A Turkish tribe in Anatolia, Karamanid first arose following the decline of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rüm in the early 13th century. The dynasty was established by the warlord Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey in 1246. In 1256 the town Laranda was captured and renamed Karaman. It became the capital of the Karamanid state in 1275. Karamanid later became an emirate and it was one of the most powerful adversaries of the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia. Following its conquest in 1468, Karamanid became an Ottoman province. In 1483 the capital of the province was moved to Konya. When the capital fell the Karamanid dynasty went into exile but was finally destroyed in 1486. The Karamanid lands are now part of the Karaman Province of Turkey.

The founder, Karaman, was an islamized Cilician Armenian. The region was home to a large number of Turks who had converted to the Greek Orthadox Christian faith, so much so that the very terminology for Orthadox Christian Turks became 'Karamanlides'.

The flag of Karaman may confuse many with what is now known as the Star of David. In medieval times however, this was not solely a Jewish symbol, but was also an Islamic one known as the "Seal of Suleyman", and was extremely popular amongst the Turkish Beyliks of Anatolia. Another state known to use the seal on their flag was the Beylik of Candar, who opted for a red star on a white field without any other devices.