Mahmud II (Seljuq sultan)
Mughith ad-Dunya wa-d-Din Abu l-Qasim Mahmud (II) ibn Muhammad ibn Malik-shah (Muġīṯ ad-Dunyā wa-'d-Dīn Abū 'l-Qāsim Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. Malik-Šāh; * 1104/1105; † 10 September 1131 in Hamadan) was a sultan of the Seljuk dynasty. Coming to the throne in 1118, he ruled western Iran and Iraq from 1119 until his death as a vassal of the supreme sultan Sandshar.
Mahmud, as the eldest son of Muhammad I. (r. 1105-1118) was designated by will as heir to the throne and consequently crowned sultan of the Greater Seljuk Empire. However, his uncle Sandshar, who had ruled over Ostiran (Khurasan) since 1097, was unwilling to recognize Mahmud as the new head of the dynasty. He declared himself sultan in 1118 and moved with an army to the Djibal. Near Saveh a great battle took place in August 1119, which Sandshar won with the help of war elephants. Mahmud initially fled to Isfahan.
Negotiations followed, in which Sandshar's mother Safiyya-Chatun, Mahmud's grandmother, prevailed that the defeated was forgiven and allowed to keep the rule (incl. the title of sultan) over the western half of the empire. However, Mahmud had to come to his uncle in Rey, submit and henceforth recognize Sandshar - whose daughter he got as his wife - as his overlord (with the title "greatest sultan") in the chutba and on the coins, which he did. In addition, Mahmud lost the province of Rey as well as other territories on the Caspian Sea.
Mahmud's authority was repeatedly challenged by his brothers, especially Mas'ud and Toghril. Both controlled important provinces as subordinate sub-rulers and rebelled against Mahmud, as did some emirs and local princes. In addition, financial problems forced the sultan to grant much land as iqta (i.e., personal fief) to his retainers. Thus, Zengi became Atabeg of Mosul in 1127.
During Mahmud's reign, Georgia stopped paying tribute to the Seljuks under David IV; an advance by Mahmud to Shirvan (1123) could not change this. In 1126/1127 Mahmud moved against Baghdad, where the Abbasid caliphs were in the process of regaining their independence. In 1128, due to intrigues, Sandshar again marched to Rey, but this time, too, the conflict ended with a reconciliation.
Sultan Mahmud II, a great lover of hunting birds, hounds and cheetahs, was considered just, reasonable and learned. He died on September 10, 1131, at the age of 27. His death again triggered power struggles; Sandshar installed Toghril II as the new vassal sultan of Iraq.
Mahmud left several daughters and sons, including future sultans:
