MILITARY LEADER OF THE DAY: ALP ARSLAN, 2nd SULTAN OF THE SELJUQ EMPIRE.

By Eric G. L. Pinzelli,
April 23, 2019

ʿAḍud al-Dawla Abū Shujaʿ Muḥammad ibn Dāʾūd Chaghribeg, (c. 1030—1072), was the second sultan of the Seljuq Turks, who inherited the Seljuq territories of Khorāsān and western Iran and went on to conquer Georgia, Armenia, and much of Asia Minor (routing the Byzantine army at Manzikert).
The Seljuq empire was a medieval Turko Persian Sunni Muslim empire founded by Tughril Beg in 1037. It controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Arabian Gulf. They united the eastern Islamic world and played a key role in the first and second crusades.
To expand the influence of Islam in the neighboring territory, Alp Arslan ("Heroic Lion") marched into Armenia and Georgia, and finally subdued them in 1064 AD. Alp Arslan invaded the Byzantine empire in 1068 AD but during the first three campaigns, the Turks were defeated and driven across the Euphrates.
At the Battle of Manzikert, fought in 1071, the Seljuk Empire clashed again with the Byzantine Empire led by Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. What followed was a disastrous defeat for the Byzantine army. The emperor was betrayed by his Cuman Turks as well as the contingents of Franks and Normans, the Byzantines totally routed. Romanos IV was captured and brought to Sultan Alp Arslan. Alp Arslan placed his boot on the Emperor's neck and forced him to kiss the ground. A week later, he was released by Arslan in exchange of a large ransom.
This large victory was followed by Seljuq conquest of most of Anatolia and marked the beginning of the end for the Byzantine Empire as a militarily viable state.
11 months later, the Sultan had arrested Yussuf al-Khwarezmi, the hostile commander of the Berzem fortress when preparing to march against Turkestan. He condemned Yussuf to death but was suddenly stabbed by him with a dagger and died shortly thereafter.
Sultan Alp Arslan died at the age of 43. Alp Arslan's conquest of Anatolia from the Byzantines is seen as one of the pivotal precursors to the launch of the 1st crusade.
Art by Mustafa Öner.