On the outskirts of the Ilkhanate: the Mongols’ relationship with the province of Kastamonu in the second half of the 13th century

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De Nicola, Bruno. 2019. On the outskirts of the Ilkhanate: the Mongols’ relationship with the province of Kastamonu in the second half of the 13th century. In: , ed. Cultural Encounters in Anatolia in the Medieval Period: The Ilkhanids in Anatolia. Ankara: VEKAM, pp. 117-135. ISBN 978-605-9388-23-8 [Book Section]

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Abstract or Description

Ever since the decisive victory over the Seljuqs of Rūm in 1243, the Mongols and their Persian officials had different approaches to the role that Anatolia should play in the Ilkhanate. The impact of Mongol rule and its reception among the Anatolian subjects was not homogeneous across the Peninsula. Eastern regions of Anatolia were geographically closer to the area where the Mongol court dwelt in North-Western Iran, which arguably gave them less room for political maneuver. On the contrary, in the western parts of Anatolia, different local dynasties emerged in the second half of the 13th century, in a complex political scenario that combined Mongol overlordship, the proximity to a decadent but prestigious Byzantium and the presence of Turkmen tribes to their political agenda. One of these dynasties was the Çobanoğlu of Kastamonu that ruled over North-Western Anatolia during the last few decades of the 13th century. This article aims to offer an overview of the relationship between center and periphery in the Ilkhanate by looking at the rule of the Çobanoğulları in Kastamonu and their political, religious and cultural development vis-à-vis the Mongols of Iran. The aim is to contrast opposing views on Mongol rule documented not only in the general narratives of the period but also to examine those works locally composed for the rulers of Kastamonu. By contracting local and more general sources, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the complex political relationship between local dynasties in peripheral areas of the Ilkhanate and the central court of the Mongols of Iran.

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