Gundogdu Bey (born 1196) was the third son of Suleyman Shah and the younger brother of Ertugrul.
Biography[]
Gundogdu Bey was the first son of Suleyman Shah, the nephew of Kurdoglu, and the older brother of Ertugrul. His family belonged to the Turkic Kayi tribe of Central Asia, which migrated to Anatolia during the 1220s to flee the Mongol onslaught. He married Selcan Hatun, a devious woman who often fed Gundogdu's ambitions of becoming a powerful ruler.
Gundogdu in 1225
In 1225, Gundogdu came to blows with his father and brother after Ertugrul rescued the Seljuk fugitives Shahzade Numan, Halime, and Yigit and Suleyman refused to hand them over to the Sultanate of Rum's general Karatoygar. Under the influence of his ambitious wife, his treacherous uncle, and the disloyal beys in the tribe, Gundogdu came to oppose his father and brother for bringing the tribe into new trouble with the Seljuks and the Templar Order. Gundogdu grew especially angry when, after Gundogdu and Kurdoglu convinced Suleyman to move the tribe to Emir al-Aziz Muhammad of Aleppo's lands, Suleyman chose Ertugrul to serve as the envoy over Gundogdu. Suleyman justified this by telling Gundogdu that he had grown arrogant and blinded by power, and, when Gundogdu told his father that the beys of the tribe agreed that Suleyman was too old to rule, Suleyman slapped Gundogdu in the face, causing an enraged Gundogdu to wreak havoc in his tent. He was later sent to perform menial tasks as punishment, and he decided to humble himself and wait for the right moment to make a bid for power. His father later sent him to lead the tribe's caravan during its move towards the Orontes plain of Syria, although Kurdoglu suspiciously warned Gundogdu against leading the caravan, as it could be dangerous for a bey. The caravan was later ambushed by Karatoygar's Seljuk troops, and Gundogdu was captured after a valiant fight. He managed to escape after stabbing his captor dead with a dagger and escaping on horseback, occasionally stopping to fight his pursuers. He was ultimately caught in a net and taken into captivity.
Gundogdu being captured
Gundogdu was then held at Karatoygar's caravanserai, and Karatoygar attempted to use Gundogdu as a bargaining chip in a prisoner exchange for Numan and his family. However, Gundogdu was freed by his family when Ertugrul ambushed Karatoygar during the planned exchange at Kartal Tepesi, and the Kayis also succeeded in capturing Karatoygar and bringing him back to their camp for him to face trial in a traditional Turkmen court.
Gundogdu ultimately decided to lead a fraction of the tribe in staying in Syria rather than travelling into Anatolia with Ertugrul following Suleyman's death. While Ertugrul and his tribe settled along the Mongol-Turkish border in Anatolia, Gundogdu and his tribe settled in Ilkhanid territory in Syria, only to later rebel against the Mongols and their Seljuk vassals and rejoin Ertugrul in Sogut along with his brothers, Selcan, and his sons Suleyman and Iltekin.