Kilij Arslan I
Muhammad was born in January 1082. He succeeded his nephew, Malik Shah II, as Seljuq Sultan in Baghdad, and thus was theoretically the head of the dynasty, although his brother Ahmad Sanjar in Khorasan held more practical power. Muhammad I probably allied himself with Radwan of Aleppo in the battle of Khabur river against Kilij Arslan I, the sultan of Rüm, in 1107, in which the latter was defeated and killed. Following the internecine conflict with his half brother, Barkiyaruq, he was given the title of "malik" and the provinces of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Dissatisfied by this he revolted again, but had to flee back to Armenia. By 1104, Barkiyaruq, ill and tired of war, agreed to divide the sultanate with Muhammad. Muhammad became sole sultan following the death of Barkiyaruq in 1105.