Army in the Jalayirid State (1340-1431)

When the Ilkhanid ruler Abu Said Bahadır Khan died in 1335 without leaving a son, turmoil broke out within the state. In the chaotic environment, centralised state dynamics gave way to the rule of powerful tribes. One of these tribes was the Jalayir tribe. Within the new tribal order, Sheikh Hassan al-Jalayir declared independence in 1340 in Iraq, with Baghdad as the centre. The Jalayirs ruled in Iraq until 1358. During the reign of Sheikh Hassan's son and successor Sheikh Üveys (r. 1356-1374), the territory of the Jalayirids expanded to Iraq, Azerbaijan, eastern and southeastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran. The Jalayirids period is the phase in which the new state administration mechanism was formed in the post-Ilkhanid period. In this respect, old institutions were revised and new institutions were established according to the need. The military system of the Ilkhanids was also applied by the Jalayirid State, and new units were established within the army according to the conditions. Jalayir Sheikh Hasan's contact with Anatolia in the late Ilkhanid period led to the emergence of an army that was a combination of both Turkish and Mongolian military structure after the declaration of independence. The Jalayirid army served as a model for the Qara-Qoyunlu and Aq-Qoyunlu and other political organisations established after it. This study consists of six chapters. In the first part, the attempts of the members of the Jalayırid dynasty to gain legitimacy in the post-Ilkhanid period and the military ranks are described. The second chapter provides information on the human resources of the army and military training. The third chapter is devoted to the military officers in the Jalayirid army. In the fourth chapter, the weapons and siege tools are revealed. In the fifth chapter, the financial resources of the Jalayırlı State and the salaries of the emirs and soldiers are determined. The sixth chapter deals with the campaign organization and battles of the army.