Zaheer-ul-Daulah Artuk Beg, known as Artuk Bey, was a Turkish commander 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, chief of the Oghuz tribe of Döğer, and eponymous founder of the Artuqid dynasty. His father's name was Eksük. He was the Seljuk governor of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

between 1085–1091. Although the Artuqid dynasty was named after him, actually the dynasty was founded by his sons Sökmen and Ilghazi after his death. He was also father to Alp-Yaruq, Bahram, Abd al-Jabar, and three other sons.

In Anatolia

Artuk Bey was one of the commanders of the

Great Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. The empire spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant ...

army during 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. After the battle, he took part in the conquest of

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 ...

on behalf of the Seljuk Empire. He captured the Yeşilırmak () valley in 1074. In 1075, Artuk captured on behalf of the

Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

the Norman rebell Roussel de Bailleul and handed him over to the future emperor Alexios Komnenos. He also served the sultan by quashing a rebellion in 1077. His next mission was a campaign in 1086 to capture

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

(Amid) from the Marwanids. In this campaign he quarreled with the commander-in-chief Fakhr al-Dawla ibn Jahir who tended to make peace with Marwanids. In a surprise attack he defeated reinforcements to Marwanids. However, when the sultan Malik Shah I heard about the event he accused Artuk.

In Syria

Artuk left the battle field and attended to

Tutush I 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 ...

who was Malik Shah's discordant younger brother in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in 1084. In 1086 he was instrumental in defeating Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, the sultan of Seljuks of Rûm in the battle of Ain Salm between Süleyman and Tutush.

In Jerusalem

Tutush granted him

al-Quds Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Jud ...

(Jerusalem) as an iqta and Artuk was governor there until his death in 1091. His grave is in a tomb next to his

khanqah A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

near the Gate of al-Dawadariya, known as Gate of King Faisal today.

In popular culture

In the Turkish TV series, '' Diriliş: Ertuğrul'', he is portrayed as a close companion of

Ertuğrul Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Ghazi (; died ) was a 13th-century uch bey (marcher-lord), who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman Empire, Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the leader ...

by the Turkish actor, Ayberk Pekcan. This is anachronistic as Ertuğrul died in 1280 and their live spans most likely did not overlapped.

Citation

He is paid homage in Alparslan BUYUK SELCUKLU

Sources

* * {{Seljuk-bio-stub Generals of the Seljuk Empire 1091 deaths 11th-century births Artuqids Medieval Jerusalem 11th-century military personnel