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The Eretnids () were a dynasty that ruled a state spanning central and eastern Anatolia from 1335 to 1381. The dynasty's founder, Eretna, was an Ilkhanate officer of Uyghurs origin, under Timurtash, who was appointed as the governor of Anatolia. Some time after the latter's downfall, Eretna became the governor under the suzerainty of the Jalayirid ruler Hasan Buzurg. After an unexpected victory at the Battle of Karanbük, against Mongol warlords competing to restore the Ilkhanate, Eretna claimed independence declaring himself the sultan of his domains. His reign was largely prosperous earning him the nickname Köse Peygamber ().
Eretna's son Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad I, although initially preferred over his older brother Jafar, struggled to maintain his authority over the state and was quickly deposed by Jafar. Shortly after, he managed to restore his throne, although he could not prevent some portion of his territories from getting annexed by local Turkoman lords, the Dulkadirids to the south, and the Ottoman Empire to the west. In 1365, when he had recently put an end to the revolt of his vizier (chief minister), he was murdered by his (vassals) in Kayseri, the capital.
His 13-year-old son, Ala al-Din Ali, was largely not allowed to interfere in administrative matters by the local emirs, who had been enjoying a substantial degree of autonomy since Eretna's demise. Ali lacked necessary skills of governance and was described to have only cared for personal pleasures. The state's borders continued to shrink, and the capital temporarily came under Karamanids control. Kadi Burhan al-Din rose to power as the new vizier and further dispatched Ali to command several largely unsuccessful campaigns. Ali died of the plague in August 1380 amidst one of those expeditions. The fourth Eretnid sultan, Muhammad II Chelebi was 7 years old when his father died. His regent Burhan al-Din toppled him in less than a year and proclaimed himself as the new sultan by January 1381, ending the Eretnid dynasty's political presence.
There is a scant number of surviving buildings and literary works identified with the rule of the Eretnids. This contrasts with the neighboring contemporary states, who left a greater architectural legacy.
Due to constant upheavals in the east, Eretna forged an alliance with the Mamluks, who confirmed him as the Mamluk governor of Anatolia. On the contrary, Eretna did very little to uphold Mamluk sovereignty, minting coins on behalf of the new Chobanid puppet Suleiman Khan in 1339. Thus, the Mamluks started viewing the rising Turkoman leader Zayn al-Din Qaraja of Dulkadirids more favorably. In 1338–9, Eretna lost Darende to Qaraja, who was continuing to enlarge his realm at the expanse of Eretna. Having been robbed of the wealth he had stored in the latter city, Eretna confronted the Mamluk sultan, who brought up his failure to declare Mamluk sovereignty. In return, Eretna finally minted coins for the Mamluks in 1339–40. Despite the loss of Darende, Eretna was able to gain control of Konya from the Karamanids as well as Sivas on an unknown date.
Eretna's attempt to be on good terms with the Chobanids was hindered by Hasan Kuchak's capture of Erzurum and siege of Avnik. He still insisted on his obedience to Suleiman Khan, although by 1341, he had gained enough power to be able to issue his coins in his own name. He first declared his independence in 1341 as it was when he first used the title sultan in his coins. Though, he did not hesitate to send his ambassadors to Cairo to secure Mamluk protection and his status as a na'ib (viceroy) amidst political turmoil within the Mamluks. This elicited a new expedition by Hasan Kuchak in Eretna's lands.
Choosing to stay in Tabriz, Hasan Kuchak dispatched his army to Anatolia under Suleiman Khan's command. The battle took place in the plain of Karanbük (between Sivas and Erzincan) in September–October 1343. Eretna initially faced defeat but was able to flank Suleiman Khan and his guards. The Chobanid army disintegrated when Suleiman Khan fled the scene. Eretna's victory was unexpected for most actors in the region. This victory resulted in the Eretnid annexation of Erzincan and several cities further east, also marking the beginning of Eretna's independent reign. Hasan Kuchak's death at the hands of his wife prevented any retaliation for Eretna's earlier victory.
Eretna was a fluent Arabic language-speaker according to Ibn Battuta and was considered a scholar among the scholars of his era. He was famously known as Köse Peyghamber () by his subjects who looked upon him favorably because his rule preserved order in a region that was politically crumbling apart. He promoted and reinforced the sharia law in his domains and showed an effort to respect and sustain the ulama, , and (Islamic dignitaries). An exception to the praise he received was al-Maqrizi's accusation that he allowed the state to later fall apart. Eretna died in February, March, or August 1352 and was buried in the Gonbad (dome) located in the courtyard of Köşkmedrese in Kayseri.
After losing the throne to his half-brother, Muhammad fled to Konya, which had been regained by the Karamanids, and later moved north to Sivas. The governor of Sivas, Ibn Kurd, recognized him and assisted him in the restoration of his rule. In April 1355, Muhammad faced Jafar at the Battle of Yalnızgöz. Muhammad came to terms with the vizier Ali Khoja and killed Jafar, reclaiming his rule. In 1361, as a reprisal to a raid by Tatars of the Chavdar tribe, Ottoman Empire ruler Murad I captured Ankara Castle from the Eretnids. Muhammad allied himself with the Dulkadirids in September 1362 in a joint campaign successfully driving the Mamluks from Malatya. The Mamluk governor of Damascus, Yalbugha, and his 24 thousand-strong force marched north and raided Eretnid and Dulkadirid lands. However, this effort failed to regain Mamluk control.
According to historian Kemal Göde, Muhammad reversed into conflict with Khoja Ali Shah, whom he killed near Zamantu on 30 May 1358. This deviates from İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı's earlier work which explains that Khoja Ali Shah led an uprising against Muhammad in 1364 and marched towards Kayseri. Muhammad was defeated and had to request assistance from the Mamluk Sultan Al-Kamil Sha'ban. Upon a decree by the Mamluk Sultan, the governor of Aleppo sent his forces to aid Muhammad, with which he subdued and executed Khoja Ali Shah in 1365.
Soon after in October 1365, other emirs who wanted to preserve their autonomy, such as Shadgeldi and Hajji Ibrahim, killed Muhammad in Kayseri before he could reinforce his authority, enthroning his son Ali. Around that time, the eastern part of the realm, including Erzincan, Erzurum, and Bayburt, had come under the rule of a local figure, Ahi Ayna.
In 1375, when Ali was in the midst of a feast in his hammam in Kayseri, the Karamanids captured the city with the help of the Mongol tribes of Samargar and Chaykazan, prompting Ali to flee to Sivas. The local judge Kadi Burhan al-Din tried to fend off the Karamanids, in hopes that he could claim Kayseri for himself. He wasn't successful, getting arrested when Ali uncovered his true intentions. In addition, the Dulkadirids gained control of Pınarbaşı. The Emir of Sivas, Hajji Ibrahim, who allied with the leader of Samargar, Hizir Beg, rescued Burhan al-Din and imprisoned Ali instead. Hajji Ibrahim further appointed Hizir Beg as the governor of Kayseri and kept Ali in isolation in Sivas. Although Ali was released for a brief period of time, he was imprisoned once again by Hajji Mukbil, who was the mamluk of the recently deceased Hajji Ibrahim. Ali was liberated by Burhan al-Din in 1378. In June of that year, Burhan al-Din was made vizier by the emirs to prevent a possible revolt of peasants disgruntled by Ali's incompetence.
Kadi Burhan al-Din later dispatched Ali to lead several campaigns. One was aimed at subduing Burhan al-Din's rival Hajji Shadgeldi of Amasya, but this proved to be futile and further reinforced Shadgeldi's influence over the region. Another expedition consisted of efforts to reclaim Niğde, which was largely fruitless except for Karahisar's capture. After raiding the Turkomans near Niğde in 1379, Ali took advantage of the death of Pir Husayn Beg, Emir of Erzincan, through a campaign to retake the city, which was also unsuccessful. Ala al-Din Ali died in in August 1380 from the plague amidst another attempt to crush Shadgeldi. His body was transferred to Tokat and then to Kayseri. He was buried in Köşkmedrese beside his father and grandfather.
Eretna's wives included Suli Pasha (died 1339), Togha Khatun and Isfahan Shah Khatun. He was known to have had three sons: Hasan, Muhammad, and Jafar. The oldest son, Sheikh Hasan was the governor of Sivas and died in December 1347 or January 1348 due to sickness shortly after he wed an Artuqids princess. Eretna's successor and youngest son, Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad I was born to Isfahan Shah Khatun, who was a relative of the Jalayirid ruler Hasan Buzurg.
Muhammad's son Ala al-Din Ali succeeded him after his murder. According to Karamanname, Muhammad also had an older son named Eretna. He was at some point declared as the ruler but was defeated and imprisoned by the Karamanids. While he held the throne for some time, he was eventually killed by Ala al-Din of Karaman. Muhammad's son Eretna had two sons named Esenbogha and Ghazi, the first of which is reputed to have a tomb in Niğde. However, details on his life are not mentioned by any sources of that era other than Karamanname.
Ali's only known son was Muhammad II Chelebi. Khuvand Islamshah Khatun was either the mother or consort of Ali. She appears in records as a noble carrying weight in the Eretnid court, where she ordered a copy of the Ilkhanid Tavarikh-i Jahangusha-yi Ghazani. The possibility that she was Ali's consort is supported by a reference to him as the person of the highest authority, or Shahzada-yi Jahan, along with her, Khuvandegar Khatun, and the remark "may their dominion live on and their majesty be eternal." There, she was described as "the Bilqis of the age and time," "Banu of Iran-zamin of the time," and "pride of the illustrious family ( urugh) of Genghis Khan."
Muhammad is reputed to have had 2 sons, Yusuf Chelebi (died 1434) and Ahmad (d. 1433), and 3 daughters, Neslikhan Khatun (d. 1455), Aisha (d. 1436), and Fatima (d. 1430). Ahmad had a son named Muhammad (d. 1443) and grandson Ahmad, who was attested to be living in 1477.
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