Eretna

Ala al-Din Eretna (Old Anatolian Turkish: ارتــنــا; died February or March 1352) was the first Sultan of the Eretnids, reigning between 1343–1352 in central and eastern Anatolia. Initially an officer in the service of Chupan and his son Timurtash, he migrated to Anatolia following the latter's appointment as the Ilkhanid governor of the region. He took part in his master Timurtash's campaigns to subdue the Turkoman chiefs of the western periphery of the peninsula. This was cut short by Timurtash's downfall, after which Eretna went into hiding. Upon the dissolution of the Ilkhanate, he aligned himself with the Jalayirid leader Hasan Buzurg, who eventually left Anatolia for Eretna to govern when he returned east to clash with the rival Chobanids and other Mongol lords. Eretna later sought recognition from the Mamluk Egypt to consolidate his power, although he played a delicate game of alternating his allegiance between the Mamluks and the Mongols. In 1343, he declared independence as the sultan of his domains. His reign was largely described to be prosperous with his efforts to maintain order in his realm such that he was known as Köse Peyghamber (lit. 'the beardless prophet').