karesi

Karesi, also known as the Karasi Beyliği, was a Turkish principality (beylik) in northwestern Anatolia during the late medieval period. It arose in the Karasi region, centered on the city of Karasi near what is now Balıkesir in northwestern Turkey. The name derives from the local Karasi/Karesi people who established a semi-autonomous authority in the area as the medieval Turkish beyliks reorganized in the wake of the Seljuk and Mongol eras.

Geography and economy: The beylik controlled coastal and inland districts along the Aegean frontier, with forts and towns that supported local agriculture, trade, and maritime activity. Its position facilitated interactions with other Anatolian polities and with Genoese and other traders active along western Anatolia.

History and politics: Like other beyliks of the period, Karesi operated as a semi-independent polity within a shifting political landscape that included the declining Seljuk authority, Mongol influence, and the rising Ottoman state. The beylik maintained diplomatic and military relations with neighboring powers, balancing autonomy with alliances and overlapped suzerainty when necessary.

End of independence: In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Karesi Beyliği gradually came under Ottoman sovereignty and was eventually integrated into the Ottoman Empire. The incorporation contributed to the consolidation of Ottoman control over western Anatolia. The region’s legacy persists in regional toponyms and local historical memory, with sites such as castles and fortifications associated with the historic beylik still visible in the Balıkesir area.