After the death 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 ...

's father, the

Oghuz Turkic The Oghuz languages are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family, spoken by approximately 108 million people. The three languages with the largest number of speakers are Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkmen, which, combined, account for more ...

Kayı tribe was divided when Ertuğrul's elder brothers, Gündoğdu Bey and Sungurtekin Bey, decided to migrate to

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, while Ertuğrul and his younger brother Dündar wanted to migrate to

Söğüt Söğüt (, ) is a town in Bilecik Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Söğüt District.� ...

Sungur Tekin and Gündoğdu

The only information existing about the lives of Ertuğrul's elder brothers is about what they did before the division of the

Kayı tribe Kayı can refer to: * Kayı (tribe) * Kayı, Çorum * Kayı, İdil * Kayı, Ilgaz * Kayı, Kemer * Kayı, Mecitözü * Kayı, Oğuzlar {{dis ...

Biographies

Sungurtekin () worked as a spy for the Seljuks in Ögedai's army and passed on the information he got but was possibly killed when he was caught. However, according to others sources, he returned to the tribe. Gündoğdu Bey ' () took part in the Battle of Yassıçemen where he fought alongside his brother, Ertuğrul, and Sultan Alaaddin Keykubad I of the Sultanate of Rum. After this, Ertuğrul clothed Gündoğdu with something called ''Hilat'', an armour worn after victory.

Division of the tribe

There isn't much information about the older brothers of

, however, one of the things that they are known for is that they migrated to

Ahlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.Söğüt Söğüt (, ) is a town in Bilecik Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Söğüt District.� ...

, which was where Ertuğrul migrated from

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

. Most of the tribe wanted to migrate to Central Asia, their homeland, and therefore, 1000 people migrated to Central Asia with the older brothers, and 400 people migrated with the younger brothers. According to sources,

Hayme Hatun Hayme Hatun, also known as Hayma Ana. (Mother Hayma), was the grandmother of Osman I, who was the founder of the Ottoman Empire. She was the mother of Ertuğrul Gazi, Gündoğdu, who were the leaders of the Kayı clan of the Oghuz Turks. She ...

was with

in this migration. The reason why Ertuğrul and Dündar decided to migrate to Söğüt was either that they wanted to escape the Mongol onslaught, what the Turkmen tribes had been doing for decades, or that they wanted to populate the area gifted to Ertuğrul by

Keykubad I 'Alā' ad-Dīn Kay-qubād ibn-e Kay-xusraw (; , 1190–1237), also known as Kayqubad I, was the Seljuq Turkish Sultan of Rûm who reigned from 1220 to 1237. He expanded the borders of the sultanate at the expense of his neighbors, particula ...

with Oghuz Turks.

Aftermath

Gündoğdu Bey and Sungurtekin Bey lived unremarkably quiet lives and only verbal accounts of them were told by different people through time. Hence, they were forgotten about as time passed and they were said to not be "paid attention to" as a punishment for not migrating with Ertuğrul. Not mentioned in Mongol records, it was also said that they were attacked in a great Mongol invasion where they suffered big losses. As they silently disappeared from history, not even their graves could be found till this day.

In modern days

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, the Kayı tribe is one of the main divisions of the Geklen Turkmens living in the

Balkan Region Balkan Region () is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkana ...

and consists of the following

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

s: ''adnakel, ak kel, alatelpek, bagly, barak, burkaz, ganjyk, gapan, garabalkan, garawul, garagol, garagul, garadaşly, garakel, garga, garyşmaz'' and others. The Kayı are also a clan among the Bayat Turkmens of the

Lebap Region Lebap Region () is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its administrative centre is Türkmenabat (formerly named Çärjew). It has an area of 93,727 sq ...

. The Kayıs in Turkmenistan probably migrated with Gündoğdu Bey and Sungurtekin Bey and thus it is very likely that they indeed survived after their migration to Central Asia.

In popular culture

In the Turkish TV series, ''Diriliş: Ertuğrul'' and its sequel, '' Kuruluş: Osman'', Sungurtekin Gazi is played by the Turkish actor Sezgin Erdemir. In '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul'', Gündoğdu Bey was portrayed by the Turkish actor Kaan Taşaner. The Kayı were also divided in the series.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Division of the Kayi tribe 13th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Oghuz Turks