Editing Alp Arslan (section)

==Early life==
Historical sources differ about Alp Arslan's birth date. Some 12th- and 13th-century sources give 1032/1033 as his birth year, while later sources give 1030. According to [[İbrahim Kafesoğlu]], the most likely date is 20 January 1029 (1 Muharram 420 [[Islamic calendar|AH]]), recorded by the medieval historian [[Ibn al-Athir]].{{sfn|Kafesoğlu|1989|p=526}} He was the son of [[Chaghri Beg|Chaghri]] and nephew of [[Tughril]], the founding sultans of the [[Seljuk Empire]]. His grandfather was [[Mikail (son of Seljuk)|Mikail]], who in turn was the son of the warlord [[Seljuk (warlord)|Seljuk]]. He was the father of numerous children, including [[Malik-Shah I]] and [[Tutush I]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alp-arslan-saljuq-sultan |title=ALP ARSLAN |author=K. A. Luther |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=I Fascicle 8 |pages=895–898}}</ref> It is unclear who the mother or mothers of his children were. He was known to have been married at least twice. His wives included the widow of his uncle Tughril, a [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Kara-Khanid]] princess known as Aka or Seferiye Khatun, and the daughter or niece of [[Bagrat IV of Georgia]] (who would later marry his [[vizier]], [[Nizam al-Mulk]]).<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahmad-b-nezam |title=AḤMAD B. NEẒĀM-AL-MOLK |author=Bosworth, C. E. |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |volume=I, Fasc. 6 |pages=642–643}}</ref> One of Seljuk's other sons was the Turkic chieftain [[Arslan Isra'il]], whose son, [[Qutalmish|Kutalmish]], contested his nephew's succession to the sultanate. Alp Arslan's younger brothers Suleiman ibn Chaghri and [[Qavurt]] were his rivals. [[Kilij Arslan I|Kilij Arslan]], the son and successor of [[Suleiman ibn Qutalmish|Suleiman ibn Kutalmish]] (Kutalmish's son, who would later become [[Sultanate of Rum#Dynasty|Sultan of Rûm]]), was a major opponent of the Franks during the [[First Crusade]] and the [[Crusade of 1101]].<ref>Peacock, A.C,S., ''Great Seljuk Empire'', Edinburgh University Press, 2015, pgs. 179, 183</ref>