Malik-Shah I

Malik-Shah I (Persian: ملكشاه; full name: Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Jalal ad-Dawlah Hasan Malik-Shah ibn Muhammad) (b. 1055 - d. 19 November 1092) succeeded his father, Alp Arslan, as the Sultan of the Seljuq Empire in 1072, and reigned until his death in 1092.

In 1064, he took part in Alp Arslān’s campaign in the Caucasus. The same year, he was married to Turkan Khatun, the daughter of the Kara-Khanid khan, Ibrahim Tamghach-Khan. Following his father's assassination, Malik was challenged in battle by his uncle, Qawurd-Beg. In January 1074, their armies met near Hamadan, Qawurd-Beg's troops consisting of the traditional Turkmen elements from Alp Arslan's army, while Malik's consisted of ghulams and contingents of Kurdish and Arab troops. Due to Turkmen defections to Malik's army, Kawurd was defeated and, despite Malik's consideration for mercy, later poisoned, presumably on the orders of vizier Nizam al-Mulk.

Although Malikshah was the nominal head of the Seljuq state, his famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk held near absolute power during his reign. Under Nizam's guidance the Seljuq armies contained the Ghaznavids in Khorasan, rolled back the Fatimids in Syria, defeated the Seljuq pretenders to the throne, invaded Georgia and reduced it to a tributary state, compelled the submission of regional governors, and kept the Abassid Caliphs in a position of impotence. Alp Arslan's victory at Manzikert in 1071 was followed up by a Turkish invasion of Anatolia. This invasion was the work of independent Turkmen armies, such as that of Atsiz ibn Uvaq, and not of the Seljuk army. As a result, the Sultanate of Rum, as the new state was called, did not acknowledge the authority of the House of Seljuq.

In 1075, the Jalāli calendar was reformed and throughout Malik's reign new institutions of learning were established throughout the Seljuq lands. In 1092 Nizam al-Mulk was assassinated near Sihna, on the road to Baghdad, by a man disguised as a Sufi. As the assassin was immediately cut down by Nizam's bodyguard, it became impossible to establish with certainty who had sent him. One theory had it that he was an Is'maili fanatic, since these regularly made attempts on the lives of Seljuq officials and rulers during the 11th century. Another theory had it that the attack had been instigated by Malikshah, who may have grown tired of his overmighty vizir. Probably the truth will never be known. Malikshah himself fell ill and died several months later. According to some contemporary accounts he was poisoned by men loyal to the memory of Nizam al-Mulk.

Upon his death the Seljuq dynasty fell into chaos, as rival successors and regional governors carved up their empire and waged war against each other. The situation within the Seljuq lands was further complicated by the arrival of the first crusade, which detached larged portions of Syria and Palestine from Muslim control in 1098 and 1099. The success of the first crusade is at least in part attributable to the political confusion which resulted from Malikshah's death.