ENTER THE TURKS 127In 1053 CE, a young Seljuk prince was sent to govern the province of
Khorasan. His name was Alp Arslan, which means "heroic lion"-a nick-
name his troops gave him. Alp Arslan took along his Persian secretary,
soon to be known as Nizam al-Mulk, which means "order of the realm."
Alp Arslan stood out in any crowd, not only because he stood well over six
feet tall, but because he had grown his moustache so long he could sling
the two strands of it over his shoulders to hang down behind his back, and
when he rode his white horse at top speed, the braids streamed behind him
like whip-shaped banners.
His Persian adviser managed to set Khorasan in order and get the
economy humming, which gave his sponsor such prestige that when the
old Seljuk chieftain died and the usual fighting broke out among brothers,
sons, and nephews, Alp Arslan quickly emerged triumphant, thanks in
part to the crafty Nizam al-Mulk's advice. After crowning himself sultan,
Alp Arslan began poring over maps to see what else he might conquer.
He extended Seljuk power into the Caucasus region and then kept
moving west, finally leading his armies into Asia Minor, most of which was
ruled by Constantinople, the fortress capital of an empire the Muslims
were still calling Rome.
In 1071, on the outskirts of a town called Manzikert, Alp Arslan met
the Byzantine emperor Romanus Diogenes in battle and smashed his
hundred-thousand-man army. He took the emperor himself prisoner,
sending a shock rippling through the Western world. Then he did the un-
thinkable; he released the emperor and sent him home to Constantinople
with gifts and admonishments never to make trouble again, a courtesy that
only underscored Seljuk might and added to the Christian emperor's hu-
miliation. The battle of Manzikert was one of history's truly seminal bat-
tles. At the time, it seemed like the greatest victory these Seljuks could ever
achieve. In fact, it may have been their biggest mistake, but no one would
realize this for another twenty-six years.
Alp Arslan died the following year in Khorasan, but his son Malik Shah
stepped right into his shoes, and under the expert tutelage of Nizam al-
Mulk proved himself nearly the equal of his father. It was he who con-
quered Syria and the Holy Lands for the Turks.
The partnership between the Persian vizier and the two Seljuk sultans
served both sides well. The sultans devoted themselves to conquests,