Zayn al-Din Qaraja

Zayn al-Din Qaraja Beg (Turkish: Zeyneddin Karaca Bey; c. 1279[c] – 11 December 1353) was a Turkoman chieftain who founded the Dulkadirid principality in southern Anatolia and northern Syria, ruling from 1337 to 1353.

Qaraja founded the Dulkadirid principality around the same time the Eretnids emerged in central and eastern Anatolia, which was a breakaway state from the Ilkhanids led by the Turco-Mongol officer Eretna.

[5] The first mention of him in sources is thought to be from 1317, when the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad granted a Turkoman lord residing in Birga[d] the title emir.

In order to expand his authority over the region by pledging allegiance to the Mamluks, Taraqlu sent a gift of 100 horses to the emir of Aleppo, Altunbogha, and visited the sultan in Cairo.

Emir Tashtimur of Aleppo requested assistance from Egypt, but this proved to be futile as Cairo was facing internal power struggles.

This led to Tashtimur's rebellion, who now found his situation reversed as he was pursued by the Mamluks and escaped to Eretna in the north with the protection of Qaraja.

When An-Nasir Ahmad briefly came to power amidst the political vacuum and invited Tashtimur, who supported him, to Cairo for a new appointment, Qaraja escorted him there.

[17] In response, Mamluk governors of Syria and rival Turkoman tribal leaders joined forces, supposedly raising 10 to 25 thousand troops.

One of Qaraja's sons agreed with the Bedouin leader Jabbar bin Muhanna to attack Aleppo in order to save his father.

[17] Although disproven by medieval Arab historians, late Ottoman sources, such as Halil Edhem and Ahmed Arifi Pasha, popularly believed that Qaraja continued to resist the Mamluks until he died of old age at around 100 in 1378 or 1379.