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Alp Arslan (Turkish: Alp Arslan; Persian: آلپ ارسلان; full name: Diya ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abu Shuja Muhammad Alp Arslan ibn Dawud) (20 January 1029 – 15 December 1072) was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. His real name was Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, and for his military prowess, personal valour, and fighting skills he obtained the name Alp Arslan, which means "Heroic Lion"[2] in Turkish.

Contents

• 1 Career
• 2 Byzantine struggle
• 3 State organization
• 4 Death
• 5 Legacy
• 6 Issue
• 7 References
• 8 Sources

Career

Alp Arslan succeeded his father Çağrı Bey as governor of Khorasan in 1059. His uncle Tughril died and was succeeded by Suleiman, Arslan's brother. Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession. Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuq, thus becoming sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions, Arslan was ably assisted by Nizam al-Mulk, his vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history. With peace and security established in his dominions, Arslan convoked an assembly of the states and declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish 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.[3]

Byzantine struggle

En route to 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 Comnenos, great-uncle of Emperor Manuel Comnenos.

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. At Manzikert, on the Murat River, north of Lake Van, Diogenes was met by Alp Arslan. The sultan proposed terms of peace, which were rejected by the emperor, and the two forces waged the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkish side. Seeing this, "the Western mercenaries rode off and took no part in the battle."[4] 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.[5] The Byzantines were totally routed.

Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan. After a ritual humiliation, Arslan treated him with generosity. After peace terms were agreed to, Arslan dismissed the Emperor, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard. The following conversation is said to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a prisoner before the Sultan:[6]

Alp Arslan: "What would you do if I was brought before you as a prisoner?"
Romanos: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople."
Alp Arslan: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."

Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in near Asia completely in favour of the Seljuq Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for nearly four more centuries, and the Crusades would contest the issue for some time, the victory at Manzikert signalled the beginning of Turkish ascendancy in Anatolia. Most historians, including Edward Gibbon, date the defeat at Manzikert as the beginning of the end of the Eastern Roman Empire. Certainly the entry of Turkic farmers following their horsemen ended the themes in Anatolia that had furnished the Empire with men and treasure.

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 fiefs, 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.

According to the poet Saadi Shirazi:

Arslan possessed a fort, which raised at the height of Alwand, from all were those within its walls, for its roads were a labyrinth, like the curls of a bride. From a learned traveler Arslan once inquired: "Didst thou ever, in thy wanderings, see a fort as strong as this?" "Splendid it is," was the travelers reply, "but methinks not it confers much strength. Before thee, did not other kings possess it for a while, then pass away? After thee, will not other kings assume control, and eat the fruits of the tree of thy hope?"
In the estimation of the wise, the world is a false gem that passes each moment from one hand to another. (the fort was sacked by the Mongols led by Hulagu).

Suleiman ibn Kutalmish was the son of the contender for Arslan's throne; he was appointed governor of the north-western provinces and assigned to completing 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.

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 with safety, however, it was necessary to subdue certain fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the governor, Yussuf el-Harezmi, a Khwarezmian. He was obliged to surrender, however, and was carried as a prisoner before the sultan, who condemned him to death. Yussuf, in desperation, drew his dagger and rushed upon the sultan. Alp Arslan, who took great pride in his reputation as the foremost archer of his time, motioned to his guards not to interfere. He drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the arrow glanced aside, and he received the assassin's dagger in his breast. Alp Arslan died from this wound four days later, on 25 November 1072, in his 42nd year, and he was taken to Merv to be buried next to his father, Chaghri Beg. Upon his tomb lies the following inscription:

“O those who saw the sky-high grandeur of Alp Arslan, behold! He is under the black soil now...”

As he lay dying, Alp Arslan whispered to his son that his vanity had killed him. "Alas," he is recorded to have said, "surrounded by great warriors devoted to my cause, guarded night and day by them, I should have allowed them to do their job. I had been warned against trying to protect myself, and against letting my courage get in the way of my good sense. I forgot those warnings, and here I lie, dying in agony. Remember well the lessons learned, and do not allow your vanity to overreach your good sense..."[citation needed]

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.

Issue

He married Aka, widow of Toghrul I. They had:

• Muizz ad-Din Malik-Shah I
• Taj ad-Dawlah Tutush I
• Izz ad-Din Arslan-Argun
• Bori-Bars
• Toghrul
• Ayaz
• Toghan-Shah
• Arslan-Shah
• Tekish
• Princess Aisha
• Princess Zuleikha Khatun

References

• Soviet Historical Encyclopedia. Volume I. Page 415.
• "Alp Arslan." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (September 5, 2011). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404700163.html
• Bosworth 1968, p. 62-65.
• Runciman, Steve (1992). The First Crusade. Cambridge University Press.
• Norwich, John Julius (1993). Byzantium The Apogee. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-011448-3.
• R. Scott Peoples (2007). Crusade of Kings. Wildside Press LLC. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8095-7221-2.

Sources

• Bosworth, C. E. (1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In Frye, R. N. The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5 The Saljuq and Mongol periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–202. ISBN 0-521-06936-X.
• Minorsky, Vladimir (1958). A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries. University of Michigan. pp. 1–219. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alp_Arslan Alp Arslan (honorific in Turkish meaning "Heroic Lion"; in Persian: آلپ ارسلان‎; full name: Diyā ad-Dunyā wa ad-Dīn Adud ad-Dawlah Abu Shujā' Muhammad Ālp Ārslan ibn Dawūd ضياء الدنيا و الدين عضد الدولة ابو شجاع محمد آلپ ارسلان ابن داود;‎ 20 January 1029 – 15 December 1072), real name Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. As Sultan, Alp Arslan greatly expanded Seljuk territory and consolidated power, defeating rivals to his south and northwest. His victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 ushered in the Turkic settlement of Anatolia.[1] For his military prowess and fighting skills he obtained the name Alp Arslan, which means "Heroic Lion"[2] in Turkish. Alp Arslan 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.[3] It is unclear who the mother or mothers of his children were. Arslan was known to be married at least twice. His wives included the widow of his uncle Tughril, a Kara-Khanid princess known as Aka Khatun, and the daughter or niece of Bagrat IV of Georgia (who would later marry his vizier Nizam al-Mulk).[4] One of Seljuk's other son's was the Turkic chieftain Arslan Isma'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 for the sultanate. Suleiman ibn Kutalmish would later become Seljuk sultan of Rûm. The son of Suleiman was his successor Kilij Arslan, a major opponent of the Franks during the First Crusade and the Crusade of 1101.

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. ...

https://www.wikiwand.com/fa/%D8%A2%D9%84%D9%BE_%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3%D...

عضدالدین ابوشجاع آلپ ارسلان محمد (درگذشته ۱۵ دسامبر ۱۰۷۲) پسر چغری بیگ داوود دومین شاه از سلسله سلجوقی در ایران است.