Sultan Alp Arslan

Sultan Muhammad Alp Arslan (رحمه الله)—whose name translates to 'The Heroic Lion'—was the second sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire and the father of Muslim Anatolia. On Friday, 26 August 1071 CE, facing a massive Byzantine army triple his size at Manzikert, Alp Arslan wept, prayed before his troops, tied his horse's tail, and donned a clean white shroud, proclaiming: 'If I am martyred, let this be my burial shroud; and if I win, the victory is from Allah alone!' Executing a brilliant crescent ambush, he captured Emperor Romanos IV. In an act of quintessential Islamic chivalry, he did not execute the Emperor, but treated him with imperial honor, dined with him, and released him under a peace treaty.