Afshin ibn Bakji Bey (; fl.1033–1077) was a Turkoman general of the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

in the 11th century. He served three Sultans:

Chaghri Beg Abu Suleiman Dawud Chaghri Beg ibn Mikail, widely known simply as Chaghri Beg (, 989–1060), ''Da'ud b. Mika'il b. Saljuq'', also spelled Chaghri, was the co-ruler of the early Seljuk Empire. The name ''Chaghri'' is Turkic (Çağrı in modern Tu ...

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire, sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk (warlord), Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He g ...

and

Malik-Shah I 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. During his youth, he spent his time participating in the campaigns of his father Alp Arslan, ...

. He is believed to have disappeared after 1077.

Life

The young Afshin joined the service of Chaghri bin Mika'il bin Saljûk in 1033 and assisted him in his campaigns.Ibn Aziz Ahmed, Ammār
"Who was Afshin Bey?"
Retrieved June 30.Sözlük, Ekşi
"Afşin Bey"
Afshin seems to have had a volatile temper which often resulted in excessive cruelty to his enemies and his own occasional disgrace. In 1066, sultan Alp Arslan appointed Gümüsh-Tekin and Afşin to lead raids into

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. They set out from

Ahlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsew ...

and

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

river.Baynes, T.S. (2008). Anni, Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 72. When they returned to Ahlat, Afşin seems to have killed Gümüsh-Tekin for killing his brother. He therefore fled from Alp Arslan's anger and established some kind of relationship with the Mirdasid emirs of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

and

Ibn Khan Hārūn ibn Malik al-Turk, better known as Ibn Khān (died 1070), was the leader of the first recorded group of free Turkmen troops to enter Syria. Previous groups of Turks that had been present in Syria were slave soldiers and pages and their de ...

as he sold his loot and captives on the markets of Aleppo. He returned in August 1067 to Anatolia, sacking Caeserea (modern

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

) and plundering

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

.Brian Todd Carey (2012). Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare (527–1071), p. 132. . He wintered in 1067 at the foot of the Black Mountain where he burned and plundered many monasteries and villages.Jos J. S. Weitenberg, "The Armenian Monasteries in the Black Mountain", in K. Ciggaar and M. Metcalf (eds.), East and West in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean, Vol. 1 (Peeters, 2006), pp. 79–81. He was besieging Attalia (modern

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

) in April 1068 when he received news of having been pardoned by Alp Arslan after which he raised the siege in exchange for ransom and war supplies. It seems that the successes of his raids enabled his return to regain the favour of Alp Arslan as it had strengthened his position both practically and ideologically. Afşin then served as one of

's major commanders in the events leading up to the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in 1071 in which he participated. In 1077 or 1078, Malik Shah I shifted several commanders including Afşin Bey to be under the command of his brother

Tutush Abu Sa'id Taj al-Dawla Tutush (; died 25 February 1095) or Tutush I, was the Seljuk emir of Damascus from 1078 to 1092, and sultan of Damascus from 1092 to 1094. Years under Malik Shah Tutush was a brother of the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I. In ...

to aid him in the conquest of Syria. Afşin earned a terrifying reputation because of the devastation his men wrought between

and Ma'arrat al Nu'man. However, after Tutush killed another Türkmen leader, Afşin fled again and disappeared.

In popular culture

He was paid homage by '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul'', a historical docudrama. His character was played by .

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , last1=Nicolle , first1=David , last2=Hook , first2=Christa (illust.) , title=Mantzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium , date=2013 , publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing , isbn=9781780965048 Year of birth unknown 11th-century generals Formerly missing people Fugitives Generals of the Seljuk Empire

Life

In popular culture

See also

References

Sources