Sultan Alp Arslan Get to know the conqueror of the Byzantines and the conqueror of the gates of Anatolia to Islam
Sultan Alp Arslan was able to defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert on August 26, 1071 and opened the gates of Anatolia to the Seljuks, with an army of 50,000 fighters, compared to 200,000 fighters from the Byzantines.
Sultan Alp Arslan is considered one of the greatest rulers of the Seljuk state, as he managed to defeat the Byzantine army in the incident of "Manzikert" and open the gates of Anatolia to the Turks in 1071, through his determination, courage, faith, foresight and military strategies that he applied.
Mehmed Alp Arslan, took over the rule of the Seljuk state in 1064, succeeding his uncle Tughrul Bey, and was able to successfully direct the conquests towards Anatolia, and he had that at the age of forty-two, where he managed to write a historical epic that kept his memory alive and burning in the Turkish collective consciousness, through He opened the gates of Anatolia to the Turks after the victory he achieved on August 26, 1071, over the Byzantine army, which was far superior to him.
Mustafa Aylar, a faculty member in the History Department of the Faculty of Science and Arts at Bitlis University, said that since 1064, when Sultan Alp Arslan ascended the throne of the Seljuk state, he began directing his state's policies towards the West.
Aylar stated that Sultan Alp Arslan's army, which consisted of 50,000 fighters, faced the Byzantine army of 200,000 men at Manzikert on August 26, 1071.
Perseverance and determination made for victory
Aylar added that Sultan Alp Arslan, after performing Friday prayers with his army, wore a white robe to express the shroud and said: "If I die, let this garment be my shroud. We want to pounce on the enemy, during these hours when Muslim mosques are praying for our victory. If we win in This battle, we will have achieved the desired result, and if we are defeated, then heaven will be our haven.”
And he continued, "Today, no sultan commands, no soldier commands. I will fight with you as one of you. Those who want to come with me to follow me, and those who do not want have the freedom to return from whence we came."
Aylar pointed out that this speech indicates the high spirit of faith enjoyed by the Sultan, and those who were with him from the fighters on the Day of Manzikert, and these motives gave determination and insistence on victory. He stated that in the war that began after Friday prayers and continued until the evening, Alp Arslan used the tactic of "phantom retreat", a classic Turkish tactic, and through this tactic managed to defeat the Byzantine army.
Outstanding leadership capabilities
He continued, "Sultan Alp Arslan has leadership capabilities that allow him to take decisive, sudden and quick decisions, and was able to confront the Byzantine army of 200,000 fighters firmly and without fear."
He continued: "It is a rare example of courage in history, for a ruler to enter into a war that may be lost in the military sense, as his army consisted of 50,000 fighters, while the enemy's army is four times greater than it."
According to the spokesman, historical sources indicate that Alp Arslan was a majestic person, with a right arrow, who assumed the Seljuk throne after the death of "Tughrul Bey" in 1063, and died after a campaign launched against Samarkand after his return from the Battle of Manzikerd.
Aylar explained that Sultan Alp Arslan, who spent his life swimming on horseback, is one of the rare examples in Islamic history.
He continued, "Alp Arslan struggled to conquer Anatolia and make it a homeland for the Turks, and he continued his father's policies, penetrating the ranks of the Byzantine Emperor Roman Diogenes' army in Manzikert like an arrow that went towards his goal with courage and determination to achieve victory, through a battle that created a milestone in Islamic history."
At the end of November 1072 AD corresponding to Rabi’ al-Awwal 10 465 AH, Sultan Alp Arslan died after years of conquests and battles against the Byzantines.
