Qavurt

Establishment of the Sultanate

After the death of 'Adud al-Dawla on 26 March 983, the Buyid dynasty rapidly weakened due to succession conflicts and external threats. The Buyid dynasty, which had weakned by the reign of Abu Kalijar, was losing territories and was unable to maintain its suzerainty in occupied regions. Following the conquest of Khorasan and the establishment of the Great Seljuk state, Toghrul Bey, the Sultan of the Great Seljuk state, assigned the division of conquered territories among his brothers and nephews and delegated to them the task of conquering new regions. His primary goals were, first, to consolidate his authority over the territories he had already brought under his control, and second, to rapidly expand Seljuk power by subjugating additional regions. Thus, the empire was divided into provinces, and each trusted relative was not only assigned a province to govern but also tasked with the conquest of neighboring lands. Chaghri Beg, as the eldest brother, made Merv and Khorasan his base;^[2] and Musa Yabugu was appointed over Bust, Herat, and Sistan.

Qavurt, the son of Chaghri Beg, chose Nahavand and Kerman. Qavurt, on the orders of Sultan Tuğrul Bey, moved to this region with the Oghuz Turks under his command.^[3]Though, he defeated the Buyid ruler’s army in Kerman and Makran in around 1041 CE^[2][4] and brought Kerman under his control, some of his attacks were repelled by Kalijar around 1042.^[3]. A few years later, Qavurt, personally leading an army of 5,000-6,000 men, moved towards Northern Kerman. Realizing he could not resist the Seljuk forces, the Buyid governor, Bahram b. Lashkaristan, retreated to Bardasir.^[3] He gradually surrendered the city to Qavurt, seeking protection in 1048. There, he laid the foundations of his own new sultanate in around 1048 CE and became its de facto ruler as a subject of Tughril I. When Abu Kalijar set out to drive the Seljuks out of the region, he died at the Hannab Fortress on the way, and the Buyid forces retreated.^[3]

The southern part of Kerman, called Germsir, was under the control of a bandit tribe called the Kufs. Qavurt Bey suppressed the Kufs in the mountains east of Kerman, destroying most of them, subsequently capturing Southern Kerman. Following this success, Badr Isa, the emir of Hormuz, submitted to the Seljuk Sultanate of Kerman.^[5]

Battle of Rey (1059)

As a result of a rebellion by Ibrahim Yinal, the Seljuk Sultan Tughril I, who was in a difficult situation, asked for help from his brother Chaghri. Chaghri responded to this request for help by sending an army under the command of his sons Alp Arslan, Qavurt, and Yakuti.^[6] The army under the command of Ibrahim Yinal and his nephews Mehmed and Ahmed, and the army under the command of Alp Arslan, Qavurt, and Yakuti encountered each other near Rey.^[7] Ibrahim Yinal and his nephews, who lost the battle, were taken prisoner.^[8]

Battle of Damaghan (1063)

With the death of Tughril I on 4 September 1063, chaos enrolled within the Great Seljuk State. Suleiman, Qutalmish and Alp Arslan subsequently engaged in a war of succession. Qavurt allegedly participated with Qutalmish in the Battle of Damghan (1063) in an attempt to seize the throne during Alp Arslan's struggle against Suleiman, the son of Chaghri Bey. The latter was defeated and executed while the former made an agreement with the Sultan, securing his rule in Kerman as his de jure vassal.^[9]

Conflict with Fadluya

Qavurt, then the governor of Kerman, had invaded Fars in 1053^[10]/1062^[5] and brought it under his control. Hence, he fell into an argument with Fadluya, the governor of Shiraz who then controlled Fars. Seeking support, Fadluya turned to Qavurt's brother Alp Arslan,^[10] offering an annual tribute of 27 million dirhams in return for the Seljuks letting him remain ruler of Fars.^[10] Alp Arslan, following his campaign in the nortwest, launched an expedition against Qavurt. During an attack by Alp Arslan's army, Qavurt's soldiers were defeated and pleaded for mercy. Qavurt fled and his loyalists were imprisoned. Thereafter, Alp Arslan appointed Fadluya as governor of Fars and went to Isfahan. Hence, Qavurt lost all his territories that he controlled in Fars.^[11]

The conflict continued/reignited in 1062, when Shiraz and its surroundings were handed over to Qavurt Bey by Turkish soldiers and the Deylemis.^[5] After defeating Fadluya, the emir of Shabankara, Qavurt Bey returned to Shiraz, had the Friday sermon read in the name of his uncle Tugrul Bey, and sent him gifts. The following year, Qavurt, along with 4,000 Turkish soldiers, confronted Fadluya, who was marching on Shiraz at the head of 20,000 Deylemis, and defeated him again, taking many prisoners.^[5]

Later, in the reign of sultan Alp Arslan, Fadluya rebelled against him.^[10] He stopped sending the annual tribute, proclaimed himself an independent ruler, and took up a defensive position at the fortress of Khvorsha near Jahrom.^[10] However, this rebellion was unsuccessful as Alp Arslan's vizier Nizam al-Mulk came and ended up capturing the fortress after 16 days.^[10] Fadluya surrendered and offered to pay reparations.^[10] He was forgiven and allowed to resume his position as ruler of Fars.^[10]

Qavurt's Attempt for Independence (1064)

Around 1064, Qavurt, the ruler of Kerman, pushed for a acquiring a rebellious stance in an attempt to gain independence from the Great Seljuks. Therefore, Alp Arslan interrupted his campaign in Eastern Anatolia and returned to Rey, from where he proceeded to Hamadan (December 1064). After this event, which resulted in Qavurt begging for forgiveness, Alp Arslan went to Merv, where he had resided during his rule as governor of Khorasan, and spent the winter there, occupying himself with administrative arrangements and the appointment of members of his dynasty as rulers and emirs in various regions.^[12]

Qavurt's First Rebellion

When Alp Arslan succeeded Tugrul Bey in Rey (1063) as the Great Seljuk Sultan, Qavurt Bey had the khutbah (sermon) read in Alp Arslan's name in Kerman and demanded a share of the treasury and possessions inherited from his uncle.^[5] Evoked by these provocations, Qavurt Bey incited a brief rebellion against Alp Arslan in 1067 by removing his brother's name from the khutba and minting coins in his own name. Thereafter, the Great Seljuk Sultan went on an expedition against him.^[13]Qavurt, seized with fear, fled to the city of Jiroft^[5] and begged for forgiveness after the army he sent was defeated by Alp Arslan's vanguard. Alp Arslan then proceeded to besiege Jiroft, ^[14] but thereafter pardoned him and left him as the governer of Kerman. ^[15]

Fadluya's Second Rebellion

Fadluya, the Shabankara chief, rebelled again in 1069^[16]/1072^[10], and once again Nizam al-Mulk was sent to subjugate him.^[10] Nizam al-Mulk's attempt to resolve things peacefully failed; again Fadluya ended up ensconcing himself in a fortress.^[10] Nizam al-Mulk laid siege to the fortress which surrendered after a relatively short time before the defenders surrendered due to lack of water.^[10] Fadluya attempted to flee but was captured and brought before Alp Arslan. Nizam al-Mulk captured several fortresses, including Estakhr, from Fadluya, where he was imprisoned. He possibly died in an attempt to flee or in another campaign by Nizam, while being held captive with his, Hasan or Hasanuya.

Qavurt's Second Rebellion

Qavurt later rebelled again, claiming the throne in around 1068-69. Alp Arslan again marched on Kerman and besieged Qavurt, who was in Bardasir. Although Qavurt managed to win over some of Alp Arslan's forces, he was unsuccessful and gave up the uprising.^[3][5]

Expansion of the sultanate

Qavurt's success in taking over Kerman early in Tughril's reign had attracted thither larger numbers of Türk-men, which greatly disturbed the stability of the sultanate. Qavurt's policy had therefore been to divert them into those outlying parts that were infested with Balūchi brigands, and he also sent a force under his son Amirān-Shah against Sistān. As a further outlet for expansion and settlement, he mounted an expedition against Oman, and after crossing the Persian Gulf in ships chartered from the local ruler of Hurmuz, he deposed the Büyid governor and brought Oman under Seljuk suzerainty.^[17]

However, upon hearing the news of Malik-Shah's accession, Qavurt hurried back to Kerman from Oman, losing several ships and many men in the crossing. He then proceeded to incite a rebellion against Malik Shah, which proved to be his last campaign.^[17]

Alp Arslan's will

Alp Arslan died in 1072. But before death he willed his throne to Malik Shah I, his second son. He also expressed his concern about possible throne struggles. The major contestants for the throne were his eldest son Ayaz and his brother Qavurt. As a compromise, he willed generous grants to Ayaz and Qavurt. On his deathbed, Sultan Alp Arslan, with Nizam al-Mulk as his testifier, bequeathed Fars to Qavurt, a share of the treasury to him, and the marriage of his chief consort, Seferiye Hatun, to him.^[5]

Qavurt's Third Rebellion

Main Article: Battle of Kerj Abu Dulaf

Malik Shah was only 17 or 18 years of age when he ascended to throne. Although Ayaz presented no problem, he faced with the serious problem of Qavurt's rebellion.^[18] His vizier Nizam al-Mulk was even more worried for he had become the de facto ruler of the empire during young Malik Shah's reign. Although Qavurt had only a small army, Turkmen officiers in Malik Shah's army tended to support Qavurt. So Malik Shah and Nizam al-Mulk added non Turkic regiments to Seljuk army. Artukids also supported Malik Shah. The clash was at a location known as Kerç kapı (or Kerec^[19] ) close to Hamedan on 16 May 1073. Malik Shah was able to defeat Qavurt's forces. Although Qavurt escaped, he was soon arrested. Initially Malik Shah was tolerant to his uncle. But Nizam al-Mulk convinced the young sultan to execute Qavurt. Nizam al-Mulk also executed two of Qavurt's four sons.^[20] Later he eliminated most of the Turkic commanders of the army whom he suspected to be Qavurt's partisans.