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Malik Shah (Turkish: Melikşah)(died 1092) was the Seljuk sultan from 1072 to 1092.
He drove the Byzantine Empire out of most of Anatolia following their
defeat by his father Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.
Likewise, he reformed the calendar with the Jalāli calendar in 1079.
Malik Shah expanded Seljuk power into Syria at the expense of the
Fatimids of Egypt, setting up client sultans in Edessa, Aleppo and
Damascus and is remembered as one of the greatest of the Seljuk sultans.
Revolt in Anatolia
Süleyman revolted against Malik Shah I and proclaimed himself the
Sultan of Rüm, establishing his capital at Nicaea. He expanded his
realm but was killed near Antioch (Antakya) in 1086 by Tutush I, the
Seljuk ruler of Syria. Süleyman's son, Kilij Arslan I, was captured and
the lands in Anatolia was taken hostage by Malik Shah I to Isfahan. It
is uncertain whether Tutush killed Süleyman out of loyalty to Malik
Shah I or simply for personal gain.
State Organization
The principal post in the organization was that of the vizier Nizam
ul-Mulk who served both him and his father and achieved a near mythic
stature in contemporary Muslim histories.
Legacy
After his death in 1092 the Seljuk empire disintegrated into smaller
states, mostly antagonistic towards each other, as his brother and four
sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire between themselves.
In Anatolia, Malik Shah I was succeeded by Kilij Arslan I who founded
the Sultanate of Rûm, and in Syria by his brother Tutush I. In Persia
he was succeeded by his son Mahmud I whose reign was contested by his
other three brothers Barkiyaruq in Iraq, Muhammad I in Baghdad and
Ahmed Sanjar in Khorasan.
The disunity within the Seljuk realms allowed for the unexpected
success of the First Crusade shortly afterwards, beginning in 1096.
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