Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
. The Saltukids ruled between 1071 and 1202. The beylik was founded by Emir Saltuk, one of the Turkmen commanders of the Great SeljukAlp Arslan. The beylik fought frequently against the Georgian Kingdom for hegemony of the Kars region. The center of the beylik, Erzurum, was briefly re-occupied by 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 ...
between 1077 and 1079, and was besieged by the Georgian King Giorgi III in 1184. It comprised the entirety of present-day
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
and
Bayburt
Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District.Erzincan, most of Kars, and lands north of Ağrı and Muş provinces during its height.
Origin
The first known Saltukid is Ali, who was ruler of Erzurum in 1103. His son and successor was Saltuk, who succeeded him sometime after 1123. Saltuk had a female relative, a daughter or sister, who married Shah-i- Armind of Akhlat, Sukman II.
In 1132, Ali's son Izz al-Din Saltuk became ''malik''. Izz al-Din was defeated captured in 1154 by Georgians, led by Dimitri I. He would be ransomed by Sökmen of the Artuqids, who later married a daughter of Izz al-Din. In 1161, Izz al-Din along with other Turkish allies besieged the Georgians at Ani, but was defeated. He sent a daughter to marry Kilij Arslan II, but she was captured by the DanishmendidYağıbasan and married off to his nephew.
The Saltukid dynasty is also notable for having a woman, Melike Mama Hatun, sister of Nasiruddin Muhammed, directly administering its realm for an estimated nine years, between 1191 and 1200. She was later dethroned by the Beys and replaced by her son Malik-Shah once she had started searching for a husband among the Mamluk nobility. Mama Hatun built an impressive
caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
in the town of Tercan, where her mausoleum also stands. Tercan itself used to be called "Mamahatun", and is sometimes still called as such locally.
At one point, the son of Muhammad b. Saltuq II offered to convert to Christianity in order to marry the Georgian Queen Tamar. Quote: "The Saltuqids' main role in the political and military affairs of the time was in warfare with the Georgians, expanding southwards from the time of their king David the Restorer (1089–1125), often as allies of the Shah-i Armanids (see above, no. 97); but in a curious episode, Muhammad b. Saltuq II's son offered to convert to Christianity in order to marry the celebrated Queen T'amar of Georgia. The last years of the family are unclear, but in 598/1202 the Rum Seljuq Sulayman II, while en route for a campaign against the Georgians, put an end to the Saltuqids; and for some thirty years after this, Erzurum was to be ruled by two Seljuq princes as an appanage before Kay Qubadh I in 627/1230 incorporated it into his sultanate."
The name of the ruling dynasty of the beylik should not be confused with that of Sarı Saltuk, a Turkishmystic and
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
; who is of later date, more associated with western
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 ...
and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
(especially
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...
), and to whom the epic '' Saltuknâme'' is dedicated.
The last ruler of the Saltukids, Alaeddin Muhammed, was dethroned and imprisoned by the Sultan of RumSüleymanshah II during Süleymanshah's Georgian rout in 1202, and the Saltukid beylik was subsequently annexed by the Sultanate of Rum. During 30 years after this conquest, the region of Erzurum was then ruled by the two Seljuq princes Tughril ibn Kılıç Arslan II and his son Jahan Shah bin Tughril as an appanage, before being incorporated into the Sultanate of Rum under Kay Qubadh I in 627/1230.
Architecture
The beys of Saltuk left important works of architecture such as the Tepsi Minare in Erzurum and the
caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...