Suleyman Shah (Ottoman Turkish: سلیمان شاه; Modern Turkish: Süleyman Şah) was, according to Ottoman tradition, the son of Kaya Alp and the father of Ertuğrul, who was the father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire.[1] Early Ottoman genealogies disputed this lineage, and either Suleyman Shah or Gündüz Alp could be Osman's grandfather and the father of Ertuğrul. An Ottoman tomb initially in or near Qal'at Ja'bar has historically been associated with Suleyman Shah.[2] He succeeded his father as bey in 1214 when he decided to lead the 50,000 strong tribe West in the face of Mongol invasion. After migrating to the North Caucasus, thousands of Kayis settled in Erzincan and Ahlat in 1214, while some of the other Kayi groups dispersed in Diyarbakir, Mardin, and Urfa.[citation needed]

Suleyman Shah
سلیمان شاه
Bey of the Kayı tribe (pre-Ottoman Empire)
Reign1214–1227
PredecessorKaya Alp
SuccessorErtuğrul
BornMay 1166 Khorazm[1]
DiedJanuary 1227 (aged 60)
Euphrates (near Aleppo)
Burial
SpouseHayme Hatun
IssueErtuğrul Ghazi
Gündoğdu Bey
Sungurtekin Bey
Dündar Bey
Names
Suleyman Shah bin Kaya Alp
FatherKaya Alp
ReligionSunni Islam

Family tree of Süleymanşâh

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Various sources linked Süleymanşâh to Osman Gazi and his father Ertuğrul:

Family tree in Şükrullah's Behcetü't Tevârîh[3]

Oğuz
Gökalp
Kızıl Boga
Kaya Alp
Süleymanşâh
Ertuğrul
Osman Gazi


Family tree according to Oruç Bey's Oruç Bey Tarihi[4]

Oğuz
Gunhan
Kayı Han
35 generations
Gökalp
Basak
Temür
Sugançaf
Bakı Ağa
Baysunkur
Kayıtnun
Tugar
Akulug Ağa
Iğla
Baytur
Kızıl Buga
Kaya Alp
Süleymanşâh
Ertuğrul
Osman Gazi


Family tree in Hasan bin Mahmûd el-Bayâtî's Câm-ı Cem-Âyîn[5]

Kaya Alp
Süleymanşâh
Ertuğrul
Savcı BeyOsman GaziGündüz Bey


Family tree in Âşıkpaşazâde's History of Âşıkpaşazâde[6]

Oğuz
Kayık Alp
Gökalp
Basuk
Kaya Alp
Süleymanşâh
Ertuğrul
Saru-Yatı (Savcı)Osman GaziGündüz Alp
Bay-HocaAy-Doğdu


Family tree in Neşrî's Kitâb-ı Cihannümâ[7]

Süleymanşâh
Sunkur-TekinErtuğrulGündoğduTündar (Dündar)
Saru-YatıOsman GaziGündüz


In chapter fourteenth of The History of Âşıkpaşazâde of Âşıkpaşazâde, Osman I asserted that he had descended from Gökalp and Suleiman ibn Qutulmish the founder of Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate instead of "Süleymanşâh ibn Kaya Alp".[8] Erhan Afyoncu claims that the identity of Süleyman Şah in the Tomb of Suleyman Shah is unidentified. He also defends that the father of Ertuğrul according to the recent investigations is Gündüz Alp.[9]

Operation Shah Euphrates

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In early 2015, during the Syrian Civil War, on the night of 21–22 February 2015, a Turkish military convoy including tanks and other armored vehicles numbering about 100 entered Syria to evacuate the tomb's 40 guards and to relocate the tomb of Suleyman Shah.

The tomb is now temporarily located in Turkey-controlled territory 200 meters inside Syria, 22 km (14 mi) west of Ayn al-Arab and 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Euphrates, less than 2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of the Turkish village of Esmesi that is in southernmost Birecik District.

The Turkish government has highlighted that the relocation is temporary, and that it does not constitute any change to the status of the tomb site.

In fiction

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Serdar Gökhan appeared as Suleyman Shah in the Turkish TV series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, where he starred as a main character in the first season, and its sequel, Kuruluş: Osman, where he made a cameo appearance in the thirteenth episode.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography of Suleyman Shah". biyografi.info (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. ^ Sourdel, D. (2009). "ḎJ̲abar or Ḳalat ḎJ̲abar". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; et al. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill online.
  3. ^ İnalcık, Halil, 2007; sf. 487
  4. ^ Manav, Bekir (2017). Ertuğrul Gazi (in Turkish). Pergole Yayınları. p. 54. ISBN 978-6052-394-23-6. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  5. ^ İnalcık, Halil, 2007; sf. 488
  6. ^ İnalcık, Halil, 2007; sf. 489
  7. ^ İnalcık, Halil, 2007; sf. 490
  8. ^ Âşıkpaşazâde, History of Âşıkpaşazâde; & İnalcık, Halil (2007). "Osmanlı Beyliği'nin Kurucusu Osman Beg (Osman Beg, The founder of Ottoman Dynasty)". Belleten (in Turkish). 7 (261). Ankara: 503.
  9. ^ Afyoncu, Erhan, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu, pp. 33–34, Yeditepe Publications, Istanbul, 2011.