Barkiyaruk

Abu-l-Muzaffar Ruknu-ddin Barkiyaruk ibn Malik Shah ( Turkish Berkyaruk - "Unshakable Light", Arabic. أبو المظفر بركياروق بن ملكشاه ) - Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire from 1094 to 1105.

He was the son of Malik Shah I ^[1] and participated in internecine wars against his three brothers, Mahmoud , Sanjar and Muhammad ^[2] . After the death of Malik Shah I, his widow Tarkhan-Khatun concentrated power in her hands and proclaimed her 4-year-old son Mahmud the sultan. Tarkhan-Khatun moved from Baghdadan to Isfahan, where 12-year-old Berkiyaruk was. Berkiyaruk fled to Rey and was proclaimed a sultan here. In 1093, the troops of Tarkhan-Khatun were defeated at Barujerd , and in 1094 they were finally defeated. In 1094, Tarkhan-Khatun and Mahmud died ^[3] .

The reign of 12-year-old Berkiyaruk was filled with feuds, political intrigues and a fierce struggle between various groups. In 1093-1094 Syrian ruler Tutush captured almost the entire western part of the empire and declared himself the supreme sultan. In February 1095, he was defeated in a battle near Ray and fell in battle ^[3] .

In 1095, Berkiyaruk sent his uncle Bori Bars to Khorasan against Arslan-Argun, but Arslan-Argun managed to prevail. A year later, the half-brother of the Sultan Sanjar, who was then only 11 years old, went to Khorosan. The real command of the campaign was in the hands of Atabek Kumach. At the beginning of 1097, Arslan-Argun was killed by his own ghoul, and in the spring of 1097, Sanjar easily captured the entire Khorasan ^[3] .

In 1099, the ruler of Atropaten, his half-brother Muhammad, opposed Berkiyaruk. Berkiyaruk fled to Khuzistan and in 1100 reached Khorasan, waiting for help from Sanjar. Sanjar himself opposed Berkiyaruk and finally defeated his army near the village of Nushjan. Thus, Northern Iran and the western regions of Central Asia came under the rule of Sanjar. In 1101, in a battle near Hamadan, Berkiyaruk was defeated and barely escaped from the battlefield. Berkiyaruk gathered another army and in the spring of 1102 defeated Muhammad in a stubborn battle. In 1103, Muhammad was again utterly defeated at the gates of Chloe and then went to Khlat ^[3] .

In 1104, the brothers agreed on the division of possessions and Muhammad, in addition to Atropaten, got the northwestern provinces of Iran, the Euphrates, Mosul and Syria provinces. Berkiyaruk retained most of Western and Central Iran, Khuzistan, Diyarbakr and al-Jaziru ^[3] .

Barkiyaruk died in 1105 in Barujerd ^[3] .