Seljuk sultan, who succeeded his uncle Tügrül Beg in 1062. A skilful and courageous commander, he devoted his energies to extending the frontiers of the Seljuk empire. He restored good relations with the Abbasid caliph, and was about to launch a major offensive against its rivals, the Fatimids, when he was recalled to meet a Byzantine offensive in Armenia. At Manzikert in 1071 he defeated a numerically superior army, opening up the interior of Anatolia to penetration by the nomadic Turkmen tribes.
