Kayqubad I

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kayqubad I
Seljuq
FatherKaykhusraw I
MotherRaziya Khatun, a daughter of Manuel Maurozomes
ReligionSunni Islam

Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād ibn Kaykhusraw (

Mengujek Beylik and the Ayyubids, and established a Seljuq presence on the Mediterranean with his acquisition of the port of Kalon Oros , later renamed Ala'iyya in his honor. The sultan, sometimes styled Kayqubad the Great,[2]
is remembered today for his rich architectural legacy and the brilliant court culture that flourished under his reign.

Kayqubad's reign represented the apogee of

Seljuq power and influence in Anatolia, and Kayqubad himself was considered the most illustrious prince of the dynasty. In the period following the mid-13th century Mongol invasion, inhabitants of Anatolia frequently looked back on his reign as a golden age, while the new rulers of the Anatolian beyliks
sought to justify their own authority through pedigrees traced to him.

Early life

Kayqubad was the second son of Seljuk Sultan Kaykhusraw, who bestowed upon him at an early age the title malik and the governorship of the important central Anatolian town of Tokat. When the sultan died following the battle of Alaşehir in 1211,[3] both Kayqubad and his elder brother Kaykaus struggled for the throne. Kayqubad initially garnered some allies among the neighbors of the sultanate: Leo I, the king of Cilician Armenia and Tughrilshah, the brothers' uncle and the independent ruler of Erzurum. Most of the emirs, as the powerful landed aristocracy of the sultanate, supported Kaykaus. Kayqubad was forced to flee to the fortress at Ankara, where he sought aid from the Turkman tribes of Kastamonu. He was soon apprehended and imprisoned by his brother in a fortress in western Anatolia.[4]

Reign

Upon his brother Sultan Kaykaus's unexpected death in 1219/1220 Kayqubad was released from captivity and succeeded to the Seljuk throne as its new Sultan.[citation needed]

The sultanate expanded considerably during the reign of Kayqubad, mostly in the east.

In the Cilicia Campaign of 1225, Kayqubad the great subjugated the Kingdom of

Armenian Cilicia.[citation needed
]

In 1221/1222 Kayqubad launched a naval attack on Sudak which defeated the combined forces of Rus and Cumans.[5] He attacked the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1221 taking the city of Alanya from its governor, Kir Fard.[6]

Kızıl Kule
, or Red Tower, built in Alanya by Kayqubad I

In 1227/1228, Kayqubad advanced into

Komnenos dynasty family to renew their pledges of vassalage.[citation needed
]

At first, Kayqubad sought an alliance with his

Tamar in marriage to Kayqubad's son, Kaykhusraw II.[10]
Mindful of the increasing presence and power of the Mongols on the borders of the Sultanate of Rum, he strengthened the defenses and fortresses in his eastern provinces.

Death

He was given poison during a feast at Kayseri[11] and died at an early age on 31 May 1237, the last of his line to die in independence.[12]

Historian Ibn Bibi mourned his death with these words,"With Kayqubad's death, the back of Islam was broken and the bond of kingdom and religion snapped".[13]

Yivli Minare Mosque
, built in Antalya by Kayqubad I

Succession

Kayqubad had three sons: Kaykhusraw II, eldest son of his Greek wife Mah Pari Khatun,[14] Rukn al-Din and Kilic Arslan, sons of his Ayyubid princess wife Malika Adila Khatun.[15] According to Ibn Bibi, Kayqubad wanted Rukn al-Din as his successor who was the elder one of his two sons from his Ayyubid wife, Malika Adila Khatun, but Kaykhusraw usurped the throne and had Rukn al-Din, Kilic Arslan and their mother strangled.[16][17]

Architectural and cultural legacy

Kayqubad sponsored a large-scale building campaign across

Red Tower in Alanya and Kayqubadiyya Palace near Kayseri.[2]

Kayqubad, like the other Seljuq sultans of Rum, was quite well-versed in the fine arts and would recite quatrains in Persian during wine-drinking parties.[19]

Identity

Modern statue of Kaykubad I in Alanya

According to Rustam Shukurov, it is very probably that Kayqubad and his brother Kaykaus I, who both spent considerable time in Byzantium with their father, had the same dual religious (Christian and Muslim) and dual ethnic (Turkic/Persian and Greek) identity as Kaykhusraw I, Kaykaus II, and Mesud II.[20]

Relations with scholars

Kayqubad I had good relations with the Muslim scholars, Sufis and poets. Many Muslim Sufis and poets such as Mūhyūddīn İbnūl-Arābī, Abd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī, Ahi Evran, Necmeddīn-i Dāyē, Kāniî-i Tūsī, Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi and Sultanulūlemā Bâhâeddīn Veled came to Anatolia during his reign.

Portrayal in media

In the Turkish historical television series, Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Kayqubad I is portrayed by Turkish actor Burak Hakkı.

References

  1. ^ Cahen 1997, p. 817-818.
  2. ^ a b Lambton & Lewis 1977, p. 248.
  3. ^ Redford 1991, p. 70.
  4. ^ Cahen 1968, p. 120-121.
  5. ^ Spinei 2009, p. 148.
  6. ^ Özcan 2010, p. 278.
  7. ^ Yazıcızâde Ali, Tevârih-i Âl-i Selçuk, s. 489-499
  8. ^ Kemaleddin İbnü’l-Adim, Zübdetü’l-Haleb min Tarih-i Haleb, s. 482-485
  9. ^ Claude Cahen, Anatolia Before the Ottomans, p. 85-86.
  10. ^ Cahen 1968, p. 130.
  11. ^ Savvides 1981, p. 190.
  12. ^ Wolff & Hazard 1969, p. 704.
  13. ^ Anooshahr 2008, p. 116.
  14. ^ Peacock & Yildiz 2013, pp. 118–119, 121.
  15. ^ Cahen 1968, p. 133.
  16. ^ Eastmond 2017, p. 197.
  17. ^ Cahen 1997a, p. 811.
  18. ^ Redford 1993, p. 220.
  19. ^ Koprulu 2006, p. 220.
  20. ^ Peacock & Yildiz 2013, p. 133.

Sources

Further reading

External links

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Preceded by
Sultan of Rûm

1220–1237 		Succeeded by
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