Qutalmish

Alp Arslan defeats Qutalmish for the throne and succeeds on April 27, 1064, as the second sultan of Great Seljuq, thus becoming sole monarch of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.

Alp Arslan successfully fights off the challenge of the Ghaznavids of Afghanistan and other dynasties that have arisen after the decline of the Abbasid caliphate.

In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions, Arslan is ably assisted by Nizam al-Mulk, his vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history.

With peace and security established in his dominions, Arslan convokes an assembly of the states and declares his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor.

After restoring unity to Iran and Iraq, he asserts his authority to the borders of Fatimid Egypt and Greek Anatolia.

Born outside the traditional Muslim countries that he is later to govern, Alp Arslan leaves their administration to his vizier, Nizam al-Mulk.

Alp-Arslan decides to go to Egypt to crush the Isma'ili Fatimid Shi'a heresy, which the 'Abbasid Sunnite caliphate at Baghdad, whose protector he is, will not accept.

On the other hand, he is aware of the necessity of keeping his influence over the Turkmens, which is essential to his military strength.

The Turkmens are interested above all in the success of the holy war against the infidels and in raids on Christian territory.

With the hope of capturing Caesarea Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he places himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crosses the Euphrates, and enters and invades the city.

Along with Nizam al-Mulk, he then marches into Armenia and Georgia.

Rival Turkish groups have independently invaded Eastern Roman Anatolia for many years but had gained little success in acquiring territory until Alp Arslan, as leader of the dominant Seljuqs, conducts a series of campaigns into Anatolia, which are extended by attacks from autonomous Turkmen bands.

In 1064, he seizes Ani, the former Armenian capital, and …

…Kars.

These operations result only in some consolidation of boundaries, which assure the Turkmens control over pastureland on the Aras River.

Nevertheless, although the Turkmens return to Muslim territory to store away their booty, these expeditions upset the imperial defense system and pave the way for the subsequent Turkish conquest of Asia Minor.

They result in reactions by the empire's citizenry in Syria and Armenia, after which the two empires begin to negotiate.

Turks and Turkmens have spent the past three years invading deep into Anatolia, in 1067 penetrating as far west as Caesarea in central Anatolia.

The raiders are inspired by the Muslim idea of holy war, and there is at first nothing systematic about their invasion.

They find it surprisingly easy, however, to plunder the countryside and isolate the cities, owing to the long neglect of the eastern frontier defenses by the emperors in Constantinople.

Emperor Romanus IV assembles an army to deal with what he sees as a large-scale military operation.

Marching to Cappadocia, Romanus takes Manbij, northeast of Aleppo.

The imperial counteroffensive forces the Seljuqs to retreat from Heraclea to …

…Aleppo.

The Mirdasids have the military advantage of light Arab cavalry, and several Arab groups in the region, such as the Numayrids of Harran and their own Kilabi brethren, have provided valuable assistance.

The Seljuqs have now supplanted the East Romans and Fatimids as their primary antagonist; the Turks' light cavalry is superior to their own and the Mirdasids have a much more difficult time dealing with them.

The Mirdasids have resorted to recruiting Turkish mercenaries into their armies, although this has caused its own problems, as the Turks have begun to acquire an increased role in the government.

As Alp-Arslan is about to attack Aleppo, whose prince had been too late in siding with the 'Abbasids, and is preparing to occupy Syria, Alp-Arslan learns that the emperor, with a formidable army, is assaulting his rear army in Armenia.

Alp-Arslan regroups for a new drive into Eastern Roman Anatolia, where, in 1070, he defeats the imperial forces at Sebasteia.

Romanus leads his fifty thousand troops into parts of Turkish-held Armenia in the spring of 1071, entering Armenia along the southern branch of the Upper Euphrates River.

Near the town of Manzikert (present Malazgirt, Turkey), north of Lake Van, Romanus divides his army, which is mainly composed of mercenaries-a sign of the times-that include a contingent of Turkmen, sending some ahead to secure the fortress of Akhlât on nearby Lake Van and taking others with him into the Armenian village of Manzikert.