Kilij Arslan I 293645 223151054 2008-07-02T20:06:22Z Flamarande 491689 RVT "peasant pilgrims" carrying weapons who killed lots of Jews in many cities? '''Kilij Arslan''' ({{lang-ar|قلج أرسلان}}, Qilij Arslān; {{lang-tr|I. Kılıç Arslan}}) was the [[Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm|Seljuq Sultan of Rum]] from [[1092]] until his death in [[1107]]. He ruled the Sultanate during the time of the [[First Crusade]] and thus faced the brunt of the attack.<ref> Outline History of the Islamic World By Masudul Hasan, Abdul Waheed, pg.159</ref> He also re-established the Sultanate of [[Rûm|Rum]] after the death of [[Malik Shah I]] of [[Seljuk Turks|Great Seljuk]]. ==Rise to Power== After the death of his father, [[Suleyman I of Rûm|Suleyman]], in [[1086]], he became a hostage of Sultan [[Malik Shah I]] of Great Seljuk, but was released when Malik Shah died in [[1092]]. Kilij Arslan then marched at the head of the Turkish Oghuz Yiva tribe army and set up his capital at [[Nicaea (city)|Nicaea]], replacing Amin 'l Ghazni, the governor appointed by Malik Shah I. Following the death of Malik Shah I the individual tribes; the Danishmends, Mangujekids, Saltuqids, Chaka, Tengribirmish begs, Artuqids ([[Ortoqid]]s), and Akhlat-Shahs; had started vying with each other to establish their own independent states. [[Alexios I Komnenos|Alexius Comnenus]]'s Byzantine intrigues further complicated the situation. He married the daughter of the [[Emir]] of the [[Chaka]] to attempt to ally himself against the Byzantines, who commanded a strong naval fleet. In 1094, Kilij Arslan received a letter from Alexius suggessting that the Chaka sought to target him to move onto the Byzantines, thereupon Kilij Arslan marched with an army to [[Smyrna]], Chaka’s capital, and invited his father-in-law to a banquet in his tent where he slew him while he was intoxicated. ==The Crusades== [[Image:Anatolia 1097.svg|thumb|500px|[[Anatolia]] in 1097, before the [[Siege of Nicaea]]]] ===People's Crusade=== :''Main article: [[People's Crusade]]''<br> '''The [[Peasants' Crusade]]''' army of [[Peter the Hermit]] and [[Walter the Penniless]] arrived at Nicaea in [[1096]]. Kilij Arslan's army easily defeated the mob and about 20 000 Crusaders were killed and the rest were sold into slavery. He then invaded the [[Danishmends|Danishmend]] [[Emirate]] of [[Malik Ghazi]] in eastern [[Anatolia]]. ===First Crusade=== :''Main article: [[First Crusade]]''<br> Because of this easy first victory he did not consider the main [[First Crusade#The Princes.27 Crusade|crusader]] army, led by various nobles of western Europe, to be a serious threat. He resumed his war with the Danishmends, and was away from Nicaea when these new Crusaders [[Siege of Nicaea|besieged Nicaea]] in May of [[1097]]. He hurried back to his capital to find it surrounded by the Crusaders, and was defeated in battle with them on [[May 21]]. The city then surrendered to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] and his wife and children captured. When the [[crusaders]] sent the Sultana to [[Constantinople]], to their dismay she was later returned without ransom in 1097 because of the relationship between Kilij Arslan and Alexius Comnenus. As result of the stronger invasion, Rüm and the Danismends allied in their attempt to turn back the crusaders. As the Crusaders continued split their forces as they marched across Anatolia. The combined Danishmend and Rüm forces planned an ambush the smaller force near [[Battle of Dorylaeum|Dorylaeum]] on [[June 29]]. However, his [[horse archer]]s could not penetrate the line of defense set up by the Crusader knights, and the main body under [[Bohemund I of Antioch|Bohemund]] arrived to capture the Turkish camp on [[July 1]]. Kilij Arslan retreated, and did not attack the Crusaders again, although he destroyed crops and water supplies along their route, even abandoning his new capital at [[Konya]]. :''See also: [[Siege of Nicaea]], [[Battle of Dorylaeum]]'' ===Crusade of 1101=== :''Main article: [[Crusade of 1101]]''<br> [[Ghazni ibn Danishmend]] captured [[Bohemund]] resulting in a new force of [[Lombards]] attempting to rescue him. In their march the took Ankara from Arslan upon the Danishmends. In alliance with [[Radwan]] the [[Atabeg]] of [[Aleppo]] he ambushed this force at the [[Crusade of 1101#Battle of Mersivan|Battle of Mersivan]]. In [[1101]] he defeated another Crusader army at [[Heraclea Cybistra]], which had come to assist the fledging [[Crusader State]]s in [[Syria]]. This was an important victory for the Turks, as it proved that an army of Crusader knights were not invincible. After this victory he moved his capital to [[Konya]] and defeated a force led by [[Crusade of 1101#The Nivernois|William II of Nevers]] who attempted to march upon it as well as the subsequent force a week later. In [[1104]] he resumed once more his war with the Danishmends who were now weakened after the death of Malik Ghazi, demanding half the ransom gained for Bohemund. As a result Bohemund allied with the Danishmends against Rüm and the Byzantines. ==War and death in Syria== After the crusades he moved towards the east taking [[Harran]], and [[Diyarbakr]]. In [[1107]] he conquered [[Mosul]], but he was defeated by Emir Jawali al-Saqawu for [[Mehmed I of Great Seljuk]] supported by the [[Ortoqids]] and [[Radwan]] of [[Aleppo]] at the [[Battle of Mosul (1107)|Battle of Mosul]]. While retreating from Mosul he drowned in the [[Khabur River|Habura River]]. {{start box}} {{succession box|title=[[Sultan of Rüm]]|before=[[Suleyman I of Rûm|Suleyman I]]|after=[[Melikshah]]|years=1092&ndash;1107}} {{end box}} ==References== <references /> {{Refimprove|date=January 2007}} [[Category:1107 deaths]] [[Category:Crusade people (Muslims)]] [[Category:Turkic rulers]] [[Category:Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and Turkish beyliks]] [[Category:History of Turkey]] [[Category:Deaths by drowning]] [[de:Kılıç Arslan I.]] [[el:Κιλίτζ Αρσλάν Α']] [[es:Kilij Arslan I]] [[fr:Kılıç Arslan Ier]] [[ko:킬리지 아르슬란 1세]] [[it:Kilij Arslan I]] [[nl:Kilij Arslan I]] [[ru:Кылыч-Арслан I]] [[sl:Kılıç Arslan I.]] [[tr:I. Kılıç Arslan]]