Çaka Bey

Çaka Bey

After Alpaslan conquered Anatolia, many Turkmen men continued their conquests towards Central Anatolia. Çaka Bey, one of the Turkmen lords of the time, also managed to take over Izmir and its surroundings. Then he established a Turkish principality here. He wrote his name in history as the founder of Izmir Çaka Principality. There was an element that distinguished Izmir Çaka Principality from other principalities. This factor was that Çaka Bey was a sailor. Çaka Bey, who is good at maritime, is the first Turkish captain. In this way, he succeeded in establishing a navy and dominating the Aegean sea. Çaka Bey, who was from Çavuldur neck of Oghuz, was among the commanders of Danişment Gazi during the conquest of Anatolia. While in this position, he has accomplished various successes especially around Malatya. However, one of the raids he participated in was captured by one of the Byzantine commanders. He was taken to Istanbul. Emperor Çaka Bey, who realized his abilities, took him to the palace. During this period, he got the title of nobility and learned the Greek language. It also had the opportunity to learn the weaknesses of the Byzantine state. When the throne changed in Byzantium, Çaka Bey was removed from the palace. Çaka Bey, who surrounded İzmir with the navy in 1081, showed success against the Byzantines. His goal was to establish domination in the Aegean Sea. For this purpose, he established the first Turkish fleet and opened it to the Aegean sea in 1089. This navy defeated the Byzantine navy around the Sheep Islands when it was 1090 a year.

Çaka Bey continued his maritime activities in 1091 by taking the sea and seizing the islands of Samos and Rhodes. In response to this situation, Byzantium began its efforts to regain the Aegean sea superiority. This navy did not dare to confront the famous sailor Çaka Bey. Thanks to this fleet who took refuge in Chios, Çaka Bey surrounded the island but could not take it.

It was everyone's dream for a long time to have the gospel in the hadith narrated for the conquest of Istanbul. For this purpose, Çaka Bey set out for the conquest of Istanbul in 1095. The Navy managed to reach the borders of Çanakkale. Here he joined forces with Kılıç Aslan. He struggled for the conquest of Abidos, the strongest castle of the Bosphorus. The castle was taken. Meanwhile, Çaka Bey was also injured. He died without being treated.