Alp Arslan

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Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan on throne Majma al-Tawarikh by Hafiz Abru (cropped).png
Miniature from the Majma al-Tawarikh by Hafiz Abru circa 1425; which depicts accession to the throne by Alp Arslan
Sultan of the Seljuk Empire
Reign4 October 1063 – 15 December 1072
Predecessor Tughril
Successor Malik-Shah I
Born20 January 1029
(1 Muharram 420 AH ) [2]
Died24 November 1072(1072-11-24) (aged 43)
(10 Rabiʻ I 465 AH)
Barzam Fortress, near Amu Darya, Khwarezm
Spouse
  • Safariyya Khatun
  • Akka Khatun
  • Shah Khatun
  • Ummu Hifchaq
Issue
Dynasty Seljuk Dynasty
Father Chaghri Beg
Religion Sunni Islam
Military career
Battles/wars

[16] [17] [18]

[19] [17] [18]

Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, [20] was the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south, east and northwest, and his victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, ushered in the Turcoman settlement of Anatolia. [21]

Contents

Early life

Historical sources differ about his actual birth date. His birth year, which some early sources of medieval period mentioned 1032 and 1033 [22] while later sources gave 1030. However, the most authentic considered as TDV Encyclopedia of Islam mentions, is that recorded by Ibn al-Athir, a medieval historian, as 1 Muharram 420 AH equivalent to 20 January 1029 CE. [2] He was the son of Chaghri and nephew of Tughril, the founding sultans of the Seljuk Empire. His grandfather was Mikail, who in turn was the son of the warlord Seljuk. He was the father of numerous children, including Malik-Shah I and Tutush I. [23] It is unclear who the mother or mothers of his children were. He was known to have been married at least twice. His wives included the widow of his uncle Tughril, a Kara-Khanid princess known as Aka or Seferiye Khatun, and the daughter or niece of Bagrat IV of Georgia (who would later marry his vizier, Nizam al-Mulk). [24] One of Seljuk's other sons was the Turkic chieftain Arslan Isra'il, whose son, Kutalmish, contested his nephew's succession to the sultanate. Alp Arslan's younger brothers Suleiman ibn Chaghri and Qavurt were his rivals. Kilij Arslan, the son and successor of Suleiman ibn Kutalmish (Kutalmish's son, who would later become Sultan of Rûm), was a major opponent of the Franks during the First Crusade and the Crusade of 1101. [25]

Early career

Coin minted in the name of Alp Arslan with the title Shahanshah Dinar of Muhammad Alp Arslan, AH 455-465.jpg
Coin minted in the name of Alp Arslan with the title Shahanshah
A miniature depicting Alp Arslan. Rashid al-Din, Jami' al-tawarikh, 1654 Ottoman copy, Topkapi Museum. Sultanalparslan.jpg
A miniature depicting Alp Arslan. Rashid al-Din, Jami' al-tawarikh , 1654 Ottoman copy, Topkapi Museum.

Alp Arslan accompanied his uncle Tughril on campaigns in the south against the Fatimids while his father Chaghri remained in Khorasan. Upon Alp Arslan's return to Khorasan, he began his work in administration at his father's suggestion. While there, his father introduced him to Nizam al-Mulk, one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history and Alp Arslan's future vizier. [27]

After the death of his father, Alp Arslan succeeded him as governor of Khorasan in 1059. His uncle Tughril died in 1063 and designated his successor as Suleiman, Arslan's infant brother. Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession which was resolved at the battle of Damghan in 1063. Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of the Seljuk Empire, thus becoming the sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris. In 1064 he led a campaign in Georgia during which he captured the regions between Tbilisi and the Çoruh river, Akhalkalaki and Alaverdi. [28] Bagrat IV submitted to paying jizya to the Seljuks but the Georgians broke the agreement in 1065. [15] Alp Arslan invaded Georgia again in 1068. He captured Tbilisi after a short battle and obtained the submission of Bagrat IV; however, the Georgians freed themselves from Seljuk rule around 1073–1074. [15] [29]

In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions, Arslan was ably assisted by Nizam al-Mulk, and the two are credited with helping to stabilize the empire after the death of Tughril. With peace and security established in his dominions, Arslan convoked an assembly of the states, and in 1066, he declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. [30] With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkoman [31] cavalry, crossed the Euphrates, and entered and invaded the city. Along with Nizam al-Mulk, he then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064. [32] After a siege of 25 days, the Seljuks captured Ani, the capital city of Armenia. An account of the sack and massacres in Ani is given by the historian Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, who quotes an eyewitness saying:

The army entered the city, massacred its inhabitants, pillaged and burned it, leaving it in ruins and taking prisoner all those who remained alive... The dead bodies were so many that they blocked the streets; one could not go anywhere without stepping over them. And the number of prisoners was not less than 50,000 souls. I was determined to enter the city and see the destruction with my own eyes. I tried to find a street in which I would not have to walk over the corpses, but that was impossible. [33]

Byzantine struggle

En route to fight the Fatimids in Syria in 1068, Alp Arslan invaded the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, assuming command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia. In three arduous campaigns, the Turks were defeated in detail and driven across the Euphrates in 1070. The first two campaigns were conducted by the emperor himself, while the third was directed by Manuel Komnenos, the brother of future emperor Alexios I Komnenos. During this time, Arslan gained the allegiance of Rashid al-Dawla Mahmud, the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo.

In 1071, Romanos again took the field and advanced into Armenia with possibly 30,000 men, including a contingent of Cuman Turks as well as contingents of Franks and Normans, under Ursel de Baieul. Alp Arslan, who had moved his troops south to fight the Fatimids, quickly reversed to meet the Byzantines. Alp Arslan handed control of his army to his eunuch slave general, Taranges, and commanded him to "Win or be beheaded." [34] Taranges prepared for the battle by setting traps and organizing ambushes. [35] The Seljuk and Byzantine armies met on Friday, 26 August 1071 at Manzikert on the Murat River, north of Lake Van, beginning the Battle of Manzikert. [36] The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkic side. Seeing this, the Western mercenaries subsequently abandoned the battlefield as well. [37] To be exact, Romanos was betrayed by general Andronikos Doukas, son of the Caesar (Romanos's stepson), who pronounced him dead and rode off with a large part of the Byzantine forces at a critical moment. [38] The Byzantines were wholly routed.

Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV after the Battle of Manzikert. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium BnF Fr232 fol323 Alp Arslan Romanus.jpg
Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV after the Battle of Manzikert. From a 15th-century illustrated French translation of Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium

Emperor Romanos himself was captured in battle and presented to Alp Arslan. It is reported that upon seeing the Roman emperor, the sultan leaped from his throne, commanded Romanos to kiss the ground, and stepped on his neck. He repeatedly berated the emperor, including for spurning his emissaries and offers of peace. Romanos remained unrepentant, asserting that he had merely done what was "possible for a man, and which kings are bound to do, and I have fallen short in nothing. But God has fulfilled his will. And now, do what you wish and abandon recriminations." [40] Purportedly declaring Romanos "too trivial... to kill", Arslan then led him about the camp to sell the prisoner to one of his men. The Seljuk soldiers initially refused to spend any money on buying the emperor, until one man traded a dog for him. [40] Next, wishing to test Romanos, Alp Arslan asked Romanos what he would do if their situation were reversed and Arslan was imprisoned by the Byzantines. Romanos bluntly answered "The worst!" His honesty impressed Arslan, who then decided to spare Romanos's life and instead ransom him back to his homeland. After agreeing on a ransom, Alp Arslan sent Romanos to Constantinople with a Turkish escort, carrying a banner above the disgraced emperor that read: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger". [40]

The reason Alp Arslan spared Romanos was likely to avoid a two-front war. The Fatimids were launching devastating raids on the Seljuk domains during this period, Arslan may have worried that executing the Roman emperor might escalate his conflict with the Byzantines. Romanos himself had told the sultan that "killing me will not be of any use to you". [41]

After hearing of the death of Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, Sultan Alp Arslan pledged: "The Byzantine nation has no God, so this day the oath of peace and friendship taken by both the Persians and Byzantines is nullified; henceforth I shall consume with the sword all those people who venerate the cross, and all the lands of the Christians shall be enslaved." [42]

Alp Arslan and his successor Malik Shah urged Turkish tribes to invade and settle Anatolia where they would not only cease to be a problem for the Seljuk Sultanate but also extend its territory further. Alp Arslan commanded the Turks as follows:

Henceforth all of you be like lion cubs and eagle young, racing through the countryside day and night, slaying the Christians and not sparing any mercy on the Roman nation. [43] [44]

Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in western Asia completely in favor of the Seljuq Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for nearly four more centuries, the victory at Manzikert signalled the beginning of Turkic ascendancy in Anatolia. [21] The victory at Manzikert became so popular among the Turks that later every noble family in Anatolia claimed to have had an ancestor who had fought on that day. [45]

State organization

Alp Arslan's strength lay in the military realm. Domestic affairs were handled by his able vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, the founder of the administrative organization that characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son, Malik Shah. Military Iqtas, governed by Seljuq princes, were established to provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the established Anatolian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Persians, Turks, and other established cultures within the Seljuq realm, and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge standing army without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiers. He not only had enough food from his subjects to maintain his military, but the taxes collected from traders and merchants added to his coffers sufficiently to fund his continuous wars.

Suleiman ibn Qutalmish was the son of the contender for Arslan's throne; he was appointed governor of the north-western provinces and assigned to complete the invasion of Anatolia. An explanation for this choice can only be conjectured from Ibn al-Athir's account of the battle between Alp-Arslan and Kutalmish, in which he writes that Alp-Arslan wept for the latter's death and greatly mourned the loss of his kinsman.

Physical appearance and personality

Contemporary descriptions portray Alp Arslan as "very awe-inspiring, dominating," a "greatformed one, elegant of stature. He had long, thin whiskers, which he used to knot up when shooting arrows. And they say his arrow never went astray.... From the top button of his hat to the end of his moustaches it was two yards" [46]

Muslim sources show Alp Arslan as fanatically pious but just. Alp Arslan was so dedicated to the Hanafi madhhab that he always kept a qadi by his side, including in battles. [47]

His vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, described the young sultan: [48]

He was exceedingly imperious and awe-inspiring and, because he was so earnest and fanatical in his beliefs and disapproved of the Shafi‘i rite, I lived in constant fear of him.

Death

After Manzikert, the dominion of Alp Arslan extended over much of western Asia. He soon prepared to march for the conquest of Turkestan, the original seat of his ancestors. With a powerful army, he advanced to the banks of the Oxus. Before he could pass the river safely, however, it was necessary to subdue certain fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the rebel, Yusuf al-Kharezmi or Yusuf al-Harani. Perhaps over-eager to press on against his Qarakhanid enemy, Alp Arslan gained the governor's submission by promising the rebel 'perpetual ownership of his lands'. When he was produced a captive in the royal tent, the sultan, instead of praising his valor, severely reproached his obstinate folly: and the insolent replies of the rebel provoked a sentence, that he should be fastened to four stakes, and left to expire in that painful situation.  At this command, the desperate Yusuf al-Kharezmi, drawing a dagger, rushed headlong towards the throne: the guards raised their battle-axes; their zeal was checked by Alp Arslan, the most skilful archer of the age: he drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the arrow glanced aside, and he received in his breast the dagger of Yusuf al-Kharezmi, who was instantly cut in pieces.

The wound was mortal; and the Turkish sultan bequeathed a dying admonition to the pride of kings.  "In my youth," said Alp Arslan, "I was advised by a sage to humble before God; to distrust my own strength; and never to despise the most contemptible foe.  I have neglected these lessons; and my neglect has been deservedly punished. Yesterday, as from an eminence I beheld the numbers, the discipline, and the spirit, of my armies, the earth seemed to tremble under my feet; and I said in my heart, Surely thou art the king of the world, the greatest and most invincible of warriors. These armies are no longer mine; and, in the confidence of my personal strength, I now fall by the hand of an assassin. Four days later on 24 November 1072, Alp Arslan died and was buried at Merv, having designated his 18-year-old son Malik Shah as his successor. [49]

Family

One of his wives was Safariyya Khatun. [50] She had a daughter, [51] Sifri Khatun, [52] who in 1071–72, married Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadi. [51] [53] Safariyya died in Isfahan in 1073–74. [53] Another of his wives was Akka Khatun. She had been formerly the wife of Sultan Tughril. Alp Arslan married her after Tughril's death in 1063. [53] Another of his wives was Shah Khatun. She was the daughter of Qadir Khan Yusuf, and had been formerly married to Ghaznavid Mas'ud I. [51] [53] [54] Another wife was Ummu Hifchaq also known as Ummu Qipchaq. [55] Another of his wives was the daughter of King of Tashir Kiurike I, who was married to the sister of the Georgian king Bagrat IV. Alp Arslan divorced her, and married her to Nizam al-Mulk. [56] His sons were Malik-Shah I, Tutush I, Arslan Shah, Tekish, [57] Toghan-Shah, [58] Ayaz and Buibars. [51] One of his daughters married the son of Kurd Surkhab, son of Bard in 1068. [53] Another daughter, Zulaikha Khatun, was married to a Muslim, son of Quraish in 1086–87. [53] Another daughter, Aisha Khatun, married Shams al-Mulk Nasr, son of Ibrahim Khan Tamghach. [53] Another daughter was married to Mas'ud III of Ghazni and was his first wife. [59] [60] Another daughter was Sara Khatun. [51]

Legacy

Alp Arslan's conquest of Anatolia from the Byzantines is also seen as one of the pivotal precursors to the launch of the Crusades.

From 2002 to July 2008 under Turkmen calendar reform, the month of August was named after Alp Arslan.

The 2nd Training Motorized Rifle Division of the Turkmen Ground Forces is named in his honor.

Battles

[61] [17] [18]

[62] [17] [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ English: The Exalted Sultan
  2. ↑ King of Islam
  3. ↑ King of Kings

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Alp Arslan in February 1064 he set out on a western expedition called the “Ghazâsı of Rum”. The main reason for this was that the Eastern Anatolian plateaus, discovered during his father Çağrı Bey’s raids on Byzantine lands forty-five years earlier, were seen as the most suitable settlement area for the Turkmens. However, there were some small principalities in the area extending from Lake Urmia to the north of Tbilisi, each serving as an outpost for Byzantine policy, and in order to reach Anatolia, the defenses in these areas had to be broken first. Alp Arslan set off from Rey to Azerbaijan, accompanied by his son Melikşah and his vizier Nizamülmülk, whom he had brought from Khorasan, and his army was reinforced on the way by the Turkmen chief Tuğtegin, who was on the expedition. While the forces under the command of Melikşah and Nizamülmülk were capturing the fortified places north of the Aras, the army under the command of Alp Arslan, who entered Georgia, reached Trialet, surrounded by the Kur River, from there to Kvelis-Kür, then to the Taik region via the Şavşat road and, after the Georgian king fled, to Akhilkelek north of Lake Çıldır, conquering many cities and castles. Alp Arslan, who united with the forces of Melikşah and Nizamülmülk in front of Akhilkelek, captured this fortified city in June 1064. In the meantime, the prince of Lori, Kuirike (Georgi), who saw that Akhilkelek had also fallen, accepted to be subject to the Seljuks and to pay the jizya. After this, Alp Arslan went to Eastern Anatolia and besieged Ani, the most fortified city in the region, which was in the hands of the Byzantines. After a siege and fierce fighting that lasted more than a month, the city fell into the hands of the Seljuks. The conquest of Ani, which was thought to be impossible to capture the Byzantine and Greek empires, by the Muslims had great repercussions in the East and the West, and the Caliph Kāim-Biemrillāh sent a letter with his special envoy expressing his appreciation and congratulations, and gave Alp Arslan the title of “Ebü’l-feth”. After the fall of Ani, the prince of Kars, Gagik (Hayık), invited Alp Arslan to Kars, welcomed him with great ceremonies and offered his allegiance.

Alp Arslan marched on the Caucasus for the second time in early 1068.This time, his aim was to annex all of Azerbaijan to the Seljuks without causing any more unrest. Because after the first Caucasian campaign, which was left unfinished due to Kavurd's previous rebellion, almost all the princes had rebelled. Alp Arslan, accompanied by Nizam al-Mulk and his famous commander Savtegin, took control of the small principalities ruling various regions of Azerbaijan, including Tbilisi, Kartli, Shirak, Vanand, Nig, Gugark, Arran and Ganja, as well as the Shaddadi emirs. However, the definitive Seljuk domination of these princes, who declared their loyalty to Alp Arslan and even accepted Islam of their own free will, was only possible with the operation of Savtegin, who was sent back to the region the following year. While the Caucasus campaign was continuing, when the Karakhanid ruler Ibrahim Khan died and the throne fights that started between his sons became detrimental to the Seljuk interests, Alp Arslan was forced to return to his country. However, when Shams al-Mulk Nasr, whom Ibrahim Khan had personally enthroned before his death, took control of the situation, he gave up on intervening.

The Seljuks began to conquest Transoxiana during the reign of Alp Arslan. At that time, the Seljuks began to establish themselves as respected rulers in their circles. Sultan Alp Arslan emerged as a very bright figure with the policies he implemented both in the east and west from the moment he ascended to the throne. In the month of Muharram 448, he organized an expedition to Khwarezm by traveling around the Aral Sea region and the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. Setting out for Khwarezm with a large army, Alp Arslan drove the Mangyshlak Turkmen tribes, who cooperated with the Turks and Mongols who did not accept Islam and who were harming the Seljuk Empire, attacking caravans and creating chaos, towards the steppes. He then engaged in a fierce battle with the Kipchaks in the region with his army and defeated the Kipchak Emir Kefshud and the Kipchak army of thirty thousand. After this victory, Alp Arslan sent an ambassador to the Qipchaq Emir Kefşud. When Kefşud came and announced his surrender, Sultan Alp Arslan forgave him for his crimes. Alp Arslan's eastern campaign, which he started to restore order, resulted in the Seljuk rule of most of the lands from the Caspian Sea to Tashkent without a fight. He visited the tomb of his ancestor Seljuk in the city of Cend on the Syr Darya and completed his campaign by annexing the lands of Cend Khan, who welcomed him from afar with gifts, to the Seljuks under the command of Melikşah.

In 1070, Alp Arslan had the sermon read in the name of Caliph Qaim-Biemrillâh again in the Haremeyn-i Şerifeyn and for this reason he received the title of "Burhânü Emiri'l-mü'minîn". After this incident, Hamdanid ruler Nasırüddevle, who wanted Syria to pass to the Seljuk State, asked Alp Arslan for help against the Fatimids. Seizing this opportunity, Alp Arslan moved with a large army and captured the castles of Malazgirt and Erciş at the beginning of the strategic road extending from Azerbaijan to the southwest and descended to the Meyyâfârikîn (Silvan) and Amid (Diyarbakır) regions. After receiving the regional emirs who declared their loyalty, he came to Urfa and after taking a tribute of 50,000 dinars from Urfa, which resisted his siege for two months, and conquering some Byzantine castles, he headed towards Aleppo, which was in the hands of the Mirdasids. When the emir of Aleppo refused to appear before him and locked himself in the castle, the city was besieged. However, after a while, the emir came before Alp Arslan with his mother, dressed in Oghuz clothing, which caused him to be pardoned and left in his place. In the meantime, while Alp Arslan was planning to march on Damascus, a Byzantine ambassador came and informed him that the emperor wanted to leave Manbij, which he had conquered two years earlier, to the Seljuks in exchange for Manzikert and Ahlat. Alp Arslan, who gave a negative answer to the ambassador, did not change his plan, relying on the report he received from Emir Afşin, who had returned to Ahlat from Western Anatolia, stating that there was no serious Byzantine threat in Anatolia. However, on the same day, when news came that Diogenes was moving to Anatolia with a large army, it was understood that the Byzantine ambassador was sent as a delaying tactic to create the feeling that the emperor did not want war. Alp Arslan divided his army into two and sent one part to Egypt, and went to Anatolia with the remaining army.

Sultan Alp Arslan, who had been on a campaign for more than a year, returned to Isfahan after the Battle of Manzikert. Here he accepted the congratulations of the subjects' emirs, administrators and ambassadors for his victory. However, after a while he had to go on a campaign to Turkestan. As it is known, the issue of the dominance of Chaganiyan and Khwarezm in Transoxiana was inherited by the Seljuks as an issue between the Ghaznavids and the Karakhanids. The border conflicts with the Karakhanids, which had not ended during Alp Arslan's reign as the prince of Tokharistan, were now continuing between his son-in-law Shamsulmulk Nasr Khan and his sons Ayaz and Ilyas. Taking advantage of Nasr Khan's preoccupation in the east, the prince of Tokharistan, Ayaz, attacked his lands. The Khan, who returned and defeated Ayaz, inflicted heavy losses on the Seljuk prince. He also beat Alp Arslan's daughter, accusing her of spying for his brother, and caused her death.Following these developments, Alp Arslan set out on an expedition with an army of 200,000 to punish the Karakhanid ruler. It took the Seljuk army a month to cross the Ceyhun River. The Sultan's advance was stopped by the resistance of the Barzam Castle on the Transoxiana border. The castle commander Yusuf al-Khwarizmi, who was said to have an esoteric belief, surrendered when he realized that he could not resist any longer and the Barzam Castle fell into the hands of the Seljuk Empire. However, according to the story, before Yusuf al-Khwarizmi surrendered, he killed his wife and children with his own hands so that his secrets would not be revealed and made an assassination plan. When he was brought before the Sultan, he took out a dagger he had hidden in his boot and jumped on him. Alp Arslan and one of his commanders, Gevheråyin, were seriously wounded. Yusuf was killed by the Sultan's men right there. However, Sultan Alp Arslan also died four days later on November 25, 1072, from the effects of his injuries. His death was kept secret for a while to avoid confusion. His body was later brought to Merve and buried next to his father Çağrı Bey. Sultan Alp Arslan's unfinished expedition was later continued by his son Melikşah I and made the Karakhanids a vassal of the Seljuk Empire. According to legend, when Sultan Alp Arslan went on an expedition against the Karakhanids, the Karakhanids were praying in mosques for the Sultan to return from the expedition and for the expedition to fail.

The Battle of Rey took place in 3 August 1059; İbrahim Yınal rebelled for the second time and besieged Tughrul in Hemedan. Thereupon, the sons of Çağrı Bey, Alp Arslan, Kavurt and Yakuti, came to rescue Sultan Tughrul and the Battle of Rey took place between the two sides. İbrahim Yınal and his nephews, who lost the battle, were taken prisoner..

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Sources

Alp Arslan
Born: 20 January 1029 Died: 15 December 1072
Regnal titles
Preceded by Sultan of the Seljuq Empire
4 October 1063– 15 December 1072		Succeeded by
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