Sanjar

Ahmad Sanjar (, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (6 November 1086 – 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until 1118,"SANJAR, Aḥmad b. Malekšāh"
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' when he became the Sultan of the Seljuq Empire, which he ruled until his death in 1157.

Early years

Sanjar was born on 6 November 1086 in Sinjar, a town situated in northwestern Iraq. Although primary sources state that he was named after his birthplace (Rāvandi, p. 185; Ebn al-Jawzi, XVIII, p. 161) Bosworth notes ''Sanjar'' is a Turkic name, denoting "he who pierces", "he who thrusts". He was a son of Malik Shah I and participated in wars of succession against his three brothers and a nephew, namely Mahmud I, Barkiyaruq, Malik Shah II and Muhammad I. In 1096, he was given the province of Khorasan to govern under his brother Muhammad I.Grousset, René (1970) ''The Empire of the Steppes'' Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
p. 159
Over the next several years Ahmad Sanjar became the ruler of most of Iran with his capital at Nishapur.

Campaigns and Battles

Battle with Emir Muhammad

In 1097, Berkyaruq appointed Sanjar as the governor of Khorasan. The Seljuk Prince Emir Muhammad rebelled during Sanjar's term as governor of Khorasan and sought support to take control of Khorasan. Emir Muhammad found this support from the Ghaznavids and marched against Sanjar. Upon receiving news that Emir Muhammad had arrived with his army, Sanjar marched against him with his army. In the battle between the two sides, Emir Muhammad's army was defeated and Emir Muhammad was taken prisoner. Thanks to this victory, Sanjar both increased his reputation and prevented Khorasan from falling into the hands of the Ghaznavids. Because if Emir Muhammad had been victorious, he would have entered the service of the Ghaznavids as the governor of Khorasan.

Battle of Nushecan (1100)

As a result of the conflicts between Sanjar and Habeshi bin Altuntaq, who were struggling to dominate Khorasan, Habeshi bin Altuntaq was defeated. Upon this situation, Habeshi bin Altuntaq complained about Sanjar to Berkyaruq and asked for help from Berkyaruq. Berkyaruq came to Khorasan with his army. The parties met near Nushecan. In the battle between the two parties, Sanjar's army defeated Berkyaruq's army. Habeshi bin Altuntaq was taken prisoner.

Defense of Khorasan (1102)

While Sanjar was not in Khorasan, the Karakhanid ruler Kadir Khan (Arslan Khan) took advantage of this and went on an expedition to Khorasan with an army of 100,000. Sanjar, who heard about this expedition of Kadir Khan, returned with his cavalry unit. While Kadir Khan (Arslan Khan) was out hunting, he was taken prisoner in a sudden raid by the Seljuks. Sanjar ordered Kadir Khan to be killed.

Campaign against the Nizari Ismailis

Sanjar undertook a campaign to eliminate the Nizari Ismailis within Persia and successfully drove them from a number of their strongholds, including Quhistan and Tabas. However, an anecdote indicates that en route to their chief stronghold at Alamut, Sanjar woke up one day to find a dagger beside him, pinning a note from Hassan-i Sabbah stating that he (Hassan) would like peace. Sanjar, shocked by this event, sent envoys to Hassan and they both agreed to stay out of each other's way.

Battle of Ghazni (1117)

The death of Mas'ud III of Ghazni in 1115 began a heated contest for the throne. Shirzad took the throne that year but the next year he was assassinated by his younger brother Arslan. Arslan had to face the rebellion of his other brother, Bahram, who received support from the Seljuk Sultan Ahmad Sanjar.Jaques 2007, p. 391 Ahmad Sanjar invading from Khorasan took his army into Afghanistan and inflicted a crushing defeat to Arslan near Ghazni at Shahrabad. Arslan managed to escape and Bahram succeeded to the throne as the Seljuk's vassal.Jaques 2007, p. 391

Battle of Saveh (1119)

On February 26, 1105 Sultan Barkiyaruq died. He chose his younger son, Muizzeddin Malik-Shah, as heir to the throne. Malik-Shah took the name Malik-Shah II after being proclaimed the Sultan of the Seljuk Empire. However, the true power was in the hands of his uncle, Muhammad Tapar. In the same year, Muhammad Tapar dethroned his nephew and started to rule the State himself as sultan. When Muhammad died on April 4, 1118, his son Mahmud II was declared as new sultan.
When Muhammad's son Mahmud II ascended the throne, Emir of Yazd Garshasp II fell into disgrace; slander about him spread to the court that made him lose confidence, and made Mahmud send a military force to Yazd where Garshasp was arrested and jailed in Jibal, while Yazd was granted to the royal cupbearer. Garshasp, however, escaped and returned to Yazd, where he requested protection from Ahmad Sanjar (Garshasp's wife was the sister of Ahmad).

Garshasp urged Ahmad to invade the domains of Mahmud in Central Iran and gave him information on how to march to Central Iran, and the ways to combat Mahmud. Ahmad accepted and advanced with an army to the west in 1119, where he together with "five kings" defeated Mahmud at Saveh. The kings who aided Ahmad during the battle were Garshasp himself, the Emir of Sistan and the Khwarazmshah, including two other unnamed kings. Nizari forces were also present in Sanjar's army. After being victorious, Ahmad then restored the domains of Garshasp II. Ahmad then marched as far as Baghdad, where he agreed with Mahmud that he should marry one of his daughters, and that he should give up strategic territories in northern Persia.

Campaign of Western Karakhanid (1130)

As a result of the internal turmoil that broke out in the Western Karakhanid country in 1130, the Western Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan asked for help from Sanjar. After a while, he announced that the internal unrest had ended and asked for Sanjar to return. Later, it was revealed that Sanjar would be assassinated by Arslan Khan's order. Following these events, Sanjar marched to Samarkand with his army and laid siege to the city. The Seljuk army under the command of Sanjar captured Samarkand.

Battle of Kashgar

When the Qara-Khitans migrating west arrived in the Kara-Khanid lands, the Eastern Kara-Khanid ruler Ahmed Khan defeated the Qara-Khitans in 1122 and took them into his service. Later, after the death of Ahmed Khan, during the reign of the ruler who ascended to the Eastern Kara-Khanid throne, a rebellion broke out in the Eastern Kara-Khanid lands, including many tribes, primarily the Oghuz and Karluks. Taking advantage of this rebellion, the Qara-Khitans captured Balasagun. The Eastern Kara-Khanid, who were vassals of the Great Seljuk Empire, asked for help from the Great Seljuk Sultan Sanjar. Sanjar also organized an expedition with his army to the Eastern Kara-Khanid lands in 1130. The leader of the rebels fled upon hearing of Sanjar's arrival. Sanjar defeated the advancing towards the Eastern Islamic lands Qara-Khitai army near Kashgar, and then defeated the Oghuz, Karluks and other tribes.

Battle of Dinavar (1132)

After Mahmud's death, his other brothers Mas'ud, Tughril and Seljuk-Shah started a struggle for power. Wanting to end this struggle, Sanjar gave the lands under Mahmud's control to Tughril's. Tughril's other brothers opposed Sanjar's decision and formed an alliance with the caliph Al-Mustarshid. Sanjar prepared his army against this alliance and marched against them. The two armies met near Dinavar. As a result of the battle, the allies were defeated by Sanjar. Sanjar later gave Tughril the lands under Mahmud's control.

Campaign of Khwarezm (1138)

Atsiz, one of Sanjar's governors, captured Jand and Mangyshlak and killed the Muslims who fought against the enemy forces in this region. After these events, Sanjar decided to organize an expedition against Atsiz. In 1138, Sanjar marched with his army to Khwarezm and defeated Atsiz and his army in the Battle of Hazorasp and captured Khwarezm. He then left the governorship of Khwarezm to his nephew Suleiman-Shah and returned to his capital, Merv.

Battle of Qatwan (1141)

In 1141, Ahmad, along with Garshasp II, marched to confront the Kara Khitan threat and engaged them near Samarkand at the Battle of Qatwan. He suffered an astounding defeat, and Garshasp was killed. Ahmad escaped with only fifteen of his elite horsemen, losing all Seljuq territory east of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes).

Campaign of Khwarezm (1143)

Atsiz entered into a struggle with Suleiman-Shah in 1141 and captured Khwarezm. Atsiz declared his loyalty to Sanjar, who was preparing to go on a campaign against the Kara-Khitans. Since Sanjar was also going on a campaign against the Kara-Khitans, he did not send him an army and left him as the governor of Khwarezm. Taking advantage of the defeat following the Battle of Qatwan, Atsiz attacked Khorasan, occupied and plundered many cities, including the capital Merv, and captured their scholars. After escaping the Battle of Qatwan, Sanjar marched against Atsiz with the new army he had established. After these events, Atsiz fled to Khwarezm. Sanjar then marched to Khwarezm with his army in 1143. He advanced as far as Urgench, the capital of Khwarezm, where Atsiz was located, and laid siege to the city. Realizing that he could not cope with Sanjar, Atsiz asked for forgiveness from Sanjar and returned the goods he had plundered and the scholars he had captured.

Campaign of Khwarezm (1147)

When Sanjar received news that Atsiz was continuing to disobey, he sent an envoy to him. While the envoy was with Atsiz, he informed Sanjar that there was a plan to assassinate Sanjar and that two assassins had been sent to Khorasan for this purpose. Atsiz, who learned of what the envoy had done, killed the envoy. Following these events, Sanjar marched on Khwarezm with his army in 1147. Sanjar first besieged and captured the castle of Hazorasp. Sanjar then advanced towards Urgench, the capital of Khwarezm. Realizing that he would be defeated by Sanjar, Atsiz sent envoys, begged for forgiveness and offered obedience. Thereupon, Sanjar forgave him and left him as the governor of Khwarezm.

Battle of Nab (1152)

After the Battle of Qatwan, the Ghurids led by Ala al-Din Husayn, a vassal of the Ghaznavids, captured Herat and advanced towards Balkh. Following these developments, the Seljuk commander Emir Kumaç, who took action to stop the Ghurids, was defeated. Later, Ala al-Din Husayn attacked the Ghaznavids, a vassal of the Seljuks. He occupied Ghazna, the capital of the Ghaznavids, and burned the city. Later, Ala al-Din Husayn declared his independence. Following these events, Sanjar organized an expedition against Ala al-Din Husayn. The two armies met at a place called Nab near Herat on June 24, 1152. In the ensuing battle, Ala al-Din Husayn was decisively defeated and taken prisoner by Sanjar.

Rebellion of Oghuz Turks

Sanjar's as well as the Seljuks' rule collapsed as a consequence of yet another unexpected defeat, this time at the hands of the Seljuks’ own tribe, the Oghuz Turks, in 1153. Sanjar was captured during the battle and held in captivity until 1156. It brought chaos to the Empire - situation later exploited by the victorious Turkmens, whose hordes would overrun Khorasan unopposed, wreaking colossal damage on the province and prestige of Sanjar. Sanjar eventually escaped from captivity in the fall of 1156, but soon died in Merv (present-day Turkmenistan), in 1157. After his death, Turkic rulers, Turkmen tribal forces, and other secondary powers competed for Khorasan, and after a long period of confrontations, the province was finally conquered by the Ghurids in 1192, and by the Khwarazmians in the early 1200s.

Death and legacy

Sanjar died in 1157 and was buried in Merv. His tomb was destroyed by the Mongols in 1221, during their invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire.

The death of Sanjar meant the end of the Seljuq dynasty as an empire, since they controlled only Iraq and Azerbaijan afterwards. Sanjar is considered one of the most prominent Seljuq sultans and was the longest reigning Muslim ruler until the Mongols arrived. Although of Turkic origin, Sanjar was highly Iranized, and due to his feats, even became a legendary figure like some of the mythological characters in the Shahnameh. Indeed, medieval sources described Sanjar as having "the majesty of the Khosrows and the glory of the Kayanids". Persian poetry flourished under Sanjar, and his court included some of the greatest Persian poets, such as Mu'izzi, Nizami Aruzi, and Anvari.

Family

One of his wives was Turkan Khatun. She was the daughter of Muhammad Arslan Khan, the ruler of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. She died in April 1156, and was buried in Yusuf Hamadani Mausoleum Complex in Merv. Another wife was Abkhaziyya Khatun. She was the daughter of King Demetrius I of Georgia, and the widow of his nephew Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud. They married after Mas'ud's death in 1152. One of Sanjar's daughters was Mah-i Mulk Khatun. She was born in 1105. In probably 1119, Sanjar married her to his nephew Mahmud II. When she died aged seventeen in 1122, Sanjar sent another daughter, Amir Sitti Khatun, to be his wife. Melik Shah III and Gawhar Nasab Khatun were the children of this union. She died in 1129. Amira Khatun, another of Sanjar's daughters married Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustarshid in 1124. Another daughter of Sanjar, Gawhar Khatun, married his nephew, Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud in 1134. A daughter of this union was married by Mas'ud to his nephew Dawud, son of Mahmud II. They failed to get on together, and Ma'sud gave his daughter to Dawud's brother, Muhammad II.

References

Sources

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External links

SANJAR, Aḥmad b. Malekšāh

{{Authority control

1157 deaths
Seljuk rulers
1080s births
12th-century monarchs in Asia
Nizari Ismaili–Seljuk relations
People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars
People from Sinjar