Ikhtiyar al-Din Ai-Taq

Ikhtiyar al-Din Ai-Taq was an influential amir in western Khurasan following the decline of the Seljuks, and the ruler of Gurgan and Dihistan from 1161 until 1165 [Bosworth, pps. 156 & 188] .

Career

Ai-Taq had originally been one of the Seljuk sultan Sanjar's ghulams. When Sanjar was captured by rebellious Ghuzz bands in 1153, Ai-Taq built up an army and quickly established his influence in the western regions of Sanjar's empire.

Ai-Taq had not been the only individual to take advantage of Sanjar's overthrow. In Nishapur another of Sanjar's former ghulams, Mu'ayyid al-Din Ai-Aba, had taken power and had gained control of a significant portion of Khurasan. Relations between Ai-Taq and Ai-Aba quickly soured and by 1158 warfare had broken out among them [Bosworth, p. 185] . Ai-Taq received military assistance from Shah Ghazi Rustam, the Bavandid ruler of Tabaristan. Despite this, his forces were defeated by Ai-Aba and Sultan Mahmud Khan and he was forced to flee to Tabaristan. In the end he was compelled to sue for peace and had to pay off his opponents [Al-E Bavand] .

In around 1160 Ai-Taq was attacked by a force of Ghuzz under their chief Yaghmur. Despite Bavandid support, he was defeated and was forced to flee. He made his way to Khwarezm, where the Khwarezmshah Il-Arslan supplied him with assistance [Il-Arslan] . This enabled him to establish himself in Gurgan and Dihistan, where he acknowledged the suzerainty of Il-Arslan [Bosworth, p. 186] . Unfortunately for him, however, he eventually lost the support of the shah, and a Khwarezmid army expelled him from Dihistan in 1165.

Notes

References

*"Al-E Bavand." "Encyclopaedia Iranica Online." Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2 February 2008.

*Bosworth, C.E. "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000-1217)." "The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods." Edited by J.A. Boyle. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1968. ISBN 52106936X

*"Il-Arslan, Abu'l-Fath." "Encyclopaedia Iranica Online." 2004. Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2 February 2008.