Kadi Burhan al-Din

Kadi Burhan al -Din Ahmed ( Azerbaijani Qazi Bürhanəddin, Turkish Kadı Burhaneddin; * in 1345 in Kayseri, † 1398 ) was a vizier and Atabeg the ruler of the Anatolian Beyliks Eretna, Azerbaijani poet.

He was the son of Qadi Shams al -Din Mehmed from Kayseri and belonged to the Turkmen Oghusenstamm Salur. Burhan al -Din enjoyed comprehensive religious and literary education, among other things in Egypt. 1364 he returned to Kayseri and entered the service of the Eretna. It was in 1365 as a Kadi of Kayseri his father's successor. In addition, he was also active as a poet, where he wrote primarily in Persian.

In the year 783 AH ( 1381/1382 ), he usurped the throne of Eretna in Sivas and claimed the title of sultan for himself. Burhan al -Din justified his claim to the throne with his descent from the Seljuk Turks. His grandmother was the granddaughter of Kai Kaus II The Sultanate of Eretna, which he had inherited, had a large Turkmen and Mongolian population, but also many of the old urban centers of Rumseldschuken and the Ilkhanate. The Sultanate with his persifizierten court nobility similar to these older States over the Turkmen Beyliks that originated in other parts of Anatolia.

The 18- year reign of the Kadi was not peaceful. He challenged the Turkmen Karamanids and fought twice against Kötürüm Bayezid, the ruler of the Candaroğlu in Kastamonu. In 1387 he was defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I led in 1391 with its Byzantine vassal emperor Manuel II an unsuccessful campaign against Burhan al - Din.

He met his death at the hands of the Ak Koyunlu in 1398, and was succeeded by his son Zayn al-' Abidin, who ruled for a short period 1398-1399. His Türbe ( Mausoleum ) still stands in Sivas.

' Aziz ibn Ardashir Astarbadi, a companion of the Kadi Burhan al -Din, wrote a Persian book on his reign with the title Bazm - u Razm, which was edited in 1928 by Mehmet Fuat Koprulu. An analysis and explanation can be found in HH Giesecke in his work The work of the ' Azeez ibn Ardashir Astarābādi (Leipzig, 1940).