Career
He succeeded Malik Shah I as Sultan, but he did not gain control of the empire built by Malik Shah and Alp Arslan. The older son of Malik shah, Barkyaruk was proclaimed too, and the armies of the two pretenders meet in Barudjird, near Hamadan. After this, Mahmud and his mother were assassinated by the family of the vizir Nizam al-Mulk.
Following Malik Shah I"s death, successor states split from the Great Seljuq.
The disunity within the Seljuq realms allowed for the unexpected success of the First Crusade shortly afterwards, beginning in 1096. Although his reign was short, Nasir ad-Din Mahmud I ruled with an iron fist.
