The son of a Seljuk prince who lost a dispute for the throne, Suleiman ibn Qutalmish took advantage of the civil wars that engulfed the Byzantine Empire after the Battle of Manzikert to take over most of Anatolia during the 1070s, laying the foundations of a new state, the Sultanate of Rum. After consolidating his rule over the Anatolian interior, Suleiman turned his attention to Syria from 1084 onward, conquering Antioch and laying siege to Aleppo two years later.
This move turned out to be Suleiman's undoing, since the siege of Aleppo attracted the attention of Tutush, the Seljuk governor of Syria. Their armies clashed, and Suleiman was defeated and killed. His son and heir, Kilij Arslan I, was captured and kept prisoner in Isfahan, and it wasn't until 1092 that he escaped and reasserted Rum's independence from the greater Seljuk empire. He eventually crossed swords with the First Crusade, and the rest is history.
So, what if Suleiman either won the fight against Tutush or wasn't killed? Assuming the former scenario, where does he go after conquering Aleppo? Could he take over Mosul and, from there, potentially take over the entire Seljuk empire? Assuming he's defeated but survives (and isn't taken prisoner, like what happened with Kilij Arslan), would the Sultanate of Rum maintain its independence?
In case it does, how much stronger would it be by the time the Crusaders show up? From what I've read on wikipedia so far, it seems Suleiman's demise created a power vacuum that opened the way for the rise of other Turkish dynasties in Anatolia, including the Danishmendids - who were a considerable thorn on Rum's side.
This move turned out to be Suleiman's undoing, since the siege of Aleppo attracted the attention of Tutush, the Seljuk governor of Syria. Their armies clashed, and Suleiman was defeated and killed. His son and heir, Kilij Arslan I, was captured and kept prisoner in Isfahan, and it wasn't until 1092 that he escaped and reasserted Rum's independence from the greater Seljuk empire. He eventually crossed swords with the First Crusade, and the rest is history.
So, what if Suleiman either won the fight against Tutush or wasn't killed? Assuming the former scenario, where does he go after conquering Aleppo? Could he take over Mosul and, from there, potentially take over the entire Seljuk empire? Assuming he's defeated but survives (and isn't taken prisoner, like what happened with Kilij Arslan), would the Sultanate of Rum maintain its independence?
In case it does, how much stronger would it be by the time the Crusaders show up? From what I've read on wikipedia so far, it seems Suleiman's demise created a power vacuum that opened the way for the rise of other Turkish dynasties in Anatolia, including the Danishmendids - who were a considerable thorn on Rum's side.
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