Mehmet Bey's firman was the decree of Mehmet I of Karaman (Karamanoğlu Mehmet), a vizier of Suljuks, declaring that the official language of Seljuks was Turkish. Mehmet Beg or Mehmet Bey of Karaman (), also known as Shams al-Din Mehmed BegThe Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume 4, Brill, 1954, p. 620. was the third ruler of the Karamanids. His father was Karaman Bey.
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü suggested that the government officials, who had been educated under the influence of the Persian culture, had used the Persian language in their state's official business and the strong compulsion of using Persian as official language had lasted until a Karamanid lord, Mehmed Bey, invaded Konya.Acem kültürünün te'sirleri altında yetişen me'murlar devlet işlerinde de Fars dilini kullanmakta idiler; Farsçanın resmî dil olarak bu kuvvetli tehakkümü, Karaman Beyi Mehmed Bey'in Konya'yı istilâsına kadar sürdü., Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Türk Edebiyatında ilk Mutasavvıflar, 6. Basım, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, 1987, p. 234.
Agop Dilaçar, who is known for his works on the Sun Language Theory, claimed that Mehmed Bey may have declared Turkish the official language of the state.Agop Dilaçar, Devlet Dili Olarak Türkçe, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları, 1962, p. 14. Taqī Āzādarmakī, T. Azadarmaki, Contact Des Langues Dans L'Espace Arabo - Turco - Persan I: Arabo - Turco - Persan I, Peeters Publishers, 2005, , p. 90. According to Dilaçar, in his firman dated 13 May (15 May ?) 1277, Mehmed Bey ordered that:
After his failed rebellion in Ankara, Mehmed Bey died in the fighting against Seljuq-Mongol troops.
See also Old Anatolian Turkish language Jimri
References
External links "723. Yıkdönümü Dolayısıyla Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey'den Önce ve Sonra Devlet Dili Türkçe" , Balıkesir University