The Nature and Causes of Sepahsalar Oner’s Uprising in Sultan Barkyaruq Era

Understanding the history of Iran during the Seljuk period is very important because of the presence and influence of a new role player called the Turkmen tribes. They have played an important role in the formation and fate of this government. Since the establishment of this government, the conflict between the two forms of policies about running the country led to challenges and conflicts between them. On the one hand, the Iranian bureaucrats demanded a centralized government, and on the other hand, the military and tribal chiefs and the pro-power clerics claimed the decentralization of power. The death of Nizam al-Mulk, the architect of the centralized sovereignty theory in the Seljuks, provided a good opportunity for the military to attempt to seek power, and the first victim of such an attempt was Amir Oner. The present study aimed to elucidate the nature and causes of Oner's revolt against Sultan Barkyaruq and to determine what factors influenced Oner’s action. The method of this research was descriptive-analytical based on library resources. The findings of the present study indicated that Amir Oner represented a group of military officials who sought to increase their power in factions formed after King Malik Shah and Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk’s   death. Although Oner’s did not enjoy a good fortune and fate, his uprising began to bring about major changes in the structure of the Seljuk power and sovereignty.

The arrival of Seljuk Turkmen to Iranian territory during early 5th AH exerted a great influence on the political structure of the Iranian society. The new invaders dominated a large territory, but from the very beginning, they found that they cannot govern such a large territory. Therefore, they appointed Iranian bureaucrats to govern the territories. But, the main concern for the Iranian bureaucrats was to persuade the Seljuk Sultans to use centralized methods of government. However, Seljuk Turkmen were inclined to exercise some other methods of government which they had tried before, such as the division of the country to different parts to be ruled by different persons from among dominating Turkmen. Gradually, there appeared a wide gap between the supporters of these two methods of government. Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk Toosi in his new system of government dismissed army top officials, which in turn, brought about reactions from the army top officialsNizam al-Mulk’s death and subsequently Malik Shah’s death and fights over the succession to the throne provided the army top officials with the opportunity to gain more power in the government. Oner, one of the top army officials at the later years of Malik Shah’s reign attained a top rank. The most important topic that the present research aimed to investigate is the unknown aspects and reasons of Amir Oner’s   uprising against sultan Barkyaruq. The research sought to introduce some of the causes and reasons which lead to the mutiny and possible outcomes and trends resulting from it in the Seljuk era. The hypothesis of the research is that the open and hidden quarrels in the Seljuk (Majd al-Mulk or Muayyied al-Mulk) bureaucratic system structure had a great role in Oner’s mutiny.

The present study was conducted using the descriptive-analytical method based on main documents, evidence and resources of the Seljuk era. Taking advantage of documents and resources and comparing the available data and reports, the research shed more light on the real causes of the uprising.

Regarding Oner’s uprising, the present study takes a few matters into consideration. First, it studies Turkmen commanders’ status and their position in top ranks of government in Malik Shah’s reign. Seljuk Turkmen depending on tribal power and top military officials succeeded in establishing a magnificent and powerful government in Iranian plateau. At first, Seljuks mainly depended on tribal forces and military officials, but after the formation of the government, Seljuks needed ministers to govern the territory and establish a centralized government. Hence, they gradually dismissed military officials from ranks of power. Nizam al-Mulk played a decisive role in controlling top military officials power during his term of office. His approach to power was to centralize it instead of putting it at the hands of many. In other words, actions taken by him lead to reducing aristocrats and wealthy tribal people’s influence in the government structure. When the power was monopolized by him, mutual trust between the powerful elites and him was reduced to the minimum. After the death of Nizam al-Mulk and Malik Shah, there was a quarrel over their substitution, and this provided a chance for the military officials to get the power in their own grasp. The commander Oner was one of these military commanders. The Seljuk historical documents has mentioned his name for the first time after the episodes leading to Sultan Malik Shah’s death and the skirmishes between forces trying to capture Isfahan in 485 AH. Oner was one of the powerful commanders of the government. When Sultan Barkyaruq attained the power, Amir Oner became one of the most important commanders of sultan Barkyaruq. Nonetheless, in 492 AH, exactly when Sultan Barkyaruq left the capital Isfahan to suppress Arslan Argun’s rebellion in Khorasan, Amir Oner started his uprising. In the present study, by studying the resources and document of this era, some reasons effective in Oner’s uprising was found:1. The policy of Majd al-Mulk, a minister of Sultan Barkyaruq, as military commanders in financial affairs which initiated the opposition of the commanders especially Oner to Majd- al Mulk. Consequently one of the Oner’s purposes was to eliminate this minister.2. The role of Muayyied al-Mulk in Oner’s uprising. After the deposition of Muayyied al-Mulk as a minister in 488 AH, Barkyaruq tried to make a party of opponents and played an important role in instigating Oner.
3. Majd al- Mulk’s, as the common enemy of military commanders, and Muayyied al-Mulk, as a primary target, had a great role in their union against Sultan Barkyaruq and Oner’s uprising. The vacuum of power in central Iran and the absence of Sultan Barkyaruq provided Oner with the opportunity to make a background for an uprising against Sultan Barkyaruq. The uprising of Commander Oner very soon came to an end. When Oner went from Isfahan to Rey, according to one of the narratives, he was killed by three Kharazmi Turkmen. But, still according to some other narratives, he was killed by some Ismaili self-sacrificers in Muharram month of 492 AH.Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk’s death and conflicts over his substitution after Malik Shah’s death, provided the military commanders with the opportunity to actively get involved in gaining the power. The Commander Oner was one of these military commanders who got a position in political divisions for power and succeeded in playing an active role in Turkan Khatun, and later on in Sultan Barkyaruq policies. Oner’s increased level of ambitions led to an uprising with the conspiracy of Muayyied al-Mulk to oust of Barkyaruq. Although the uprising did not succeed, it was an indication of an era in which the main role players in politics and power gaining in the Seljuk society were the military commanders.  Bureaucrats and the Seljuk sultan were disempowered. Subsequently, the role of the military commanders in the government and power structure of the Seljuk dynasty increased to a prominent level. Oner was one the escape goats in a rivalry between Khorasani or Iraqi elites. But his uprising against sultan and his collaboration with Korasani party was the beginning of an era in which the Seljuk commanders revitalized their power.