Suleyman Shah (; ) was, according to Ottoman tradition, the son of
Kaya Alp
Kaya Alp () was, according to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, the son of Kızıl Buğa ''or'' Basuk and the father of Suleyman Shah. He was the grandfather of Ertuğrul, Ertuğrul Ghazi and great-grandfather of the Ottoman Empire founder, Osma ...
and the father of
Ertuğrul
Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi (; died ) was a 13th-century uch bey (marcher-lord), who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader ...
, who was the father of
Osman I
Osman I or Osman Ghazi (; or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4) was the eponymous founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as a bey, beylik or emirate). While initially a small Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, h ...
, the founder of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Early Ottoman genealogies disputed this lineage, and either Suleyman Shah or
Gündüz Alp
Gündüz Alp was the likely father of Ertuğrul (13th century) and grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Dynasty. According to some sources, the name of one of the sons of Ertuğrul was also Gündüz Alp, and thus the brother of Osma ...
could be Osman's grandfather and the father of
Ertuğrul
Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi (; died ) was a 13th-century uch bey (marcher-lord), who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader ...
. An Ottoman
tomb
A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...
initially in or near
Qal'at Ja'bar
Qal'at Ja'bar (, ) is a castle on the left bank of Lake Assad in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. Its site, formerly a prominent hill-top overlooking the Euphrates Valley, is now an island in Lake Assad that can only be reached by an artificial cause ...
has historically been associated with Suleyman Shah. He succeeded his father as bey in 1214 when he decided to lead the 50,000 strong tribe West in the face of Mongol invasion. After migrating to the North Caucasus, thousands of Kayis settled in
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
and
Ahlat
Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.Diyarbakir,
Mardin
Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
, and
Urfa
Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...
.
Family tree of Süleymanşâh
Various sources linked Süleymanşâh to
Osman Gazi
Osman I or Osman Ghazi (; or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4) was the eponymous founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as a beylik or emirate). While initially a small Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, his beylik transformed in ...
and his father
Ertuğrul
Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi (; died ) was a 13th-century uch bey (marcher-lord), who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader ...
:
Family tree in
Şükrullah
Şükrullah was a 15th-century Ottoman historian and diplomat.
Oruç Bey
Oruç Bey (''Oruç bin Âdil'') was a 15th-century Ottoman historian.
Life and career
Almost nothing is known from his personal life. Based on the information in the intro of his chronicle, it is believed that he was a clerk born in Edirne and ...
Hasan bin Mahmûd el-Bayâtî
Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
*Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...
Osman I
Osman I or Osman Ghazi (; or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4) was the eponymous founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as a bey, beylik or emirate). While initially a small Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, h ...
asserted that he had descended from ''Gökalp'' and ''
Suleiman ibn Qutulmish
Suleiman Shah I ibn Qutalmish (; ; ) founded an independent Seljuk Turkish state in Anatolia and ruled as Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1077 until his death in 1086.
Life
Suleiman was the son of Qutalmish, who had struggled unsuccessfully agai ...
'' the founder of
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate
The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. T ...
instead of ''"Süleymanşâh ibn
Kaya Alp
Kaya Alp () was, according to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, the son of Kızıl Buğa ''or'' Basuk and the father of Suleyman Shah. He was the grandfather of Ertuğrul, Ertuğrul Ghazi and great-grandfather of the Ottoman Empire founder, Osma ...
Erhan Afyoncu
Erhan Afyoncu (born 1967, in Tokat) is a Turkish historian, writer, academician, television programmer and columnist. Rector of the National Defense University.
Personal life
He saw his primary and secondary education in Tokat, the place of birth. ...
claims that the identity of ''Süleyman Şah'' in the Tomb of Suleyman Shah is unidentified. He also defends that the father of ''
Ertuğrul
Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi (; died ) was a 13th-century uch bey (marcher-lord), who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader ...
'' according to the recent investigations is ''
Gündüz Alp
Gündüz Alp was the likely father of Ertuğrul (13th century) and grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Dynasty. According to some sources, the name of one of the sons of Ertuğrul was also Gündüz Alp, and thus the brother of Osma ...
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, 2011.
Operation Shah Euphrates
In early 2015, during the Syrian Civil War, on the night of 21–22 February 2015, a
Turkish military
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The Chief of the General Staff is the Commander of the Armed Forces. In wartime, ...
convoy including tanks and other armored vehicles numbering about 100 entered Syria to evacuate the tomb's 40 guards and to relocate the tomb of Suleyman Shah.
The tomb is now temporarily located in Turkey-controlled territory 200 meters inside Syria, 22 km (14 mi) west of
Ayn al-Arab
Kobani, also Kobane, officially Ayn al-Arab, is a Kurdish-majority city in the Ayn al-Arab District in northern Syria, lying immediately south of the Syria–Turkey border. As a consequence of the Syrian civil war, the city came under the co ...
and 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the
Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
, less than 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of the Turkish village of Esmesi that is in southernmost
Birecik
Birecik is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 912 km2, and its population is 93,866 (2023). It lies on the Euphrates.
Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, " ...
District.
The Turkish government has highlighted that the relocation is temporary, and that it does not constitute any change to the status of the tomb site.
In fiction
Serdar Gökhan
Serdar Gökhan (born Nusret Ersöz; 15 March 1943) is a Turkish actor.
Biography
Serdar Gökhan is an actor, known for ''Killing the Shadows'' (2006), ''The Executioner'' (1975) and ''Malkoçoğlu, the Wolf Master'' (1972).
Filmography
* Ku ...
appeared as Süleyman Şah in the Turkish TV series '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul'', where he starred as a main character in the first season, and its sequel, '' Kuruluş: Osman'', where he made a
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...