Kilij Arslan I

Kilij Arslan I
Sultan of Rum
Reign1092–1107
PredecessorSuleyman I
SuccessorMalik Shah
Born1079
Died1107 (aged 27–28)
Khabur River, near Mosul
Burial
Silvan, Diyarbakır, Turkey[1]
ConsortAisha Khatun
IssueMesud I
HouseHouse of Seljuq
FatherSuleyman I of Rûm
ReligionSunni Islam

Kilij Arslan ibn Suleiman (Old Anatolian Turkish: قِلِیچ اَرسلان; Persian: قلیچ ارسلان, romanized: Qilij Arslān; Turkish: I. Kılıç Arslan or Kılıcarslan, lit. "Sword Lion") (‎1079–1107) was the Seljuq Sultan of Rum from 1092 until his death in 1107. He ruled the Sultanate during the time of the First Crusade and thus faced the earliest attacks from Christian forces. He also re-established the Sultanate of Rum after the death of Malik Shah I of the Seljuk Empire and defeated the Crusaders in three battles during the Crusade of 1101.[2] Kilij Arslan was the first Muslim and Turkish commander to fight against the Crusaders, commanding his horse archers as a teenager.[3]

  1. ^ "2nd Anatolian Seljuk sultan's grave found in SE Turkey".
  2. ^ Savvides, Alexios G. C. (2006). "Qilij Arslān of Rûm (d. 1107)". In The Crusades - An Encyclopedia. p. 998.
  3. ^ "The first Turkish leader against the Crusaders: Sultan Kilij Arslan I". DergiPark. 2015. p. 67.