- Alparslan Assumed Power (455 AH)
- Al-Zahir Baybars Siege of Acre City (665 AH)
Alparslan Assumed Power (455 AH)
Assumption of Power
Alparslan assumed power after the death of his uncle Tughrul Bey on Ramadan 8, 455 AH / September 4, 1063 AD. There had been some disputes about assuming power in the country, but Alp Arslan was able to overcome them.
Leadership and Policies
Alp Arslan, like his uncle Tughrul Bey, was a skillful and daring leader. He adopted a special policy that relied on consolidating the pillars of his rule in the countries under the influence of the Seljuks before looking to subjugate new territories and annex them to his state. He was also eager to wage jihad for the sake of God and to spread the call of Islam within the neighboring countries, such as the countries of the Armenians and the countries of the Romans.
Conquests and Jihad
The spirit of Islamic jihad was the driving force behind the conquests carried out by Alp Arslan, which gave them a religious character. The leader of the Seljuks, Alp Arslan, became a leader in the defense of Muslims, keen to support Islam and spread it in those lands. He raised the flag of Islam flying over many areas of the lands of the Byzantine state.
Battle of Manzikert
Sultan Alp Arslan (the Lion-Hearted), who opened the gates of Anatolia to Turks in 1071 by defeating the Byzantine army, is remembered for his heroism and war strategies. His victory on Aug. 26, 1071, on the plain of Manzikert (Malazgirt), accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Empire and led to more Turks settling in the region, paving the way for both the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic of Turkey.
Educational and Cultural Renaissance
Sultan Alp Arslan would not have achieved all these achievements without the efforts of his great vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who was not only a brilliant vizier and a skilled politician but also a preacher of science and literature. He established schools known as the “Nizamiyya Schools,” paid them salaries, and attracted senior jurists and hadith scholars to them, led by Hujjat al-Islam “Abu Hamid al-Ghazali.”
Legacy and Death
The status of Alp Arslan rose after his brilliant victory, and he became feared in the Islamic East and the Christian West. However, Sultan Alp Arslan did not enjoy much of what he achieved and continued his conquests. He was killed a year and a half after the Battle of Manzikert at the hands of one of the rebels against him, when he was forty-four years old, on (10 Rabi` al-Awwal 465 AH = November 29, 1072 AD). He was succeeded by his son Malikshah, who had military and cultural achievements in the fifth century AH.
Al-Zahir Baybars Siege of Acre (665 AH)
The Siege Begins
On the 8th of Ramadan in the year 665 AH / 1267 AD, the siege of the city of Acre began under the leadership of Al-Zahir Baybars. He was informed that while he was in Damascus, a group of Franks attacked Muslims at night and hid while wearing Muslim clothes.
Baybars' Response
Sultan Baybars led a special detachment that managed to seize them after they were setting off from Acre. The Franks residing in Acre tried to strike the Muslims, so Baybars ordered the elimination of its garrison and the demolition of its walls if its people did not comply with loyalty to the Islamic system of the state.
