Ibrahim I of Ramadan explained

Type:monarch
Ibrahim Beg
Succession:Beg of Ramadan
Predecessor:Ramadan
Successor:Ahmed
House:Ramadan
Father:Ramadan
Death Date:1384
Death Place:Sis, Mamluk Sultanate
Religion:Islam

Sarim al-Din Ibrahim I (died 1384) was Beg of Ramadan by June 1354 to 1383. Following his father Ramadan's death, Ibrahim arrived in Damascus and honored the Mamluk Sultan, securing the regional authority the Mamluks had granted Ramadan. Soon after, Ibrahim allied himself with Ghars al-Din Khalil, the ruler of the Dulkadirids, in an attempt to seize Sis. The Mamluk governor of Aleppo was assigned to deal with Ibrahim but was defeated by other local lords. The Mamluks recognized Ibrahim's authority in 1381 and granted him the title (viceroy) of Adana two years later. Ibrahim made a new attempt to realize his ambition to capture Sis. This restored the state of war between the Ramadanids and the Mamluk Sultanate. After fleeing from the Mamluks for some time, Ibrahim was caught by the Mamluk of Sis. Ibrahim was executed in the town of Sis. He was succeeded by his brother Ahmed.

Early life and background

Ibrahim's father was Ramadan Beg, a Turkmen chieftain of the Yüregir tribe and the leader of the Uchok tribal confederation in southern Anatolia. He was referred to as (Arabic: رمضان التركمانى الاوجعى) by contemporary Arab historians. Ramadan would eventually be granted the position Emir of the Turkomans by the Mamluk Sultanate following the Dulkadirid leader Zayn al-Din Qaraja's dismissal in 1352 due to a rebellion he joined. Ramadan is thought to have died before June 1354, when Ibrahim arrived at the Mamluk sultan's court in Damascus with a gift of a thousand horses, securing the position his father had received. According to the Ottoman historian Aşıkpaşazade, Ramadan issued protection for his Armenian subjects upon gaining control of Adana, Tarsus, and Missis. Further details about his life and reign are unknown as the Ramadanids came into the spotlight with his son Ibrahim's rule.

Reign

Ibrahim failed to maintain his authority over the neighboring Bozok tribal confederation, which prompted the Mamluk sultan to recognize the Dulkadirid ruler Ghars al-Din Khalil as a legitimate ruler, although Khalil was in frequent discord and occasionally at war with the Mamluks. Aiming to capture Sis from the Mamluks, Ibrahim joined an alliance with Khalil in his rebellion. The Mamluk (governor) of Aleppo, Timurbay, received a large army under his command from Cairo in 1378/9. Although many of the local Turkoman lords traveled to Ayas to plead allegiance to him with forty men and many gifts, Timurbay's attempt at raiding them elicited a major backlash that resulted in his defeat and capture in the passage of Bab al-Malik, near Belen.

In order to gather intel on the disloyalty of the Turkmens in the region, the distinguished Mamluk emir Barquq sent Yunus al-Nawruzi to Aleppo on 13 June 1381. When the plans of the Turkmens to attack Aleppo and Malatya surfaced, Yunus al-Nawruzi was trusted with the command of the Mamluk army, including Syrian Mamluk s (viceroys) and allied Turkmen and Arab tribesmen among its ranks. The Mamluk army vanquished the Dulkadirid, Ramadanid, and various other local forces on 6 July 1381. Ibrahim relayed his apology to the Mamluk sultan to the governor of Sis, Toruntay. The Mamluk sultan forgave Ibrahim. In 1381, Ibrahim was recognized by the Mamluks, and in 1383, he was given the title of Adana.

Ibrahim was later alleged to be involved in waylaying and robbing merchants and pilgrims in the region as well as having formed an alliance with the Karamanids in order to annex Sis. The Mamluk army led by emir Yalbugha started marching north on 27 December 1383. When he reached the passage in Bagras, Yalbugha stationed the s of Aintab and Bagras there to guard the path to Bab al-Malik. Aleppine Mamluk emirs Timurtash and Guchlu seized control of the bridge in Missis over the Ceyhan River before Yalbugha reached there on 9 January 1384 observing that the bridge was significantly damaged by the Turkmens but still allowed the army to pass. Yalbugha approach north to Sis. Several local Turkmens pleaded for mercy through embassies, which Yalbugha accepted. On 11 January, the main portion of the Mamluk forces arrived in Missis. Ibrahim evacuated Adana upon the arrival of the Mamluks. He retreated to the Taurus Mountains and later approached Sis. Tashbogha, the of Sis, made an unexpected attack and captured Ibrahim's children and consort. This forced Ibrahim to take refuge among the Bayat tribe. However, Ibrahim was unable to escape from the Mamluks for long as he lacked any significant military force. Ibrahim, his brother Kara Mehmed, their mother, sons, and followers were caught in late January by the Mamluk forces of Tashbogha. Yalbugha set off for Sis on 12 February. The Mamluks executed the prisoners in Sis by cutting them in half. The Mamluk army struggled with poor weather and was ambushed by the Turkmens on its way back to Aleppo. Although the ruler of the Ramadanids were killed, the Mamluks failed to fully maintain their authority over the Uchok tribe. Ibrahim was survived by his other brother Ahmed, who succeeded him.

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