrow Mamlūk suzerainty, the dynasty’s principality about 1418 came under direct Mamlūk control and lost its significance.

With the extension of Ottoman territories to the Taurus Mountains and after an Ottoman-Mamlūk war in 1485–90, the Ramazan territory assumed strategic importance for the Ottomans. In 1514 the Ramazan ruler Mahmud was deposed by the Mamlūks and sought refuge with the Ottoman sultan Selim I, who the next year defeated the Mamlūks in Syria and restored the principality to Mahmud. Mahmud’s successor Piri was appointed by the Ottomans; he assisted them in suppressing Turkmen revolts in central and southern Anatolia (1526) and enjoyed the favour of Sultan Süleyman I the Magnificent. Çukurova was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire (c. 1610), and thereafter members of the Ramazan dynasty continued to serve as governors of Ottoman provinces in Asia and in the Balkans.