| Kayqubad I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Coinage of Ala' al-Din Kay Qubad I, Ankuriyya, 1219-1237 | |||||
| Sultan of Rum | |||||
| Reign | 1220–1237 | ||||
| Predecessor | Kaykaus I | ||||
| Successor | Kaykhusraw II | ||||
| Born | c. 1192 | ||||
| Died | 1237 (aged 44–45) Kayseri, Sultanate of Rum | ||||
| Burial | Alâeddin Mosque,Konya, Turkey | ||||
| Spouse |
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| Issue |
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| Dynasty | Seljuq | ||||
| Father | Kaykhusraw I | ||||
| Mother | Raziya Khatun, a daughter ofManuel Maurozomes | ||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||
Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād I (Turkish:I. Alâeddin Keykûbad;Turkish pronunciation:[kejkuːbad],Persian:علاء الدین کیقباد ابن کیخسرو;c. 1192 - 1237), also known asKayqubad I, was theSeljuqTurkishSultan of Rûm who reigned from 1220 to 1237.[1] He expanded the borders of the sultanate at the expense of his neighbors, particularly theMengujek Beylik and theAyyubids, and established a Seljuq presence on the Mediterranean with his acquisition of the port ofKalon Oros, later renamedAla'iyya in his honor. The sultan, sometimes styledKayqubad the Great,[2] is remembered today for his rich architectural legacy and the brilliant court culture that flourished under his reign.
Kayqubad's reign represented the apogee ofSeljuq power and influence inAnatolia, and Kayqubad himself was considered the most illustrious prince of the dynasty. In the period following the mid-13th centuryMongol invasion, inhabitants of Anatolia frequently looked back on his reign as a golden age, while the new rulers of theAnatolian beyliks sought to justify their own authority through pedigrees traced to him.
Kayqubad was the second son of SeljukSultan Kaykhusraw, who bestowed upon him at an early age the titlemalik and the governorship of the important central Anatolian town ofTokat. When the sultan died following thebattle of Alaşehir in 1211,[3] both Kayqubad and his elder brotherKaykaus struggled for the throne. Kayqubad initially garnered some allies among the neighbors of the sultanate:Leo I, the king ofCilician Armenia and Tughrilshah, the brothers' uncle and the independent ruler ofErzurum. Most of the emirs, as the powerful landed aristocracy of the sultanate, supported Kaykaus. Kayqubad was forced to flee to the fortress atAnkara, where he sought aid from the Turkman tribes ofKastamonu. He was soon apprehended and imprisoned by his brother in a fortress in western Anatolia.[4]
Upon his brotherSultan Kaykaus's unexpected death in 1219/1220 Kayqubad was released from captivity and succeeded to the Seljuk throne as its new Sultan.[citation needed]
In the Cilicia Campaign of 1225, Kayqubad subjugated the Kingdom ofArmenian Cilicia.[citation needed]
In 1221/1222 Kayqubad launched anaval attack on Sudak which defeated the combined forces ofRus andCumans.[5] He attacked the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1221 taking the city ofAlanya from its governor, Kir Fard.[6]
In 1227/1228, Kayqubad advanced intoAnatolia, where the arrival ofJalal al-Din Mangburni, who was fleeing the destruction of hisKhwarezmian Empire by theMongols, had created an unstable political situation. The sultan settledTurcomans along theTaurus Mountains frontier, in a region later calledİçel. At the end of the 13th century, these Turcomans established theKaramanids. TheAyyubids, who were disturbed by the rapid expansion of Sultan Kayqubad I, especially in eastern Anatolia, took action against the sultan under the leadership ofAl-Kamil inEgypt. In 1234 Kayqubad I completely defeated the alliedAyyubid forces. Afterward,Harput expanded its borders further in the south-east Anatolia region by capturingSiverek,Urfa,Harran andRaqqa.[9][10][11] The sultan defeated theArtuqids and theAyyubids and absorbed theMengujek emirate into the sultanate, capturing the fortresses ofHısn Mansur,Kahta, andÇemişgezek along his march. He also put down a revolt by theEmpire of Trebizond and, although hefell short of capturing their capital, forced theKomnenos dynasty family to renew their pledges of vassalage.[citation needed]
At first, Kayqubad sought an alliance with hisTurkish kinsmanJalal al-Din Mangburni against theMongol threat. The alliance could not be achieved, and afterward, Jalal al-Din took the important fortress atAhlat. Kayqubad finally defeated him at theBattle of Yassıçimen betweenSivas andErzincan in 1230. After his victory, he advanced further east, establishing Seljuq rule overErzurum, Ahlat and the region ofLake Van (formerly part of Ayyubids). The Artuqids ofDiyarbakır and the Ayyubids ofSyria recognized his sovereignty. He also captured several fortresses inGeorgia, whose queen sued for peace and gave her daughterTamar in marriage to Kayqubad's son,Kaykhusraw II.[12]Mindful of the increasing presence and power of theMongols on the borders of the Sultanate of Rum, he strengthened the defenses and fortresses in his eastern provinces.
Kayqubad sponsored a large-scale building campaign acrossAnatolia. Apart from reconstructing towns and fortresses, he built manymosques,medreses,caravanserais, bridges and hospitals, many of which are preserved to this day. Besides completing the construction of theSeljuq Palace inKonya, he also built theKubadabad Palace on the shore ofLake Beyşehir,[13]Alanya Castle andRed Tower inAlanya andKayqubadiyya Palace nearKayseri.[2]
He also built theKonya citadel (the city walls of Konya). The citadel incorporated many western decorative elements, such as a statue ofHercules, a frieze from a Roman sarcophagus, courtly scenes with seated figures in toga, winged deities around the figure of the sun, mixed with inscriptions in Arabic.[14] It would seem that such symbolism mixing Western and Eastern elements was mostly derived from the influence of theArtuqids, who were adept at combining Classical and Perso-Islamic approaches.[15]
Kayqubad, like the other Seljuq sultans of Rum, was quite well-versed in the fine arts and would recite quatrains in Persian during wine-drinking parties.[16]
One of the objects securely associated with Kayqubad I is a tapestry fragment, now in theLyon Textile Museum, decorated with addorsed lions in gold on a red background. The tapestry includes the name and titles of the sultan: “[Highness of the World] and of religion, Father of Conquest, Kayqubad, son ofKaykhusraw, Proof of the Commander [of the Faithful]” ([ʿalā al-dunyā] wa ’l-dīn abū’l-fatḥ Kayqubād bin Kaykhusraw burhān Amir [al-mūʾminīn]).[17] This type of design was widely shared across the medieval Mediterranean, and the image of a lion as a heraldic images probably also appealed to the ruler.[17]
He was given poison during a feast atKayseri[18] and died at an early age on 31 May 1237, the last of his line to die in independence.[19]
HistorianIbn Bibi mourned his death with these words,"With Kayqubad's death, the back of Islam was broken and the bond of kingdom and religion snapped".[20]
Kayqubad had three sons:Kaykhusraw II, eldest son of hisGreek wife Mah Pari Khatun,[21] Rukn al-Din and Kilic Arslan, sons of hisAyyubid princess wife Malika Adila Khatun.[22] According toIbn Bibi, Kayqubad wanted Rukn al-Din as his successor who was the elder one of his two sons from his Ayyubid wife, Malika Adila Khatun, but Kaykhusraw usurped the throne and had Rukn al-Din, Kilic Arslan and their mother strangled.[23][24]
According toRustam Shukurov, it is very probably that Kayqubad and his brotherKaykaus I, who both spent considerable time inByzantium with their father, had the same dual religious (Christian and Muslim) and dual ethnic (Turkic/Persian and Greek) identity asKaykhusraw I,Kaykaus II, andMesud II.[25]
Kayqubad I had good relations with the Muslim scholars, Sufis and poets. Many Muslim Sufis and poets such asMūhyūddīn İbnūl-Arābī,Abd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī,Ahi Evran,Necmeddīn-i Dāyē,Kāniî-i Tūsī,Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi andSultanulūlemā Bâhâeddīn Veled came to Anatolia during his reign.
In the Turkish historical television series,Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Kayqubad I is portrayed by Turkish actorBurak Hakkı.
Kubadabad tiles consist of panels of figural tiles linked by cruciform tiles decorated with arabesques. The figural tiles are decorated with figures of the sultan, harem women, courtiers and servants. However, the most interesting figures are the various animals related to hunting and the imaginary or magical animals. Such creatures as the sphinx, siren, single and double-headed eagles, single and paired peacocks, paired birds flanking the tree of life and dragon create a magical world of the imagination. They are all symbolic representations of the rich figural world of the Seljuks. Animals related to hunting, such as the fox, hare, wolf, mountain goat, wild ass, bear, lion, falcon, hawk and antelope are in widely varying and highly artistic compositions.
Usually made in the underglaze technique, the star tiles contain an extremely rich figural design, depictingthe sultan, the elite of the palace and animals of the hunt as well as imaginary or so-called 'fabulous' animals. (See figural reliefs and sculptures, p. 171.) The sultan and the palace notables, including in some cases the palace women, are shown sitting cross-legged in the Turkish tradition. In most cases, the figures hold in their hands a symbol representing eternal life-a pomegranate or opium branch or an astrological symbol like the fish. It is interesting to note the parallels with the same motifs in Anatolian Seljuk architecture.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)In some cases—such as the sultan's well-known city walls in Konya—there appears to be, at first sight, an antiquarian penchant for the "classical" or "Roman" past (fig. 1). (...) Nevertheless, the portrait's classicizing aspect is important in that it resonates with the use of spoliated classical sculpture in the walls of Konya (fig. 1). (...) Kayqubad's walls in Konya. (...) above the statue of Hercules was a reused Roman sarcophagus frieze carved in high relief; the latter featured a courtly scene with a seated figure wearing a toga and holding an orb ("a ball, the symbol of the world" according to Kinneir). Above this image was an Arabic inscription and then winged "genies" making offerings to the "sun" (as described by Olivier).
As I will argue below, in addition to obvious "Western" links, Kayqubad was also inspired by sources further "East," such as the Artuqids of Hisn Kaifa and Amid (1102-1232), which combining Classical and Perso-Islamic impulses, seemed better suited as models. In fact, upon closer examination, these pagan/secular Roman imperial ("Western") signs seemed to be infused with mystical/Sufi ("Eastern") readings that imbued them with new meaning. Most significant was the emergence of an unexpected undercurrent of light symbolism.
| Preceded by | Sultan of Rûm 1220–1237 | Succeeded by |
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