Malik Arslan

Sayf al-Din Malik Arslan (died October 1465) was Beg of Dulkadir from 28 August 1454 until his death. Malik Arslan was one of his predecessor Suleiman Beg's ((r. 1442 – 54)) numerous sons. Malik Arslan first competed with his uncle Feyyaz for the throne and was favored by the Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Inal ((r. 1453 – 61)). Later into his reign, Malik Arslan was involved in the succession wars within the Karamanids. He ransacked the region wishing to retake Kayseri but was crushed by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan ((r. 1453 – 1478)). In September 1465, Malik Arslan ceded Harpoot to Uzun Hasan, who had taken advantage of the worsening relations between Malik Arslan and the Mamluks. Malik Arslan was assassinated on the orders of Khushqadam incited by Malik Arslan's rival brother Shah Budak ((r. 1465 – undefined)), who replaced him.

Background
The Beylik of Dulkadir was founded by Zayn al-Din Qaraja ((r. 1337 – 53)), a Turkmen lord, as a client state of the Mamluk Sultanate, in southern Anatolia and northern Syria. Qaraja eventually rebelled against the Mamluks and was executed in 1353. The conflict between the Dulkadirids and the Mamluks persisted with the consecutive rule of his sons Ghars al-Din Khalil ((r. 1353 – 86)) and Shaban Suli ((r. 1386 – 98)), who were both assassinated on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq ((r. 1382 – undefined)). With the reigns of Malik Arslan's grandfather, Mehmed ((r. 1399 – 1442)), and father, Suleiman ((r. 1442 – 54)), the Dulkadirids attempted to forge amicable relations both with the Ottoman state and the Mamluk Sultanate by arranging marriages.

Reign
Following his father's death on 28 August 1454, Malik Arslan took power and sent his father's sword to the Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Inal ((r. 1453 – 61)) as a declaration of his allegiance to the Mamluk Sultanate. The Mamluk sultan favored Malik Arslan over his paternal uncle Feyyaz, who was the amir al-tabl of Tripoli and had traveled to Cairo to request the manshūr (diploma) that would legitimize his claim to the throne.

At the time of Malik Arslan's accession to the throne, the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan's ((r. 1453 – 1478)) influence over the region had peaked. Various Turkmen lords loyal to the Dulkadirids were joining Uzun Hasan's ranks and fought as part of the internal conflicts within the Aq Qoyunlu. On the other hand, Malik Arslan took advantage of the death of Ibrahim II of Karaman in 1464 and subsequent skirmishes among his heirs by attempting to ransack the Karamanid realm and capture Kayseri, which had previously come under Karamanid rule. Uzun Hasan intervened in the conflict upon the request of the locals. He removed the Dulkadirid forces, ransacked their domains, and enthroned Ishak ((r. 1464 – 65)) with endorsement by the Mamluk Sultanate.

In the spring of 1365, when the influence of Sayf al-Din Khushqadam ((r. 1461 – 67)) over the Karamanids waned, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II ((r. 1444 – undefined)) attempted to install Pir Ahmed ((r. 1465 – 66)). The Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam sought Malik Arslan's support in the struggle. Malik Arslan declined Khushqadam's request, not willing to be on bad terms with Mehmed II. However, Ishak would shortly pass away after taking refuge under Uzun Hasan in Amid in April 1465, eventually getting replaced by Pir Ahmed.

Uzun Hasan responded to the Ottoman involvement in the region and apparent Ottoman–Mamluk rivalry by laying siege to Harpoot, following his earlier offer to the Mamluk sultan to exchange the town with Gerger, which the Mamluks refused as Harpoot was Dulkadirid territory. Upon the news of the siege, Malik Arslan passed the Euphrates and reached Harpoot with 30 thousand troops. He attacked the Aq Qoyunlu army and captured several commanders. Despite his momentary success, Malik Arslan retreated when Uzun Hasan went on to face him off. Malik Arslan fled to Malatya and then to Elbistan, the capital. He further evacuated Elbistan when Uzun Hasan arrived and pillaged the area. Through the negotiations led by Uzun Hasan's vizier, Mawlana Yahya, Malik Arslan agreed to release the prisoners he took and ceded Harpoot to the Aq Qoyunlu in exchange for 4,000 ashrafi gold coins in September 1465. Although the Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam signaled his discontent with Harpoot's loss by declining Malik Arslan's embassy in Cairo, the Mamluks had not intervened in the conflict as they were more unsettled by the accord between Malik Arslan and the Ottomans. Aware of the Mamluks' concerns, Uzun Hasan sent his mother to Cairo to hand over the key to the Castle of Harpoot.

Assassination and succession
The Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam was furious at Malik Arslan for his proximity to the Ottomans. Malik Arslan's brother Shah Budak, who was residing in Cairo, encouraged the sultan to commission Malik Arslan's assassination with the hopes that he could rise to the throne. Khushqadam dispatched a fedayeen from Cairo to the north. Malik Arslan was murdered in October 1465 at a mosque in Elbistan, during the Friday prayer. Ottoman writer Ahmed Arifi Pasha and later historians such as İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı erroneously referred to his deathplace as Cairo, where he was seeking Mamluk help against Uzun Hasan. According to Besim Darkot, Malik Arslan was killed in the Grand Mosque of Marash.

Malik Arslan's demise ignited a clash between two factions led by Malik Arslan's brothers, Shah Budak, who was sponsored by the Mamluks, and Shah Suwar, who solicited Mehmed II to intercede. Shah Budak came out successful and rose to the throne. Shah Budak's appointment by the Mamluks was initially not espoused by Dulkadirid dignitaries. Malik Arslan was survived by his son named Kilij Arslan. He later entered Uzun Hasan's service and settled in Tabriz.