He was the son of Kilij Arslan IV, the weak representative of the Seljuq line who was controlled by the Pervane, Mu’in al-Din Suleyman.
Kilij Arslan IV | Kilij Arslan | Talal Arslan | Shakib Arslan | Qutlu Arslan | Kara Arslan | Arslan |
The vizier Shams al-Din al-Isfahani, seeking to defend a degree of Seljuk sovereignty in Anatolia from the Mongols, put Kayqubad on the throne together with his two elder brothers, Kaykaus II and Kilij Arslan IV.