Menteşe Bey

Menteşe Bey (died c. 1295) founded the Anatolian beylik that bore his name, with its capital at Milas. Leading Oghuz Turks pushed west by Mongol pressure, he seized Byzantine lands around Muğla, and in 1276–1277 joined the Jimri rebellion.

Around 1282 he captured Tralles and Nyssa, and in 1291 coins struck at Milas acknowledged Seljuk suzerainty. After he seized Miletus, the Byzantine general Philanthropenos defeated and killed him near Priene in 1295. His son Mesut succeeded him.