The history of Turkey Seljuqs in the reign of Ghiyath Al-din Kaykhusraw II (1237-1246)

The era of the Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw II was of great importance for the Seljuks of Turkey (i.e., the Sultanate of Rum). Kaykhusraw's rule started with the assassination of his father Alâeddîn (Alā ad-Dīn) Keykubâd I in 1237, his predecessor, and ended with his own, again, suspicious death in 1246. During Kaykhusraw's reign of eight and a half years, remarkable deeds for the Sultanate were achieved. A close relationship was established with the Ayyubids maintaining the eastern policy of Alâeddîn I; moreover, not only the subordination of the Artuqids (of Mardin) and Cilician Armenians to the Seljuks of Turkey was maintained but also cities like Aleppo, Homs, Damascus and the Ayyubids of Mayafarikin together with the Atabeglik of Mosul were brought under control. This political bloc paved the way for the Sultanate to follow a successful strategy regarding their most competitive Muslim rival, the Ayyubids of Egypt. The area of influence of the Seljuk Sultanate extended to limits it had never reached before. Moreover, seizing the opportunities, centers like Samsat (Sümeysat), Süveyda (Siverek), Âmid (Diyarbakır), Eğil, Arkanin (Ergani) and Çermik were captured, extending the domination of the state to these unprecedented borders. Also the urbanization efforts which had gained velocity during the reign of the Alaaddin were continued with numerous hans constructed on the international commercial routes; in addition, Seljukid centers such as: mosques, masjids, hankâhs, sepulchers and madrasas became relatively more ubiquitous. During the early years of the Kaykhusraw's rule, the Seljuks of Turkey became more powerful and made notable progress, it was also during this time that the Babaî Revolt, a massive upheaval, began and put down although not without damaging the authority of the state. It was the Mongols who dealt the biggest blow to the rule of the Sultan who had expanded his borders with his territory growing in extent day by day. The Mongols heading towards the Middle-East after their European expedition, under the command of Baiju Noyan in 1242 first captured Erzurum, then the following year in the Kosedag region they defeated the troops of the Seljuks of Turkey which were commanded by the Sultan himself. They devastated important centers like Sivas, Kayseri, Erzincan and Malatya. All of these resulted in the Seljuks of Turkey this time coming under an even a heavier Mongolian yoke, as already subjugated by them, with harsher conditions. Even if Mongols did hurt the Sultanate's rule dearly, still it wasn't a blow large enough to obliterate their political and economic power. In addition, the Sultanate under the rule of Kaykhusraw, managed to relatively prosper in terms of urbanization and military progress even in the face of the destruction that took place after the Battle of Kosedag. In fact, the more catastrophic effects of the Mongolian invasion were felt during the rule of the Sultan's infant sons, following Sultan Kaykhusraw's death. It was during this period that the rule of the Seljuks of Turkey, due to the Seljukid emirs (Turkish, singular: emir) seizing the means of administration and with the Mongols' ever-increasing pressure on Anatolia, eventually began to collapse.