| 41st | Top state leaders in 1063 |
| Alp Arslan | |
|---|---|
| Sultan of Great Seljuq | |
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| Statue of Alp Arslan | |
| Reign | 1064 – 1072 |
| Coronation | 27 April 1064 |
| Full name | Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri |
| Born | 1029 |
| Died | 15 December 1072 (aged 43) |
| Place of death | Oxus River, Turkestan |
| Buried | Merv, Turkestan |
| Predecessor | Toğrül |
| Successor | Malik Shah I |
| Royal House | Seljuq dynasty |
| Father | Çağrı Bey |
| Religious beliefs | Sunni Islam |
Alp Arslan (1029 – 15 December 1072) was the second sultan of the Seljuk dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponym of the dynasty. He assumed the name of Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri when he embraced Islam, and for his military prowess, personal valour, and fighting skills he obtained the surname Alp Arslan, which means "a valiant lion" in Turkish.
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He succeeded his father Chagri Begh as governor of Khorasan in 1059. When his uncle Toğrül died he was succeeded by Suleiman, Alp Arslan's brother. Alp Arslan and his uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession. Alp Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuk, and thus became sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.
In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions he was ably assisted by Nizam ul-Mulk, his Persian vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history. With peace and security established in his dominions, he convoked an assembly of the states and declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of acquiring immense booty in the rich church of St. Basil in Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed the Euphrates and entered and plundered that city. He then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064.
In 1068, en route to Syria, Alp Arslan Oush invaded the Byzantine Empire. The Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, assuming the command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia. In three arduous campaigns, the first two of which were conducted by the emperor himself while the third was directed by Manuel Comnenos (great-uncle of Emperor Manuel Comnenos), the Turks were defeated in detail in 1070 and driven across the Euphrates. In 1071 Romanos again took the field and advanced with 40,000 men, including a contingent of the Cuman Turks as well as contingents of Franks and Normans, under Ursel de Baieul, into Armenia.
At Manzikert, on the Murad Tchai, 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 met in the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces immediately defected to the Turkish side; and, seeing this, "the Western mercenaries rode off and took no part in the battle."[1] The Byzantines were totally routed.
Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, who treated him with generosity, and, terms of peace having been agreed to, dismissed him, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard. This famous conversation is recorded to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a prisoner before the Sultan:
Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in near Asia completely in favour of the Seljuk Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for nearly another four 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 which had furnished the Empire with men and treasure.
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 which characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son, Malik Shah. Military fiefs, governed by Seljuk princes, were established to provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the established Persian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Persians and other established cultures within the Seljuk realm, and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge standing army, without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiery. 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 Kutalmish was the son of the contender for Arslan's throne; he was appointed governor of the north-western provinces. 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.
The dominion of Alp Arslan after Manzikert extended over much of western Asia. He soon prepared to march to 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, however, obliged to surrender and was carried a prisoner before the sultan, who condemned him to a cruel 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 and drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the arrow glanced aside and he received the assassin's dagger in his breast. Alp Arslan died four days later from this wound on 25 November 1072 in his 42nd year, and was taken to Merv to be buried next to his father Çağrı Bey. Upon his tomb lies the following inscription:
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..."
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.
Both Alp and Alparslan (concatenated version of Alp Arslan) are among most loved and used Turkish names in Turkey.
| Preceded by Toghrül |
Sultan of Great Seljuk 1063–1072 |
Succeeded by Malik Shah I |
Muhammad bin Da'ud (1029 – December 15, 1072) was the second sultan of the dynasty of Seljuk Turks, in Persia, and great-grandson of Seljuk, the founder of the dynasty. He assumed the name of Muhammed when he embraced Islam, and due to his military prowess, personal valor, and fighting skills he obtained the surname Alp Arslan, which signifies "a valiant lion."
ALP ARSLAN, or [[Axan, Mahommed Ben Da'Ud]] (1029-1072), the second sultan of the dynasty of Seljuk, in Persia, and great-grandson of Seljuk, the founder of the dynasty, was born in the year A.D. 1029 (421 of the Hegira). He assumed the name of Mahommed when he embraced the Mussulman faith; and on account of his military prowess he obtained the surname Alp Arslan, which signifies "a valiant lion." He succeeded his father Da'ud as ruler of Khorasan in 1059, and his uncle Togrul Bey as sultan of Oran in 1063, and thus became sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris. In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions he was ably assisted by Nizam ul-Mulk, his vizier, one of the most eminent statesmen in early Mahommedan history. Peace and security being established in his dominions, he convoked an assembly of the states and declared his son Malik Shah his heir and successor. With the hope of acquiring immense booty in the rich church of St Basil in Caesarea, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed the Euphrates and entered and plundered that city. He then marched into Armenia and Georgia, which, in 1064, he finally subdued. In 1068 Alp Arslan invaded the Roman empire. The emperor Romanus Diogenes, assuming the command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia. In three arduous campaigns, the two first of which were conducted by the emperor himself while the third was directed by Manuel Comnenus, the Turks were defeated in detail and finally (1070) driven across the Euphrates. In 1071 Romanus again took the field and advanced with ioo,000 men, including a contingent of the Turkish tribe of the Uzes and of the French and Normans, under Ursel of Baliol, into Armenia. At Manzikert, on the Murad Tchai, north of Lake Van, he was met by Alp Arslan; and the sultan having proposed terms of peace, which were scornfully rejected by the emperor, a battle took place in which the Greeks, after a terrible slaughter, were totally routed, a result due mainly to the rapid tactics of the Turkish cavalry. Romanus was taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, who treated him with generosity, and terms of peace having been agreed to, dismissed him, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard. The dominion of Alp Arslan now extended over the fairest part of Asia; 1200 princes or sons of princes surrounded his throne and 200,000 warriors were at his command. He now prepared to march to 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 it was necessary to subdue certain fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the governor, Yussuf Kothual, a Kharizmian. He was, however, obliged to surrender and was carried a prisoner before the sultan, who condemned him to a cruel death. Yussuf, in desperation, drew his dagger and rushed upon the sultan. Alp Arslan, the most skilful archer of his day, motioned to his guards not to interfere and drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the arrow glanced aside and he received the assassin's dagger in his breast. The wound proved mortal, and Alp Arslan expired a few hours after he received it, on the 15th of December 1072.
See Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, edited by J. B. Bury (1898), vi. pp. 235 et seq., and authorities there cited.
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