Arslan Shah I (Kerman)

Muhyi l-Islam wa-l-Muslim Arslan-Shah (I.) ibn Kirman-Schah ibn Qawurd (r. 1101–1142) was an independent Seljuk ruler of Kerman ( Kerman-Seljuks ).

He ascended the throne after the assassination of his cousin Iran-Shah (ruled 1096–1101), who had been overthrown by his Atabeg , the clergy and the emirs because of alleged sympathy for the Ismaili sect.

Arslan Shah's reign was long and peaceful. Merchants (e.g. from India) established branches in Bardasir and Dschiroft, and given financial support from the ruler, many religious scholars came to Kerman.

Arslan-Shah married one of Sultan Muhammad Tapar's (ruled 1105–18) daughters and later tried (with the mediation of Sultan Masud , ruled 1134–52) to become the widow of Caliph al-Mustarschid (ruled 1118–35 ).

He and his wife Zaitun-Chatun were considered great builders. Among other things, the ruler had a library built with 5,000 books in various fields of knowledge.

In terms of foreign policy, the Arslan Shah opposed the actions of Sultan Muhammad's Turkish commander in Fars , Tschawli († 1116/7), who took action against the Kurdish Shabankara and thereby violated the Arslan Shah's sphere of interest. Towards the end of his reign he interfered in a follow-up dispute between the Kakuyids of Yazd . He also sent governors to Oman .

His reign ended in a bloodbath: in 1142 he was captured and killed by the latter in a follow-up dispute between his sons Kirman-Shah and Muhammad (r. 1142–56). In addition, around twenty of his sons and grandchildren were killed or blinded.

literature

• Nagendra Kr.Singh: International encyclopaedia of Islamic dynasties. New Delhi, 2005
• CE Bosworth , E. van Donzel et al. a .: The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume V, Leiden 1980