In addition to voluntary migrations, the Ottoman authorities used mass deportations ("sürgün") as a method of control over potentially rebellious elements in the Balkans and in Anatolia. Far away from their home bases, the potential threat of such elements was considerably reduced as in the case of the followers of the rebellious Karamani Pir Ahmed. Tribal resistance was followed by large-scale transfers of Karamanid and Türkmen nomads to Deliorman and Rumelia. Deportations in both directions occurred throughout the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.