| Kilij Arslan II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_in_a_tile_from_Alaeddin_Palace%2c_Konya%2c_1156-92.jpg) Sultan Kilij Arslan II in a tile fromAlaeddin Palace, Konya, 1156-92.[1] | |||||
| Seljuq Sultan of Rum | |||||
| Reign | 1156–1192 | ||||
| Predecessor | Mesud I | ||||
| Successor | Kaykhusraw I | ||||
| Born | 1113 | ||||
| Died | August 1192 (aged 78-79) nearAksaray,Turkey | ||||
| Issue | Kaykhusraw I Suleiman II Qutbuddin Malik Shah Nuruddin Tughril ibn Kılıç Arslan II Muizz Muhyiddin Mesut Naser Nizam Arslanshah Sancarshah Gevher Nesibe Seljuki Fülane | ||||
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| House | House of Seljuq | ||||
| Father | Mesud I | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Kilij Arslan II (Persian:قِلِج اَرسلان دوم) orʿIzz ad-Dīn Kilij Arslān ibn Masʿūd (Persian:عز الدین قلج ارسلان بن مسعود) (Modern TurkishKılıç Arslan, meaning "Sword Lion") was aSeljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1156 until his death in 1192.
Born in 1113, Kilij was the son ofMesud I, sultan of the Sultanate of Rum.[2] In 1148 he captured the city ofMarash, after the surrounding region had been devastated by theDanishmendids in 1136-1137.[3]
In 1159, theByzantine emperorManuel I Komnenos marched back to Constantinople fromSyria through the lands of the Sultanate despite having been denied passage. AtKotyaion Kilij’s forces responded and inflicted a defeat on the emperor. The scale of the battle is impossible to determine from surviving sources, but shortly thereafter Manuel made reprisal raids against Seljuk territories. Kilij then sacked Laodikeia and the emperor planned a major campaign againstIconium (Konya). In 1160, Manuel's nephewJohn Contostephanus defeated Kilij, and the sultan travelled toConstantinople in a show of submission either in late 1160 or 1161.[4][5]
AsArnold of Lübeck reports in hisChronica Slavorum, he was present at the meeting ofHenry the Lion with Kilij during the former's pilgrimage toJerusalem in 1172. When they met nearTarsus, the sultan embraced and kissed the German duke, reminding him that they were blood cousins ('amplexans et deosculans eum, dicens, eum consanguineum suum esse'). When the duke asked for details of this relationship, Kilij informed him that 'a noble lady from the land of Germans married a king of Russia who had a daughter by her; this daughter's daughter arrived to our land, and I descend from her.'
In 1173, Kilij, now at peace with the Byzantines, allied with Nur ad-Din againstMosul. The peace treaty with the Byzantines lasted until 1175, when Kilij refused to hand over to Manuel the territory conquered from theDanishmends, although both sides had for some time been building up their fortifications and armies in preparation for a renewed war. Kilij tried to negotiate, but Manuel invaded the sultanate in 1176, intending to capture Iconium itself. He was able to defeat EmperorManuel I Komnenos's army at theBattle of Myriokephalon,[6] theSultan forced the emperor to negotiate a fragile peace.
In 1179, Kilij captured and held to ransomHenry I, the renownedcount of Champagne, who was returning overland from a visit toJerusalem.[7] The ransom was paid by the Byzantine Emperor and Henry was released, but died soon afterwards. The same year,Pope Alexander III wrote to Kilij, whom he had heard was interested in converting to Christianity and desired information.[8] According to the German chroniclerOtto of Sankt Blasien, writing about thirty years later, the sultan also reached out at the same time to the EmperorFrederick Barbarossa, seeking a marriage with the emperor's daughter,Beatrice.[8][9] According to Otto, Kilij offered to convert to Christianity along with his subjects. Frederick agreed to the marriage, but Beatrice died before it could take place. It is probable that Kilij's overtures to pope and emperor were less about religion than about counterbalancing the Byzantines by pursuing warm relations with the west.[8]
Kilij destroyed the city walls of Edessa in 1179, taking the remaining populace into captivity.[3]
In 1180, the sultan took advantage of the instability in the Byzantine Empire after Manuel's death to secure most of the southern coast ofAnatolia, and sent hisvizierIkhtiyar al-Din to conclude an alliance withSaladin, Nur ad-Din's successor, that same year. Then in 1182, he succeeded in capturing the city ofCotyaeum from the Byzantines. In 1185, he made peace with EmperorIsaac II Angelus, but the next year he transferred power to his eleven sons, who immediately fought each other for control. Despite Kilij's alliance with Saladin, he promised the armies of theThird Crusade, led by Frederick Barbarossa to freely pass through his territories; however, his sons who were local chieftains disagreed and fought against the Crusaders at theBattle of Philomelion andBattle of Iconium.[10] Following the Crusaders' departure, his eldest son Qutb al-Din who led the Turks in the latter battle then fled afterwards, came back to control Konya; hence, Kilij escaped and took refuge inKayseri. Later on, Qutb al-Din declared himself to be the new Sultan, but his father and his brotherKaykhusraw I drove him out of Konya in 1192, then chased him toAksaray, and besieged the city.
Kilij died during the siege of Aksaray in August 1192, aged 77, after promising Kaykhusraw I the succession.[11] Then he was buried in theAlâeddin Mosque inKonya.[a] Kaykhusraw I's brothers continued to fight for control of the other parts of the sultanate.[13]
In 1186, Kilij decided to divide the Sultanate among his 11 sons and 3 daughters as follows:
Page 178 Plate 119: "Throne scene on a star-shaped tile, Iranian-Seljuk minai technique, Alaeddin Palace, Konya, 1156—92 (Kilicarslan II period), D. 8.5 cm. The sultan, sitting cross-legged on his throne, is holding a pomegranate in one hand; there are tiraz bands on his arms and two guards next to him. Karatay Madrasah Museum, Konya.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)| Preceded by | Sultan of Rûm 1156–1192 | Succeeded by |
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