Atabeg

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The Turkish title Atabeg ( Arabic أتابك/ Persian اتاﺑﮏ Atabak ; later also Atabey ; from Turkish ata = "father" and beg or bey = "lord", "leader"), which was mainly in use from the 11th to the 13th century, was originally the responsibility of the guardians, protectors and tutors of underage princes and princesses from the Seljuk dynasty .

Although it cannot be ruled out that the Atabeg office already existed in earlier Turkish societies in Central Asia , it seems originally to have been typical of the Oghuz Seljuks , who conquered large parts of the Middle East in the 11th century . The Qarachanids , who are also Turkish, apparently did not know it. The first known Atabeg - the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk (1018-1092) - had received the title from his young master Sultan Malik-Shah I (r. 1073-1092) and was in view of his Persian origin and his civilian Office a remarkable exception, since in the following years almost always only (former) Turkish military slaves , ie Mamluks , were appointed atabegs.

The time in which atabegs meet with increasing frequency and also in connection with other branches of the Seljuk dynasty - such as the Kirman and Rum Seljuks - only begins with the death of Malik-Shah I, almost all of his successors in the care of "Surrogate fathers" were given. It was customary for each prince and princess to have their own tutor and, when the ruler died, he would marry the mother of his protégé. For example, the Atabeg Tugh-Tegin (ruled 1104–1128 in Damascus ) married the widow of Tutush I , whose son Duqaq (ruled 1095–1104) had once been entrusted to him by the Seljuk rulers of Syria .
The task of an atabeg was of course to represent and defend the interests of the Seljuk offspring placed under his protection as a loyal servant until he was old enough to govern himself (the part of the empire he had inherited); after that the old tutor mostly only served as a consultant. Attempts on the part of the Atabeg to maintain or further expand his power as guardian occasionally even resulted in the protégé having him (such as Sultan Muhammad I. Qutlugh-Tegin) executed.

The Atabeg title was associated with great prestige and authority from the start. Over time, however, the influence, the powers and the self-confidence of the bearers grew to such an extent that they no longer served their princes, but instead viewed the princes as a kind of guarantee of loyalty and pledge. The sultan did not always give his children completely voluntarily in combination with important governorships and lands (see Iqta ) to powerful Mamluk emirs , who sometimes instrumentalized their protégé for themselves. Of particular importance was that as Atabeg you had a potential heir to the throne, with whose coronation your influence could be expanded considerably. It happened, therefore, that the ruling dynasty head (e.g. Masud , ruled 1134-1152) had to assert himself against several ambitious Atabegs who tried from their respective provinces and in competition with each other to enforce their candidate as sultan.
In this phase it was no longer uncommon that the Atabegs (e.g. Schams ad-Din Eldigüz , ruled approx. 1136–1175) soon no longer thought of handing over their considerable power to the growing Seljuq princes. Instead, many abused their office by imprisoning the members of the ruling house entrusted to them - even after they were of legal age - and swung themselves into de facto independent princes (a so-called atabeylik ) who even established their own dynasties by inheriting the atabeg title. One of the best-known examples is Zengi (r. 1127–1146), whom Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1118–1131) had appointed governor in Mosul and Aleppo as well as Atabeg of his two sons.
Against this background, the title soon developed into a prestigious title of ruler, which, as in the case of the Atabegs of Luristan, was also used and newly adopted regardless of whether or not a prince was really (still) in the power of the bearer.


The title اتاﺑﮏ(center, blank, without diacritical points ) on a copper dirham of the Eldigüziden ruler Qizil-Arslan Uthman (r. 1186–1191)
Mirza Ali Asghar-chan Amin al-Soltan

The Atabeg dynasties include:

(this dynasty introduced the title "Großatabeg" (Atabeg-i aʿẓam) )

The Atabegs of Yazd represent another special case, as their founder was probably Persian on the one hand and Sultan Sandschar (r. 1118–1157) had not been entrusted with a Seljuks, but the daughters of the last Kakuyid ruler .

The office or the title of the atabeg was not only used in connection with the Seljuks. The Khorezm Shahs from the Anushteginid dynasty , some local Chorasan rulers, the Aiyubids (in Aleppo and Yemen ), the Egyptian Mamluks , the Qajars and even the Christian Georgians gave their princes and princesses into the care of Atabegs or at least used the Title. In Asia Minor , where the first Atabeg (Chumar-Tasch as-Sulaimani) from the beginning of the government of Qilitsch-Arslan I (1092–1107) is known, the title with the Rum Seljuks disappeared, the Ottomans no longer knew it.

The Qajars used the title - as it was once among the Eldigüzids - in the form Atābak-e aʿẓam and it was given to the Prime Ministers Mirza Taqi-Chan Amir-e Nezam (1807-1852), Mirza Ali Asghar-Chan Amin as-Soltan (1858 –1907) and Soltan Abd al-Madschid Mirza Ain ad-Daula (1845–1927).

In Mamluk Egypt , where Izz ad-Din Aibak initially acted as the Atabeg of Queen Shajar (at) ad-Durr , there existed with the "Atabeg / Atabak al-Asakir" (Atabeg / Atābak al-ʿAsākir) , ie the "Atabeg of the army “A special, independent version of the title. The office connected with this was since the decline of the viceroy post ( Nāʾib as-Salṭāna) the most important in the empire after that of the sultan. An emir with the title Atabeg al-Asakir rose to become the ruler’s deputy in all matters, but did not work seldom as a kingmaker and was often head of state himself , especially in the Burji period after the ruler's death (e.g. Barquq , who became Atabeg al-Asakir in 1376 and sultan in 1382).

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