Juneyd or Junayd Bey (; ) was the last ruler (bey) of the Aydınid principality in what is now central western Turkey. His exact relationship with the Aydınid dynasty is unclear. His father was a long-time and popular governor of Smyrna under the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I. This allowed Junayd to consistently rely on the loyalty of the area's populace.
Bayezid was defeated by Timur at the Battle of Ankara, beginning a civil war for succession between his sons – a period known as the "Ottoman Interregnum". Taking advantage of the situation, Junayd attacked the Aydınid brothers, Isa and Umur II, who had been restored by Timur. By early 1406, Isa and Umur were dead and Junayd was the undisputed ruler of the former Aydınid domains. Like all the rulers of the region, Muslim and Christian alike, Junayd was also an active participant in the civil war between Bayezid's sons İsa, Süleyman, Musa and Mehmed, in which he changed his allegiance several times. He supported İsa against Mehmed, and became a vassal of Süleyman. His persistent attempts to exploit the conflict to broaden his power and independence forced Süleyman to send him as provincial governor of Ohrid in Rumeli in 1410. After Süleyman's overthrow and death in 1411 at the hands of his brother Musa, Junayd returned to Anatolia and seized Smyrna, but had to recognize the suzerainty of Mehmed. During Mehmed's absence in Rumeli to campaign against Musa, Junayd reclaimed his independence and attacked his neighbouring rulers. As a result, in 1414 Mehmed led a regional coalition against Junayd. Junayd's mother was able to save his life, but once again Junayd was dispossessed and sent to Rumeli as governor of Nicopolis. From there, he joined the unsuccessful rebellion of Mustafa Çelebi, until the Byzantines agreed to intern him and Mustafa in 1416.
In 1421 Mehmed died and his son Murad II refused to honour his father's obligations to the Byzantines. In consequence, Mustafa and Junayd were released. Mustafa gained the allegiance of the Ottoman marcher-lords of Rumeli, and overcame an army sent against them under the vizier Bayezid Pasha, whom Junayd executed. When Mustafa marched to confront Murad in Anatolia, Junayd was persuaded to desert him. Mustafa withdrew to Rumeli, where he was captured and executed. In the meantime, Junayd restored his rule over his former principality until 1424, when Murad finally turned against him. Driven from Smyrna, Junayd sought refuge in the fortress of İpsili. In early 1425, Ottoman ships completed the siege of İpsili by sea and he was forced to surrender. Despite assurances of safety, he and his family were executed, ending the Aydınid line.
Background
The Beylik of Aydın was a small Turkmen principality (emirate or beylik) in western Anatolia that emerged after the disintegration of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rum. Little is known of its eponymous founder, Aydınoğlu Mehmed Bey, who was previously in the service of the Germiyanids. The beylik was extended by Mehmed Bey () into the former Byzantine lands along the Küçükmenderes River up to the Aegean coast. Its two main ports were Ayasoluk, near the ruins of ancient Ephesus, and Smyrna, while its capital was Birgi. It reached its greatest power under Mehmed's son, Umur (), who established it as an important naval power. Umur became involved in the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 and launched successful raids against the Christian states of the Aegean Sea. This led to the two Smyrniote crusades and the loss of the lower town and port of Smyrna to the Latins. Umur was killed fighting at Smyrna in 1348. Under his successors, the beylik declined and was annexed by the Ottoman sultan, Bayezid I (), in 1390.
Junayd's origin is not entirely clear. Sources about the period are many and have diverse provenance, differing greatly in scope, detail, and reliability. The main contemporaneous source about Junayd's career is the chronicle of the Byzantine historian, Doukas. Doukas calls him "Juneid, the son of Kara-subashi" (subashi being a gubernatorial title rather than a proper name) and reports that the latter was "a brave man, illustrious in warfare", who had served for many years as governor of Smyrna under Bayezid I and therefore gained the respect and loyalty of the Smyrnaeans. In Turkish sources, the name of Junayd's father is given as Ibrahim or sometimes, Ibrahim Fatih ("Ibrahim the Conqueror"). The Turkish historian Himmet Akın suggests that Junayd's father was the same individual as Ibrahim Bahadur, a son of Mehmed Bey and lord of Bodemya. This view is also accepted by Irène Mélikoff, in the Encyclopaedia of Islam article on Junayd. The Greek Ottomanist Elisabeth Zachariadou challenges this identification, since no source records a relationship between Ibrahim Fatih and Bodemya, whereas he is strongly identified with the region of Smyrna, where he established a number of pious foundations (vakf). Furthermore, based on a reference in the satirical work of the contemporary Byzantine author, Mazaris, Zachariadou suggests that Ibrahim may have been a Byzantine renegade.
Junayd's relationship to the Aydınid family is thus unclear, although he may have been a member of a lesser branch of the dynasty. A number of Genoese documents, first published in 1999, shed some further light on his family. Of these, a document dated to 1394 mentions the subassi Smirarum (subashi of the Smyrnaeans) – evidently Junayd's father. It concerns discussions on the release of two of the sons of the subassi, who had been taken prisoner by the Latin captain of Smyrna. Kastritsis reports Junayd may have been one of them. It is known that Junayd had an uncle, Qurt Hasan, and three brothers: Hasan Agha, Bayezid, and Hamza.
Start of the Ottoman Interregnum (1403–1405)
At the Battle of Ankara in August 1402, Bayezid I was defeated and captured by the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur. Timur spent the subsequent winter in the former Aydınid lands, engaging in the recapture of the lower town of Smyrna from the Knights Hospitaller. He initially appointed a certain Mehmed to govern Ayasoluk – according to Kastritsis and Zachariadou, probably one of Timur's Turco-Mongol magnates – and himself established his court there during his stay in the region. In March 1403, Timur withdrew from Anatolia, with plans to campaign against China. He left control over the Aydınid domains to Isa and Umur II, grandsons of Mehmed Bey. Junayd appears to have exploited the volatile political situation created by Timur's withdrawal to gain control of Smyrna (which, after Timur's campaign, was now entirely in Muslim hands). The process by which this happened is unknown. In the account of Doukas, for example, he is immediately introduced leading an army from Smyrna to eject the Aydınids from Ayasoluk, an event which modern historians date to 1405 (see next section for details).
Bayezid's capture, and his death three months later, began the period known as the Ottoman Interregnum: a civil war for succession between his sons that lasted from 1402 until 1413. Neighboring lands, including the Christian states in the region (the Byzantine Empire, Wallachia, and Serbia) became involved in the conflict to preserve their borders against the threat of renewed Ottoman Turkish expansionism. Minor beyliks of the region restored by Timur were obliged to acknowledge the ascendant Ottoman claimant, while the Ottoman princes vied for support in return for recognizing their autonomy. The Anatolian beys tended to recognize as their overlord whichever of the Ottoman princes controlled Bursa – the first Ottoman capital and still formally the Dar al-Saltana ("abode of the sultanate").
Bayezid's second son, Süleyman Çelebi, controlled the Ottoman provinces in the Balkans (Rumeli). In Anatolia, the Ottoman territories were divided between his two brothers, İsa Çelebi and Mehmed I (the latter the eventual victor in the civil war). İsa initially held the advantage, as he controlled the original core of the Ottoman state, Bithynia (including Bursa), while Mehmed ruled the peripheral and recently conquered Rûm Eyalet. Sometime between March and early May 1403, Mehmed had defeated his brother at the Battle of Ulubad and seized Bursa, forcing İsa to seek refuge in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. With the support of Süleyman, İsa returned to Anatolia by 18 May 1403. He laid siege to and sacked Bursa, but was again defeated by Mehmed near the city. İsa then allied himself with İsfendiyar Bey of Kastamonu, only to be defeated again at Gerede.
İsa traveled to Smyrna, where he formed an alliance with Junayd. Through Junayd, the alliance was extended to include the neighbouring rulers of Sarukhan, Menteshe, Teke and Germiyan. It is unclear if by this time Junayd was a vassal of Süleyman as he became later. Kastritsis concludes that if he was, then Junayd's support of İsa was probably in alignment with Süleyman's policy of supporting İsa against Mehmed. The allies held superior numbers, but Mehmed was able to overcome them in a battle near Smyrna, assisted by his own alliance with the Karamanids and the Beylik of Dulkadir. To maintain his authority, Junayd was forced to submit to the victor and ask for pardon, while İsa, trying to escape, was caught and strangled at Eskişehir.
Worried by Mehmed's increasing power, Süleyman invaded Anatolia himself in late 1403 or early 1404, and occupied Bursa. Unable to face his brother's superior forces, Mehmed withdrew east to Rûm, and the stand-off between the two brothers entered a period of relative stalemate that lasted until 1410.
Takeover of the Aydınid beylik (1405–1406)
In spring 1405, Junayd assembled a force of "more than five hundred troops", including many Smyrnaeans, with which he captured Ayasoluk and evicted the Aydınid brothers, Isa and Umur from their principality. According to Doukas, Junayd claimed to be operating on behalf of Süleyman, who supported Junayd with money. In the struggle that followed, the Aydınids appear to have been backed by Mehmed. A report from the Venetian colony of Crete suggests that, in early summer 1405, Mehmed allied himself with the rulers of Aydın (Umur) and Menteshe, and that Junayd sided with Süleyman in opposing them.
Isa of Aydın was killed by Junayd near Palaiopolis, but Umur escaped. Umar's uncle, Ilyas Bey, ruler of Menteshe, marched against Ayasoluk in support. Doukas puts the force at 6,000 men, against the 3,000 of Junayd and the Kara-subashi. The town was held by the Kara-subashi, while Junayd held Smyrna. Ayasoluk surrendered after a two-day bombardment with incendiary missiles, but the Kara-subashi held the citadel until his surrender in autumn. Doukas reports that Ilyas Bey imprisoned the Kara-subashi and his retainers at Marmaris. Junayd took a light galley and sailed to Marmaris. Having secretly notified them of his approach, the prisoners threw a feast for the guards. When the guards fell into a drunken stupor, the prisoners climbed down the castle walls and escaped to Smyrna in Junayd's ship.