Yağısıyan
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Yağısıyan, also known as Yaghi-Siyan (; died 1098) was a
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
Turkoman commander and governor of
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
in the 11th century. Although little is known about his personal life he was an important figure of the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
.


Governor of Antioch

In the 1080s most 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 ...
and
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 ...
were ruled by two relatives 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 ...
sultan
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, ...
:
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 ...
was ruled by
Suleiman ibn Qutulmish Suleiman Shah I ibn Qutalmish (; ; ) founded an independent Seljuk Turkish state in Anatolia and ruled as Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1077 until his death in 1086. Life Suleiman was the son of Qutalmish, who had struggled unsuccessfully agai ...
, the sultan's cousin, and Syria by
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 ...
, the sultan's brother. Between the two regions was the principality of
Philaretos Brachamios Philaretos Brachamios (; ; ) was a distinguished Byzantine general and warlord of Armenian heritage. He was for a time a claimant to the imperial throne against Emperor Michael VII. Philaretos is attested on seals as ''taxiarches'' (commander of ...
, who, while paying nominal allegiance to the Byzantine Empire, was ''de facto'' an independent ruler over the region that also included Antioch (). Around 1084/1085, Suleiman succeeded in conquering the city from the Philaretos but when he tried to expand his domain to Aleppo in 1086, he was killed in battle against Tutush who proceeded to annex the city on behalf of Malik-Shah I. Yağısiyan was appointed as the governor of the city by the sultan the following year. Malik-Shah I died in 1092, and his brother at Damascus, Tutush I, granted Yağısiyan more territory around
Manbij Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.
and Turbessel. When Tutush died in 1095 fighting the son of Malik Shah, his sons, Ridwan and Duqaq, fought for control of Syria, claiming
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
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, respectively. Yağısiyan, being the governor of a nearby city, became heavily involved in the ensuing power struggle in Syria. Although he collaborated with Ridwan to capture
Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...
(Edessa) in 1096, next year he changed sides and supported Duqaq against Ridwan and his ally Sökmen. His army, however, was defeated. He had to accept Ridwan's supremacy. Later in 1097, Ridwan quarreled with his tutor
Janah ad-Dawla Janah ad-Dawla was the Arab Seljuq emir of Homs during the First Crusade. He was the atabeg of Ridwan who took control of Aleppo after the death of Ridwan's father Tutush I in 1095. He later joined Kerbogha's army during the second siege of Antio ...
, with whom Yağısiyan had a personal vendetta, and Yağısiyan became more amenable to an alliance. This was completed by marrying his daughter to Ridwan. The two were about to attack
Shaizar Shaizar or Shayzar (; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισσα εν Συρία in Greek language, Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Near ...
when news of the crusade arrived, and all parties retreated to their own territories in order to prepare for the coming attacks.


First Crusade

When the news about the approaching army of the
First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
reached Antioch, Yağısıyan whose army of 6,000 was no match for the Crusaders and he tried to form a united front to defend Antioch. But because of jealousies between the Seljuk governors and the anarchy in the main sultanate after the death of Malik-Shah, he got very little support. Sökmen, whose principality was far to the east and far from the crusades' route, refused to assist Yağısıyan. Even Ridwan, whose domain was next to Antioch, sent only a small number of troops. According to
David Nicolle David C. Nicolle (born 4 April 1944) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the Middle East. Life David Nicolle worked for BBC Arabic before getting his MA at SOAS, Univers ...
, mistrust between Yağısiyan and Ridwan influenced the First Crusade. Over the winter of 1097–98, Antioch was besieged by the Crusaders, and Yağısiyan sought help from Duqaq. He frequently sent out sorties against the Christian camp and attacked foraging parties further afield. Yağısiyan knew from his informants that there were dissensions among the Christians; both
Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond of Saint-Gilles ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from ...
and
Bohemund of Taranto Bohemond I of Antioch ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, lead ...
wanted the city for themselves. While Bohemund was away foraging on 29 December 1097, Raymond attacked but was pushed back by Yağısiyan's troops. On 30 December reinforcements from Duqaq were defeated by Bohemund's foraging party and retreated to
Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
. Only after the beginning of the siege did Ridwan decide to leave Aleppo and challenge the crusaders. Ridwan's army was defeated in the Battle of the Lake of Antioch on 8–9 February 1098.Nicolle, p.55 While the crusader army was away from the city fighting Ridwan, Yağısiyan marched out to attack the foot-soldiers left behind to defend the camp, but he too was pushed back when the victorious crusaders returned. In March Yağısiyan ambushed the crusaders who were bringing wood and other material back from the port of St. Simeon; when the crusader camp at Antioch heard that Raymond and Bohemund had been killed, there was mass confusion, and Yağısiyan attacked the rest of the army under
Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...
. Bohemund and Raymond soon returned and Yağısiyan was once more pushed back into the city. At this time the governor turned to
Kerbogha Qiwam al-Dawla Kerbogha (), known as Kerbogha or Karbughā, was the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman List of rulers of Mosul#Seljuk Atabegs, atabeg of Mosul during the First Crusade and was renowned as a soldier. Early life Kerbogha was a Selju ...
, the
atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...
of
Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
for help. The crusaders knew they had to take the city before Kerbogha's reinforcements arrived.Yücel-Sevim, p.8 Bohemund secretly negotiated with one of Yağısiyan's guards, an
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
n convert named
Firouz Firouz (sometimes referred to as Ruzbah) was a wealthy Armenian Christian convert to Islam and armor maker who held a high post in Yaghi-Siyan's Seljuk Turkish government during the Crusades. Notably, he also served as a spy for Bohemond durin ...
, and on 3 June he helped Bohemund's men to open the gates of the city to crusaders.


Death

On the night of June 3, 1098, the crusaders entered the city; Yağısiyan fled with his bodyguard, while his son Shams ad-Daulah stayed behind to defend the citadel. During his escape, Yağısiyan fell from his horse, and as his guards found it impossible to bring the injured governor with them, they left him on the ground and rode away without him. He was found by an Armenian who cut off his head and sent it as a gift to Bohemund.


Aftermath

Antioch surrendered on 30 June. Antioch was claimed by both Bohemund and Raymond, with Raymond stationed in Yağısiyan's residence and Bohemund in the citadel. Their quarrel delayed the crusade for many months. However, Bohemund finally won out the argument, and thus declared the creation of the
Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch (; ) was one of the Crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...
, which went on to exist for another 170 years. The crusaders recorded Yağısiyan's name in various forms in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, including Acxianus, Gratianus, and Cassianus; the residence claimed by Raymond was known as the ''palatium Cassiani''.


Citations


Sources

* * * * *{{cite book , last=Yücel, first=Yaşar , title=Türkiye Tarihi I, publisher=AKDTYK Yayınları , location= İstanbul Generals of the Seljuk Empire 1098 deaths Medieval Antioch Muslims of the First Crusade Seljuk rulers 11th-century births Conflicts in 1098 11th-century generals