İlyas Bey (died 1362) was the second bey (lord) of the Turkish beylik of Saruhan in the 14th century.

Background

Saruhan Beylik was a Turkmen principality founded after the disintegration of

Seljuks of Turkey 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 ...

by İlyas's father Saruhan Bey. The capital of the beylik was

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

(ancient Magnesia). Upon his father's death in 1345, İlyas was enthroned as the second bey of the beylik.

Foreign relations

Beylik of Aydın was to the south, Beylik of Germiyan was to the east and Beylik of Karesi (later Osmanlı Beylik) was to the north of Saruhan. Although the beylik was a maritime beylik, the important castle

Phocaea Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Ancient Greece, Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Colonies in antiquity, Greek colonists from Phoc ...

(modern

Foça Foça is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 251 km2, and its population is 34,946 (2022). The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of İzmir's city center on the Aegean Sea, Aege ...

) on the Aegean coast was a fort of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

(later

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

). İlyas was usually in good terms with both the neighbouring beyliks and Phocaea.

Struggle with Byzantine Empire

In 1358 İlyas Bey was involved in an event known as Kidnapping of Şehzade Halil. Phocaea was a part of Byzantine Empire, but the commander of the fort Leo Kalontheros refused to obey emperor

Andronikos IV Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus (; 11 April 1348 – 25/28 June 1385) was the eldest son of Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor from 1352, he had a troubled relationship with his father: he launched a ...

‘s command to liberate Şehzade Halil of the Ottomans who was previously kidnapped. The emperor laid a siege to Phocaea and asked for İlyas Bey's support. Although İlyas pretended to support the emperor, being an ally of Phocaea, he planned to arrest the emperor during a hunting party. But it turned out that it was the emperor who arrested İlyas Bey. İlyas's wife had to pay ransom to liberate her husband.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt I, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p. 234

Last years of İlyas

İlyas returned to Manisa and continued to reign in his beylik. He died in 1362. He was succeeded by his son, İshak, the governor of

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilyas Bey Of Saruhan 1362 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Manisa History of Manisa Province 14th-century monarchs in Asia