Sultan Alp Arslan's Efforts to Maintaın Central Authority 2: Herat and Saghaniyan Expeditions

Abstract

The Great Seljuk State wasshaken from time to time by throne disputes (fights) and internal rebellions and lost its central authority as a natural consequence of these. One of the most important examples that can be given to this situation was experienced when the first ruler of the state, Sultan Toghrol, passed away (September 1063). Meanwhile, on the one hand, dynasty members such as Kutalmis and Musa Yabgu, who did not recognise the reign of Crown Prince Suleyman, revolted, and on the other hand, Saghaniyan and Huttelan amirs rebelled against the centre. However, Alp Arslan, who was very experienced in the political and military fields, saved the state, which started to dissolve with these rebellions, from the situation it was in. With his military expeditions, Alp Arslan first took Huttelan and Herat, which Musa Yabgu had seized with the rebellion attempt, and then Saghaniyan under his control and reconnected them to the centre again. This success of his made it possible for him both to stand against Melik Kutalmis in a strong way and to take the throne and to carry out his next military campaigns in the western direction. In our previous study, the Huttelan expedition mentioned here was discussed and analysed. In this study, the remaining two expeditions, namely the military expeditions on Herat and Saghaniyan, are discussed.