Kilij Arslan IV

Kilij Arslan IV
Rare coin minted under Kilij Arslan IV at Sivas in 1248/49
Sultan of Rum
First rule	1249–1254 [1]
Predecessor	Kaykhusraw II
Successor	Kayqubad II
Co-sultans	Kayqubad II (1249–1254) Kaykaus II (1249–1254)
Second rule	1257–1266
Predecessor	Kayqubad II
Successor	Kaykhusraw III
Co-sultan	Kaykaus II (1257–1262)
Born	1237 or 1240 [1]
Died	1265 (aged 25 or 28)
Consort	Gumaḉ Khatun [2] Fatima Khatun Gazalya Khatun
Issue	Saljuk Khatun Kaykhusraw III
Names Rukn ad-Dīn Qilij Arslān ibn Kaykhusraw
House	Seljuk
Father	Kaykhusraw II
Mother	A Greek concubine [1]
Religion	Islam

Kilij Arslan IV (Old Anatolian Turkish : قِلِج اَرسلان) or Rukn ad-Dīn Qilij Arslān ibn Kaykhusraw (Turkish : Rükneddin Kılıçarslan, Persian : رکن الدین قلیچ ارسلان بن کیخسرو) was twice the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1249 to 1254 and later from 1257 to 1266.

However, a jarlig issued by Güyük Khan confirmed him as sultan over his elder brother, Kaykaus II in 1248. ^[3] But this jarlig would quickly be worthless after Güyük's death in the same year. Later, Arslan's supporters killed Shams al-Din Isfahani, a supporter of his brother, Kaykaus II (a rival to the throne). The death of Isfahani's successor in 1254, Jalāl-al-Din Qaraṭāy, left a power vacuum which was filled by competition by supporters of the two brothers. Eventually, Kaykaus II would emerge the victor in 1256. ^[4]

In the 1260s, Mu'in al-Din Parwana redistributed Seljuk crown lands among his followers. He did this to secure his position but would be met with protests from Arslan. This eventually led to Arslan's execution in 1265 by Parwana. ^[4]

References

1. "KILICARSLAN IV (ö. 664/1266) Anadolu Selçuklu sultanı (1249-1254, 1257-1266).". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. 1988–2016.
2. Yetkin 1961, p. 360.
3. Saunders 2001, p. 98.
4. "Saljuqs". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-07-11.

Sources

• Hillenbrand, Carole (1993). "Muʿīn al-Dīn Sulaymān Parwāna" . In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume VII: Mif–Naz. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 479–480. ISBN   978-90-04-09419-2.
• Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols and the Islamic World: From Conquest to Conversion. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0300125337. JSTOR   10.3366/j.ctt1n2tvq0.(registration required)
• Peacock, Andrew (2010). "Saljuqs iii. Saljuqs of Rum". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Peacock, A.C.S.; Yıldız, Sara Nur, eds. (2012). The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. I.B.Tauris. ISBN   978-1848858879.
• Saunders, J. J. (2001). The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Yetkin, S. Kemal (1961). "The Turbeh of Gumaç Hatun, a Seljūk Monument". Ars Orientalis. 4.

Preceded by ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kay Kāwus II (1246–1262)

Sultan of Rum 1249–1266

Succeeded by Ghiyāth ad-DīnKay Khusraw III (1266–1282)