Firman of Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey

Mehmet Bey's firman was the decree of Mehmet I of Karaman (Karamanoğlu Mehmet), a vizier of Suljuks, declaring that the official language of Seljuks was Turkish. Mehmet Beg or Mehmet Bey of Karaman (Turkish: Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey), also known as Shams al-Din Mehmed Beg[1] was the third ruler of the Karamanids. His father was Karaman Bey.

Mehmet Fuat Köprülü suggested that the government officials, who had been educated under the influence of the Persian culture, had used the Persian language in their state's official business, and this strong compulsion of using Persian as official language had lasted until the Karamanids lord Mehmed Bey's invasion of Konya.[2]

Agop Dilaçar, who is known for his works on the Sun Language Theory, claimed that Mehmed Bey might have declared Turkish the official language of the state.[3][4] According to Dilaçar, in his firman dated 13 May (15 May ?) 1277, he ordered that "from that day forward, in the council, in the dervish lodge, in the court, in the assembly, in the square, no language but Turkish should be spoken". [3][5]

Before him, the Seljuq elite in Anatolia used Persian in literature and Arabic in government and science. The Turkmen, however, could not understand these languages.

After his failed rebellion in Ankara, Mehmet Bey died in a conflict against Seljuq-Mongol troops.

See also
  • Old Anatolian Turkish language
  • Jimri

References
  1. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 4, Brill, 1954, p. 620.
  2. Acem kültürünün te'sirleri altında yetişen me'murlar devlet işlerinde de Fars dilini kullanmakta idiler; Farsçanın resmî dil olarak bu kuvvetli tehakkümü, Karaman Beyi Mehmed Bey'in Konya'yı istilâsına kadar sürdü., Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Türk Edebiyatında ilk Mutasavvıflar, 6. Basım, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, 1987, p. 234. (in Turkish)
  3. Agop Dilaçar, Devlet Dili Olarak Türkçe, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları, 1962, p. 14. (in Turkish)
  4. Taqī Āzādarmakī, T. Azadarmaki, Contact Des Langues Dans L'Espace Arabo - Turco - Persan I: Arabo - Turco - Persan I, Peeters Publishers, 2005, ISBN 978-2-909961-35-4, p. 90. (in French)
  5. Carter Vaughn Findley, The Turks in World History, Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-517726-8, pp. 74-75. Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine

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