Suleiman ibn Qutalmish

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Turkish. (March 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 397 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Turkish Wikipedia article at [[:tr:]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated page}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Suleiman I
Kutalmışoğlu Suleiman monument in Tarsus, Mersin
Sultan of Rum
Reign	1077–1086
Predecessor	Qutalmish
Successor	Kilij Arslan I
Died	1086 Near Antioch
Consort	Seljuk Khatun
Issue	Kilij Arslan I
House	Seljuk
Father	Qutalmish
Religion	Sunni Islam

Suleiman ibn Qutalmish (Turkish: Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Şah, Old Anatolian Turkish: سُلَیمانشاہ بن قُتَلمِش, Persian: سلیمان بن قتلمش‎) founded an independent Seljuk Turkish state in Anatolia and ruled as Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1077 until his death in 1086.^[1]

Life[]

Suleiman was the son of Qutalmish, who had struggled unsuccessfully against his cousin Alp Arslan for the throne of the Great Seljuk Empire. When Kutalmish died in 1064, Suleiman fled with his three brothers into the Taurus Mountains and there sought refuge with Turkmen tribes living beyond the borders of the empire. Alp Arslan responded by launching a series of punitive expeditions against them. Of the four brothers, Suleiman alone survived the raids and was able to consolidate his leadership of the Turkmen.^[2]

His realm[]

In 1078, the Byzantine emperor Michael VII sought the help of Suleiman against Nicephorus Botaneiates, the commander of the Anatolic Theme, who had challenged the emperor for the throne. Suleiman intercepted Botaneiates' small force between Cotyaeum and Nicaea, whereupon the usurper persuaded Suleiman to join his rebellion by offering him incentives superior to those of the emperor.^[3] Nicephorus' bid for power was successful, and in return for their support Suleiman's Turkmen were allowed to settle on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, near Constantinople itself. Two years later, Suleiman lent his support to another pretender, Nicephorus Melissenus.^[4] It was the latter Nicephorus who opened the gates of Nicaea to the Turkmen, allowing Suleiman to establish a permanent base.^[5] All Bithynia was soon under Suleiman's control, a circumstance which allowed him to restrict communication between Constantinople and the former Byzantine subjects in Anatolia.

In 1084, Suleiman left Nicaea, leaving his kinsman Abu'l Qasim in charge.

Suleiman expanded his realm. In 1084 he captured Antioch and proceeded to massacre its inhabitants. Moreover, the treasures of the church of St. Cassianus were stolen and the church was converted into a mosque.^[6]

His death[]

In 1086, Suleiman, seeking to expand his dominion, placed Aleppo under siege and demanded its surrender.^[7] The emir of Aleppo sent a message to Tutush I, the Seljuk ruler of Syria, stating he would hand the city over to him.^[7] Suleiman, hearing of the approach of Tutush's forces, raised the siege and marched to meet him.^[7] Near Aleppo, Suleiman's forces fled before Tutush's army, while Suleiman was killed.^[8] Suleiman's son, Kilij Arslan I, was captured, and Malik Shah transferred him to Isfahan as a hostage.

Upon the death of Malik-Shah I, Kilij Arslan I re-established the Sultanate of Rûm.

References[]

Sources[]

• Cahen, Claude (1968). Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330. Translated by Jones-Williams, J. Taplinger.
• Grousset, René (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Translated by Walford, Naomi. Rutgers University Press.
• Ibn al-Athir (2002). The Annals of the Saljuq Turks. Translated by Richards, D.S. Routledge.
• Ostrogorsky, George (1969). History of the Byzantine State. Translated by Hussey, Joan. Rutgers University Press.
• Peacock, Andrew (2013). The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. I.B. Tauris.
• Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. University of California Press.
• Sevim, Ali (1987). Anadolu’nun Fethi : Selçuklular Dönemi (başlangıçtan 1086’ya kadar). Turkish Historical Association.