Kaykaus II
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Kaykaus II or Kayka'us II (Arabic/Persian: عز الدين كيكاوس بن كيخسرو, 'Izz al-Dīn Kaykā'ũs bin Kaykhusraw; Turkish: II. Izzeddin Keykavus) was the eldest of three sons of Kaykhusraw II. He was a youth at the time of his father’s death in 1246 and could do little to prevent the Mongol subjugation of Anatolia. For most of his tenure as the Seljuq Sultan of Rum, he shared the throne with one or both of his brothers, Kilij Arslan IV and Kayqubad II. His mother was the daughter of a Greek priest, and it was the Greeks of Nicaea from whom he consistently sought aid throughout his life. He died an exile in 1279 or 1280 in the Crimea.
[edit] Legacy
Though deposed and exiled, Kaykaus remained popular among the Turkmen of Anatolia and a threat to the stability of the fragile Seljuq-Mongol relationship. The vizier Fakhr al-Din Ali was imprisoned for a time in 1271 for corresponding with him. It was from Kaykaus that Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey in 1276 sought help in his uprising against the Mongols. Since Kaykaus was in no position to help, Mehmed Bey thought it best to have a representative of Kaykaus’ line on his side, even if only an imposter, and named Jimri as head of the revolt. Kaykaus later dispatched several of his sons from the Crimea as pretenders, one of which, Masud II, was ultimately successful in winning the Seljuq throne in 1280.
In the Ottoman period the rebel Sheikh Bedreddin, who drew support largely from Turkmen migrants to the Balkans, claimed descent from Kaykaus II.
[edit] Sources
- Claude Cahen, Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history, trans. J. Jones-Williams, (New York: Taplinger, 1968) 271 ff.
[edit] External links
- Prof. Dr. Mehmet Eti. Examples of coinage from Kaykaus' first reign: Seljuk numismatics.
- Prof. Dr. Mehmet Eti. Examples of coinage from Kaykaus' second reign: Seljuk numismatics.
| Preceded by Kaykhusraw II |
Sultan of Rüm 1246–1260 |
Succeeded by Kilij Arslan IV |
