Kai Kaus I.

A bilingual inscription by the Sultan from Sinop to commemorate the renovation of the city wall.

Izz Ad-Din Kai Kaus I. (also Kaikaus , Turkish I. İzzedin Keykavus ; † 1220 ) was ruler of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum from 1211 to 1220 .

Kai Kaus succeeded his father Kai Chosrau I on the throne in 1211 . He prevailed against his brother Kai Kobad I , who did not accept the accession to the throne. Kai Kaus' most important goal was the economic independence of his empire. For this he made great efforts. So he concluded a trade agreement with the Kingdom of Cyprus . To facilitate access to the Black Sea , he wrested the city of Sinope from the Empire of Trebizond . To control the trade route through Syria , he defeated the Armenians in Cilicia .

When Kai Kaus died in 1220, his brother Kai Kobad I became the new sultan.

Conquest of Sinope

Kai Kaus' most important achievement was the conquest of Sinope. In 1214 the Seljuks were able to overpower and capture Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond during a hunt. The emperor was brought to the sultan. In return for his release, Alexios I. handed Sinope over to Kai Kaus. Now the Rum Seljuks had access to the Black Sea, a land connection across Anatolia to their port in Antalya . This wedge now separated the Nikaia Empire , with which Kai Kaus had a good relationship, from Trebizond. At Sinope the ruler had a fleet built that made several trips to the Crimean peninsula.

Kai Kaus installed the Armenian Rais Hetoum as governor in Sinope. In 1215 the city walls were renovated under the supervision of the Greek Sebastos. An inscription in Arabic and Greek on a tower near the western gate commemorated this renovation .

Alliance with the Crusaders

In 1218 Kai Kaus turned to the east. During the Fifth Crusade , he allied himself with the Crusaders and attacked the Ayyubids in Syria, while the Crusaders attacked Egypt at the same time, forcing the Ayyubids into a two-front war . His goal was to conquer Aleppo . However, he was repulsed by 1221. Before Kai Kaus could set up a new alliance against the Ayyubids, he died.

Buildings

In 1217 Kai Kaus had the Şifaiye madrasah built in Sivas . The building is both a school and a hospital. The madrasah also contains the mausoleum of Sultan Kai Kaus.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Anthony Bryer , David Winfield: The Byzantine monuments and topography of the Pontos (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 20, 1, ZDB -ID 844763-9 ). Volume 1. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC 1985, pp. 71-72.
^ Claude Cahen : Pre-Ottoman Turkey. A general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330. Translated from the French by J. Jones-Williams. Taplinger, New York NY 1968, p. 123.

predecessor	Office	successor
Kai Chosrau I.	Sultan of Rum 1211-1220	Kai Kobad I.

personal data
SURNAME	Kai Kaus I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Izzeddin Key Kaus I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Sultan of Rum
DATE OF BIRTH	12th Century
DATE OF DEATH	1220

[Bryer-1] A ^b Anthony Bryer , David Winfield: The Byzantine monuments and topography of the Pontos (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies. 20, 1, ZDB -ID 844763-9 ). Volume 1. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington DC 1985, pp. 71-72.

[2] Claude Cahen : Pre-Ottoman Turkey. A general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330. Translated from the French by J. Jones-Williams. Taplinger, New York NY 1968, p. 123.