Suleiman ibn Qutulmish (a cousin of Melik Shah) founds Konya state in what is now west Turkey. Although a vassal of Great Seljuk Empire it soon becomes totally independent. The Sultanate of Rum seceded from the Great Seljuk Empire under Suleiman ibn Qutulmish in 1077, just six years after the Byzantine provinces of central Anatolia were conquered at the Battle of Manzikert (1071). It had its capital first at İznik and then at Konya. These Turkish groups start to disrupt the pilgrimage route going into Asia Minor.