Seljuk Empire
A Sunni Turkic dynasty (11th–12th centuries CE) that ruled Iran and the Near East and, under viziers such as Nizam al-Mulk, fostered Perso-Islamic civilization before fragmenting ahead of the Mongol invasions.
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- Period
- c. 1037–1194 CE
- Founder
- Tughril Beg
- Famous vizier
- Nizam al-Mulk
- Notable battle
- Manzikert (1071)
Detail
The Seljuks were a Turkic, Sunni dynasty that arose from the Oghuz Turkmen tribes and built a vast empire stretching from Central Asia to Anatolia in the 11th century. Their founder, Tughril Beg, entered Baghdad in 1055 CE and received the title "Sultan" from the Abbasid caliph, effectively assuming temporal power over the Sunni Islamic world. Under Alp Arslan and especially Malik-Shah, guided by the able Iranian vizier Nizam al-Mulk, the empire reached its peak; Nizam al-Mulk founded the Nizamiyya college system and wrote the Siyasatnama (Book of Government). Alp Arslan's victory over Byzantium at the Battle of Manzikert (1071) opened Anatolia to Turkic settlement. The Seljuks patronized Persian culture, language, and Iranian architecture, but after Malik-Shah's death, succession struggles, the fragmentation of the realm into branches, and ultimately the Mongol invasion brought about their decline.
Also appears in
Sources
- Encyclopædia Iranica, "Seljuqs"
- A. C. S. Peacock, The Great Seljuk Empire
- The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5