Saltuk II (İzzettin Saltuk) was a bey of Saltukids in the 12th century.

Background

After

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his ...

of Seljukids defeated

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

army in the

battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and ...

in 1071, a series of

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

beyliks (kingdoms) were formed in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

before Anatolia was united by the

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchy Triarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

. Saltukids was one of them. Its capital was

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. The city uses t ...

. Saltuk II was the fourth Sultan of this Saltukids.

Plot

Saltuk became the bey after the death of his uncle Ziyaeddin in 1132. He formed family relations with the other Turkmen beyliks around Erzurum. However, when Fakr al-Din Shaddad, a Shaddadid emir of Ani asked for Saltuk's daughter's hand Saltuk refused him. This caused a deep hatred in Şeddat towards Saltuk. In 1154 he planned a plot and formed a secret alliance with the Demetrius I of Georgia. While a Georgian army waited in ambush, he invited Saltuk to Ani with the pretext of selling the fort to Saltukids. Saltuk was taken prisoner by the Georgians. After ransom was paid by Saltuk's sons in law and Saltuk swore not to fight against the Georgians he returned home.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt I'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991, p 149-150

Ani campaign

Towards the end of Saltuk's reign in 1161, George III of Georgia captured Ani. Turkmen beys formed a coalition to recapture Ani. Saltuk was a part of this coalition. But during the siege, Georgian army arrived to defend the fort and Saltuk remembering his oath, left the battle field. The campaign was a failure. However, two years later, Georgians were defeated by a coalition of Muslim leaders and Saltuk was able to expand his territory.

Death

Saltuk died in 1168. He was succeeded by his son Nasiruddin Muhammed. Next ruler after Nasiruddin was Mama Hatun (a female ruler, a rare example in an Islamic land) who was Saltuk’s daughter. His other daughter, Shahbanu, married Sökmen II, ruler of

Ahlatshahs The Shah-Armens (lit. 'Kings of Armenia', tr, Ermenşahlar), also known as Ahlatshahs (lit. 'Rulers of Ahlat', tr, Ahlatşahlar), was a Turkoman Sunni Muslim Anatolian beylik founded after the Battle of Manzikert (1071) and centred in Ahlat on t ...

References

{{Anatolian Beys 1168 deaths Turkic rulers History of Erzurum Province Anatolian beyliks 12th-century Turkic people