Bursuq

Bursuq (died 1097), often recorded as Bursuq the Elder and Amir Ispahsalar Bursuq, was a prominent political and military figure of the Great Seljuk Empire and the founder of the Bursuqid dynasty, the local governors of Luristan and northern Khuzestan.

Bursuq is first recorded as the first shihna of Baghdad; he was appointed at the post by Tughril in April 1060 after the latter's domination of the Abbasid capital. In early 1061, he managed to persuade the caliph to accept a marriage between his daughter or sister and the Seljuk ruler. Bursuq was succeeded by a certain ghulam, Oshin, in the same year. Bursuq was a companion of Tughril in his last days. After the latter's death, Bursuq is recorded to have accompanied Alp Arslan in the latter's 1065 expedition against Fars. in September 1097 near Sarakhs.

The Nizaris' motivation for the attack may have been due to Bursuq's possible anti-Nizari activities; many Nizaris were active in southeast of Shushtar. Bursuq's sons and allies blamed Barkiyaruq's vizier Majd al-Mulk Qumi for involvement in the assassination and murdered him in 1099 in Sujas.

Children Four of Bursuq's sons are recorded: Ilbegi , Zangi , Aq-Buri , and a namesake son (Bursuq II), who was the most famous one.

One of Bursuq's daughters was married to Fakhr al-Dawlah Chawli, the Seljuk emir of Arrajan and nearby regions.