Seljuqs of Rum, 616-634 AH/1220-1237 AD. Kayqubad I, AR Dirham, Siwas 625 AH

«The second reign of Kaykhusraw I came to an end after he had defeated the Byzantine ruler of Nicaea, Theodore Lascaris in 607 H (1210 AD). Although he was the victor, Kaykhusraw was killed after the battle by a soldier in Lascaris’ army.

He was succeeded by his son, ‘Izz al-Din Kayka’us, formerly governor of Malatya, who had the support of the great amirs. Kayka’us reigned for nine years and was followed by his brother ‘Ala al-Din Kayqubad I, who was fortunate in inheriting a reunited Rum Saljuq state that was at peace with its neighbours.

He was one of the greatest of the Rum Saljuq rulers, and during his fifteen-year reign the dynasty reached the height of its prosperity and artistic flowering, for he was both a great builder and patron of the arts.

One of his many successes was the conquest of Kalon-Oros, on the western Mediterranean coast in 625 (1228). The town, renamed ‘Ala’iyya in honour of the ruler, now called Alanya, became the Rum Saljuqs’ main seaport as well as their winter residence.

Kayqubad’s army also routed the Khwarazmshahs army, led by Mangubarni, in a three-day battle near Erzincan in eastern Turkey in 628 (1231) after they had pillaged the land around Erzurum and seized Akhlat on the shore of Lake Van.

But this Rum Saljuq victory turned sour because it aroused the suspicions of the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt and Syria, al-Kamil Muhammad. Worried by the growing power of Kayqubad, who had already annexed the lands of the Artuqids, al-Kamil invaded Anatolia in 631 (1233), but was repulsed.

In hindsight Kayqubad was fortunate to have died before the Mongol Ilkhans arrived to wreak havoc on his powerful state. During his reign many magnificent buildings were constructed in Konya and elsewhere, including mosques, madrasas and caravansarays.

While the culture of his court was largely Persian in its language and artistic conventions, the design of his coins was distinctively Anatolian, although to facilitate trade his dirhams were struck to the traditional Islamic weight standard.»