The story of Alp Arslan, Part Four

 The death of the emperor and the sultan

Armanos marched towards Byzantium with a number of nobles and emperors freed from captivity by Alp Arslan, as well as a guard and money granted by Alp Arslan to help him in the surprises of the road, but he was surprised by a coup d'état against him and After the arrival of a new Caesar, Michael VII, Armanos collected as much money as he could, amounting to two hundred thousand dinars, which he sent to Alp. Arslan asked him to help him reconquer his kingdom. The sultan promised him good things, but. he was soon defeated, imprisoned and died in his prison in the year 465 AH.

Alp Arslan returned to his behavior and organized his plan. Abu Talib Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ammar had seized power over Tripoli and withdrew obedience from the Fatimids and declared his loyalty to the Seljuks. Then the Seljuks attempted to take Damascus from the Fatimids. but they were exhausted, so they contented themselves with taking Tiberias and were invited to the tribunes of the Abbasid caliph.

The death

Alp Arslan set out with a large army of two hundred thousand men to subdue his Qarakhanid in-laws after a rebellion. After conquering several of their castles, a trusted man named Yusuf al-Khwarizmi was brought to him. be tied so that he is killed between four stakes. Al-Khwarizmi cursed the Sultan and said to him: You, effeminate or someone like me, should be killed like this?! Alp Arslan was provoked by this and decided to kill him with his own hand, so he ordered him to be untied and shot an arrow at him while he was sitting on his throne, but he missed and the Sultan fell to the ground and Al-Khwarizmi injured him, so he carried the injured sultan to treat him, and the minister Nizam al-Mulk and the crown prince Malikshah were present, and after 4 days the sultan died from this wound on the 10th of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 465. AH The irony was that Alp Arslan and Armanos were born in the same year and died in the same year.

As the Sultan suffered from his wounds, he realized his sin and repented to his Lord and said: "There is no face that I have targeted or an enemy that I wanted without seeking help from God against him. Yesterday I climbed a hill and the ground shook. under me of the greatness of the army and the great number of soldiers. I said to myself: I am the king of the world and no one can control me So God Almighty punished me with the weakest of his creation, and I ask for forgiveness. of God Almighty and renounce this thought.

Virtues of Alp Arslan

Historians have written articles about Alp Arslan's good character and the beauty of his conduct. Ibn al-Atheer said: “He was good and kind to the poor, and in his collections were the names of many poor people in his kingdoms. He prayed a lot for the continuity of what God had granted him, and he listened to the history of kings, their etiquette and the rules of Sharia. He took great care of the subjects, protecting the soldiers with their money. , and paying attention to their grievances, it was reported that he received a complaint from Nizam al-Mulk that the courier had left him at the prayer hall of Alp Arslan. He read what was in it, then handed it to his minister and said. to him: Take this letter, and if they are truthful in what they wrote, then improve your morals and improve your situation. And if they lie, then forgive them their mistake and occupy them with something that will distract them from looking for people. .”

In conclusion, the Seljuk state experienced, in the 9-year state of Alp Arslan, the peak of its greatness and provided a model for a young and rational state led by a courageous leader who faced the horrors and was indifferent to death. , with good policy and an insistence on an approach of clemency, tolerance and forgiveness where possible, and with him a sensible, educated and thinking minister who formulated a philosophy of state and developed his plan with insight and remained aware of the details of his plan. work and continued after Alp Arslan as the minister of his son Malikshah, until Al-Batiniya assassinated him on the tenth day of Ramadan in the year 485 AH, and after him, Sultan Malikshah died, cutting his nose to the throat of his minister, who called to him: O father.