Kaykaus I or Izz ad-Din Kaykaus ibn Kayhkusraw ( 1ca, كَیکاوس, fa, عز الدين كيكاوس پور كيخسرو ''ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kaykāwūs pour Kaykhusraw'') was the
Sultan of Rum
fa, سلجوقیان روم ()
, status =
, government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262)
, year_start = 1077
, year_end = 1308
, p1 = By ...
from 1211 until his death in 1220. He was the eldest son of
Kaykhusraw I.
Succession
Upon the death of Kaykhusraw I at the
Battle of Alaşehir in 1211, Kaykaus’ two younger brothers, Kayferidun Ibrahim and the future
Kayqubad I
Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād ibn Kaykhusraw ( fa, علاء الدين كيقباد بن كيخسرو; tr, I. Alâeddin Keykûbad, 1190–1237), also known as Kayqubad I, was the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm who reigned from 1220 to 1237. He expanded the ...
, challenged his succession. Kayqubad initially garnered some support among the neighbors of the sultanate,
Leo I
The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications.
The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...
, the king of
Cilician Armenia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...
, and Tughrilshah, his uncle and the independent ruler of
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a 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.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
. At the same time, Kayferidun imperiled the recently acquired port of
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
by seeking aid from the Cypriot Franks. Most of the emirs, as the powerful landed aristocracy of the sultanate, supported Kaykaus. From his base in
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...
, Kaykaus seized
Kayseri
Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...
and then
Konya
Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...
, inducing Leo to change sides. Kayqubad was forced to flee to the fortress at
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, where he sought aid from the Turkman tribes of
Kastamonu
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...
. Kaykaus soon apprehended both of his brothers and secured the throne for himself.
During this time of considerable danger, Kaykaus negotiated a peace settlement with
Theodore Laskaris, the Byzantine Emperor of
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...
. This treaty marked the end of hostilities between the Seljuq state and the
Empire of Nicaea, though Turkmen nomads continued occasionally to trouble the border.
The Eastern Frontier
With
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
secure and the western marches at peace, Kaykaus turned his attentions to the east. First, Cilicia captured
Ereğli and
Ulukışla
Ulukışla is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,502 km², and the altitude is 1,427 m. Population is 22,728 of which 5,594 live in the town of Ulukışla.
The town of Ulu ...
, which were captured by the
Armenian Kingdom
The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք '; la, Armenia Maior), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC ...
. Then, in the
Cilicia Campaign, the Armenians was firmly subjugated. In 1218, Kaykaus allied with
Al-Afdal, one of
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
's sons, who sought to regain his power and offered Kaykaus Aleppo in return.
Conquest of Sinop
![Sinop bilingual inscription of Kaykaus I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Sinop_bilingual_inscription_of_Kaykaus_I.jpg)
Kaykaus’ most significant contribution to the Seljuq state was the acquisition the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
port of
Sinop Sinop can refer to:
* Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea
** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018
** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port
*** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...
. In 1214 Turkmen tribesmen captured
Alexios
Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...
, Grand Komnenos of the
Empire of Trebizond, on a hunting trip outside of the city. The hostage was turned over to the sultan and negotiated his freedom in exchange for Sinop and the vassalage of Trapezuntine territory to the east. The Seljuqs gained an outlet on the Black Sea to match their
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
port at
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
, and a wedge was driven between the Empire of Trebizond and the Byzantine
Empire of Nicaea. The transfer was affected on Sunday 1 November with both the sultan and the Grand Komnenos present. Alexios was entertained for several days and then politely asked to return to
Trebizond.
After the transfer, European and Byzantine trade continued in the city. Kaykaus named an Armenian, Rais Hetoum, to govern the mixed Greek and Turkish population. Churches in the city of Sinop were converted to mosques, on Kaykaus's command. Between April and September 1215 the walls were reconstructed under the supervision of the Greek architect, Sebastos. Fifteen Seljuq emirs contributed to the cost. The work is commemorated by a bilingual Greek and Arabic inscription on a tower near the western gate.
In 1216, Kaykaus attacked Aleppo in support of his vassal Al-Afdal, an exiled
Ayyubid. He was defeated by
Al-Ashraf. Kaykaus was working to create an alliance with
Badr al-Din Lu'lu'
Badr al-Din Lu'lu' ( ar, بَدْر الدِّين لُؤْلُؤ) (died 1259) (the name Lu'Lu' means 'The Pearl', indicative of his servile origins) was successor to the Zengid emirs of Mosul, where he governed in variety of capacities from 1234 ...
,
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, against the Ayyubids, but he died in 1220 and the alliance collapsed.
Identity
According to
Rustam Shukurov
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Kabulistan
, death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...
, it is very probably that Kaykaus I and his brother
Kayqubad I
Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād ibn Kaykhusraw ( fa, علاء الدين كيقباد بن كيخسرو; tr, I. Alâeddin Keykûbad, 1190–1237), also known as Kayqubad I, was the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm who reigned from 1220 to 1237. He expanded the ...
, who both spent considerable time in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
with their father, had the same dual confessional (Christian and Muslim) and dual ethnic (Turkic/Persian and Greek) identity as
Kaykhusraw I,
Kaykaus II
Kaykaus ibn Kaykhusraw or Kayka'us II ( fa, عز الدين كيكاوس بن كيخسرو, ''ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kaykāwus ibn Kaykhusraw'') was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1246 until 1262. Life
Kaykaus was the eldest of three sons of Kayk ...
, and
Masud II
Ghiyath al-Dīn Me’sud ibn Kaykaus or Mesud II ( 1ca, مَسعود دوم, ''Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Mas'ūd bin Kaykāwūs'' ( fa, غياث الدين مسعود بن كيكاوس) bore the title of Sultan of Rûm at various times between 1284 and 13 ...
.
Monuments
In 1212 Kaykaus built a madrasa in Ankara and in 1217 the
Şifaiye Medresesi in
Sivas
Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province.
The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...
. The latter was designed as a hospital and medical school. The sultan’s
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
is in the south
eyvan
Eyvan ( fa, ايوان, ku, Eywan, also Romanized as Eywān and Aīvān; also known as Eyvān-e Gharb and Jūy Zar; formerly, Bāgh-e Shāh and Bāgh-ī-Shāh) is a city in and capital of Eyvan County, Ilam Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, ...
of the building under a conical dome. The façade includes a poem by the sultan in blue faience tiles.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaykaus 01
Sultans of Rum
Muslims of the Fifth Crusade
1220 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Seljuk dynasty
13th-century Turkic people