Afshin Bey

Seljuk military commander (1016-c. 1077)

Afshin Bey

Born| 1016 (1016)
Died| c. 1077 (aged 60-61)
Allegiance| Seljuk Empire
Rank| Military Commander

Afshin ibn Bakji Bey (Turkish: Afşin Bey; fl.1016–1077) was a Turkoman general of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. He served three Sultans: Chaghri Beg, Alp Arslan and Malik-Shah I. He is believed to have disappeared after 1077.

## Life[edit]

The young Afshin joined the service of Chaghri bin Mika'il bin Saljûk in 1016 and assisted him in his campaigns.[1][2] Afshin seems to have had a volatile temper which often resulted in excessive cruelty to his enemies and his own occasional disgrace.[3]

In 1066, sultan Alp Arslan appointed Gümüsh-Tekin and Afşin to lead raids into Byzantine Anatolia.[4] They set out from Ahlat and conquered many small fortresses between the Murat and Tigris river.[5] When they returned to Ahlat, Afşin seems to have killed Gümüsh-Tekin for killing his brother.[6] He therefore fled from Alp Arslan's anger and established some kind of relationship with the Mirdasid emirs of Aleppo and Ibn Khan as he sold his loot and captives on the markets of Aleppo.[7] He returned in August 1067 to Anatolia, sacking Caeserea (modern Kayseri) and plundering Cilicia.[8] He wintered in 1067 at the foot of the Black Mountain where he burned and plundered many monasteries and villages.[7][9] He was besieging Attalia (modern Antalya) in April 1068 when he received news of having been pardoned by Alp Arslan after which he raised the siege in exchange for ransom and war supplies.[6] It seems that the successes of his raids enabled his return to regain the favour of Alp Arslan as it had strengthened his position both practically and ideologically.[7][2] Afşin then served as Alp Arlan's major commanders in the events leading up to the battle of Mantzikert in 1071 in which he participated.[2]

In 1077 or 1078, Malik Shah I shifted several commanders including Afşin Bey to be under the command of his brother Tutush to aid him in the conquest of Syria.[10] Afşin earned a terrifying reputation because of the devastation his men wrought between Aleppo and Ma'arrat al Nu'man.[3] However, after Tutush killed another Türkmen leader, Afşin fled again and disappeared.[3]

## In popular culture[edit]

He was paid homage by Diriliş: Ertuğrul, a historical docudrama. His character was played by Turgut Tunçalp [tr].[1]

## See also[edit]

* Artuk Bey
* Battle of Malazgirt
* List of fugitives from justice who disappeared

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Ibn Aziz Ahmed, Ammār. "Who was Afshin Bey?". Retrieved June 30.
2. ^ a b c Sözlük, Ekşi. "Afşin Bey".
3. ^ a b c Nicolle & Hook 2013, p. 24.
4. ^ Basan 2010, p. 75.
5. ^ Baynes, T.S. (2008). Anni, Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 72.
6. ^ a b Basan 2010, p. 76.
7. ^ a b c Beihammer 2017, p. 120.
8. ^ Brian Todd Carey (2012). Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare (527–1071), p. 132. ISBN 978-184884-215-1.
9. ^ Jos J. S. Weitenberg, "The Armenian Monasteries in the Black Mountain", in K. Ciggaar and M. Metcalf (eds.), East and West in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean, Vol. 1 (Peeters, 2006), pp. 79–81.
10. ^ Basan 2010, p. 89.

## Sources[edit]

* Basan, Osman Aziz (June 2010). The Great Seljuqs: A History. Routledge. ISBN 9781136953934.
* Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130 Volumen 20 de Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351983860.
* Nicolle, David; Hook, Christa (illust.) (2013). Mantzikert 1071: The breaking of Byzantium. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781780965048.

*[c.]: circa