Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>A seal of Ikhtiyār al-Dīn al-Ḥasan ibn Ghafras, a member of a noble Byzantine family serving at the court of sultan Qilijǧ Arslān, is witness of a brief moment of historical opportunities in the history of the Rūm-Saljūqs. Al-Ḥasan assumed the title of <jats:italic>al-sulṭān</jats:italic>, indicating that he claimed the sultanate for himself, presumably after the death of Qilij Arslān in 588/1192. No literary source corroborates his usurpation. While the sources on the political turmoil at the end of Qilij Arslān’s reign are few and contradictory, an anonymous chronicle, <jats:italic>Tārīkh-i Āl-i Saljūq,</jats:italic> opens a possible window onto al-Ḥasan’s ascension to the sultanate. Based on this narrative his only legitimation would have been the ‘law of the Turks’ on regicide, namely that he who kills the ruler, becomes ruler himself. According to the <jats:italic>Tārīkh-i Āl-i Saljūq</jats:italic> he poisoned Qilij Arslān.</jats:p>