Sultan Barqia Roq ibn Malikshah 1.1 Apk

Rukn al-Din Abu'l-Muzaffar Berkyaruq ibn Malikshah, better known as Berkyaruq, was the sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1094 to 1105

The son and successor of Malik-Shah I (r. 1072–1092), he reigned during the opening stages of the decline and fragmentation of the empire, which would ultimately pave the way for Turkoman atabegates and principalities stretching from Kirman to Anatolia and Syria. His reign was marked by internal strife, mainly against other Seljuk princes. By his death in 1105, his authority had largely vanished. His infant son Malik-Shah II briefly succeeded him, until he was executed by Berkyaruq's half-brother and rival Muhammad I Tapar (r. 1105–1118).


Born in 1079 or 1080,Berkyaruq was the oldest son of Malik-Shah I (r. 1072–1092) and the latters cousin, the Seljuk princess Zubayda Khatun. Berkyaruq was only thirteen at the time of his father's death in November 1092, meaning that there were no princes of age to inherit such as a vast empire. His half-brother Muhammad was eleven, while another half-brother named Mahmud was four. A brother of Malik-Shah named Tutush I, who ruled Syria on his brothers behalf, claimed the throne as the only adult, but gained little support from the Turkic elite.[10] Malik-Shah's death thus marks the start of the decline and fragmentation of the empire, with amirs and palace elites trying each to gain power by supporting one of his young sons as sultan.[10][8] This would ultimately pave the way for Turkoman atabegates and principalities stretching from Kirman to Anatolia and Syria.[8]

One of Malik-Shah's wives, Terken Khatun, in cooperation with the Seljuk vizier Taj al-Mulk, installed her four year old son Mahmud on the throne at Baghdad. She convinced the caliph to have the khutba read in Mahmud's name, and sent an army under the amir Qiwam al-Dawla Kirbuqa to take Isfahan and capture Berkyaruq. Meanwhile, the family and supporters of the deceased Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk (known as the "Nizamiyya"), led by Er-Ghush, supported Berkyaruq. They had Berkyaruq smuggled out of Isfahan and sent to his atabeg Gumushtigin in Saveh and Aveh, who had him crowned at Ray