Tutush, Kerbogha & the Fall of the Great Seljuk Empire

this video is sponsored by MK I see one of the top antique coin dealers in the world [Music] [Music] in the first half of the 11th century a new power swept into the Islamic world [Music] originally a semi-nomadic pastoralists society eking out a living on the Central Asian steppe lands under the leadership a series of hard-headed charismatic rulers a single dynasty August Turks known as the cell jokes swiftly conquered close to the entirety of the Middle East and Anatolia in just a few short decades establishing themselves as the new overlords of much of the Islamic world [Music] whilst much of the urbanized population of the Middle East had become relatively peaceful over the long centuries since the initial Arab invasions of the seventh and eighth centuries inhabiting a diverse plethora of cities and provinces from Africa to Afghanistan these horse backed newcomers quickly made themselves known as a highly militarized and ambitious group before long portraying themselves as the saviors of Sunni Orthodox Islam against the newly ascendant Shiite faith of the Fatima's of northern Africa who had just recently seized control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as well as the important sites of Jerusalem and the Levant by the mid 11th century after overcoming their regional rivals in Khorasan and Persia the Seljuks set about usurping the long-standing state infrastructures of the region including control over the heartlands of the previously all-powerful abbasid caliphate which was now a mesh shadow of his former self having suffered a gradual disintegration of its authority over the years town by town city by city the Seljuks gradually increased their own power always emphasizing their sunny struggle against the Shiite fatimids and in doing so forged themselves one of the largest empires the world had ever known [Music] the great seljuq empire burned brightly and dimmed just as quickly by the late 11th century it had found itself embroiled in a bitter conflict not only with the fatimid caliphate in egypt but also with the east and roman byzantine empire that still doggedly clung on to its last remaining territories in Asia Minor having already lost vast swaths of territory to Turkoman tribesmen operating on the fringes of the Seljuk state by this time the once mighty seljuq empire at its height stretching from Africa to India had already begun to fracture into nominally independent states and Ballack's scattered over the vast territorial landmass from the ancient Silk Road cities of Merve and Bukhara in the east to the arid interior of Asia Minor in the West one of those cities in the middle of this patchwork of Turkic warlords and seljuq generals was a lap owed an already ancient and extremely wealthy metropolis situated in the northwest of modern-day Syria Aleppo had long profited from the lucrative east-west trade routes of the silk and spice roads having already been a major player in the region for well over 3,000 years and like a number of its neighbors a real contender to the title of oldest continually inhabited city on earth [Music] aleppo was thus a highly sought after price yet it was just one prize amongst many its territories being neighbored by a number of other similarly ancient cities now coveted by various competing warlords and Generals in the wake of Malik chars death in 1092 the last seljuq Sultan to wield significant amounts of centralized authority and a real claim to the entire empire the local power broker who gained control of Aleppo was axon Corps al Hajj ship a former slave general to the Sultan in the years following the Sultan's death through a combination of diplomacy and conquest acts encore seated upon his firm power base at Aleppo found himself in the highly coveted position of being the de facto overlord of much of Syria yet he was by no means unopposed surrounding him on all sides stood hostile claimants and rival magnates ever eager to stake their own claims to power [Music] ultimately there was the subsequent actions of one of those rival claimants to power that would inadvertently set into motion a chain of events culminating in some of the most momentous moments in all of human history in 1094 disaster struck the city of Aleppo as the atterberg axon corps was accused of the most serious crime of treason by the neighboring ruler of Damascus a similarly ancient and revered metropolis and the other foremost power in the region unfortunately for axon corps the ruler of Damascus at the time was more than a simple general he just so happens to be Kurdish the first the brother of Malik Shah a prestigious member of the Seljuk royal family and currently just one of the many claimants to the title of Salter for a time to tosh looks set to become the new sultan though he claimed the title in direct opposition to Malik Shah own sons Bacharach and Muhammad ruling far to the east in modern-day Iran thus effectively tearing the Empire into its constituent Syrian Mesopotamia and Persian parts though the exact accusations and grounds for - Tasha's arrest of the acid egg of Aleppo remain difficult to establish axon corps was seized in a lightning strike and brought to stand trial in Damascus in a coldly calculated move reminiscent to the manner in which he first came to power in Damascus back in 1078 when he had the charisma in Turkish commander who had held the city at the time the headed to touch handed out the same fate to his new rival having axon corps promptly and unceremoniously deprived of not only his city but his head as well leaving toe touch as the new ruler of Aleppo and undisputed overlord of Syria a power base which he would then use to stake his claims against his nephew over in Persia in an attempt to re-establish the great seljuq empire Aksum cause young-sun meanwhile he mad at dean zengi just ten years old at the time was taken in by the governor of mosul another super city of the region his name was Kirby ger a self-made man not of the Seljuk ruling family he was a renowned Turkic soldier with a reputation for cold ferocity yet he saw something in zengi or at the very least saw the boy as a means to a future political end taking pity on the child and raising him as his own [Music] curr burger had made his reputation on the battlefield he was one of the most powerful warlords of his death yet after cautiously watching action caused downfall he was now increasingly on the defensive rolling-over Mosel with an iron grip [Music] although still nominally elide to some of the other seljuq powers of the Middle East probably owing allegiance to the now largely symbolic Sultan back Eirik over in Persia for the most part cur burger ruled over an independent state little did he know it at the time but that orphaned boy whom he had taken in as his own would eventually grow up to become one of the most important figures in the history of the Islamic world in the centuries that followed Ahmad a din zengi would be remembered as nothing less than the savior of Islam eventually sparking off a process of reunification in the Islamic world that would bring it out of its lowest point in centuries though in the first half of the ten 90s this future would have seemed like little more than a nightmare at that time without any obvious outside threat and besides the Fatima's of north and africa there was no real reason for the various Sunni Islamic powers to unify very soon however as councils were called letters were sent and events set in motion far to the west across the Mediterranean in Europe all this was about to change little did curb Agha Tosh or Bacharach know it at the time but a new era was about to dawn [Music] one that would ultimately open up both the Middle East and Europe to a wider world stage yet in doing so would also lead to a permanent state of multi-generational warfare and in time the deaths of hundreds of thousands the Crusades were about to begin [Music] [Music] in mid 1095 to Tosh finally rode eastwards at the head of a vast force of warriors to press his claim to the Sultanate against his nephew baccarat much to the surprise of the various warlord of Syria he died out there on the Persian plains after a hard-fought battle in the wake of his death there could be little doubt any longer in all but name the Empire was dead and in its wake all over its formerly held territories arose a dizzying multitude of successor states most of them warring against each other for some small slice of land within months across the sea in Europe in one of the most fortuitous moments of chance to ever befall the world pope urban ii concerned the similarly endemic state of warfare which European rulers tended to engage themselves in held a Council of Clermont where he called for direct military action to the lands outside of Europe he called for a crusade to the Islamic world and he offered a free pass to heaven for anyone willing to go military aid had originally been called for by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus in response to renewed seljuq attacks in Asia Minor a decade earlier though after Urban's called for action this military aid soon grew to become a different beast altogether within weeks tens of thousands of eager warriors from all over Europe began to answer the call whereas Alexius had initially called for a small cadre of hardened mercenaries to assist with his impending reconquest of Anatolia what he received was a corps of veteran European power brokers along with their armies of tens of thousands of men the largest European military expedition since the fall of the Western Roman Empire some of the most powerful figures in Europe answered the court illustrious figures such as Bowman dove Toronto Raymond of Toulouse Godfrey apoyo eager to take the uniquely European brand of warfare to the east wiping out anyone who stood against them from the process and plunging the region into a titanic conflict opposing faiths as legacy still resonates the world over today [Music] over the next two years the first crusade swept through Asia Minor defeating the armies of the Seljuk successor state they're ruled over by kilij arslan and conquering vast swathes of territory in Christendom Islamic sources of the time speak of regular massacres of entire civilian populations searches of the city of Marat were hungry Crusaders seemed to have engaged in gruesome acts of cannibalism in order to survive unbeknownst to the Crusaders large number of those who were allegedly killed and eaten were actually Eastern Christians for the most part indistinguishable in drafts from their Muslim neighbors [Applause] Tosh's death two years previously had ensured that the rich eastern portions of the Seljuk Empire remained in the hands of Bakura and Muhammad who having lost control over their Western lives would play little role in the ensuing events becoming increasingly Persian as the years went by woefully unaware of the steamroller heading their way from Europe and seeing no particular benefit in unifying their realm under a single strong ruler totosh is realm was violently divided between his sons upon his death in 1095 with duke AK inheriting Damascus and Redwan receiving Aleppo in the most recent occurrence of the all-too-familiar tendency for seljuq princes to violently dispute successions familial traits which had plagued the dynasty since its earliest days Syria erupted into all-out civil war between the two brothers [Music] the conflicts enabled yet more ambitious generals and warlords to establish their own states or incur Berger's case to solidify their already existing realms [Music] in the east meanwhile Bacharach himself was plagued by yet more usurpers including his half-brother Muhammad in short Malik Shahs death in 1092 had resulted in the formation of a dizzying number of successor states many of them just as hostile to one another as they were to the Shiite batiment of Egypt and in time the armies of the Crusaders when they arrived in the region which they did by 1098 it was in that fortuitous year as the Middle East arguably stood at its most disunited position centuries that the vast armies of the First Crusade arrived seemingly out of nowhere to lay waste to the important regional capital of Antioch then held by yagi C an a one-time General of Malik Shah who now found himself heavily embroiled in the civil war between the sons of Tatas ducat in Damascus and red wah [Applause] at first kur burger had benefited from the strife between the sons of Tosh gaining prestige by lending aid to the more established powers in the region particularly the now largely symbolic Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad almost Azir who had attempted to reclaim Aleppo from Redwan in 1095 cur burger also lent his support to Malik Shah son the Sultan Bacharach over in Persia ever attempting to reclaim the influence his position had once held the Abbasids wants ruling over a mighty empire stretching from Sicily to Afghanistan were now relegated to little more than religiously significant figureheads by the ascendancy of the Seljuk Turks now with a malignant factionalism which has swept through the Islamic world in the wake of Malik shards death the Seljuk Sultan also teetered on the verge of political irrelevance in 1098 when Kerr Berger heard that the Crusader army had arrived outside the walls of Antioch he took it upon himself to forge a coalition to throw them back the ruler of Antioch itself yagi xi'an had recently thrown in his lot with Duke of Damascus along with El Ghazi the Artic 8th governor of Jerusalem yet another dynasty to arise in Syria Redwan meanwhile was allied to ill Ghazis brother Hawkman the two had been about to attack Duke ax lands when they heard of the sudden arrival of the First Crusade rather than broker a peace deal there and then and push back the Crusaders together the rifts between the various Turkic war laws were now simply too deep ridwan didn't attack du Coq that day but the various alliances between the Warlord's were eventually disbanded and everyone returns to their own cities the city of Odessa meanwhile formerly held by an Armenian garrison leftover from the long bygone days of the Armenian Byzantine usurper Filaret OspA cameos who had held Antioch just over a decade earlier lay directly in the path of the crusade [Music] adesso was conquered by a small Expeditionary Force led by the daring Frankish warrior Baldwin a purloined being established as a crusader base of power in the region curr burger meanwhile still gathered momentum for his own campaign though the other vying powers of the region increasingly looked upon him who distrust and fear almost as much as they did the Crusaders should he'd be able to defeat the newcomers it was feared that cur burger would become unstoppable standing alone for the time being at least yogi Seon never really stood a chance [Music] as the Crusader army surrounded the walls of Antioch Kerber gur set out to relieve the city but he had to make a stop along the way a group of Frankish adventurous just seized the city of Edessa and cur Berger couldn't afford to leave any enemy Garrison's behind him on his way to Antioch the three weeks both armies besieged their respective cities the Crusaders at Antioch curb occur at Edessa before long cur Berger realized that the defences of the city was simply too strong to take quickly facing the agonizing decision of what to do next he decided to abandon the siege of AD sa and move on to Antioch the whole crusade was perhaps saved by his time wasted at a desert and by the time he finally arrived at Antioch and around the 7th of June the Crusaders had already won the siege Bowman dove Toronto having made contact with a local Armenian city watchman who allowed him into the city they weren't able to restock the city the supplies however before Kerr Berger arrived with his massive army and himself began the besiegement of Antioch [Music] disagreements and infighting soon broke out amongst the activex army however internal quarrels between the assembled Amir's taking precedence over unity against the Franks curve occurs force was actually made up of levies from Baghdad Persia Palestine and Damascus divided between various factions as the siege war on the only thing that United these disparate peoples was a common fear of Kerberos perceived real gold the conquest of all their lands if Antioch fell to him it was feared that he would become invincible [Applause] [Music] when Belmond the leader of the christian army decided to attack on 28th of june the various assembled Amir's decided to humble her burger by abandoning him at the critical moment of battle Crusader army newly emboldened by the alleged discovery of the holy lance an important Christian relic surprised cur burger with their discipline and resolve despite many of them already having eaten their horses and many of them themselves resembling corpses having been starving for so long the Crusader army surprised the Turks with a devastating cavalry charge leading to complete chaos within Kerr burgers ranks after finally being routed by the Crusaders Herberger was forced to retreat returned to Mosel a broken man dying there in 1102 most of the Crusaders went on to besieged Jerusalem after the Battle of Antioch besides the Norman adventurer Bowman dove Toronto who remained at the city setting himself up there as a prince Baldwin of Edessa eventually became king of a newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1100 thus seeing the establishment of three fully autonomous Crusader polities in the Middle East a [Music] fourth would arise soon afterwards in the form of the County of Tripoli upon that city's eventual capture from its Turkish garrison in 1109 by 1102 cur Berger was dead but out of his ashes a new breed of Turkic warlords would arise each as ruthless and as powerful as the last but none more so than that orphaned boy taken in by Kerr Bakr all those years before aim at ads Dean zengi I'll be covering his meteoric rise and his Swift fall in the next episode of this series and eventually the entire history of the great seljuq empire [Music] this video was sponsored by MK IC one of the top antique coin dealers in the world when other written sources don't suffice as so often is unfortunately the case coins allow us to paint an accurate picture of who was in power and perhaps most importantly when their composition can even give us a relatively accurate picture of the financial situation at the time and the power of those who made them if you've ever wanted to own some of the coins in use during the heydays of Byzantium and the great seljuq empire then now is your chance just follow the link in the description below [Music] from ancient Rome to Byzantium the Abbasid Caliphate to the Ottoman Empire MK IC offer a spectacular selection of over 1,000 antique coins focusing mainly on Islamic history but with an emphasis on the ancient world and mediterranean civilizations they have been holding almost continuous auctions since 2015 providing an invaluable resource for numismatic fanatics the world over you can find MK IC on ebay or you can get discounts by heading straight to their web site at www.imtcva.org [Music]

Channel: History Time

Views: 365,576

Keywords: iMovie, seljuks, seljuk, great seljuk empire, turks, turkish history, turkey history, seljuks documentary, turks documentary, first crusade, crusades, crusades documentary, crusaders, the first crusade, battle of antioch, ridwan, duqaq, tutush, aleppo, mosul, damascus, kerbogha, zengi, saladin, nuradin, bohemond, kingdom of jerusalem, crusader states

Id: MridMw5doyI

Length: 28min 0sec (1680 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 03 2018