Malik-Shah I

Malik-Shah spent his youth riding alongside his father Alp Arslan and the vizier Nizam al-Mulk on campaign. In 1072, Alp Arslan took a fatal wound in the field and died days later. Malik-Shah took the throne as third sultan, but his uncle Qavurt challenged the succession. He wore the title, but Nizam al-Mulk held near absolute power throughout the reign. Malik-Shah turned east, spending the next two decades warring against the Karakhanids and imposing order in the Caucasus. The empire reached its zenith under him, though the reins were never fully his.