| Qizil Arslan قزل ارسلان | |
|---|---|
| al-Malik al-Mu'azzam | |
.jpg) Miniature of Qizil Arslan welcoming thePersian poetNizami Ganjavi. | |
| Atabeg of theEldiguzids | |
| Reign | 1186–1191 |
| Predecessor | Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan |
| Successor | Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr |
| Died | August or September, 1191 |
| Spouse | Inanj Khatun |
| Father | Eldiguz |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Muzaffar al-Din Qizil Arslan Uthman (r.1186–1191,Persian:مظفر الدین قزل ارسلان عثمان), better known asQizil Arslan[a] (قزل ارسلان), was the ruler (atabeg) of theEldiguzids from 1186 to 1191. He was the brother and successor ofMuhammad Jahan Pahlavan, and was later succeeded by his nephewNusrat al-Din Abu Bakr.
Qizil Arslan was the son ofEldiguz, a formerKipchak military slave of theSeljuk Empire, who rose to prominence and established the Eldiguzid dynasty, and from 1160 had managed to make the Seljuk Sultan of western Iran his puppet, thus taking control over most of western Iran.[1] However, during the reign of his son and successor,Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan (r. 1175–1186), the dynasty was weakened and lost many of its territories, retaining only control ofAzerbaijan andArran. During this period, Qizil Arslan was in charge ofTabriz and its surroundings.[1]
Qizil Arslan ascended the throne in 1186 after Jahan Pahlavan's death, and assumed the title ofal-Malik al-Mu'azzam ("the respected king").[1] However, Qizil Arslan immediately came in a conflict with a faction under the leadership of Jahan Pahlavan's widow Inanj Khatun who supported their two sons. Meanwhile, the Seljuk SultanToghrul III (r. 1176-1194), who had been figurehead under Jahan Pahlavan due to his age, freed himself from the grip of the Eldiguzids and withstood them until he was seized by Qizil Arslan's men in 1190, and shortly afterwards imprisoned.
At the same time, the central power began to get weaker as mamluks, who had strengthened their dominance in their areas, did not want to obey the Sultan. EvenShirvanshahAkhsitan I who used to be Atabegs’ liegeman attempted to intervene the interior affairs of the Eldiguzids and opposed Qizil Arslan's aspiration to the throne. In the response to this, Qizil Arslan invadedShirvan in 1191, reached toDerbent and subordinated the wholeShirvan to his authority. In 1191Toghrul III, the lastSeljuq ruler was overthrown by Qizil Arslan.[2][3]
Qizil Arslan initially declared the newborn Seljuk prince Sanjar ibn Suleiman-Shah as sultan, but then chose to declare himself as sultan. The following year, however, he was found murdered on his bed, most likely at the instigation of Inanj Khatun.[1]
Qizil Arslan's nephew,Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr, instantly took action after his uncle's death, and ascended the Eldiguzid throne, whilst Inanj Khatun's sons Qutluq Inanj and Ozbeg were fighting over the control ofPersian Iraq against their brother Abu Bakr who requested help from Seljuk Sultan Toghrul III, who had managed to escape from imprisonment with the help ofKamal al-Din Abhari.[1][4] Toghrul defeated Qutluq and Ozbeg[5] but, after a very short time, Toghrul and Abu Bakr agreed to make peace with Qutluq and Ozbeg at the request of Inanj Khatun and the hostilities temporarily ended with Sultan Toghrul marrying Inanj.[6]
Like the rest of the Eldiguzids, Qizil Arslan was an advocate ofPersian culture andliterature. The poetAthir al-Din Akhsikati, who played a prominent role in the history of Persian poetry, replacedMujir al-Din Baylaqani as Qizil Arslan's court poet. The prominent poetKhaqani, who had moved fromShamakhi to Tabriz, also became acquainted with Qizil Arslan, and composed poems appreciating the latter. Another poet,Nizami Ganjavi, who is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, dedicated hisKhosrow and Shirin first to Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan, and then later to Qizil Arslan.[1]
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Eldiguzid ruler 1186–1191 | Succeeded by |