Ruler · c. 1029 to 1072

Alp Arslan

The Seljuk sultan who defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor at Manzikert in 1071, then released him for a ransom. His victory opened Anatolia to the Turks.

At a glance

Lived: c. 1029 to 1072
Role: Ruler
Era: The Crusades and Salahuddin
Chapter: 3. The Abbasids, the Crusades and the Mongols

Battles

1071
Battle of Manzikert
Decisive Seljuk victory. The emperor was captured, and Turkish tribes poured into Anatolia.

Alp Arslan's world

1190: The Crusades and Salahuddin

The Seljuk win at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to the Turks, and Byzantium asked Europe for help. The First Crusade took Jerusalem in 1099. Zengi, his son Nur al-Din and then Salahuddin rebuilt Muslim unity, and Salahuddin won back Jerusalem in October 1187, three months after Hattin.

See the 1190 map Read chapter 3

People of the same era

Nur al-Din Zengi Salahuddin al-Ayyubi Muhammad Ghori al-Ghazali Ibn Rushd

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