Maritime Expansion of the Beylik of Aydın

Name: Maritime Expansion of the Beylik of Aydın
Start: 1330
End: 1339

Type Event Region Turkey Time 1330–1339

In the 1330s, the Beylik of Aydın (the Aydınoğulları dynasty) under Umur Bey became the most dynamic maritime power in the Aegean region.

Timeline

1334–1338Birgi · AydınAfter inheriting the Aydın lands, Umur Bey strengthened the link between the administrative center of Birgi and the port of Ayasuluk, built a fleet, and recruited sailors in preparation for Aegean raiding operations.
1338–1339Aegean Sea · Eastern MediterraneanThe Aydın fleet operated widely across the Aegean, attacking Byzantine-held islands such as Chios and Lesbos, and came into contact with Genoese and Venetian merchants. Umur Bey thereby gained a ghazi reputation, and the Beylik of Aydın became the most threatening maritime power in western Anatolia.

The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire — Lord Kinross (1977)
Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition: Aydīn Oğulları — I. Melikoff