Kavurt

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Kavurt (also Qāwurd, full name Kara Arslan Ahmet Kavurt ) was a Seljukid prince who fought for the throne.(death 1073)

Background

Seljuks is the name of a Turkish dynasty which founded an empire in and around Persia in the 11th century. Kavurt was the son of Çağrı Bey who was the grandson of Seljuk the founder of the dynasty.[1] Kavurt’s brother Alp Arslan succeeded his uncle Tuğrul as the new sultan and Kavurt then the governor of Kirman (south Persia) waited for his turn.

Alp Arslan's will

Alp Arslan died in 1072. But before death he willed his throne to Malik Shah I, his second son. He also expressed his concern about possible throne struggles. The main contestants for the throne were his eldest son Ayaz and his brother Kavurt. As a compromise, he willed generous grants to Ayaz and Kavurt. He also willed Kavurt to marry his widow.

Kavurt's rebellion

Malik Shah was only 17 or 18 years of age when he ascended to throne. Although Ayaz presented no problem, he faced with the serious problem of Kavurt's rebellion.[2] His vizier Nizam al-Mulk was even more worried for he had become the de facto ruler of the empire during young Malik Shah’s reign. Although Kavurt had only a small army, Turkmen officiers in Malik Shah’s army tended to support Kavurt. So Malik Shah and Nizam el Mulk added non Turkic regiments to Seljuk army. Artukids also supported Malik Shah. The clash was at a location known as Kerç kapı (or Kerec [3] ) close to Hamedan in 16 May 1073. Malik Shah was able to defeat Kavurt’s forces. Although Kavurt escaped, he was soon arrested. Iniatially Malik Shah was tolerant to his uncle. But Nizam el Mulk convinced the young sultan to execute Kavurt. Nizam el Mulk also executed Kavurt’s four sons.[4] Later he eliminated most of the Turkic commanders of the army whom he suspected to be Kavurt’s partisan.

Aftermath

Kavurt’s defeat was a blow to Turkic character of the empire. But Kavurt’s other sons managed to rule in Kirman as vassals of Malik Shah and their small state lived even longer than that of the Great Seljuk Empire.

References

  1. ↑ Family tree of Seljuks
  2. ↑ Encycloapedia Britannica, Expo 70 ed. Vol 14, p. 699
  3. ↑ Sina Akşin-Ümit Hassan: Türkiye Tarihi 1 Vatan Kitap, 2009, ISBN 975-406-563-2, p.180
  4. ↑ Salim Koca: The Forces in the Determination of the Political Power in the Seljuk State (Turkish)
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