| Qavurt | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Born | 1040s | ||||
| Died | 1073 | ||||
| |||||
| House | Seljuk | ||||
| Father | Dawud Chaghri Beg | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Service years | c. 1060s – 1073 | ||||
| Conflicts | Battle of Kerj Abu Dulaf | ||||
Kara Arslan Ahmad Qavurt (died 1073), better simply known as Qavurt (also spelled Kavurt) was a Seljuq prince. Upon his brother's death, he led an unsuccessful rebellion against his nephew in an attempt to gain the Seljuk throne.
The Seljuq dynasty was a Turkic Sunni Muslim dynasty that established both the Seljuq Empire and Sultanate of Rum, which at their total height stretched from Anatolia through Persia. Qavurt was the son of Çağrı Bey, who was the grandson of Seljuk, the founder of the dynasty. [1] Qavurt's brother Alp Arslan succeeded his uncle Tuğrul as the new sultan and Qavurt then the governor of Kirman (south Persia) waited for his turn.
After the death of 'Adud al-Dawla on 26 March 983, the Buyid dynasty rapidly weakened due to succession conflicts and external threats. The Buyid dynasty, which had weakned by the reign of Abu Kalijar, was losing territories and was unable to maintain its suzerainty in occupied regions. Following the conquest of Khorasan and the establishment of the Great Seljuk state, Toghrul Bey, the Sultan of the Great Seljuk state, assigned the division of conquered territories among his brothers and nephews and delegated to them the task of conquering new regions. His primary goals were, first, to consolidate his authority over the territories he had already brought under his control, and second, to rapidly expand Seljuk power by subjugating additional regions. Thus, the empire was divided into provinces, and each trusted relative was not only assigned a province to govern but also tasked with the conquest of neighboring lands. Chaghri Beg, as the eldest brother, made Merv and Khorasan his base; [2] and Musa Yabugu was appointed over Bust, Herat, and Sistan.
Qavurt, the son of Chaghri Beg, chose Nahavand and Kerman. Qavurt defeated the Buyid ruler’s army in Kerman and Makran, and brought Kerman under his control. There, he established his own sultanate in 1041 CE and became it's de facto ruler as a subject of Tughril I. [2] [3]
As a result of a rebellion of Ibrahim Yinal, the Seljuk Sultan Tughril I, who was in a difficult situation, asked for help from his brother Chaghri. Chaghri responded to this request for help by sending an army under the command of his sons Alp Arslan, Qavurt, and Yakuti. [4] The army under the command of Ibrahim Yinal and his nephews Mehmed and Ahmed, and the army under the command of Alp Arslan, Qavurt, and Yakuti encountered each other near Rey. [5] Ibrahim Yinal and his nephews, who lost the battle, were taken prisoner. [6]
Qavurt, then the governor of Kerman, had fell into an argument with Fazluye, the governor of Shiraz. Alp Arslan, following his campaign in the nortwest, launched an expedition against Qavurt. During an attack by Alp Arslan's army, Qavurt's soldiers were defeated and pleaded for mercy. Qavurt fled and his loyalists were imprisoned. Thereafter, Alp Arslan appointed Fazluye as governor of Fars and went to Isfahan. Hence, Qavurt lost all his territories that he controlled in Fars. [7]
Qavurt incited a brief rebellion against Alp Arslan in 1067. Thereafter, the Great Seljuk Sultan went on an expedition against him. [8] Qavurt again asked for forgiveness after the army he sent was defeated by Alp Arslan's vanguard. Alp Arslan forgave him and left him as the prince of Kerman. [9]
Alp Arslan died in 1072. But before death he willed his throne to Malik Shah I, his second son. He also expressed his concern about possible throne struggles. The main contestants for the throne were his eldest son Ayaz and his brother Qavurt. As a compromise, he willed generous grants to Ayaz and Qavurt.
Malik Shah was only 17 or 18 years of age when he ascended to throne. Although Ayaz presented no problem, he faced with the serious problem of Qavurt's rebellion. [10] His vizier Nizam al-Mulk was even more worried for he had become the de facto ruler of the empire during young Malik Shah's reign. Although Qavurt had only a small army, Turkmen officiers in Malik Shah's army tended to support Qavurt. So Malik Shah and Nizam al-Mulk added non Turkic regiments to Seljuk army. Artukids also supported Malik Shah. The clash was at a location known as Kerç kapı (or Kerec [11] ) close to Hamedan on 16 May 1073. Malik Shah was able to defeat Qavurt's forces. Although Qavurt escaped, he was soon arrested. Initially Malik Shah was tolerant to his uncle. But Nizam al-Mulk convinced the young sultan to execute Qavurt. Nizam al-Mulk also executed two of Qavurt's four sons. [12] Later he eliminated most of the Turkic commanders of the army whom he suspected to be Qavurt's partisans.
Qavurt's defeat was a blow to Turkic character of the empire. But Qavurt's other sons managed to rule in Kirman as vassals of Malik Shah and their small state lived even longer than that of the Great Seljuk Empire.
