Malik Shah of Rum
Malik Shah (Old Anatolian Turkish: مَلِكشاه,Turkish: Melikşah, Persian: ملک شاه), also known as Şâhinşah[1] (Persian: شاهنشاه, lit. 'king of kings') was the sultan of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm between the years 1110 and 1116.
Reign
[edit]Prior to Malik Shah's accession, the throne had remained vacant for three years following the death of Kilij Arslan I in 1107. Malik Shah was held prisoner in Isfahan until 1110 when he returned to Anatolia to assume the throne. He then imprisoned his two younger brothers, Mesud and Arab. However, his position remained insecure, as he was attacked by the Danishmendid beylik.[2]
Shortly before his death, he was defeated by the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos at the Battle of Philomelion (1116). Malik Shah then signed a treaty with the emperor, allegedly agreeing to let the Byzantines take back all their land in Anatolia. Using the peace treaty as a pretext, the Danishmendid ruler Gümüshtigin deposed Malik Shah and replaced him with Mesud, who was married to his daughter. The treaty was thus nullified. Malik Shah was then executed by being strangled with a bowstring.[2] The loss of prestige suffered by Malik Shah due to his defeat by the Byzantines probably precipitated his fall.[3][4]
Malik Shah was described by Anna Komnena as a fool who often ignored the strategies of his more experienced generals, to the point where he mocked and criticized his generals.
References
[edit]- ↑ Muharrem Kesik (1988–2016). "MELİKŞAH ملكشاه (ö. 511/1117) Anadolu Selçuklu hükümdarı (1110-1116).". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (44+2 vols.) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Presidency of Religious Affairs, Centre for Islamic Studies.
- 1 2 Mecit, Songül (2014). The Rum Seljuqs: evolution of a dynasty. Routledge studies in the history of Iran and Turkey. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-415-50540-6.
- ↑ Komnene, pp. 488-491
- ↑ Birkenmeier, p.79 footnote
Bibliography
[edit]- Birkenmeier, John W. (2002). The Development of the Komnenian Army: 1081–1180. Brill. ISBN 90-04-11710-5.
- Komnene (Comnena), Anna; Sewter, Edgar Robert Ashton (1969). The Alexiad of Anna Comnena translated by Edgar Robert Ashton Sewter. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044215-4.
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