1. Malik-Shah I was the third sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, under whom the sultanate reached the zenith of its power and influence.
17 Facts About Malik-Shah I
1. 2.
Malik-Shah I spent the rest of his reign waging war against the Karakhanids to the east and establishing order in the Caucasus.
3.
The cause of Malik-Shah I's death remains under dispute to this day; according to some scholars, he was poisoned by Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi, while others say that he was poisoned by the supporters of Nizam al-Mulk.
4.
In 1071, Malik-Shah I took part in the Syrian campaign of his father, and stayed in Aleppo when his father fought the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes at Manzikert.
5.
However, Alp-Arslan was badly wounded during his expedition, and Malik-Shah I shortly took over the army.
6.
Alp-Arslan died some days later, and Malik-Shah I was declared as the new sultan of the empire.
7.
Qavurt was accompanied by his seven sons, and his army consisted of Turkmens, while the army of Malik-Shah I consisted of ghulams and contingents of Kurdish and Arab troops.
8.
Malik-Shah I eventually managed to repel the Karakhanids and captured Tirmidh, giving Sav-Tegin the key of the city.
9.
Malik-Shah I then appointed his other brother Shihab al-Din Tekish as the ruler of Tukharistan and Balkh.
10.
In 1074, Malik-Shah ordered the Turkic warlord Arghar to restore what he had destroyed during his raids in the territory of the Shirvanshah Fariburz I During the same year, he appointed Qavurt's son Rukn al-Dawla Sultan-Shah as the ruler of Kerman.
11.
One year later, Malik-Shah I sent an army under Sav-Tegin to Arran, which was ruled by the Shaddadid ruler Fadlun III.
12.
Malik-Shah I then gave Gorgan to Fadlun III as a fief.
13.
In 1089, Malik-Shah I captured Samarkand with the support of the local clergy, and imprisoned its Karakhanid ruler Ahmad Khan ibn Khizr, who was the nephew of Terken Khatun.
14.
Malik-Shah I was most likely poisoned by the caliph or the supporters of Nizam al-Mulk.
15.
Under the orders of Terken Khatun, Malik-Shah I's body was taken back to Isfahan, where it was buried in a madrasa.
16.
Malik-Shah I thought highly of the art of architecture as well, as he enjoyed building new and splendid mosques in his capital, Isfahan.
17.
Malik-Shah I was religiously tolerant which is supported by the fact that during his reign, subjects of the Seljuk Empire enjoyed internal peace and religious tolerance.