Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud

Ghiyath al-Dunya wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fath Mas'ud bin Muhammad (c. 1107 – 10 October 1152) was the Seljuq Sultan of Iraq and western Persia in 1133–1152.

Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud
غياث الدين أبو الفتح مسعود
Sultan of the Seljuq Empire
Reign	24 October 1134 – 10 October 1152
Predecessor	Tughril II
Successor	Malik-Shah III
Co-sultan	Ahmad Sanjar (1134–1152)
Born	c. 1107
Died	10 October 1152
Spouse	Gawhar Khatun Zubayda Khatun Sufra Khatun Mustazhiriyya Khatun Ummuha Khatun Arab Khatun Zubaydah Abkhaziyya Khatun
Issue	Gawhar Hatun Malik-Shah
Names Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud
House	House of Seljuq
Father	Muhammad I Tapar
Mother	Nistandar Jahan
Religion	Sunni Islam

Reign

Ghiyath ad-Din Masud was the son of sultan Muhammad I Tapar and his wife Nistandar Jahan^[1][2][3] also known as Sarjahan Khatun.^[4] At the age of twelve (1120–1121), he rebelled unsuccessfully against his elder brother, Mahmud II, who however forgave him. At Mahmud's death in 1131, the power was contended between Mahmud's son, Dawud, Masud, whose powerbase was in Iraq , Seljuq-Shah (in Fars and Khuzistan) and Toghrul II. In 1133 Masud was able to obtain recognition as sultan from the emirs of Baghdad, and to receive the investiture by caliph al-Mustarshid. Toghrul, who controlling the eastern provinces of the western Seljuq, launched a military campaign but was defeated by Masud in May 1133. Toghrul died in 1134. Also in 1133 Mas'ud supported Zengi, besieged by al-Mustarshid's troops in Mosul.

In 1135 caliph al-Mustarshid contested his authority but, on 14 June of that year, he was defeated and made prisoner at Daimarg, between Hamadan and Baghdad, and killed two months later by the Hashshashins. As al-Mustarshid's successor, al-Rashid, also rebelled with the support of Zengi, Mas'ud besieged him in Baghdad, forcing him to flee to Mosul, where he was also killed by the Hashshashins. Although able to ensure control over Iraq, Mas'ud's power over the rest of the Suljuq empire was uncertain: apart from Khorasan and Transoxiana, which had been long time under the control of his uncle Ahmed Sanjar, Dawud kept control over Azerbaijan for several years, while weastern Persia was effectively ruled by emir Bozaba until Mas'ud defeated him, together with other emirs, in 1147. In 1148 Mas'ud faced another coalition against him, this time aiming to place Malik Shah on the throne in his place.

During his troublesome reign, Masud was forced to accept to delegate his authority to numerous emirs with the iqta', a tax institution which reduced the imperial incomes. Other became effectively independent sultans, such as Zengi. This caused, according to historian ibn al-Athir, the beginning of the steep decline of the Seljuq Empire.

Death

Mas'ud died at Hamadan in 1152. He was briefly succeeded by Malik-Shah III, who had been forgiven by Masud, and also given one the sultan's daughters as spouse.

Family

One of Mas'ud's wives was Gawhar Khatun, the daughter of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar. They married in 1134, after his accession to the throne.^[5] Gawhar Khatun,^[6] the daughter of this union was married by Mas'ud to his nephew Sultan Dawud, son of Sultan Mahmud II. They failed to get on together, and Mas'ud gave her to Dawud's brother, Sultan Muhammad II.^[7] Another wife was Zubayda Khatun, the daughter of Sultan Berkyaruq. Described as lovely and praised for her beauty,^[8] she dominated Mas'ud.^[7] She died in 1138.^[9][10] In October 1136, he gave one of his daughters in marriage to Sadaqa ibn Dubays ibn Sadaqa^[10] of the Banu Mazyad,^[9] and in January–February 1138,^[11] he himself married Dubays bin Sadaqa's daughter Sufra Khatun,^[9][10] whose mother Sharaf Khatun, was the daughter of Amid al-Dawla ibn Jahir and his wife, Zubaida Khatun (died 1077), the daughter of Nizam al-Mulk.^[12][13] Around the same time, he also married Amid al-Dawla ibn Jahir's daughter Ummuha Khatun.^[11] In May–June 1138,^[11] he married Mustazhiriyya Khatun,^[14] the daughter of his uncle Qavurt.^[7][10][15] With her, he had a son, born in 1139.^[16] Another wife was Arab Khatun. She was the mother of Mas'ud's son, Malik-Shah.^[17] In March–April 1137,^[18] he married his sister Fatima Khatun to Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtafi,^[19] and in 1140,^[16][18] he himself married the caliph's daughter Zubaydah.^[20][21][15] Her dowry was one hundred thousand dinars.^[22] The wedding procession was delayed for five years because of her young age.^[18] However, the marriage was never consummated because of Mas'ud's ultimate death.^[22] Another wife was Abkhaziyya Khatun. She was a daughter of King Demetrius I of Georgia. They married in 1143.^[23][24] Another daughter of Mas'ud married his nephew and successor Sultan Malik-Shah III.^[25]

References

1. Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı (2008). Türk dünyası araştırmaları - Issue 173. Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı. p. 123.
2. Ege Üniversitesi. Edebiyat Fakültesi; Ege Üniversitesi. Tarih Bölümü (2013). Tarih incelemeleri dergisi - Volume 28. Ege Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi. p. 197.
3. Lugal, N.; Iqbal, M. (1943). Ahbâr üd-devlet is-Selçukiyye. Türk Tarih Kurumu yayınlarından. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi. p. 74.
4. Güney, Alime Okumuş (29 December 2020). "Orta Asya Türk-İslâm devletlerinde evlilikler ve evlilik gelenekleri". Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. p. 44. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
5. Bosworth 2000, p. 106.
6. Bosworth 2000, p. 118.
7. Lambton 1988, p. 260.
8. انجب،, ابن الساعي، علي بن; Toorawa, S.M.; Bray, J. (2017). كتاب جهات الأئمة الخلفاء من الحرائر والإماء المسمى نساء الخلفاء: Women and the Court of Baghdad. Library of Arabic Literature. NYU Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-4798-6679-3.
9. Lambton 1988, p. 262.
10. Richards 2010, p. 346.
11. Ayan, Ergin (2008). "Irak Selçuklu Sultanlarının Evlilikleri" (in Turkish). Sakarya Üniversitesi Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi. p. 156. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
12. Biblioteca Provinciale (1843). Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary Translated from the Arabic by Bn. Mac Guckin De Slane: Paris Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1843. p. 506.
13. Lambton 1988, p. 303.
14. Richards 2010, p. 369 n. 9.
15. Hillenbrand, C.; al-Azraq, A.Y.I. (1990). A Muslim Principality in Crusader Times: The Early Artuqid State. Nederlands Historisch-Archeologisch Instituut in het Nabije Oosten İstanbul: Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul. Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul. p. 98 and n. 58. ISBN 978-90-6258-066-8.
16. الجوزي, سبط ابن (2013). مرآة الزمان في تواريخ الأعيان 0. مؤسسة الرسالة العالمية. pp. 321–22.
17. Bosworth 2000, p. 113.
18. Richards 2010, p. 355.
19. Nashat, G.; Beck, L. (2003). Women in Iran from the Rise of Islam to 1800. University of Illinois Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-252-07121-8.
20. Rudainy, Al; Saud, Reem (12 June 2015). "The Role of Women in the Būyid and Saljūq Periods of the Abbasid Caliphate (339-447/9501055&447-547/1055-1152): The Case of Iraq". University of Exeter. p. 68. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
21. Güney, Alime Okumuş (29 December 2020). "Orta Asya Türk-İslâm devletlerinde evlilikler ve evlilik gelenekleri". Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. p. 49. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
22. Roded, R. (1994). Women in Islamic Biographical Collections: From Ibn Saʻd to Who's who. L. Rienner Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-55587-442-1.
23. al-Fatḥ ibn ʻAlī Bundārī (1943). Irak ve Horasan, Selo̧uklulari tarihi: Imad ad-Dịn al-Kâtib al-Isfahânʼi'nin, al-Bondârʼi tarafindan ihtisar edilen Zubdat al-Nuṣra va Nuḩbat al 'Usra, adli kitabinin tercümesi. M. Th. Houtsma tarafindan 1889 da leiden'de neşredilen metinden türçeye çeviren Kivameddin Burslan. Türk Tarih Kurumu yayinlari, 2. seri, no. 4. Maarif Matbaasi. p. 212.
24. Rayfield, D. (2013). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Reaktion Books. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-78023-070-2.
25. Bosworth, C.E. (1989). The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Fascicules 111-112 : Masrah Mawlid. E.J.Brill. p. 782. ISBN 978-90-04-09239-6.

Sources

• Bosworth, E. (2000). The History of the Seljuq Turks: The Saljuq-nama of Zahir al-Din Nishpuri. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-75257-5.
• Lambton, A.K.S. (1988). Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia. Bibliotheca Persica. Bibliotheca Persica. ISBN 978-0-88706-133-2.
• Richards, D.S. (2010). The Chronicle of Ibn Al-Athir for the Crusading Period from Al-Kamil Fi'L-Ta'Rikh.: The Years 491-541/1097-1146 the Coming of the Franks and the Muslim Response. Crusade texts in translation. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6950-0.

External links

• The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Fascicules 111–112

Preceded by Toghrul II

Sultan of Great Seljuq 1133–1152

Succeeded by Malik Shah III