ESREF DYNASTY

also spelled Ashraf, Turkmen dynasty (c. 1290c. 1326) that ruled in Beysehir, west of Konya in central Anatolia. The dynasty traced its origins to a Turkmen tribe that was settled by the Seljuqs of Anatolia on the western frontier. The family's founder, Esref oglu Sayfeddin Sleyman I, was a Seljuq emir who played an important role in Seljuq dynastic struggles during the reign (128398) of the Seljuq sultan Mas'ud II. Sleyman was appointed regent to the sons of the deposed Seljuq sultan, Ghiyath ad-Din Kay-Khusraw, by Mas'ud's opponents in 1285, but he submitted to Mas'ud when the sultan consolidated his power. Later Sleyman I assisted Mas'ud against the latter's brother Siyawush. Sleyman's son Mehmed captured Aksehir and Bolvadin and in 1314 accepted Il-Khanid (western Mongol) suzerainty. He was succeeded by his son Sleyman II, whose reign coincided with an attempt by Demirtas, the Il-Khanid governor of Anatolia, to assert his authority over the independent Turkmen rulers in Anatolia. About 1326 Demirta s marched to Beysehir and killed Sleyman II, putting an end to the Esref principality. Later its territories were divided between the Karaman and Hamid principalities.