Shams al-Dën Meḥmed I Beg (; died 20 June 1277 or 30 May 1279) was bey of the Karamanids from 1263 until his death. KarÃÂmÃÂn was a Turkish principality in Anatolia in the 13th century. His father was Karim al-Din Karaman.
Meḥmed was the eldest son of Karim al-Dën ḲarÃÂmÃÂn, the soubashi of the region around Ermenek, Mut, Silifke, Gülnar, and Anamur. Upon ḲarÃÂmÃÂn's death in 1263, Sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan IV arrested his children and brother, emir-i jandar Bunsuz. When Kilij Arslan died in 1266 and Muÿën al-Dën ParwÃÂna assumed full power, the latter released ḲarÃÂmÃÂn's children, except for ÿAlë, who was kept in Kayseri.
Meḥmed and his brothers joined Hatëroghlu Sharaf al-Dën's revolt against the Mongols. Sharaf al-Dën granted Mehmed the lands his father formerly ruled over and dismissed Badr al-Dën IbrÃÂhëm from that position. Meḥmed further expanded his territory towards the Mediterranean coast and eliminated the Mongol force of 200 men in Ulukñà Âla. When Sharaf al-Dën was killed by the Mongols in 1276, Badr al-Dën attempted to take revenge on Meḥmed but was defeated by him at the Göksu.
The next year, he allied himself with Baybars of the Mamluk Sultanate. In May, he captured Konya, the Seljuk capital. But instead of declaring himself as the sultan, he supported his puppet Jimri as sultan, and in turn Jimri appointed him as vizier of the Seljuks on 12 May 1277. As vizier, Mehmet issued his famous firman ordering the Turkish language to be used instead of New Persian or Arabic in government offices. However, his service in Konya lasted only about a month. Hearing news of the approaching Mongol Empire, both Mehmet and Jimri fled from Konya. But the Mongols chased him, and during a clash in Mut, Mehmet and his two sons were executed in August 1277. He was succeeded by his brother Güneri.
Mehmet is known as a devotee of the Turkish language. During his brief term as a vizier, he issued a firman dated 13 May 1277:
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KaramanoÃÂlu Mehmetbey University in Karaman is named after him.