Tughril III

Tughril III (Persian: طغرل سوم) (died 1194) was the last sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1175 until his death.

The Great Seljuk Empire, founded by Tughril and significantly expanded by Alp Arslan, stretched from Anatolia and Syria in the west to the Ghaznavid Empire in the east, from the Black and Caspian Sea and the Syr Darya in the north and Persian Gulf in the south. The empire had fragmented when Arslan Shah II assumed the throne in 1161. He nominally reigned over the territories in Azerbaijan, Iraq and western Persia and was dependent on the loyalty of independent Amirs like Eldiguz to enforce his authority. Atabegs like the Eldiguzids (Atabegs of Azerbaijan), Salghurids (Atabegs of Fars), Hazaraspids (Atabegs of Luristan), Atabegs of Yazd, Zengids, (Atabegs of Mosul) and Ahmadilis (Atabegs of Maragha), who were initially tutors of young Seljuk princes in their assigned iqtas, and exercised power on their behalf, ultimately took over control of the iqtas for themselves, ruled their lands independently with nominal allegiance to the Sultan, fought and allied with each other to install and depose Seljuk princes to the throne, and increased their lands at the expense of the imperial domain. Syria was lost to the Zangids, Palestine and much of Lebanon to the Crusaders, other Seljuk families controlled Anatolia, Kerman, the eastern lands were taken over by the Ghurid Empire, the Khwarazmian dynasty and the Qara Khitai after the defeat of Seljuk Sultan Ahmed Sanjar in the Battle of Qatwan in 1141 and the Oghuz rebellion in 1153.

After the murder of Sultan Suleiman-Shah in 1161, Eldiguz marched on Hamadan with an army of 20,000 cavalry and installed the 28 year old Arslan Shah II (c. 1161–1176) as the Seljuk Sultan of Iraq with the support of other Atabegs, and Eldiguzid took the title "Atabeg Al Azam (Supreme Atabeg)" and supervised the new Sultan, who now married Khatun-i-Kirmani, the widow of Sultan Muhammad II and daughter of Muhammad b. Arslan Shah I, the Seljuk Sultan of Kerman. The Sultan was a figurehead, Eldiguz commanded the army, controlled the treasury and awarded the iqta's as he saw fit along with fighting the Kingdom of Georgia when needed. He also fought other Atabegs between 1161–1175, and brought Iranian Azerbaijan, Arran, Jibal, Hamadan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Isfahan and Rey under his control. His vassals included feudal lords of Shriven, Ahlat, and Arzan-ar-Rum Arslan Shah lived in Hamadan, he was looked after by his younger half-brothers, and fathered Toghril, in 1168. Arslan Shah II did send aid to Seljuk Prince Arslan Shah b. Tughril of Kirman to battle his brother Bahram Shah in 1174, which resulted in the Seljuk Sultanate of Kirman being split in two, with Bahran Shah retaining one-third of the territory, and Arslan Shah b. Tughril received the remainder.

After death of Eldiguz in 1175, his son Nusrat al-Din Muhammad Pahlavan continued the same policy towards his half-brother Sultan Arslan Shah II, and he shifted his capital from Nakhchivan to Hamadan in western Iran. Arslan Shah resented domination of the Eldiguzids, and he raised an army with the help of discounted Amirs and marched towards Azerbaijan to confront his half-brother, but at Zinjan, he died suddenly at the age of 43, maybe a victim of poisoning, and the seven year old Tughril III was installed as Sultan at Hamadan, Jahan Pahlvan then defeated the attempt of Muhammad, the elder brother of Arslan Shah, to dethrone his nephew.

Tughril III was seven years old when he began his reign, he was well treated by Jahan Pahlvan, who remained the effective ruler of the empire, with his brother Muzzafar Al-Din Qizil Arslan Uthman as his chief subordinate in Tabriz, who was also Atabeg of Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr, one of the sons of Jahan Pahlvan. Jahan Pahlvan managed to stop the invasion of Saladin, who had advanced as far as Lake Van, but turned back when news arrived that Seyfettin Beytemür (c. 1185–1193), ruler of Akhlat had accepted the suzerainty of Muhammad Jahan Pahlavan. Problems cropped up after Jahan Pahlavan died in 1186, as he had appointed his four sons as governors, Abu Bakr ruled Azerbaijan and Arran, Ozbeg was appointed to rule Hamadan, sons of the daughter of Ïnanch Sonqur, Qutlugh Inanch Muhammad and Amir Amiran Umar ruled Rey, Isphahan and parts of Western Persia under the supervision of their uncle Qizil Arslan. They had sworn to obey Qizil Arslan and never to rebel against Tughril III. When Jahan Pahlvan died, Qizil Arslan assumed his position, which was contested by his brother's widow, Innach Khatun, who wanted her son Qutlugh Inanch Muhammad to succeed his father, as she was afraid the childless Qizil Arslan would nominate his favorite Abu Bakr as his heir, Tughril III, who resented the harsh treatment he received from Qizil Arslan, joined the rebels. This conflict possibly prevented Tughril III and Qizil Arslan from aiding Muhammad b. Bahram Shah, the last Seljuk Sultan of Kirman, who had been driven from Kirman by Oghuz rebels driven out from Khurasan in 1186.

The rebel army consisted of the forces of the Amirs of Zenjan and Maragha, the retainers of both Kamal Ai-Aba, head of the Mamluks, and of Saif al-Din Rus, husband of Innach Khatun, while Tughril himself received significant support from Turkmens, and their combined army forced Qizil Arslan to leave Hamadan after some clashes. Tughril undertook two diplomatic ventures in 1187, he journeyed to Mazandaran to request aid from Bavandid Husam al-Daula Ardashir, and received troops from him, and Tughril also sent messages to Caliph Al-Nasir, asking him to restore the palace of the Seljuk Sultan in Baghdad for him, but the Caliph razed the palace and then sent aid to Qizil Arslan, who agreed to become the Caliph's vassal. The Caliph sent an army numbering 15,000 under his vizier Jalal al-Din 'Ubaidallah b. Yunus, which attacked Hamadan in 1188 without waiting for Qizil Arslan's army to arrive, he was defeated and captured, Tughril secured victory by charging the enemy center after his right wing was battered, but this was a Pyrrhic victory, as Tughril's army suffered grievous losses in the battle. The Sultan next tried to reform his administration and coordinate strategy with available resources, but his rash behavior regarding a dispute over the command of the army, led to the execution of Kamal Ai-Aba, Saifuddin Rus and several of the Sultan's opponents, and the desertion of his allies.

Qizil Arslan had declared Sanjar b. Suleiman-Shah as the Seljuk Sultan of Iraq, and reinforced by troops sent by the Caliph now invaded Hamadan, Tughril, unable to resist the invasion, first retreated to Isphahan, then to Urmia. He was joined by an army led by his brother in law Hasan Kipchiq, and Tughril also tried to get help from the Ayyubids and the Caliph, even sent his infant son as hostage to Baghdad in a futile gesture. Tughril invaded Azerbaijan and sacked the towns of Ushnu, Khoy, Urmiya and Salmas. Qizil Arslan reconciled with his nephews and defeated and captured Tughril when he again invaded Azerbaijan in 1190. Qizli Arslan imprisoned Tughril and his son Malik Shah in Kuhran fortress near Tabriz. Qizil Arslan, encouraged by the Caliph, soon declared himself Sultan, married Innach Khatun, his brother's widow, and was poisoned by her in September, 1191. His nephews began to rule independently, and one of the Mamluks of Jahan Pahalvan, Mahmud Anas Oglu, freed Tughril III from his prison in May 1192.

Tughril eluded the pursuers sent by Abu Bakr and quickly assembled an army from his supporters and Turkmens, then marched east and defeated the army of Qutlugh Inanch Muhammad and Amir Amiran Umar near Qazvin on June 22, 1192, and won over a large part of the enemy soldiers after his victory. Qutlug-Inach and Amiran Omar then attacked Abu Bakr in Azerbaijan and was beaten, Aimiran Umar sought refuge with his father in law Shirvanshah Akhsitan I (c. 1160–1196), while Qutlug-Inach moved to Rey. Tughril occupied Hamadan, secured the treasury and came to rule over Isphahan and Jibal, but did not attempt to negotiate an agreement with Abu Bakr, against Qutlug Innach. Qutlugh Innach now appealed to Khwarazmshah Ala ad-Din Tekish for aid, and Tekish invaded and captured Rey in 1192, forcing Qutlug Innach to flee the city.