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A commander who appears to have been one of the emirs subject to Süleyman Şah, founder of the Anatolian Seljuk state; the sources call him Emir Kara Tegin. He is regarded as the conqueror of Çankırı, and is also known as the conqueror of Kastamonu and Sinop.
Çankırı passed into Turkish hands after the Battle of Manzikert (1071); it is stated that Kara Tegin conquered the town at about this time. The report that he conquered the regions of Çankırı, Kastamonu and Sinop is given on the authority of the Danişmendname and of Anna Komnene. When the Turks conquered the Kastamonu region is not known; but after Manzikert the Turkish tribes in the Seljuks' train quickly spread to the western frontier zones of Anatolia, and meanwhile Emir Kara Tegin ruled the Kastamonu region, if only briefly, after 1084.
When Malikshah came to an agreement with Byzantium against Süleyman Şah, Kara Tegin was obliged to withdraw from the coasts. Çankırı, which he had conquered, thereafter remained under the rule of the Danishmendids; Kastamonu, after then passing under Byzantine rule, was conquered by the Danishmendids.
The sources give no date for his death. He is held to lie in the tomb attributed to him at Çankırı.
His Tomb and Complex — His tomb is in Çankırı Castle. Listing the town's historic monuments, the source names first the castle, in which the tomb of Kara Tegin, regarded as the conqueror of Çankırı, is found, and states that the castle is in ruins. The site of this castle, the town's first settlement, is known today as Karategin (Karatekin) hill.
Differing Scholarly Views
The site of the grave — The TDV says that Kara Tegin lies at Çankırı "in the tomb attributed to him"; that is, it records the tomb as a building ascribed to him. The statement in the atlas's earlier record that his wife Meryem Hatun and two of his children are also buried here does not appear in the three TDV articles read; it needs a separate source.
The date of the conquest — The sources give no definite year for the conquest: the ÇANKIRI article places it "at about this time" after the Battle of Manzikert; the KASTAMONU article says that when the Kastamonu region was conquered is not known, and that Kara Tegin ruled there after 1084. The definite year in the atlas's earlier record does not appear in these articles; the atlas records no definite year for the conquest.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) · vol. 8, pp. 216-218, entry “Çankırı”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — İlhan Şahin · vol. 24, pp. 585-588, entry “KASTAMONU”
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Mehmet Öz · vol. 37, pp. 252-256, entry “SİNOP”
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