Assistant Professor Mevlüt Günler, a faculty member of the History Department, delivered a conference on the Place and Importance of the Karamanids in Turkish History. In his speech, Dr. Günler expressed the following views:  “The Karamanid Principality was founded in the Taurus Mountains by Kerimüddin Karaman Bey of the Oghuz Afshar tribe; with Larende as its center, it seized Konya, adopted the title ‘Lord of Anatolia,’ and, by decree, declared Turkish the official language, thereby assuming the political standard-bearership of Turkish identity. Through port commerce, a Turkmen cavalry army, and alliance politics against the Ilkhanids, it rivaled the Ottomans over a vast territory and, upon its eventual annexation, played a critical role in completing Anatolian Turkish unity.”  The conference concluded thereafter.