Sökmen (also called Moinuddin Sokman, Muʿīn ad-Dīn Soqman or Soqman ibn Artuq) was a Turkish

emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

in the early 12th century.

History

Origin

His father was Artuk, a commander in the

. He supported Tutush I, a member of the Seljukid house whose province was Greater

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 ...

. As such, Artuk and his son Sökmen aided Tutush in the battle of Ain Salm against the rebellious Suleiman ibn Qutalmish. They were then rewarded with the governorship of Jerusalem. After Artuk's death in 1091, Sökmen and his brother Ilghazi became the co-governors of the city. In 1093, a revolt broke out and an unknown group captured the

Tower of David The Tower of David (), also known as the Citadel (), is an ancient citadel and contemporary museum, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk Sult ...

. Pitched battles were fought in the street by the Turkomans as the brothers struggled to get the situation under control.

In Anatolia and Syria

Sökmen spent much of his time in

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. After Tutush's death in 1095, Sökmen took service with Ridwan of Aleppo, Tutush's son. Sökmen made use of the fight between Ridwan and his brother Duqaq to a gain a territory of his own around Suruç (now a district center in

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province (; ), also known as Urfa Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which be ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). Soon after, Sökmen and his brother lost their position in Jerusalem when it was taken by the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

in 1098. Sökmen abandoned the city and moved to north. In 1098, the Seljuk Empire formed an army under the command of

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 ...

of Mosul to assist Yağısıyan during the

siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...

. Sökmen took part in this army. But the campaign was a failure and the army arrived a few days after Antioch surrendered. In 1101, Baldwin I of Jerusalem captured Suruç.

Sökmen’s beylik

Kerbogha died in 1102 and during the ensuing struggle to control Musul, Sökmen supported Musa, the viceroy of Musul. For his services, Musa granted the city Hasankeyf to Sökmen. Sökmen founded a small beylik around Hasankeyf. This beylik is now considered one of the three Arkukid beyliks. (The other two were İlghazi's Mardin beylik and Harput beylik.) The Hasankeyf beylik survived through 1231. After being a bey, he supported his brother Ilghazi who had recently been dismissed from his post as a Seljukid shihna in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. In 1104, in the battle of Harran he defeated a Crusader army. In this battle he took Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Joscelin I captive.

Death

Toghtekin, the ruler of

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 ...

asked Sökmen to support him against the Crusaders. Sökmen agreed; but on the way to Damascus, at al-Qaryatayn, he died of a pertussis in October 1104.Güray

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sokmen of Artukids 11th-century births 1104 deaths Medieval Jerusalem Muslims of the First Crusade Hasankeyf District Deaths from whooping cough Government officials of the Seljuk Empire 12th-century Artuqid rulers