Akca Hatun was the wife of Sultan Alp Arsalan - the second Seljuk Sultan and the victorious at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 A.D. The one who opened the doors of Anatolia for Turkmans.
As a lady, she has been defined as “Sultan Alp Arsalan’s Turki-Bosnian War weapon.” She had a unique history that combines political, cultural and economic perspectives. In this article, the history of Akca Hatun will be examined by taking advantage of contemporary sources and original information that have been unearthed so far.
Akca Hatun was the second wife of Sultan Alp Arsalan. Sultan’s real name was Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri. According to Lambton AKS (An Author of A book), Alp Arsalan had a total of three wives named: Safariyya Hatun, Akca Hatun, and last Shah Hatun.
Alp Arsalan married Akca Hatun in 1063 AD. The original text from Zangavand
Nezami’s book Fasih-Namah describes how she got married to Alp Arsalan: “On that day when they wanted to go to Erkekey [which is known as Növis or Halazgeh], there was a gathering at his pavilion and when they entered he ordered them to place their faces towards him. That was the moment when Sultan met with Akca Hatun.
Akca Hatun was brave and polite at the same time. There are several descriptions of her physical features that make her more beautiful than other women. Her life story reveals the moral aspect of love between two individuals who wanted to share their lives and were satisfied with their relations with each other. The nobility of this woman can be described as similar to other medieval Turkish women who loved literature and loved writing poetry and eulogies for their men.
Akca Hatun stood shoulder to shoulder after she get married to Sultan Alp Arsalan.
They spend 8 to 9 happy marriage years with each other as Sultan has died in 1072 A.D 4 days after he got three blows from a Kurdish rebel Yusuf al-Harani.
In a Turkish TV series - Alparslan: The Great Seljuk, Fahriye Evcen Ozcivit, A
Turkish actress has played the beautiful role of Akca Hatun has inspired many people to watch and read more about the character. As Akca Hatun (Fahriye Evcen Ozcivit) is shown as a subject of curiosity in the TV series which was broadcasted as part of awakening knowledge of the history of Greta Seljuk and the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.
The interesting fact is that Fahriye Evcen Ozcivit is a German-Turkish actress who
is also the wife of Burak Özçivit (Osman Bay, the lead Turkish Actor of Kurulus Osman, famous TV series).
Fahriye Evcen gives life to Akça Hatun in the series. The audience explores details such as who Akça Hatun is in history, when did Akca Hatun marry Sultan Alp Arslan? how do they get married? how many children she has, and how she died.
Unfortunately, there is not much detail available in history books for Akca Hatun. However, Sultan had three wives and 12 children. His children include:
- Muizz ad-Din Malik-Shah I
- Taj ad-Dawlah Tutush I
- Izz ad-Din Arslan-Argun
- Bori-Bars
- Toghrul
- Ayaz
- Toghan-Shah
- Arslan-Shah
- Tekish
- Sifri Khatun
- Aisha Khatun
- Zulaikha Khatun
Muizz ad-Din Malik-Shah I, the eldest son of Sultan Alp Arsalan, was succeeded as third Seljuk Sultan after the death of Sultan Alp Arsalan in 1072 AD.
