Malik Shah holding court
Malik Shah (8 August 1055 – 19 November 1092) was the Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, succeeding Alp Arslan and preceding Mahmud I of Great Seljuq. With a father as great as his, it would typically be hard to exceed his achievements. However, Malik Shah was a respected figure who endured severe difficulty in keeping his realm held together, and he was somehow able to maintain stability through various rebellions (known as the Seljuk Fitna) and wars with the Byzantine Empire.
Biography[]
A younger Malik Shah in 1076
Malik Shah was born on 8 August 1055, the son of Alp Arslan and an unknown woman. Malik Shah was a Turkish Sunni Muslim, and was a member of the House of Seljuk, descended from the Oghuz Turkish warlord Seljuk. Malik Shah was a Turk, but he was raised in Persia, which his father presided over as a part of his Seljuk Empire.
Malik Shah's father died on 1 November 1072, and Malik Shah succeeded him as Sultan of the Seljuk Empire. Malik Shah inherited an empire that stretched from Central Asia to Asia Minor, which had been acquired through several hard-fought campaigns against rival Muslim sultanates and the Byzantine Empire. Malik Shah was only seventeen years old when he inherited a large Islamic empire, which would take lots of responsibility to rule and expand.
Early Rule[]
Malik Shah's early reign was peaceful, and in 1076 he married Noushin (a Nestorian Christian Levantine) and Golshan (a Sunni Persian), and in 1077 he married Ceylan and Margarid. Malik Shah married many of them due to their diplomatic skills, which could prove valuable for his realm.
On 16 October 1076, when the holy month of Ramadan began, Malik Shah decided to pay particular attention to it as one of his first major holidays as Sultan. Malik Shah fasted during daylight hours, and at night, he increased his piety by reciting the Qur'an through Tarawih prayers. His Grand Vizier Mayor Boru of Areni helped to manage his realm by going through his newly-acquired demesne titles and easing his burden of government by distributing them to existing or new vassals. At the end of Ramadan, he felt like a better person, having given generously to the poor and performed many good deeds.
During his early rule, Malik Shah had to deal with the troublesome Bey Menushihr of Erivan, who wanted to achieve independence. He also declared a holy war for Charsianon on the Byzantine Empire early in his reign, and his forces fought in a long war with the Byzantines, who were later assisted by the kingdom of Hungary, Lesser Armenia, Kartli, and the Republic of Venice. This war interrupted Ramadan, so he had to make up the lost days at a later time. The war with the Byzantines and their allies was economically and physically draining - the Seljuk economy collapsed, and they had to rely on ransom money for captured enemy leaders to have money. The feudal levies were raised for too long, leading to Malik Shah's vassals gaining some negative opinions of him. Malik Shah also had to deal with some rebellions, starting with the revolt of the disgruntled soldier Ebrahim and Azerbaijani peasants in December 1076.
In 1078 Malik Shah persuaded Beylerbey Fariburz of Kesranid Beylerbeylik to quit his plot to fabricate a claim on the Sultanate of Persia, and that same year he made his half-brother Tutush the new bey of Yazd, delivering on his promise to give him a realm. He had a son, Alp Arslan, with Golshan, and he made his son the bey of Esfahan on the day of his birth. Malik Shah's eldest son Mahmud was made bey of Tabriz, although he lost the title of heir apparent to his new younger brother. The two would contend over the title of crown prince repeatedly. At the same time, Malik Shah also appointed Beylerbey Mehmud Nizamedin of Shabankarai Beylerbeylik as the new Steward of the Seljuk Empire, although Mehmud was a leader of opposition to many of Malik Shah's policies. In 1079, the rebel Mehrzad, who led a peasant revolt in Rayy, Iran, was forced to surrender after many defeats and was executed by Malik Shah's orders in Qom, Iran. Unfortunately, on 11 January Golshan died of pneumonia. On 26 January, with the blessing of young ruler Bey Shihna Aqsongur of Amida, he was allowed to marry Pervin, a Christian Kurd.
Malik Shah continued his campaigning against the Byzantines while sorting out issues at home. His brother Arslan Argun demanded a title, and Malik Shah agreed to give him one. His wife Noushin later became pregnant. On 6 August 1079 Malik Shah caught slow fever (typhoid fever), but he recovered on 11 August after only five days of the illness. On 8 October 1079 Malik Shah imprisoned his own half-brother Muhammad and banished him due to his decadence. He increased his standing with Arslan Argun by making him Chief Qadi at Sultana Ceylan's suggestion, and he also made him Designated Regent and married him to Gulnaz, a courtier of Bey Ali of Al Jazira. In April 1080 Margarid became pregnant, so he gave her the honorary title of Court Musician. Around the same time, militant Kurdish priest Naveed began a Miaphysite uprising which was eventually crushed. In October 1080, while Noushin became pregnant, Margarid delivered their child, Sirin Seljuk, their first daughter. However, on 10 November Margarid died of pneumonia like Golshan did, after childbirth. Malik Shah remarried to Nasiba, a Sunni Levantine.
On 19 January 1081, Malik Shah battled Naveed's Christians and was maimed, although he killed Naveed and proceeded to defeat the rebels several more times. During one such battle, he captured a Kurdish man named Shahbaz, who was a humble man. Malik Shah released him from his dungeon after requesting that he convert to Sunni Islam, and he made him his court poet. He also gave him Nur, a courtier of one of his vassals, as a wife to give him a happy life in the Seljuk court. On 21 April, he had another daughter, Ayla, with Noushin. He had her betrothed to 16-year-old Ismail ibn Hakam of the House of Atef before she could even think. Later, he made Shahbaz the new Timariot of Damqan following the death of his predecessor Timariot Togtekin of Damqan in battle with the Byzantines, and the Shahbazids became a noble family.
Malik Shah had to deal with more unrest in his empire as many prominent Armenian landholders raised an army of peasants, trained and led by a core of proper soldiers, to restore Bagratid Armenia. Sharaf ad-Din, the Beylerbey of the Uqaylid Emirate, plotted against Malik Shah to gain independence for his friends and for himself, so Malik Shah recruited his own son Bey Tharwan Baha of Nisibis, his courtier Dukak, and Marshal Ibrahim ibn Alam (Sharaf ad-Dawlah's own brother). Malik Shah had good news on 17 January 1082 when his wife Nasiba gave birth to Prince Aksonqor of Seljuk Sultanate. On 12 February he received a learned Jewish man named Ashi of Thorn at his court, and Ashi became the new Steward of the Seljuk Empire after giving him the lowborn Derav as a wife.