Kaykhusraw I ( 1ca, كَیخُسرو or Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Kaykhusraw ibn Kilij Arslān; fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن قلج ارسلان), the eleventh and youngest son of
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II ( 1ca, قِلِج اَرسلان دوم) or ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kilij Arslān ibn Masʿūd ( fa, عز الدین قلج ارسلان بن مسعود) (Modern Turkish ''Kılıç Arslan'', meaning "Sword Lion") was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm ...
, was
Seljuk Sultan of Rûm. He succeeded his father in 1192, but had to fight his brothers for control of the Sultanate, losing to his brother
Suleiman II in 1196. He ruled it 1192–1196 and 1205–1211.
Name
The name "Kaykhusraw" is based on the name of the legendary ''
Shahnameh'' hero
Kay Khosrow
Kay Khosrow ( fa, کیخسرو) is a legendary king of Iran of Kayanian dynasty and a character in the Persian epic book, ''Shahnameh''. He was the son of the Iranian prince Siavash who married princess Farangis of Turan while in exile. Befo ...
.
Background
Kaykhusraw's date of birth is unknown. He was the eleventh and youngest son of
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II ( 1ca, قِلِج اَرسلان دوم) or ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kilij Arslān ibn Masʿūd ( fa, عز الدین قلج ارسلان بن مسعود) (Modern Turkish ''Kılıç Arslan'', meaning "Sword Lion") was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm ...
(). His mother was of
Byzantine ancestry. Kaykhusraw received a good education during his upbringing, learning other languages besides his native
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, which was
Persian,
Arabic, and
Greek.
Marriage
Kaykhusraw married a daughter of
Manuel Maurozomes. Manuel Maurozomes would hold the castles of Chonae and Laodicea as a vassal of Kaykhusraw.
Reign
In 1192/93, Kaykhusraw returned the Byzantine nobleman,
Theodore Mangaphas, to
Emperor Isaac II after receiving assurances of Mangaphas treatment. With his brother,
Rukn ad-Din Suleiman Shah
The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on ...
, quickly advancing towards
Konya, Kaykhusraw fled to
Constantinople in 1196. He lived in Constantinople from 1197–1203, possibly even being baptised. A ''
mathnawi'' written by Kaykhusraw himself compares his destiny during that period to that of the legendary Iranian hero Jam (
Jamshid
Jamshid () ( fa, جمشید, ''Jamshīd''; Middle- and New Persian: جم, ''Jam'') also known as ''Yima'' (Avestan: 𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀 ''Yima''; Pashto/Dari: یما ''Yama'') is the fourth Shah of the mythological Pishdadian dynasty of Iran acco ...
), who had to go into exile after losing his divine fortune (''
farr'').
After
Suleiman's death and
Kilij Arslan's ascension to the sultanate, Kaykhusraw forced his way into Konya, removed Kilij from power and was enthroned for a second time.
Kaykhusraw
seized Antalya in 1207 from its
Niceaen garrison which furnished the Seljuk sultanate with a port on the
Mediterranean. It was during this year, Kaykhusraw founded a mosque in Antalya.
Kaykhusraw was killed at the
Battle of Antioch on the Meander in 1211. His son
Kayqubad I, by Manuel Maurozomes' daughter, ruled the Sultanate from 1220 to 1237, and his grandson,
Kaykhusraw II, ruled from 1237 to 1246. Kaykhusraw's body was taken to Konya, where it was buried in the ancestral tomb of his family.
Identity
According to
Rustam Shukurov, Kaykhusraw I "had dual Christian and Muslim identity, an identity which was further complicated by dual Turkic/Persian and Greek ethnic identity".
Culture
Kaykhusraw wrote poetry in Persian.
Muhammad ibn Ali Rawandi
Muhammad ibn Ali Rawandi ( fa, محمد بن علی راوندی; died after 1207), was a Persian historian who wrote the '' Rahat al-sudur wa ayat al-surur'' during the fall of the Great Seljuk Empire and the subsequent invasion by the Kharwarzmi ...
(died after 1207) dedicated his historical chronicle of the
Seljuk Empire, ''
Rahat al-sudur wa-ayat al-surur'', to Kaykhusraw.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaykhusraw 01
1211 deaths
Sultans of Rum
Monarchs killed in action
Byzantine–Seljuk wars
Year of birth unknown
13th-century Turkic people