Melik Zünnun (died 1175) was the fifth ruler of

Danishmendids The Danishmendids or Danishmends () were a Turkish dynasty. These terms also refer to the Turkish state in Anatolia. It existed from 1071/1075 to 1178 and is also known as the Danishmendid Beylik (). The dynasty was centered originally around Siv ...

Life

First reign

Zünnun was declared as successor by his father

Melik Mehmed Gazi Melik Mehmed () or Muhammad Ghazi, (died 1142) was the fourth ruler of the Danishmendids. Life Early Life Mehmed was one of the sons of the Danishmendid Emir Gazi. During his father's reign, Mehmed served under his father in various militar ...

, however he was derecognized by

Yağıbasan Nizamettin Yağıbasan, or simply Yağıbasan (meaning "enemy raider" or "smashing the enemy") was the sixth ruler of Danishmendids and the uncle of Melik Zünnun. Background After Alp Arslan of Seljuk Empire, Seljukids defeated the Byzantine Empi ...

. Yağıbasan and his other two brother Ayn el-Devle and Nasreddin Muhammed marched into Kayseri and Zünnun took refuge to

Mesud I Rukn al-Dīn Mesud Klada ibn Kilij Arslan or Mesud I (Modern or ''Masud'' () was the sultan of the Sultanate of Rûm from 1116 until his death in 1156. Reign Following the defeat and death of his father Kilij Arslan fighting against Ridwan of ...

which was his father-in-law. Mesud wanted to incorporate Danishmends to

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

Second reign

After

Melik İsmail Мelik (, from ) was a hereditary Armenian noble title used in Eastern Armenia from the Late Middle Ages until the nineteenth century. The meliks represented some of the last remnants of the old Armenian nobility, as well as Persian nobility ...

was killed in a palace revolt, Zünnun was 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 ...

at the time. With the support of Nuraddin Zengi, he entered Sivas with 3,000 troops. However after death of Nur ad-Din, the troops returned to Syria. Kilijarslan II started to attack the Danishmendids and took

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Niksar Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Niksar District.Tokat Tokat is a city of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is the seat of Tokat Province and Tokat District.

. Zünnun took refuge in Byzantine Empire, and the Sivas branch of Danishmendids collapsed.

References

Muslims of the First Crusade 1175 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century Danishmendid rulers {{Turkey-bio-stub