Sökmen el-Kutbî (also spelled al-Qutbi) was a Turkmen military commander, a former slave amir in the service of the Seljuks, who became the founder of the Shah-i Arman dynasty, also known as the Shah-Armens or Ahlatshahs.
[1] He was a subordinate and ghilman (slave commander) of Seljukid prince Kutbüddin İsmâil İlarslan (a cousin of Malik-Shah I).
After his superior was killed in a battle, upon the request of the citizens, he moved to Ahlat (now a district center in Bitlis Province of Turkey, then an important Islamic cultural center) where he fought against Marwanids and captured the city on behalf of the Great Seljuk Empire in 1100.
[2] Sökmen captured the nearby settlements to the north and west of the Lake Van and increased his power of influence.
[3] In 1109 he suffered a defeat by the Armenian local ruler Kogh Vasil who held territory around Raban and Kaysun.