Editing Muhammad I Tapar

{{Short description|Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1105 to 1118}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Muhammad I Tapar<br>{{nq|محمد اول تاپار}}
| title        = [[Sultan]]<br>[[Shah]]anshah
| image        = Investiture scene of Muhammad I Tapar.jpg
| image_size   = 300px
| caption      = Investiture scene of Muhammad I Tapar, from the 14th-century book ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]''
| succession   = [[List of sultans of the Seljuq Empire|Sultan]] of the [[Seljuk Empire]]
| reign        = 13 February 1105 – 18 April 1118
| coronation   = 
| othertitles  = 
| predecessor  = [[Malik-Shah II]]
| successor    = [[Mahmud II (Seljuk sultan)|Mahmud II]] (in [[Iraq]] and western [[Iran]])<br>[[Ahmad Sanjar]] (in [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]] and [[Transoxiana]])
| house        = [[Seljuk dynasty|House of Seljuk]]
| full name    = 
| father       = [[Malik-Shah I]]
| mother       = Taj al-Din Khatun Safariya
| spouse       = {{unbulletedlist|Gawhar Khatun|Qutlugh Khatun|Shah Khatun Safiya|Nistandar Jahan|}}
| issue        = {{unbulletedlist|[[Mahmud II (Seljuk sultan)|Mahmud II]]|[[Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud|Mas'ud]]|[[Tughril II]]|[[Suleiman-Shah]]|Saljuk-Shah|[[Fatimah Khatun]]|}}
| birth_date   = 20 January 1082
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1118|04|18|1082|01|20|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Baghdad]]
| place of burial = 
| religion     = [[Sunni Islam]]
}}
'''Muhammad I Tapar''' ('''{{langx|tr|Gıyaseddîn Muhammed Tapar}}''', {{langx|fa|محمد اول تاپار}}; 20 January 1082 – 18 April 1118), was the [[sultan]] of the [[Seljuk Empire]] from 1105 to 1118. He was a son of [[Malik-Shah I]] ({{reign|1072|1092}}) and Taj al-Din Khatun Safariya.{{sfn|Safi|2006|p=67}}

==Reign==
Muhammad was born in 20 January 1082.<ref name="Houtsma">{{cite book | last=Houtsma | first=M.T. | last2=Brill | first2=E.J. | last3=Houtsma | first3=M.T. | last4=van Donzel | first4=E. | title=E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. Morocco - Ruzzīk | publisher=Brill | series=First Encyclopedia of Islam 1913-1936 | issue=v. 6 | year=1993 | isbn=978-90-04-09796-4 | page=673}}</ref>{{sfn|Bosworth|1993|p=408}} He succeeded his nephew, [[Malik Shah II]], as Seljuq Sultan in [[Baghdad]], and thus was theoretically the head of the dynasty, although his brother [[Ahmad Sanjar]] in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] held more practical power. Muhammad I probably allied himself with [[Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan|Radwan]] of [[Aleppo]] in the battle of the Khabur River against [[Kilij Arslan I]], the sultan of [[Sultanate of Rum|Rüm]], in 1107, in which the latter was defeated and killed.<ref>''Anatolia in the Period of the Seljuks and the Beyliks'', Osman Turan, '''The Cambridge History of Islam''', Ed. Peter Malcolm Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton and Bernard Lewis, (Cambridge University Press, 1970), 239.</ref> Following the internecine conflict with his half brother, [[Berkyaruq]], he was given the title of ''malik'' and the provinces of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Dissatisfied by this he revolted again, but had to flee back to Armenia. By 1104, Berkyaruq, ill and tired of war, agreed to divide the sultanate with Muhammad.<ref>''Barkyaruq'', Cl. Cahen, '''The Encyclopedia of Islam''', Ed. H.A.R.Gibb, J.H.Kramers, E. Levi-Provencal and J.Schacht, (E.J.Brill, 1986), 1052.</ref> Muhammad became sole sultan following the death of Berkyaruq in 1105.

In 1106, Muhammad conquered the [[Nizari Ismaili state|Ismaili]] fortress of [[Shahdiz]], and ordered the [[Bavandid]] ruler [[Shahriyar IV]] to participate in [[Muhammad Tapar's anti-Nizari campaign|his campaign against the Ismailis]]. Shahriyar, greatly angered by the message Muhammad sent him, refused to aid him against the Ismailis.{{sfn|Bosworth|1968|p=28}} Shortly after, Muhammad sent an army headed by Amir Chavli, who tried to capture [[Sari, Iran|Sari]] but was unexpectedly defeated by an army under Shahriyar and his son [[Qarin III]]. Muhammad then sent a letter, which requested Shahriyar to send one of his sons to the Seljuq court in [[Isfahan]].{{sfn|Madelung|1984|pp=747–753}} He sent his son [[Ali I (Bavandid ruler)|Ali I]], who impressed Muhammad so much that he offered him his daughter in marriage, but Ali refused and told him to grant the honor to his brother and heir of the Bavand dynasty, Qarin III. Qarin III then went to the Isfahan court and married her.

In 1106/1107, [[Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk]], the son of the famous [[vizier]] [[Nizam al-Mulk]], went to the court of Muhammad I to file a complaint against the [[rais]] (head) of [[Hamadan]]. When Ahmad arrived to the court, Muhammad I appointed him as his vizier, replacing Sa'd al-Mulk Abu'l-Mahasen Abi, who had been recently executed on suspicion of heresy. The appointment was due mainly to the reputation of Ahmad's father. He was then given various titles which his father held (Qewam al-din, Sadr al-Islam and Nizam al-Mulk).

Muhammad I, along with his vizier Ahmad, later campaigned in [[Iraq]], where they defeated and killed the [[Al-Mazeedi|Mazyadid]] ruler Sayf al-dawla Sadaqa ibn Mansur, who bore the title "king of the Arabs". In 1109, Muhammad I sent Ahmad and Chavli Saqavu to capture the [[Nizari Ismaili state|Ismaili]] fortresses of [[Alamut]] and Ostavand, but they failed to achieve any decisive result and withdrew.{{sfn|Bosworth|1968|p=118}} Ahmad was shortly replaced by Khatir al-Mulk Abu Mansur Maybudi as vizier of the Sejluq Empire. According to [[Ali ibn al-Athir]] (a historian who lived about a hundred years later), Ahmad then retired to a private life in [[Baghdad]], but, according to the contemporary biographer, [[Anushirvan ibn Khalid]], Muhammad I had Ahmad imprisoned for ten years.{{sfn|Bosworth|1984|pp=642–643}}

Muhammad I died on 18 April 1118<ref name="Houtsma"/> and was succeeded by [[Mahmud II of Great Seljuq|Mahmud II]], although after Muhammad I's death Sanjar was clearly the chief power in the Seljuq realms.

==Family==
One of Muhammad's wives was Gawhar Khatun, the daughter of Isma'il, son of Yaquti.<ref name="lambton">{{cite book | last=Lambton | first=A.K.S. | title=Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia | publisher=Bibliotheca Persica | series=Bibliotheca Persica | year=1988 | pages=35, 260, 268 n. 71 | isbn=978-0-88706-133-2}}</ref> She was killed in 1118 on Muhammad's order at his death in order to prevent his brother Sanjar from marrying her.<ref name="Basan">{{cite book | last=Basan | first=O.A. | title=The Great Seljuqs: A History | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Studies in the History of Iran and Turkey | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-136-95393-4 | page=185}}</ref> Another wife was Qutlugh Khatun.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bosworth | first=E. | title=The History of the Seljuq Turks: The Saljuq-nama of Zahir al-Din Nishpuri | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-136-75258-2 | page=78}}</ref> Another wife was Shah Khatun Safiya. She was the mother of Saljuk-Shah.<ref name="Tetley">{{cite book | last=Tetley | first=G.E. | title=The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge Studies in the History of Iran and Turkey | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-134-08438-8 | page=292}}</ref> Another wife was Nisandar Jahan,<ref>{{cite book | author=Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı | title=Türk dünyası araştırmaları - Issue 173 | publisher=Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı | year=2008 | page=123}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=Ege Üniversitesi. Edebiyat Fakültesi | author2=Ege Üniversitesi. Tarih Bölümü | title=Tarih incelemeleri dergisi - Volume 28 | publisher=Ege Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi | year=2013 | page=197}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Lugal | first1=N. | last2=Iqbal | first2=M. | title=Ahbâr üd-devlet is-Selçukiyye | publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi | series=Türk Tarih Kurumu yayınlarından | year=1943 | page=74}}</ref> also known as Sarjahan Khatun.<ref name="G&uuml">{{cite web | last=Güney | first=Alime Okumuş | title=Orta Asya Türk-İslâm devletlerinde evlilikler ve evlilik gelenekleri | publisher=Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü | date=2020-12-29 | url=https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/handle/20.500.12812/441011 | access-date=2024-01-13|p=44}}</ref> She was the mother of Sultan [[Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud]]<ref>{{cite book | author=Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı | title=Türk dünyası araştırmaları - Issue 173 | publisher=Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı | year=2008 | page=123}}</ref> and [[Fatimah Khatun]].<ref name="lambton"/> After Muhammad's death Mengubars, the governor of Iraq, married her.<ref>{{cite book | author=Ege Üniversitesi. Edebiyat Fakültesi | author2=Ege Üniversitesi. Tarih Bölümü | title=Tarih incelemeleri dergisi - Volume 28 | publisher=Ege Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi | year=2013 | page=197}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Lugal | first=N. | last2=Iqbal | first2=M. | title=Ahbâr üd-devlet is-Selçukiyye | publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi | series=Türk Tarih Kurumu yayınlarından | year=1943 | page=74}}</ref> Their daughter Fatimah married Abbasid Caliph [[Al-Muqtafi]] in 1137,<ref>{{cite book | last=Hanne | first=Eric J. | title=Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate | publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-8386-4113-2 | page=170}}</ref> and died in September 1147.<ref>{{cite book | last=al-Athīr | first=ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn | last2=Richards | first2=Donaod Sidney | title=The Chronicle of Ibn Al-Athīr for the Crusading Period from Al-Kāmil Fīʼl-taʼrīkh: The years 541-589 | publisher=Ashgate | series=Crusade texts in translation | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-7546-4078-3 | page=16}}</ref> Another of his daughters married [[Arslan Shah I]], son of Kirman Shah, and the grandson of Qavurt.<ref name="lambton"/>

== Legacy and assessment ==
Muhammad was the last Seljuk ruler to have strong authority in the western part of the sultanate.{{sfn|Bosworth|2010|p=61}} The Seljuk realm was in a dire state after Muhammad's death, according to bureaucrat and writer [[Anushirvan ibn Khalid]] (died in 1137/1139); "In Muhammad's reign the kingdom was united and secure from all envious attacks; but when it passed to his son Mahmud, they split up that unity and destroyed its cohesion. They claimed a share with him in the power and left him only a bare subsistence."{{sfn|Bosworth|2010|p=61}} Muhammad is mainly portrayed in a positive light by contemporary historians. According to the historian [[Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani]] (died in 1201), Muhammad was "the perfect man of the Seljuk dynasty and their strongest steed".{{sfn|Peacock|2015|p=80}}

Muhammad's ceaseless campaigns inspired one of his poets, [[Iranshah (poet)|Iranshah]], to compose the Persian [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] of ''[[Bahman Nameh|Bahman-nama]]'', an [[Persian mythology|Iranian mythological]] story about the constant battles between [[Kay Bahman]] and [[Rostam]]'s family. This implies that the work was also written to serve as advice for solving the socio-political issues of the time.{{sfn|Askari|2016|p=33}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Askari|first=Nasrin|year=2016|title=The medieval reception of the Shāhnāma as a mirror for princes |publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-30790-2}}
*{{cite book|title=The Caliphate, its rise, decline and fall|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.276998|first= William |last=Muir|chapter= Buweihid Dynasty, Bagdad under Seljuqs, Toghril Beg, Al-Muktadi and four following Caliphs, Crusades, Capture of Jerusalem, End of Fatimids}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = ĀL-E BĀVAND (BAVANDIDS) | last = Madelung | first = W. | authorlink = Wilferd Madelung | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7 | publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul | location = London u.a. | year = 1984 | isbn = 90-04-08114-3 | pages = 747–753 | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/al-e-bavand}}
* {{EI2|last=Bosworth|first=C.E.|volume=7|title=Muḥammad b. Malik-S̲h̲āh|pages=408|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/muhammad-b-malik-shah-SIM_5362}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = AḤMAD B. NEẒĀM-AL-MOLK | last = Bosworth | first = C. Edmund | authorlink =  | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahmad-b-nezam | editor-last = | editor-first =  | editor-link = | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 6 | pages = 642–643 | location = London et al. | publisher = C. Edmund Bosworth | year = 1984 | isbn = }}
* {{cite book | title = The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol periods | year = 1968 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | editor-last = Frye | editor-first = R. N. | last = Bosworth | first = C. E. | authorlink = C. E. Bosworth | chapter = The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217) | pages = 1–202 | isbn = 0-521-06936-X | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=16yHq5v3QZAC&pg=PA1}}
* {{cite book | title = The New Cambridge History of Islam (Volume 3) | year = 2010 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | editor-last1 = Morgan | editor-first1 = David O. | editor-last2 = Reid | editor-first2 = Anthony | last = Bosworth | first = C. E. | author-link = C. E. Bosworth | chapter = The steppe peoples in the Islamic world | pages = 21–78 | isbn = 978-0521850315 | url = https://www.academia.edu/3064144}}
* {{cite book | title = The Great Seljuk Empire | year = 2015 | publisher = Edinburgh University Press | last = Peacock | first = A. C. S. | author-link = A. C. S. Peacock | pages = 1–378 | isbn = 978-0-7486-3826-0 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hAndCQAAQBAJ&q=The+Great+Seljuk+Empire }}
* {{cite book |title=The Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam: Negotiating Ideology and Religious Inquiry |first=Omid |last=Safi |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2006 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Malik Shah II]]}}
{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=[[Seljuq dynasty#Rulers of the Seljuk Dynasty|Sultan of the Seljuq Empire]]|years=1105–1118}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ahmed Sanjar]]<br><small>(in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and [[Transoxiana]])</small>}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mahmud II of Great Seljuq|Mahmud II]]<br><small>(in [[Iraq]] and [[Persia]])</small>}}
{{s-end}}

{{Seljuk dynasty}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Seljuk rulers]]
[[Category:1118 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:12th-century monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:People of the Nizari–Seljuk wars]]