Ahis

This article is about the beylik centered at Ankara. For the Ahi brotherhoods generally, seeAkhiya.

Map of Anatolia in the early 14th century

TheAhi Brotherhood(Turkish:Ahî,plur.Ahîler), referred to asAhi Republicby modern historians,was a fraternity, guild and abeylikbased in modern-dayAnkarain the 13th and 14th centuryAnatolia.

Etymology

The traditional explanation for the name "Ahi" is that it is the Turkish pronunciation of the Arabic word "akhi", meaning "my brother". Another possibility is from an early Turkish wordaqi,recorded inMahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century Turkish dictionaryDīwān Lughāt al-Turkas meaning "generous, courageous, virtuous". A progression fromaqitoakhitoahiis "entirely consistent with the phonetic development of Anatolian Turkish".

Background

Turkic peoplebegan settling inAnatoliain the second half of the 11th century. But they mainly preferred rural areas.Seljukgovernment on the other hand encouraged those who preferred a settled life in cities. After theMongolsbegan occupyingKhorosanin the early 13th century, people fromKhorasantook refuge in Anatolia and the Seljuk government settled some of the newcomers in the cities. So a class ofMuslimcraftsmen and merchants appeared in the history of Anatolia.

Emergence of Ahis

Ahi Evren,a Muslim preacher came to Anatolia before theMongolinvasions in Khorosan. He worked as a leather dealer inKayseriand began organizing Muslim craftsmen in the cities. This organization was named after him. He moved toKonyaand after Mongol invasions toDenizliandKırşehirwhere he died.

Ahi as a political power

After theBattle of Kösedağin 1243, Seljuks were puppets ofIlkhanate Mongolsand during the power vacuum in Anatolia, various tribes or local warlords established their principalities as vassals of Ilkhanids. Ahis in Ankara also saw their chance to declare their semi-independence under Mongol suzerainty towards the end of the century (about 1290).However, Ahi Beylik, unlike the others, was not ruled by a dynasty. It was a religious and commercial fraternity which can be described as a republic not much different from themercantile republicsof themedieval Europe.

End of Ahi Beylik

In 1354, Ankara was briefly annexed byOrhan BeyofOttoman Empire(then known as beylik). Although Ahis tried to restore their independence after Orhan’s death, in 1362Murat Iended the political power of Ahis and they became the part of Ottoman Empire.In later years, some Ahi leaders even appeared as Ottoman bureaucrats.

See also

• Akhiya