Emirs of Malikšāh and their struggle for power overSyria 1092–1098

Summary

Abstract

In 1092 sultan Malikšāh, the third ruler from the GreatSeljuks dynasty, died in obscure circumstances.During his reigns the Turkic Empire has reached thepeak of its power. Its borders stretched fromMediterranean to India, and from the steppes ofTransoxania to the southern Arabian Peninsula. Theunexpected death of a nearly forty-year-old rulerinitiated a several-year period of fratricidalstruggles over the sultan's throne in Isfahan. Thesuccession in the Great Seljuks family wasunsettled, therefore three main players made theirclaims and started to gather supporters for thecause. Among claimants were two young sons of thedeceased ruler, Maḥmūd and Barkiyāruq, andMalikšāh's brother Tāğ ad-Dawla Tutuš. All of themwere trying to recruit commanders who led the armiesof Malikšāh and to whom he entrusted thegovernorships of conquered cities and provinces.Those emirs descended from the Turkic tribes whichfifty years earlier had entered the AbbasidCaliphate under the command of Tuġrīl Beg. In handsof such military governors like Yaġī Siyān, AqSunqur or Būzān rested the real power over thehalf-independent emirates like Antioch, Aleppo andEdessa. This paper will focus on above mentionedemirs and their struggle for power over Syria. Theywere often forced to change alliances and navigatebetween the fighting parties. The decisions theymade were crucial not only for their careers butalso for the fate of the whole region. Those who hadsurvived the succession wars had to face new and yetunknown peril. In October 1097 Antiochean scoutsbrought the news about nearing army of infidels.Crusaders arrived, and the whole new era in thehistory of Ash-Sham began.

Keywords: Seljuqs, Malikshah, Crusades, Ash-Sham

On July 15, 1099, the army of the First Crusade finallycaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem after a bloodyassault. It was an unprecedented success of theEuropean arms. This goal, however, could not beachieved without the amazing coincidence. TheCrusaders managed to hit an unusually favorablemoment in history. Of course, the enthusiasm of theparticipants of the expedition, their combat skillsand religious zeal were not without anysignificance, but the political breakdown of Syriathat prevailed at that time was very decisive.