emirate · Anatolia and the Levant

Chobanids of Kastamonu

1211 CE – 1309 CE (approx.) · capital Kastamonu

A Turkish frontier dynasty that ruled Kastamonu for the Seljuks and led their naval expedition across the Black Sea to the Crimea.

Origins

Husam al-Din Choban was a commander of the Sultanate of Rum who was given the frontier district of Kastamonu, facing Byzantine and later Komnenian lands to the north, in the early 13th century. His family held it as a hereditary march.

Rule and society

Around 1220-1221 Choban led a Seljuk expedition by sea from Sinop to Sudak in the Crimea, an event recorded by the historian Ibn Bibi. His successors ruled as marcher lords, leading Turkmen warriors in raids on Byzantine territory. Under Muzaffar al-Din Yavlak Arslan the family acted increasingly independently as Seljuk power declined under the Mongols.

Decline and legacy

In 1309 Suleyman Pasha, from the Candarids, killed the last Chobanid ruler Mahmud and took Kastamonu, which became the Candarid capital.

Lineage

Chobanids of KastamonuCandarids 1291 CE – 1461 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chobanids of Kastamonu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chobanids-of-kastamonu
MLA
“Chobanids of Kastamonu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chobanids-of-kastamonu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Chobanids of Kastamonu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chobanids-of-kastamonu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chobanids of Kastamonu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chobanids-of-kastamonu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻