War of Qatwan, and Death of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar | قطوان کی جنگ اور سلطان احمد سنجر کی موت

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War of Qatwan, and Death of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar

Dekhti Aankhooon aur sountay kaanoon ko Asslamoalaikum, sisters, brothers friends and elders, In this islamic historical informative video, we are describing the War of Qatwan, a significant military confrontation that marked a turning point in the history of the region. The discussion will cover the strategic maneuvers, the motivations behind the conflict, and the aftermath that ensued. Furthermore, we will highlight the death of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar, whose leadership played a vital role during this era, and the subsequent impact of his passing on the political dynamics of the time.

In 1141, Ahmad, along with Garshasp II, marched to confront the Kara Khitan threat and engaged them near Samarkand at the Battle of Qatwan. He suffered an astounding defeat, and Garshasp was killed. Ahmad escaped with only fifteen of his elite horsemen, losing all Seljuq territory east of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes).

Sanjar’s as well as the Seljuks' rule collapsed as a consequence of yet another unexpected defeat, this time at the hands of the Seljuks’ own tribe, the Ghuzz Turks, in 1153. Sanjar was captured during the battle and held in captivity until 1156. It brought chaos to the Empire - situation later exploited by the victorious Turkmens, whose hordes would overrun Khorasan unopposed, wreaking colossal damage on the province and prestige of Sanjar. Sanjar eventually escaped from captivity in the fall of 1156, but soon died in Merv (present-day Turkmenistan), in 1157. After his death, Turkic rulers, Turkmen tribal forces, and other secondary powers competed for Khorasan, and after a long period of confrontations, the province was finally conquered by the Ghurids in 1192, and by the Khwarazmians in the early 1200s.

Ahmad Sanjar mausoleum in Merv (modern Mary, Turkmenistan)
Sanjar died in 1157 and was buried in Merv. His tomb was destroyed by the Mongols in 1221, during their invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire.

The death of Sanjar meant the end of the Seljuq dynasty as an empire, since they controlled only Iraq and Azerbaijan afterwards. Sanjar is considered one of the most prominent Seljuq sultans and was the longest reigning Muslim ruler until the Mongols arrived. Although of Turkic origin, Sanjar was highly Iranized, and due to his feats, even became a legendary figure like some of the mythological characters in the Shahnameh. Indeed, medieval sources described Sanjar as having "the majesty of the Khosrows and the glory of the Kayanids". Persian poetry flourished under Sanjar, and his court included some of the greatest Persian poets, such as Mu'izzi, Nizami Aruzi, and Anvari.

One of his wives was Turkan Khatun. She was the daughter of Muhammad Arslan Khan, the ruler of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. She died in April 1156, and was buried in Yusuf Hamadani Mausoleum Complex in Merv. Another wife was Abkhaziyya Khatun. She was the daughter of King Demetrius I of Georgia, and the widow of his nephew Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud. They married after Mas'ud's death in 1152. One of Sanjar's daughters was Mah-i Mulk Khatun. She was born in 1105. In probably 1119, Sanjar married her to his nephew Mahmud II. When she died aged seventeen in 1122, Sanjar sent another daughter, Amir Sitti Khatun, to be his wife. Melik Shah III and Gawhar Nasab Khatun were the children of this union. She died in 1129. Amira Khatun, another of Sanjar's daughters married Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustarshid in 1124. Another daughter of Sanjar, Gawhar Khatun, married his nephew, Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud in 1134. A daughter of this union was married by Mas'ud to his nephew Dawud, son of Mahmud II. They failed to get on together, and Ma'sud gave his daughter to Dawud's brother, Muhammad II.

So sisters brothers friends and elders, tomorow we will be described How Dawud Bin Mahmud become Sultan and what he faced problems. Allah hafiz
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