哈菲兹·阿布鲁（Hafiz-i Abru）《历史集锦》（Majma al-Tawarikh）所附细密画，属后世（15世纪前后）描绘，非11世纪同时代肖像 · Public domain
1064–1072
Alp Arslan, original name Muhammad bin Da'ud Chaghri
Alp Arslan · 土库曼斯坦
11th-century second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire (reigned 1063/1064–1072), victor of the Battle of Manzikert.
Born c. 1029/1030 (birth year given in various accounts, uncertain), he was the son of Chaghri Beg and nephew of Tughril Beg. In 1059 he inherited the governorship of Khurasan, and after his uncle's death in 1063 he defeated his rivals and acceded to the throne, appointing the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk to run the government. In 1064 he conquered Armenia and Georgia, and on 26 August 1071 at Manzikert he defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV, a battle regarded as the turning point for the Turks' entry into Anatolia. In 1072 he was assassinated during a campaign into western Turkestan (one account says he died of wounds inflicted by a prisoner, details uncertain).
People & stories
Places in their life
Centres of activity Khurasan and Merv (now an ancient city in Turkmenistan); tradition says he was buried in Merv, but modern geophysical surveys have still not confirmed his tomb site, so the burial place is marked "uncertain".
People
Cultural significance
The "brave lion" in Oghuz–Turkmen historical narrative (Alp Arslan itself means "brave lion"), the key figure in the Seljuk Empire's transformation from a regional power into a great empire stretching from Persia to Anatolia.