Barkiyaruq
Abu al-Muzaffar Rukn ud-Dīn Barkyāruq bin Malikšāh (Turkish: Berkyaruk, Arabic: أبو المظفر ركن الدنيا والدين بركياروق بن ملكشاه), Barkyaruq meaning in Turkic(firm, unwavering light),[1] was the sultan of the Great Seljuq empire from 1094-1105.
Reign
He was a son of Malik Shah I[2] and participated in the succession wars against his three brothers, Mahmud I, Ahmed Sanjar, and Mehmed I.[3]
Barkiyaruq ascended to the throne at age thirteen,[4] and his detractors thought him too inexperienced. He waged war to regain control of the core Seljuk land, lands that are today part of Iraq and Iran. His land bordered Syria when Europeans armies arrived to fight in the First Crusade, but at the time his main concern was the rule on Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus, which were ruled in his name, but controlled by rivals.
In 1105, Barkiyaruq died in Borujerd. It has been reported that his body was returned to Isfahan. However, some people say his tomb is in 5 km north of Borujerd, where today is a historical monument called Zavvarian.
References
- ↑ Notes on Some Turkish Names in Abu 'l-Faḍl Bayhaqī's Tārīkh-i Masʿūdī, C.E.Bosworth, Oriens, Vol. 36, (2001), 305.
- ↑ E. J. Van Donzel, Islamic Desk Reference, (E.J.Brill, 1994), 464.
- ↑ Bernard Lewis, The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam, (Basic Books Inc., 2003), 51.
- ↑ The Internal Structure of the Saljuq Empire, A.K.S.Lambton, The Cambridge History of Iran: The Saljuq and Mongol periods, (Cambridge University Press, 1968), 220-221.
| Preceded by Mahmud I of Great Seljuk |
Sultan of Great Seljuk 1094–1105 |
Succeeded by Malik Shah II |
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