Malik Shah I

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Jalāl al-Dawlah Mālikshāh or simply Malik Shah (Persian: ملكشاه, Turkish: Melikşah) (died 1092) was the Seljuk sultan from 1072 to 1092.

He drove the Byzantine Empire out of most of Anatolia following their defeat by his father Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Likewise, he reformed the calendar with the Jalāli calendar in 1079. Malik Shah expanded Seljuk power into Syria at the expense of the Fatimids of Egypt, setting up client sultans in Edessa, Aleppo and Damascus and is remembered as one of the greatest of the Seljuk sultans.

[edit] Revolt in Anatolia

Süleyman revolted against Malik Shah I and proclaimed himself the Sultan of Rüm, establishing his capital at Nicaea. He expanded his realm but was killed near Antioch (Antakya) in 1086 by Tutush I, the Seljuk ruler of Syria. Süleyman's son, Kilij Arslan I, was captured and the lands in Anatolia was taken hostage by Malik Shah I to Isfahan. It is uncertain whether Tutush killed Süleyman out of loyalty to Malik Shah I or simply for personal gain.

[edit] State Organization

The principal post in the organization was that of the vizier Nizam ul-Mulk who served both him and his father and achieved a near mythic stature in contemporary Muslim histories.

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[edit] Legacy

After his death in 1092 the Seljuk empire disintegrated into smaller states, mostly antagonistic towards each other, as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire between themselves. In Anatolia, Malik Shah I was succeeded by Kilij Arslan I who founded the Sultanate of Rum, and in Syria by his brother Tutush I. In Persia he was succeeded by his son Mahmud I whose reign was contested by his other three brothers Barkiyaruq in Iraq, Muhammad I in Baghdad and Ahmed Sanjar in Khorasan.