İsfendiyar Bey
İsfendiyar (Old Anatolian Turkish: عزالدين اصفنديار; c. 1360 – 1440), was a prince of the Candar dynasty that reigned as Bey of the Principality of Candar from 1385 until his death in 1440.
İsfendiyar | |||||
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Prince | |||||
Bey of the Principality of Candar | |||||
Reign | 1385 – 1440 | ||||
Successor | İbrahim II | ||||
Born | c. 1360 | ||||
Died | 26 February 1440 Sinop, Principality of Candar | ||||
Issue Detail |
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Dynasty | Candar | ||||
Father | Celaleddin Bayezid | ||||
Mother | Sultan Hatun | ||||
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Early life
Born circa 1360, İzzeddin İsfendiyar was the son of Celaleddin Bayezid of the princely Candaroğulları dynasty, while his mother was Sultan Hatun of the imperial Ottoman dynasty, daughter of Süleyman Pasha, son of the second Ottoman sultan Orhan.[1]

Ascendance
Before his enthronement, the principality had been reduced to a small area around Sinop, a port on the Black Sea coast. In a bid to avoid the loss of his last dominion, as bey İsfendiyar adopted a policy of peace with his neighbors.
During the reign of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I (1389–1402), who had conquered most of the other beyliks of Anatolia, İsfendiyar was able to establish good relations with the other Oghuz Turkic clans. It is believed that the emergence of Kadı Burhaneddin's short lived but powerful Turkmen state in the Central Anatolia was one of the main factors for Ottoman-Candar cooperation.[2] Nevertheless, several beys whose territory had been annexed by the Ottomans took refuge in İsfendiyar Bey's beylik.[3]
Expansion
During Timur's campaign in Anatolia in 1402, he kept the territory of his beylik with Timur's approval. During the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–1413), he followed a balanced policy between the contestants. During the reign of Mehmed I of the Ottoman Empire (1413–1421), he was an ally of the Ottomans.[1][4]
Kazım’s revolt and final years
In 1416, his son Kazım, with Ottoman support, revolted which forced İsfendiyar Bey to abandon all territory south of the Ilgaz Mountains (i.e. Çankırı). In 1419, the Ottomans annexed the eastern part of the beylik (i.e. Samsun). The death of Mehmed I and the two revolts during the early years of the new sultan Murad II gave İsfendiyar a chance to regain his losses. However, after Murad II stabilized his domestic situation, İsfendiyar was quickly defeated.
According to the terms of the treaty signed circa 1424, İsfendiyar Bey was to abandon his gains but was permitted to keep the territories of Kastamonu and Sinop.
In latter years, Isfendiyar established close familial ties with the Ottomans, with the marriage of his granddaughter Tacünnisa Hatice Halime Hatun to Murad II,[5] followed by the marriage of his eldest son and heir Taceddin Ibrahim II Bey to Selçuk Hatun, daughter of Mehmed I and Murad II's half-sister.[5]
Marriage and issue
Consort
- Esen Kutlu Hatun (also called Tatlu Hatun; died 3 July 1445, buried in the Isfendiyar Royal Mausoleum, Sinop), mother of Taceddin İbrahim II Bey;
Issue
- Taceddin İbrahim II Bey, who reigned as Bey of the Beylik of Candar from 1440 to 1443. He married Selçuk Hatun (died 1485, buried in Yeşil Mausoleum, Bursa), daughter of Sultan Mehmed I. By his first wife he had a daughter, Hatice Hatun, who first married Sultan Murad II[5] and, after his death, Ishak Pasha.
- Kıvameddin Kazım Bey, married to Fülane Sultan Hatun, daughter of Sultan Mehmed I;
- Hızır Bey;
- Murad Bey;
- Saidbaht Hatun (died 1459, buried in Isfendiyar Royal Mausoleum, Sinop)
Death
İsfendiyar died in Sinop on 26 February 1440, after which he was succeeded as bey by his son Taceddin İbrahim II Bey.
Legacy
While the dynasty is named Candar after its founder, Şemseddin Yaman Candar, following the reign of İsfendiyar, as a testament to its longevity some historians of the Ottoman Empire also began to refer to the beylik by the name of İsfendiyar.
References
- Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: Türkiye tarihi Cilt I, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 pp. 202-293
- Research by Yaşar Yücel p.160 (in Turkish)
- Islam Encyclopaedia (in Turkish)
- Sinop MP Engin Altay’s page (in Turkish)
- "Candaroğulları (İsfendiyaroğulları) Beyliği". Tarih Dersi Tarih Öğretmeni (in Turkish). 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2023-09-04.