Danishmends

The dynasty was established by a man whose name is not known, but who held the Persian title Danishmend, a term for an educated man (cf. the Iran ian Daneshmand Magazine ). The Danishmend state was a gazi state, a Mercenary despotate, not a monarchy like their Seljuk neighbours. They established themselves in Anatolia in the aftermath of the Battle Of Manzikert in 1071 , in which the Seljuks defeated the Byzantine Empire and captured almost all of Anatolia.

The Danishmends ruled territory between Sivas and Melitene . In 1097 Kilij Arslan I was in the east fighting the Danishmends at Melitene, and in his absence the Crusade rs captured his capital at Nicaea ; the Seljuks and Danishmends then allied against the crusaders but were defeated at the Battle Of Dorylaeum .

In 1100 Danishmend's son Malik Ghazi captured Bohemund I Of Antioch , who remained in their captivity until 1103 . A Seljuk-Danishmend alliance was also responsible for defeating the Crusade Of 1101 . After the defeat of the crusade, Kilij Arslan established his capital at Konya and continued to fight with the Danishmends. The Danishmends were probably involved in overthrowing Kilij Arslan’s son; they reduced the Sultanate of Rum to Konya and its immediate surroundings.

In 1130 Bohemund II Of Antioch was killed in a battle with the Danishmend emir Gumushtugin, after coming to the aid of the Armenian Kingdom Of Cilicia , which Gumushtugin had invaded. Gumushtugin died in 1134 ; his successor Muhammad was weak and the Danishmend state began to decline after his death in 1140 , falling under control of the reinvigorated Seljuks.

In 1155 Kilij Arslan II attacked Yaghi-Basan, who sought help from Nur Al-Din , the Zengid emir of Mosul . Nur al-Din captured Sivas in 1173 , but was more concerned with his territory to the south. The Danishmends were eventually defeated and incorporated into Seljuk territory by 1178 , after the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle Of Myriocephalon .

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Danishmends