Kilij Arslan II
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Kilij Arslan II (Turkish: II. Kılıç Arslan) was a sultan of the Sultanate of Rum, an Islamic Turkish state that ruled much of Anatolia (Asia Minor) between the 11th and 13th centuries. His reign extended through the middle of the 12th century until the end of that century, with Konya (Iconium) as his capital.
Two developments marked his reign: the consolidation of central authority among the Sultanate of Rum against other Turkmen emirs and smaller Anatolian principalities, and a shift in relations with the Byzantine Empire, which resulted in Byzantine loss of the ability to recover central Anatolia.
Succession to power
Kilij Arslan II succeeded his father Mascud I. Following the custom of Turkish dynasties of that period, the sultanate was not inherited by a single son, so in his early years he conducted wars and negotiations with his brothers and cousins. He made sustained efforts to bring the scattered provinces under unified central rule.
Byzantine relations and Myriokephalon
For a long period he maintained shifting relations with Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, alternating between treaties and formal arrangements on the one hand and warfare on the other. The most celebrated conflict was the Battle of Myriokephalon, in which Byzantine forces were defeated in a mountain pass and the Sultanate of Rum achieved victory. The result was that Byzantine ended its major campaigns aimed at recovering central Anatolia, which strengthened the stability of the state centered on Konya.
Administration and division of inheritance
In his later years Kilij Arslan II divided the sultanate among his sons, each receiving a province and city to administer. This practice—rooted in the Turkish custom of divided inheritance—led to rivalry among the sons for power, and central authority weakened after his death. Reunification occurred only later, during the reign of one of his sons.
Historical legacy
His period represents a crucial stage in the transformation of Anatolia into a region where Turkish and Islamic civilization took root: cities such as Konya became centers of culture, architecture, and learning. The Byzantines retained the coasts and west, but the interior underwent steady decline of Byzantine control and advance of the Sultanate of Rum.