Kerman Seljuk Sultanate

The Seljuqs originated from the Qynyk branch of the Oghuz Turks, who in the 9th century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world, north of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea in their Yabghu Khaganate of the Oghuz confederacy, in the Kazakh Steppe of Turkestan. During the 10th century, due to various events, the Oghuz had come into close contact with Muslim cities. In the 11th century the Seljuqs migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the province of Khurasan, where they encountered the Ghaznavid empire. In 1025, 40,000 families of Oghuz Turks migrated to the area of Caucasian Albania. The Seljuqs defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Nasa plains in 1035. Tughril, Chaghri, and Yabghu received the insignias of governor, grants of land, and were given the title of dehqan. At the Battle of Dandanaqan they defeated a Ghaznavid army, and after a successful siege of Isfahan by Tughril in 1050/51, they established an empire later called the Great Seljuk Empire. The Seljuqs mixed with the local population and adopted the Persian culture and Persian language in the following decades. ==Reign of Qavurt==

Main Article: Qavurt Establishment After the death of 'Adud al-Dawla on 26 March 983, the Buyid dynasty rapidly weakened due to succession conflicts and external threats. The Buyid dynasty, which had weakned by the reign of Abu Kalijar, was losing territories and was unable to maintain its suzerainty in occupied regions. Following the conquest of Khorasan and the establishment of the Great Seljuk state, Toghrul Bey, the Sultan of the Great Seljuk state, assigned the division of conquered territories among his brothers and nephews and delegated to them the task of conquering new regions. His primary goals were, first, to consolidate his authority over the territories he had already brought under his control, and second, to rapidly expand Seljuk power by subjugating additional regions. Thus, the empire was divided into provinces, and each trusted relative was not only assigned a province to govern but also tasked with the conquest of neighboring lands. Chaghri Beg, as the eldest brother, made Merv and Khorasan his base; and Musa Yabugu was appointed over Bust, Herat, and Sistan. Qavurt, the son of Chaghri Beg, chose Nahavand and Kerman. Qavurt defeated the Buyid ruler’s army in Kerman and Makran, and brought Kerman under his control. There, he established his own sultanate in 1041 CE and became its de facto ruler as a subject of Tughril I. Alp Arslan's will Alp Arslan died in 1072. But before death he willed his throne to Malik Shah I, his second son. He also expressed his concern about possible throne struggles. The main contestants for the throne were his eldest son Ayaz and his brother Qavurt. As a compromise, he willed generous grants to Ayaz and Qavurt. He also willed Qavurt to marry his widow. Qavurt's rebellion Malik Shah was only 17 or 18 years of age when he ascended to throne. Although Ayaz presented no problem, he faced with the serious problem of Qavurt's rebellion. His vizier Nizam al-Mulk was even more worried for he had become the de facto ruler of the empire during young Malik Shah's reign. Although Qavurt had only a small army, Turkmen officiers in Malik Shah's army tended to support Qavurt. So Malik Shah and Nizam al-Mulk added non Turkic regiments to Seljuk army. Artukids also supported Malik Shah. The clash, the Battle of Kerj Abu Dulaf, was at a location known as Kerç kapı (or Kerec ) close to Hamedan on 16 May 1073. Malik Shah was able to defeat Qavurt's forces. Although Qavurt escaped, he was soon arrested. Initially Malik Shah was tolerant to his uncle. But Nizam al-Mulk convinced the young sultan to execute Qavurt. Nizam al-Mulk also executed Qavurt's four sons. Later he eliminated most of the Turkic commanders of the army whom he suspected to be Qavurt's partisan. ==Overthrow==

The son of Bahram-Shah, Muhammad-Shah succeeded his uncle Turan-Shah II to the throne of Kerman in 1183. By the time of his ascension Kerman had been overrun by bands of Ghuzz Turks. Their devastation of the province had made the city of Bardasir virtually uninhabitable, so Muhammad-Shah made Bam his capital. By 1186, however, Muhammad-Shah been unable to handle the Ghuzz, and he decided to abandon Bam and departed from Kerman. The Ghuzz chief Malik Dinar quickly seized control of Kerman in his place. Muhammad-Shah at first hoped to receive foreign assistance to reacquire Kerman, and traveled to Fars and Iraq requesting help. He also sought for aid from the Khwarezmshah Tekish. Eventually, however, he realized that he could get no assistance in recovering Kerman. He made his way to the Ghurid Empire and spent the remainder of his life in the service of the Ghurid sultans. ==Seljuq rulers of Kerman==

Kerman was a province in southern Persia. Between 1053 and 1154, the territory also included Umman. • Qawurd 1041–1073 • Kerman Shah 1073–1074 • Sultan Shah 1074–1075 • Hussain Omar 1075–1084 • Turan Shah I 1084–1096 • Iranshah ibn Turanshah 1096–1101 • Arslan Shah I 1101–1142 • Muhammad I (Muhammad) 1142–1156 • Tuğrul Shah 1156–1169 • Bahram-Shah 1169–1174 • Arslan Shah II 1174–1176 • Turan Shah II 1176–1183 • Muhammad Shah 1183–1187 Muhammad abandoned Kerman, which fell into the hands of the Oghuz chief Malik Dinar. Kerman was eventually annexed by the Khwarezmid Empire in 1196. ==References==