Abstract:

Sultan Alp Arslan of the Great Seljuk State is one of the foremost rulers of Turkish and World history. During his reign as sultan from 1063 to 1072, Alp Arslan achieved many successes but doutless the most important one was his victory at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Although there were many factors that aided the sultan in gaining this victory, here is where Alp Arslan demonstrated most clearly his political and military qualities. These superior characteristics played a major role in winning the battle. For this reason, in this study we will endeavor to identify the leadership characteristics that made Alp Arslan a great ruler and commander and present our source-based results to those who are interested and to the scholarly world at large.