ABSTRACT
The preceding account of events shows that at the end of the seventh/thirteenth century there were three principal forces in Asia Minor: the Mongols, the urban Muslims and the Turcomans. The Mongol efforts to reduce the Turcomans had failed, especially in the western part of Asia Minor, apart from the central plateau. The origins and history of the Karamanids have already been dealt with because of their impact on Seljukid-Mongol history, particularly in the crisis of 1276-77. The Eşref first made their appearance beside the Karamanids, but never equalled them in power. Perhaps mixed with Kurdish elements, they disputed with the Karamanids for influence at Konya, no doubt with a more general wish for independence. The Hamidoǧullan only appear in literary texts at the beginning of the eighth/fourteenth century, when they are said to hold Antalya, Eǧridir and Burǧlu.
