Turkey Seljuks naval power

One of the neglected and little-informed subjects of Turkey Seljuk History is its activities in the field of maritime. As a matter of fact, as can be expected, it was a necessity for the Turkey Seljuk State to maintain its existence in Central and Western Anatolia to have naval power. After the Battle of Manzikert on August 26, 1071, the founder of the Turkey Seljuk State, Suleyman Shah (1078-1086), who took advantage of the situation in the Byzantine Empire, where the power struggles continued, did not make any attempt in terms of maritime activities, although he advanced to the shores of the Bosphorus. The construction of a shipyard in Gemlik by the Turkey Seljuk Emir Abu'l-Qāsim (1086-1092) is the first serious attempt in terms of Turkish maritime history. However, when the ships in the shipyard were burned by the Byzantine navy, the Turkey Seljuks were deprived of a possible strong naval power. Later, Tzachas (d. 1092) established the first Turkish naval power. The Turkey Seljuk State, which laid the foundation of the Turkish maritime history that started with Tzachas and the transition process from the Second Principalities Period to the Ottoman Empire, turned into a land state after the Byzantine Empire captured the coastal shores after the First Crusade in 1098-1099. It was not possible to encounter maritime activities during the Kilij Arslān I (1093-1107), Mas'ūd I (1116-1155) and Kilij Arslān II (1156-1192) periods when the state was a landlocked country. Since Kilij Arslān I was married to Tzachas's daughter, he probably benefited from the naval power of his father-in-law before the First Crusade. After Abu'l-Qāsim, the first serious attempt to create a Turkey Seljuk naval power was made by Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Kaykhusraw I (1192-1197, 1205-1211). In this period, with the conquest of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, the first important step was taken in the maritime context since the establishment of the Turkey Seljuk State. During the reign of 'Izz ad-Dīn Kaykāwūs I (1211-1220), the borders of the state reached the Black Sea with the conquest of Sinop. With the borders of the country reaching the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, political and commercial relations began with the Italian maritime states and the Crusader Kingdom of Cyprus (1192-1489). During the reign of Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād I (1220-1237), first Alā'iyya was conquered, and then the first and only overseas expedition was the Sudak Expedition in 1224. Suğdak, an overseas expedition with the conquests of Antalya, Sinop, Alaiye, shows the point that the Turkey Seljuks reached in a short time in maritime. In this study, the activities of the Turkey Seljuk State, which ruled between 1078-1308, in the maritime field, as well as the political, economic and social effects of naval power on the state are discussed in the light of the information provided by the sources and modern researches.