Candaroglu: Encyclopedia II - Candaroglu - Culture and economy

Candaroglu - Culture and economy

The Candaroğlu beylik was located at a very important region in the northeast of Anatolia. They were quite significant in their area with their high population (420,000 in 1332) and political influence, existing along other beyliks and states in their era. Having reigned for about 170 years, Candaroğlu were quite advanced in architecture, cultural and social life and welfare. Also, many books in Turkish were written during their reign by court scientists and writers, including poems, books on medicine, chemistry, social sciences, and translations from Arabic and Persian.
Many architectural structures have remained from the Candaroğlu era in the region, including hammams, caravanserais, numerous mosques, inns, religious schools (madrassas)and libraries.

The 14th century Persian geographer al-Omari notes that the seat of the beylik, Kastamonu was one of the most prominent provinces in that region, as well as Sinop being one of the most important ports in the Black Sea, maintaining a crucial trade route between other ports, the Genoese who owned a warehouse at the port, and the inner provinces. The nearby province Sivas was then inhabited by many Genoese merchants, transporting the goods that would arrive from the east and the south to their ports in Trabzon, Samsun and Sinop. Venetian archives mention that Candaroğlu had close financial and trade relations with the city states of Venice and Genoa. Kastamonu was also rich in natural resources such as iron ore and copper, which were important industrial raw materials then too.

In their trade with the Genoese, Candaroğlu used copper coins they minted that had two fish, and the inscription Dârü's-saâde-i Sinop (the palace of Sinop) engraved on them.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Culture and economy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki