The Turkish History Podcast

With Mesud installed on the throne of the Sultanate of Rum in Konya, his father-in-law, the Danishmend Bey Emir Ghazi rises to become the overlord of Turkish Anatolia.  Emir Ghazi brings the Danishmend beylik to the zenith of its power, but in doing so clears the board of potential rivals to Mesud and provides stability and security to his vassal in Konya.  And as imperial authority in the Western half of the Great Seljuk Empire melts down, the Caliph in Baghdad and the Great Sultan of the East dispatch messengers to Anatolia...

Following the peace treaty signed with Emperor Alexios Komnenos, the Sultan of Rum Şahinşah begins marching back to Konya.  But he does not make it far before being confronted by his half brother Mesud, who rides West with Danishmend support.  A new Sultan comes to the throne in Konya, but one who owes his throne and his loyalty to the Danishmend Bey Emir Ghazi - just as a new Emperor dons the purple in Constantinople.

Following the death of Kılıç Arslan, the Sultanate of Rum falls into disorder and becomes eclipsed by the other beyliks, in particular the Danishmend Beylik to the east ruled by Emir Ghazi.  The Sultanate becomes divided between the sons of the dead Sword Lion - the brothers Mesud and Melik Arap in central Anatolia, the young Tuğrul Arslan in Malatya as a puppet of his mother and new stepfather, and Şahinşah in captivity in Iran.  Eventually, Şahinşah returns from the East and faces off against Alexis Komnenos in the aging Emperor's final campaign.  And the stage is set for the arrival of the next great Roman Sultan - Mesud I.  

As the western half of the Great Seljuk Empire continues to collapse, a string of fortuitous events dramatically improves Kılıç Arslan's position.  Like his father before him, the Sword Lion decides to take the ultimate gamble, and sets out to the East.  And, also like his father before him, he takes with him his young son...

Following the Turkish victory over the Crusade of 1101, Kılıç Arslan's position as the leading Turkish potentate in Anatolia is secured, and the Sultanate of Rum is re-established.  But the rebirth of the Sultanate of Rum in Konya and Kılıç Arslan's rise from the ashes cause great tension within the Turkish alliance that won the war, in particular, with Gümüştegin Ghazi, the Silver Prince, the leader of the Danishmend Beylik and the strongest member of the alliance.  And conflict and even war soon erupt between the Sword Lion and the Silver Prince. 

The Sultanate of Rum lies in ruins following the destruction of the First Crusade and the loss of Western Anatolia to the Byzantine Empire.  The Danishmend Beylik led by Gümüştegin Ghazi takes up the mantle of the leading Turkish state in Anatolia, and scores a key victory against the Norman Crusaders in Outremer.  And yet more crusaders arrive from the West - both threatening the Sword Lion and providing him with an opportunity to restore his reputation and renew his leadership...

In the aftermath of the catastrophic Crusader invasion of Anatolia, while the Turks are in crisis, Emperor Alexios Komnenos launches a reconquest.  An army led by John Doukas retakes the Aegean coast and Western Anatolia, an army led by Theodore Gabras retakes the Black Sea coast, and the Emperor himself marches out of Pelakanon and into the center of Anatolia.  But the Turks rebound and begin to mobilize a response.  And the Emperor stops at Akşehir, then called Philomelion, to consider his options.

Following the fall of İznik, Kılıç Arslan regroups his forces, belatedly calling for aid from across Turkish Anatolia.  The Crusaders depart from İznik and begin their march to the Holy Land.  Kılıç Arslan springs an ambush near Eskişehir on the Plains of Dorylaeum, leading to disaster yet again.  In the aftermath of the great defeat, the Sword Lion is unable to oppose the Crusaders head on, but the war continues as a wide swathe of destruction is cut across Anatolia - and the seeds of a transformed Sultanate of Rum are planted. 

The crusading army marches into a completely undefended Anatolia and right up to the walls of İznik, the capital of the Sultanate of Rum.  Finally waking up to the danger, Kılıç Arslan makes a deal with the Danishmends and begins racing back West.  Kılıç Arslan fights the Crusaders in front of the walls of İznik and the Turks resist.   Meanwhile, as one of the greatest defeats in Turkish history unfolds, tensions continue to rise between Constantinople and the Crusading army.

The People's Crusade invades Anatolia, and the chaotic army of undisciplined peasants is easily destroyed by the forces of the Sultanate of Rum under Ilhan Bey as Kılıç Arslan besieges Malatya.  But the chaos and ineptitude of the People's Crusade proves to be a boon to both the Byzantine Emperor and even the now-assembling First Crusade.  In Constantinople, Emperor Alexios uses the chaos and the ineptitude of the People's Crusade to bind the arriving First Crusaders to him.  And supremely overconfident and unconcerned, Kılıç Arslan ignores the approaching threat and instead stays in Central Anatolia.