Seljuk Empire

Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim empire (1037–1194)

Seljuk Empire

سلجوقیان

1037–1194

1090

GHAZNAVID
EMPIRE

KIPCHAKS

PECHENEGS

FATIMID
CALIPHATE

UYUNIDS

GEORGIA

BYZANTINE
EMPIRE

RUM

YADAVAS

KARAKHANID KHANATE

◁  ▷

Seljuk Empire circa 1090, during the reign of Malik Shah I.[1][2]

Status| Empire
Capital|

* Nishapur (1037–1043)
* Ray (1043–1051)
* Isfahan (1051–1118)
* Merv (1118–1153, eastern)
* Hamadan (1118–1194, western)

Common languages|

* Persian (official; lingua franca, court, erudition, and literature)[3][4][5]
* Oghuz Turkic (dynastic and military)[6][5][7]
* Arabic (theology, law, and science)[3][5]

Religion

| Sunni Islam (Hanafi)
Government| Vassal under caliphate (de jure)[8]
Independent sultanate (de facto)
Caliph|

• 1031–1075

| Al-Qaʽim

• 1180–1225

| Al-Nasir
Sultan|

• 1037–1063

| Tughril (first)

• 1174–1194

| Tughril III (last)[9]
History|

• Formation under Tughril

| 1037

• Battle of Dandanaqan

| 1040

• Battle of Manzikert

| 1071

• First Crusade

| 1095–1099

• Battle of Qatwan

| 1141

• Supplantation by the Khwarazmian Empire[10]

| 1194
Area
1080 est.[11][12][13]| 3,900,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi)

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Oghuz Yabgu State

|

| Ghaznavids
| Buyid dynasty
| Byzantine Empire
| Kakuyids
| Fatimid Caliphate
| Kara-Khanid Khanate
| Marwanids
| Rawadids
| Sultanate of Rûm |

|

Anatolian beyliks |
Ghurid dynasty |
Khwarazmian Empire |
Atabegs of Azerbaijan |
Salghurids |
Bavandids |
Ayyubid dynasty |
Burid dynasty |
Zengid dynasty |
Danishmends |
Artuqid dynasty |
Shah-Armens |
Shaddadids |
Kerman Seljuk Sultanate |
Kingdom of Cyprus |

The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire,[14][a] was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks.[17][18] The empire spanned a total area of 3.9 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles) from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to the Hindu Kush in the east, and from Central Asia in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south, and it spanned the time period 1037–1308, though Seljuk rule beyond the Anatolian peninsula ended in 1194.

The Seljuk Empire was founded in 1037 by Tughril (990–1063) and his brother Chaghri (989–1060), both of whom co-ruled over its territories; there are indications that the Seljuk leadership otherwise functioned as a triumvirate and thus included Musa Yabghu, the uncle of the aforementioned two.[19]

During the formative phase of the empire, the Seljuks first advanced from their original homelands near the Aral Sea into Khorasan and then into the Iranian mainland, where they would become largely based as a Persianate society. They then moved west to conquer Baghdad, filling up the power vacuum that had been caused by struggles between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Iranian Buyid Empire.

The subsequent Seljuk expansion into eastern Anatolia triggered the Byzantine–Seljuk wars, with the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 marking a decisive turning point in the conflict in favour of the Seljuks, undermining the authority of the Byzantine Empire in the remaining parts of Anatolia and gradually enabling the region's Turkification.

The Seljuk Empire united the fractured political landscape in the non-Arab eastern parts of the Muslim world and played a key role in both the First and Second Crusades; it also bore witness to in the creation and expansion of multiple artistic movements during this period[20] In 1141, the Seljuk Empire suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Qatwan against the Qara-Khitai (Western Liao), resulting in the loss of its eastern vassal state, the Kara-Khanids, as well as vast eastern territories.[21] This defeat severely weakened the empire, causing internal division and hastening its decline. The Seljuks were eventually supplanted in the east by the Khwarazmian Empire in 1194 and in the west by the Zengids and Ayyubids. The last surviving Seljuk sultanate to fall was the Sultanate of Rum, which fell in 1308.

## History

[edit]

### Founder of the dynasty

[edit]

The founder of the dynasty was Seljuk, a warlord, who belonged to the Qiniq tribe of Oghuz Turks.[22] He led his clan to the banks of the Syr Darya river, near city of Jend, where they converted to Islam in 985.[23] Khwarezm, administered by the Ma'munids, was under the nominal control of the Samanid Empire.[24] By 999, the Samanids had fallen to the Kara-Khanid Khanate in Transoxiana, while the Ghaznavids occupied the lands south of the Amu Darya.[25] The Seljuks supported the last Samanid emir against the Kara-Khanids before establishing an independent base.[26]

### Expansion of the empire

[edit]

#### Tughril and Chaghri

[edit]

Main article: Tughril

Tughrul tower in the city of Rey, modern Iran.

Oghuz Turks (also known as Turkmens at the time), led by Seljuk's son, Musa and his two nephews, Tughril and Chaghri, were one of several groups of the Oghuz who made their way to Iran between about 1020 and 1040, first moving south to Transoxiana, and then to Khorasan, initially at the invitation of the local rulers, then under alliances and conflicts. Contemporary sources mention places such as Dahistan, Farawa and Nasa, as well as Sarakhs, all in present-day Turkmenistan.[27][28]

Around 1034, Tughril and Chaghri were soundly defeated by the Oghuz Yabghu Ali Tegin and his allies, forcing them to escape from Transoxiana. Initially, the Seljuks took refuge in Khwarazm, which served as one of their traditional pastures, but they were also encouraged by the local Ghaznavid governor, Harun, who hoped to utilise Seljuks for his efforts to seize Khorasan from his sovereign. When Harun was assassinated by Ghaznavid agents in 1035, they again had to flee, this time heading south across the Karakum Desert. First, they made their way to the important city of Merv, but perhaps due to its strong fortification, they changed their route westwards to take refuge in Nasa. Finally, the Seljuks arrived on the edges of Khorasan, the province considered a jewel in the Ghaznavid crown.[29]

After moving into Khorasan, Seljuks under Tughril wrested an empire from the Ghaznavids. Initially the Seljuks were repulsed by Mahmud and retired to Khwarezm, but Tughril and Chaghri led them to capture Merv and Nishapur (1037–1038).[30] Later they repeatedly raided and traded territory with Mahmud's successor, Mas'ud, across Khorasan and Balkh.[31]

In 1040, at the Battle of Dandanaqan, Seljuks decisively defeated Mas'ud I of Ghazni, forcing him to abandon most of his western territories.[32] Afterwards, Turkmens employed Khorasanians and set up a Persian bureaucracy to administer their new polity with Tughril as its nominal overlord.[33] By 1046, Abbasid caliph al-Qa'im had sent Tughril a diploma recognizing Seljuk rule over Khurasan.[34] In 1048–1049, the Seljuk Turks, commanded by Ibrahim Yinal, uterine brother of Tughril, made their first incursion into the Byzantine frontier region of Iberia and clashed with a combined Byzantine-Georgian army of 50,000 at the Battle of Kapetrou on 10 September 1048. The devastation left behind by the Seljuk raid was so fearful that the Byzantine magnate Eustathios Boilas described, in 1051–1052, those lands as "foul and unmanageable... inhabited by snakes, scorpions, and wild beasts." The Arab chronicler Ibn al-Athir reports that Ibrahim brought back 100,000 captives and a vast booty loaded on the backs of ten thousand camels.[35]

In 1055, Tughril entered Baghdad and removed the influence of the Buyid dynasty, under a commission from the Abbasid caliph.[34] Iraq would remain under the control of the Seljuk Turks until 1135.[34]

#### Alp Arslan

[edit]

Main articles: Alp Arslan and Great Turkish Invasion

Coin minted in the name of Alp Arslan with the title Shahanshah

Alp Arslan, the son of Chaghri Beg, expanded significantly upon Tughril's holdings by adding Armenia and Georgia in 1064 and invading the Byzantine Empire in 1068, from which he annexed almost all of Anatolia. Arslan's decisive victory at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 effectively neutralized the Byzantine resistance to the Turkish invasion of Anatolia,[36] although the Georgians were able to recover from Alp Arslan's invasion by securing the theme of Iberia. The Byzantine withdrawal from Anatolia brought Georgia in more direct contact with the Seljuks. In 1073 the Seljuk Amirs of Ganja, Dvin and Dmanisi invaded Georgia and were defeated by George II of Georgia, who successfully took the fortress of Kars.[37] A retaliatory strike by the Seljuk Amir Ahmad defeated the Georgians at Kvelistsikhe.[38]

Alp Arslan authorized his Turkoman generals to carve their own principalities out of formerly Byzantine Anatolia, as atabegs loyal to him. Within two years the Turkmens had established control as far as the Aegean Sea under numerous beyliks: the Saltukids in Northeastern Anatolia, the Shah-Armens and the Mengujekids in Eastern Anatolia, Artuqids in Southeastern Anatolia, Danishmendis in Central Anatolia, Rum Seljuks (Beylik of Suleyman, which later moved to Central Anatolia) in Western Anatolia, and the Beylik of Tzachas of Smyrna in İzmir (Smyrna).[citation needed]

#### Malik Shah I

[edit]

Main article: Malik Shah I

Under Alp Arslan's successor, Malik Shah, and his two Persian viziers, Nizām al-Mulk and Tāj al-Mulk, the Seljuk state expanded in various directions, to the former Iranian border of the days before the Arab invasion, so that it soon bordered China in the east and the Byzantines in the west. Malik Shah's brother Tutush defended Seljuk' interests in Syria in the battle of Ain Salm against Suleiman ibn Qutalmish who had started to carve out an independent state in Anatolia. Nevertheless, despite various attempts to bring afterwards the various Turkish warlords in Anatolia under control, they largely maintained their independence.[39] Malikshāh was the one who moved the capital from Ray to Isfahan.[40] The iqta military system and the Nizāmīyyah University at Baghdad were established by Nizām al-Mulk, and the reign of Malikshāh was reckoned the golden age of "Great Seljuk". The Abbasid caliph titled him "The Sultan of the East and West" in 1087.

Internally, the most prominent development of Malik Shah's rule was the continuous increase in the power of the Nizām al-Mulk. Some contemporary chroniclers refer to the period as al-dawla al-Nizamiyya, the Nizam's state, while modern scholars have mentioned him as "the real ruler of the Seljuq empire". The 14th-century biographer Subki claimed that Nizām al-Mulk's vizierate was "not just a vizierate, it was above the sultanate".[41] The Assassins (Hashshashin) of Hassan-i Sabāh started to become a force during his era, however, and they assassinated many leading figures in his administration; according to many sources these victims included Nizām al-Mulk.[42]

#### Ahmad Sanjar

[edit]

Main article: Ahmad Sanjar

A miniature depicting the war with the Oghuz during the reign of Sultan Sanjar. Jami al-Tawarikh, TSMK, H.1653 (dated 1314)

Ahmad was the son of Malik Shah I and initially took part in wars of succession against his three brothers and a nephew: Mahmud I, Berkyaruq, Malik Shah II and Muhammad I Tapar. In 1096, he was tasked to govern the province of Khorasan by his brother Muhammad I.[43] Over the next several years, Ahmad Sanjar became the ruler of most of Iran (Persia), and eventually in 1118, the sole ruler of the Great Seljuk Empire, but with a subordinate Sultan in Iraq in the person of Mahmud II.[44]

In 1141, Ahmad marched to eliminate the threat posed by Kara Khitans and faced them in the vicinity of Samarkand at the Battle of Qatwan. He suffered his first defeat in his long career, and as a result lost all Seljuk territory east of the Syr Darya.[45][46]

Sanjar's as well as the Seljuks' rule collapsed as a consequence of yet another unexpected defeat, this time at the hands of the Seljuks' own tribe, in 1153.[44] Sanjar was captured during the battle and held in captivity until 1156.[47] It brought chaos to the Empire – a situation later exploited by the victorious Turkmens, whose hordes would overrun Khorasan unopposed, wreaking colossal damage on the province and prestige of Sanjar.[47] Sanjar eventually escaped from captivity in the fall of 1156, but soon died in Merv in 1157. After his death, Turkic rulers, Turkmen tribal forces, and other secondary powers competed for Khorasan. In 1181, Sultan Shah, a pretendent to the Khwarezmian throne, managed to take control of Khorasan, until 1192 when he was defeated near Merv by the Ghurids, who captured his territories.[48] The Ghurids then took control of all Khorasan following the death of his successor Tekish in 1200, as far as Besṭām in the ancient region of Qūmes.[48] The province was finally conquered by Khwarazmians after the Ghurid defeat at the Battle of Andkhud (1204).[49]

The Tomb of Ahmed Sanjar was destroyed by the Mongols led by Tolui, who sacked the city of Merv in 1221, killing 700,000 people according to contemporary sources during their catastrophic invasion of Khwarazm;[50] however, modern scholarship holds such figures to be exaggerated.[51][52]

### Division of empire

[edit]

See also: Sultanate of Rum

[1100]

KARAKHANID
KHANATE

KIEVAN
RUS'

Cumans

Pechenegs

Kyrgyzs

FATIMID
CALIPHATE

GEORGIA

XI XIA

Jurchen

Kimeks

KHITAN EMPIRE

QOCHO

GHAZNAVID
EMPIRE

CHOLA
EMPIRE

WESTERN
CHALUKYAS

PAGAN

DALI

KHMER

MALAYU

PALA
EMPIRE

SELJUK
EMPIRE

SONG
DYNASTY

SULTANATE
OF RUM

GO-
RYEO

class=notpageimage|

The Seljuk Empire and the Sultanate of Rum, with contemporary Asian polities circa 1100.

When Malikshāh I died in 1092, the empire split as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. At the same time, the son of Suleiman ibn Qutalmish, Kilij Arslan I, escaped Malikshāh's imprisonment and claimed authority in the former lands of his father.[53] In Persia, Malikshāh's four-year-old son Mahmud I was proclaimed sultan but his reign was contested by his three brothers Berkyaruq in Iraq, Muhammad I in Baghdad, and Ahmad Sanjar in Khorasan. Additionally, Malikshāh's brother Tutush I made a claim to the throne but was killed in battle against Berkyaruq in February 1096.[54][55] Upon his death, his sons Radwan and Duqaq inherited Aleppo and Damascus respectively and contested with each other as well, further dividing Syria amongst emirs antagonistic towards each other.[54]

In 1118, the third son Ahmad Sanjar took over the empire. His nephew, the son of Muhammad I, did not recognize his claim to the throne, and Mahmud II proclaimed himself Sultan and established a capital in Baghdad, until 1131 when he was finally officially deposed by Ahmad Sanjar.[citation needed]

Elsewhere in nominal Seljuk territory were the Artuqids in northeastern Syria and northern Mesopotamia; they controlled Jerusalem until 1098. The Dānišmand dynasty founded a state in eastern Anatolia and northern Syria and contested land with the Sultanate of Rum, and Kerbogha exercised independence as the atabeg of Mosul.[citation needed]

### First Crusade (1095–1099)

[edit]

Main articles: First Crusade and Georgian–Seljuk wars

Seljuk warrior figurine (12th century),[56] and Turkoman soldiers from the Book of Antidotes of Pseudo-Gallen. Probably northern Iraq (Mosul). Mid 13th century.[57]

During the First Crusade, the fractured states of the Seljuks were generally more concerned with consolidating their own territories and gaining control of their neighbours than with cooperating against the crusaders. The Seljuks easily defeated the People's Crusade arriving in 1096, but they could not stop the progress of the army of the subsequent Princes' Crusade (First Crusade), which took important cities such as Nicaea (İznik), Iconium (Konya), Caesarea Mazaca (Kayseri), and Antioch (Antakya) on its march to Jerusalem (Al-Quds). In 1099 the crusaders finally captured the Holy Land and set up the first Crusader states. The Seljuks had already lost Jerusalem to the Fatimids, who had recaptured it in 1098 just before its capture by the crusaders.[58]

After pillaging the County of Edessa, Seljuk commander Ilghazi made peace with the Crusaders. In 1121 he went north towards Georgia and with supposedly up to 250,000–350,000 troops, including men led by his son-in-law Sadaqah and Sultan Malik of Ganja, he invaded the Kingdom of Georgia.[59][60] David IV of Georgia gathered 40,000 Georgian warriors, including 5,000 monaspa guards, 15,000 Kipchaks, 300 Alans and 100 French Crusaders to fight against Ilghazi's vast army. At the Battle of Didgori on August 12, 1121, the Seljuks were routed, being run down by pursuing Georgian cavalry for several days afterward. The battle helped the Crusader states, which had been under pressure from Ilghazi's armies. The weakening of the main enemy of the Latin principalities also benefitted the Kingdom of Jerusalem under King Baldwin II.[citation needed]

### Second Crusade (1147–1149)

[edit]

See also: Second Crusade, Zengid dynasty, and Nur ad-Din (died 1174)

During this time conflict with the Crusader states was also intermittent, and after the First Crusade increasingly independent atabegs would frequently ally with the Crusader states against other atabegs as they vied with each other for territory. At Mosul, Zengi succeeded Kerbogha as atabeg and successfully began the process of consolidating the atabegs of Syria. In 1144 Zengi captured Edessa, as the County of Edessa had allied itself with the Artuqids against him. This event triggered the launch of the Second Crusade. Nur ad-Din, one of Zengi's sons who succeeded him as atabeg of Aleppo, created an alliance in the region to oppose the Second Crusade, which landed in 1147.[citation needed]

### Decline of the Seljuk Empire

[edit]

Enthroned figure usually identified as the last Seljuk ruler Tughril III (1176–1194), from Rayy, Iran. Philadelphia Museum of Art.[61][62]

Ahmad Sanjar fought to contain the revolts by the Kara-Khanids in Transoxiana, Ghurids in Afghanistan and Qarluks in modern Kyrgyzstan, as well as the nomadic invasion of the Qara-Khitais in the east. The advancing Qara-Khitais first defeated the Eastern Kara-Khanids, then followed up by crushing the Western Kara-Khanids, who were vassals of the Seljuks at Khujand. The Kara-Khanids turned to their Seljuk overlords for assistance, to which Sanjar responded by personally leading an army against the Qara-Khitai. However, Sanjar's army was decisively defeated by the host of Yelu Dashi at the Battle of Qatwan on September 9, 1141. While Sanjar managed to escape with his life, many of his close kin including his wife were taken captive in the battle's aftermath. As a result of Sanjar's failure to deal with the encroaching threat from the east, the Seljuk Empire lost all its eastern provinces up to the river Syr Darya, and vassalage of the Western Kara-Khanids was usurped by the Qara-Khitai, otherwise known as the Western Liao in Chinese historiography.[21]

### Conquest by Khwarezm and the Ayyubids

[edit]

See also: Saladin, Ayyubids, and Khwarezmid Empire

In 1153, the Oghuz Turks rebelled and captured Sanjar. He managed to escape after three years but died a year later. The Atabegs, such as the Zengids and Artuqids, were only nominally under the Seljuk Sultan, and generally controlled Syria independently. When Sanjar died in 1157, the empire fractured even further and rendered the Atabegs effectively independent.[63]

The breakaway states and dynasties included:

* Kerman Seljuk Sultanate
* Sultanate of Rum (or Anatolian Seljuks). Capital: Iznik (Nicaea), later Konya (Iconium)

After the Second Crusade, Nur ad-Din's general Shirkuh, who had established himself in Egypt on Fatimid land, was succeeded by Saladin. In time, Saladin rebelled against Nur ad-Din; upon his death, Saladin married his widow, captured most of Syria and created the Ayyubid dynasty.[citation needed]

Map of the territory directly held by the Seljuks in 1180 CE.[64]

On other fronts, the Kingdom of Georgia began to become a regional power and extended its borders at the expense of the Great Seljuk Empire. The same was true during the revival of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, under Leo II of Armenia, in Anatolia. The Abbasid caliph al-Nasir also began to reassert the authority of the caliph and allied himself with the Khwarezmshah Takash.[citation needed]

For a brief period, Toghrul III was the Sultan of all Seljuk lands except for Anatolia. He spent his reign conquering cities, destroying the citadel of Ray in the process, but was unable to hold any cities long enough to rebuild them.[65] Toghrul III, however, was defeated by Ala al-Din Tekish, Shah of Khwarazmian Empire, and the Seljuk Empire finally collapsed in 1194. Of the former Empire, only the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia remained.[66]

The Khwarazmian Empire took over as the dominant power in the region, but the Mongol invasion in 1219–1220 soon destroyed it.

The Sultanate of Rum, the last remnants of the Seljuks in Anatolia, ended too with the Mongol invasions of Anatolia through the 1260s, and was divided into small emirates called 'beyliks'. One of these, the Ottomans, would eventually rise to power and conquer the rest.[citation needed]

## Governance

[edit]

Amir in Turkic military dress: long braids, sharbush fur hat, boots, close-fitting coat.[67] Maqamat by Seljuk poet and dignitary Al-Hariri of Basra, 1237 copy.[67]

Further information: Divan § Seljuks

Seljuk power was indeed at its zenith under Malikshāh I, and both the Qarakhanids and Ghaznavids had to acknowledge the overlordship of the Seljuks.[68] Seljuk dominion was established over the ancient Sasanian domains, in Iran and Iraq, and included Anatolia, Syria, as well as parts of Central Asia and modern Afghanistan.[68] Their rule was modelled after the tribal organization common among Turkic and Mongol nomadic cultures, resembling a 'family federation' or 'appanage state'.[68] Under this organization, the leading member of the paramount family assigned to family members portions of his domains as autonomous appanages.[68]

## Capital cities

[edit]

The Seljuks exercised full control over Islamic Central Asia and the Middle East between 1040 and 1157. For most of its history, the empire was split into a western and eastern half and did not have a single capital or political center. In the east, the chief seat of Seljuk rule was Marv in present-day Turkmenistan. In the west, various cities, where the Seljuk rulers lived periodically, served as capitals: Rayy, Isfahan, Baghdad, and, later, Hamadan. These western lands were known as the Sultanate of Iraq.[note 1] After 1118, the Seljuk rulers of Iraq recognized the suzerainty of the Seljuk sultan Sanjar, who mostly ruled from Marv, and was known by the title of al-sultān al-a'zam, 'the Greatest Sultan'. The Seljuk rulers of Iraq were often mentioned as the 'Lesser Seljuks'.[69]

## Culture and language

[edit]

Much of the ideological character of the Seljuk Empire was derived from the earlier Samanid and Ghaznavid kingdoms, which had in turn emerged from the Perso-Islamic imperial system of the Abbasid caliphate.[70] This Perso-Islamic tradition was based on pre-Islamic Iranian ideas of kingship molded into an Islamic framework. Little of the public symbolism used by the Seljuks was Turkic, namely the tughra.[71] The populace of the Seljuk Empire would have considered this Perso-Islamic tradition more significant than that of steppe customs.[72]

Mina'i bowl of enthroned ruler with attendants and horsemen, a favorite theme in late Seljuq and post-Seljuq art.[73]

Highly Persianized[74] in culture[75] and language,[76] the Seljuks also played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition,[77] even exporting Persian culture to Anatolia.[b][79][80] Under the Seljuks, Persian was also used for books lecturing about politics in the mirrors for princes genre, such as the prominent Siyasatnama (Book of Politics) composed by Nizam al-Mulk.[81] During this period, these types of books consciously made use of Islamic and Iranian traditions, such as an ideal government based on the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his successors, or the Sasanian King of Kings Khosrow I (r. 531–579).[70]

Head with a beaded headdress, 12th–early 13th century, Seljuk period Iran.[82]

In most of their coins, the Seljuk sultans used the Sasanian title of shahanshah (King of Kings), and even used the old Buyid title of "Shahanshah of Islam."[83] The title of malik was used by lesser princes of the Seljuk family.[84] Like the caliphate, the Seljuks relied on a refined Persian bureaucracy.[85] The settlement of Turkic tribes in the northwestern peripheral parts of the empire, for the strategic military purpose of fending off invasions from neighboring states, led to the progressive Turkicization of those areas.[86] According to the 12th-century poet Nizami Aruzi, all of the Seljuk sultans had a liking for poetry, which is also demonstrated by the large compilation of Persian verses written under their patronage. This had already started under Tughril, who was praised in Arabic and Persian by poets such as Fakhruddin As'ad Gurgani and Bakharzi, albeit he could not understand the verses. The last Seljuk sultan Tughril III was well known for his Persian poetry.[87] The Saljuq-nama of Zahir al-Din Nishapuri, which was most likely dedicated to Tughril III, indicates that the Seljuk family now used Persian to communicate, and even were taught about the achievements of their forefathers in that language.[88]

Tughril relied on his vizier to translate from Arabic and Persian into Turkic for him,[89] and Oghuz songs were sung at the wedding of Tughril to the caliph's daughter. Later sultans, like Mahmud, could speak Arabic alongside Persian, however, they still used Turkic among themselves. The most significant evidence of the importance of Turkic language is the extensive Turkic–Arabic dictionary, or the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, assembled in Baghdad for Caliph al-Muqtadi by Mahmud al-Kashgari. However, besides the Diwan, no works written in Turkic language survive from the Seljuk Empire. While the Maliknama was compiled from Turkic oral accounts, it was written in Persian and Arabic.[88]

Steppe traditions influenced Seljuk marriages,[90] with Tughril marrying his brother Chaghri's widow, a practice despised in Islam.[90] Seljuk ceremonies were based on the Abbasid model, but sometimes ancient Iranian ceremonies were observed. During a night in 1091, all of Baghdad was lit with candles under the orders of Malik-Shah I, which resembled the Zoroastrian ritual of sadhak.[91]

## Religion

[edit]

See also: Sunni Revival

In 985, the Seljuks migrated to the city of Jend where they converted to Islam.[23] The arrival of the Seljuk Turks into Persia, and their patronage of constructing madrasas, allowed for Sunni Islam to become the dominant sect of Islam.[92] Until the death of Sultan Sanjar, the Seljuks were pious Sunnis, and represented a re-establishment of Sunni Islam in Iraq and western Persia since the 10th century.[93]

In 1046, Tughril built the madrasa al-Sultaniya in Nishapur,[94] while Chaghri Beg founded a madrasa in Merv.[95] Tughril and Alp Arslan chose Hanafi qadis and preachers for these madrasas. By 1063, there were twenty-five madrasas scattered throughout Persia and Khorasan,[96] founded by Seljuk princes.[97] In the 12th century there were over thirty madrasas in Baghdad.[98]

Panel of al-Khatun (the lady) Fatima bint Zahir al-Din, 11th–12th century, Iran.[99]

North dome in the Friday mosque of Isfahan, Iran, added in 1088–89 by Seljuk vizier Taj al-Mulk[100][101]

In 1056, Tughril built a Friday mosque with a newly constructed quarter in Baghdad which was surrounded by a wall.[102][103] The new quarter separated the Shia community from the Sunnis, since there had been frequent outbreaks of violence.[103] Through the influence of Tughril's vizier, al-Kunduri, a Hanafi Sunni,[104] the Ash'ari and Ismaili Shi'ites were exiled from Khurasan and cursed at Friday sermons in Seljuk mosques.[105][106] Al-Kunduri's vizierate persecuted Ash'aris and Sharifis, although this ended with the vizierate of Nizam al-Mulk.[104] It was under the vizierate of al-Kunduri that the Islamic scholar, Al-Juwayni was forced to flee to Mecca and Medina.[104] In 1065, Alp Arslan campaigned against the Kingdom of Georgia, subjugated Tbilisi, and built a mosque in the city.[107]

In 1092, Malik-Shah built the Jami al-Sultan Mosque in Baghdad.[102] At the capital, Isfahan, Malik-shah had constructed a madrasa, a citadel and a castle near Dizkuh.[108] Following Malik-Shah's death, the familial civil war drew attention away from religious patronage, slowing the building of madrasas and mosques.[109] Although, in 1130, the Seljuk sultan Sanjar ordered the construction of the Quthamiyya madrasa in Samarkand.[110]

While the Seljuk sultans were prodigious builders of religious buildings, Seljuk viziers were no different. The Seljuk vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, founded the first madrasa in Baghdad, in 1063, called the Nizamiya.[96] In the madrasas he built, he patronized Shafi'is.[111] The vizier Taj al-Mulk and Malik-shah's widow, Terken Khatun, patronized the building of a madrasa to compete with Nizam al-Mulk's Nizamiya.[112]

### Control over the Abbasids in Iraq (1055–1135)

[edit]

The region of Iraq was under the control of the Seljuk Empire from 1055 to 1135, since the Oghuz Turk Tughril Beg had expelled the Shiite Buyid dynasty. Tughril Beg entered Baghdad in 1055 and was the first Seljuk ruler to style himself Sultan and Protector of the Abbasid Caliphate.[113][114] From that time, the Abbasids were only puppets in the hands of the Seljuks.[115] In 1058, the Abbasid caliph granted Tughril the title of "King of East and West", officially becoming the temporal protector of Abbasid caliph Qa'im.[114] Iraq remained under the control of the Great Seljuks during the reign of Muhammad I Tapar (1082–1118 CE), but from 1119, his 14-year-old son Mahmud II (1118–1131) was restricted ruling Iraq, while Sanjar took control of the rest of the Empire.[116]

In order to counter the ambitions of Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid (1118–1135), who wanted to acquire world dominance, in 1124 Mahmūd granted the city of Wasit to Imad al-Din Zengi as an iqta, and conferred him the Military Governorship of Basra together with Baghdad and the whole of Iraq in 1126. In 1127, Imad al-Din Zengi was named Governor of Mosul, where the Atabegdom of Mosul was formed.[116] The Seljuk control of the Abbasids ended in 1135, with direct military confrontation between the Abbasids and the Seljuks: after rebuilding the walls of Baghdad and recreating a Caliphal after many centuries, al-Mustarshid confronted the subordinate Seljuk Sultan of Iraq Mas'ud in battle. The caliph lost and was taken prisoner, and died in captivity in 1135, but conflicts continued with Al-Mustarshid's successors.[44][113] Mas'ud briefly recaptured Baghdad in the Siege of Baghdad (1136), forcing Caliph Al-Rashid Billah to abdicate, but the next caliph, al-Muqtafi (1136–1160), managed to restore a high degree of independence and successfully resisted the Seljuk siege of Baghdad (1157).[44]

## Military

[edit]

### General overview

[edit]

Princely figures related to the Seljuk sultan or one of his local vassals or successors, Seljuk period, Iran, late 12th–13th century[117][118]

The army of the earliest Seljuks was not similar to the renowned Turkic military of the classical Abbasid era. Their first invasions were more of a great nomadic migration accompanied by their families and livestock rather than planned military conquests. They were not a professional army; however, warfare was a way of life for nearly all of adult male Turkmens.[119]

According to a Seljuk vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, by the reign of Malik-Shah I, the sovereign had a large army at his disposal. There were Turkmens, mamluks, a standing army, infantry and the sultan's personal guard. Nizam al-Mulk also estimated Malik-Shah's forces at 400,000 men, and often opposed cost-cutting plans (instituted by Taj al-Mulk) to bring these to 70,000.[120]

### Turkmens

[edit]

Vizier Nizam al-Mulk, the greatest advocate of Iranian orientation for the Seljuk empire, admitted the debt dynasty owed to the Turkmens. After the establishment of the Seljuk state, Turkmens continued to be the driving force behind the Seljuk expansion in Anatolia. After the rule of Malik-Shah I, however, there are very few mentions of Turkmens in the Jibali region of the state, especially in their traditional axis of Rayy, Hamadhan and Hulwan.[121]

Turkmens were difficult to manage, and they were susceptible to undisciplined pillaging. The greatest issue, however, was their dependence on pasturelands for their livestock. A great number of regions that constituted the Seljuk state were ecologically ill-suited for supporting a nomadic army. Turkmens' limitations are adeptly described by Arab scholar Sibt ibn al-Jawzi:[122]

Saltuk II (1132–1168), a Seljuk bey of the Saltukids in Anatolia, on horseback firing arrows.

> The sultan (Tughril I) ordered his soldiers to prepare [themselves] and to send to bring their tents, children and families to Iraq and to head to Syria with him. They said, "This land is ruined, there is neither food nor fodder here and we have no funds left. We cannot stay [indefinitely] on the backs of horses. What if our families, horses and beasts come, but our absence becomes drawn out? We must visit our families, so we are asking for permission to return to them and to go back to the place which is assigned to us."

Long campaigns had to be discontinued due to Turkmens' insistence on returning home, and conquests had to be scheduled to satisfy the demands of Turkmens. The short-term needs of Turkmens made longer-term military plans unachievable.[123]

### Iqta' Army

[edit]

This system, previously used by the ancient Islamic states, was established for military purposes during the Great Seljuk period during the reign of Sultan Malik-Shah I and gained a significant place in the military sphere. The army the Great Seljuks established using this system was called the Iqta' Army. The Ikta system, reorganized by Vizier Nizam al-Mulk, both trained soldiers and increased the prosperity of these lands.[124][125] The Iqta' System underwent centralization movements during the Sanjar era.[126] This army resembled the Timar Army of the Ottoman Empire.

### Palace Ghilmans or Special Army

[edit]

The Palace Ghilmans[127] or Special Army[128], were a army troops paid by the state and tasked with protecting the imperial palace and the sultan during the Seljuk period.[129] These troops also served as the Seljuk sultan's personal guard during battles and campaigns. For example, at the Battle of Manzikert, 4,000 ghilman formed the central army of the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan.[130] Furthermore, these troops were of Sipahi origin.[131]

### Mamluks

[edit]

The alternative to nomadic Turkmen troops was mamluks. While also of Turkic and often nomadic origin, dependence on pasturelands was non-existent for mamluks as they did not live a nomadic life. Previously, mamluks had constituted the later Abbasid, the Samanid and the Ghaznavid armies. In fact, the Ghaznavid dynasty was itself of mamluk origin.[132]

The process of mamluk recruitment is well known from other periods in Islamic history, but there is almost no information directly relating to the Seljuks. The chief source of mamluks was most probably forays to the steppe. The alternative to raids was buying them from slave traders and various dealers as evidenced from a slave dispute between a merchant and Muhammad I Tapar.[133]

### Military of successor states

[edit]

Many depictions of military figures are known from the period immediately following the Seljuk Empire (which ended in 1194), as illustrated manuscripts started to enjoy a major boom from circa 1200.[134] Seljuk styles of military equipment continued during the 13th century in the Turkic post-Seljuk successor states (generally included under the term "Seljuk period"), such as the Seljuk Rums, the Zengids, the Artuqids or the Khwarizmians, and are documented in their manuscripts.[135][136]

* Battle scene, in Varka and Golshah, mid-13th century Seljuk Anatolia

* Turkic amir with guards in Maqamat al-Hariri, wearing the sharbush headgear, the three-quarters length robe, and boots, at Rayy, Iran, 1237.[137][138]

* Horsemen duel in Varka and Golshah, mid-13th century Seljuk Anatolia

## Architecture

[edit]

Main article: Great Seljuk architecture

Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar (1152), Merv, Turkmenistan[139]

Muqarnas in an iwan of the Friday mosque of Isfahan (early 12th century)[100]

Mosques and madrasas were created and embellished during the period of Seljuk control. Congregational mosques were either repaired, rebuilt, or constructed in their entirety. The Seljuk sultan also commissioned numerous madrasas to promote the teaching of orthodox Islamic sciences.[140] These developments in architectural practice are coherent with the Seljuk dynasty's focus on Islam and the promotion of Muslim orthodoxy, the combining of Sufism and Sunnism.[140][20] Overall, the architecture attributed to the Seljuk period is characterized by elaborate decoration, much like the other arts produced under Seljuk rule.[141] Decoration was primarily executed in elaborate brickwork and in the use of colorful glazed tiles.[142] The most important innovations of this period occurred in the form of mosques, as first seen in the renovations of the Friday mosque of Isfahan.[143] One was the introduction of the four-iwan plan. This was attested in some earlier buildings, but under the Seljuks it turned into a common characteristic of mosques, madrasas, and caravanserais in Iran and Central Asia, eventually influencing architecture in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia as well.[143] Another major innovation was the creation of monumental domes over the space in front of the mihrab (or the maqsura), which also became characteristic of later mosques in this region and beyond.[143]

Another architectural form that flourished during the Seljuk period was the muqarnas, a form of three-dimensional geometric decoration.[144] Some interpretations maintain that the earliest known examples of muqarnas were constructed during the period of Seljuk hegemony, though it also remains possible that they were being developed at the same time in North Africa.[144] The layering of multiple embellished cells with divergent profiles in muqarnas creates a dome that has a seemingly-insubstantial interior.[144] The play of light on the surface enhances this visual effect.[144] Art historian Oleg Grabar argues that the effect of muqarnas domes embodies Qur'anic water symbolism.[144] Examples of muqarnas also appear in the niches of mosques built during the Seljuk empire.[145]

## Arts

[edit]

See also: Central Asian art

Various art forms were popularized during the Seljuk period, as evidenced by the vast amount of surviving artifacts.[20] Most Seljuk arts are known to have been produced in what is modern-day Iran.[140] However, the Seljuk sultans also encouraged artists to settle in Anatolia as part of a recolonization and reconstruction process in several cities.[146] Many works of Seljuk art continued to be produced following the decline of the empire in the late 12th century.[140] In this regard, the timeline associated with the production of Seljuk art does not entirely match the political events pertaining to the empire and its eventual fall.[20] Nonetheless, relatively little art can be correctly dated and ascribed to a Great Seljuk context. Much of the material deemed to be Seljuk in world museums in fact belongs to the period A.D. 1150–1250, after the fall of the Great Seljuk Empire, when there seems to have been a sudden burst in artistic production, apparently to a great extent unrelated to court patronage.[147]

### Ceramics

[edit]

Main articles: Mina'i ware and Lusterware

A Mina'i bowl, dated 1187 CE (Muharram 583 A.H.), a few years before the end of the Seljuk Empire in 1194. Scene of poetic recitation, with poetic verses inscribed on the rim: "If the beloved leaves me, what am I to do? If s/he does not see the wisdom of our union, what am I to do?". Kashan, Iran. (Los Angeles County Museum of Art.)[148]

Among other ceramics, the manufacture of polychrome ceramic tiles, often used as decor in architecture, were popularized during the Seljuk dynasty.[149][150] The Seljuks pioneered the use of the Mina'i technique, a painted and enameled polychrome overglaze for ceramics.[150] The glazes on the Seljuk ceramics produced often ranged from a brilliant turquoise to a very dark blue.[149] The art of Seljuk mosaic tile decorating would continue to dominate the interior of many Anatolian mosques following the period of Seljuk rule.[149] The Seljuks also created ceramic house models, while other ceramic forms in the Seljuk period included pottery figurines, some of them children's toys.[151]

* Bowl with Majlis scene by a pond, by Abu Zayd, Iran, dated 1186, MMA.[152]

* Mina'i bowl signed by Abu Zayd al-Kashani, dated 1187 CE, Iran[153]

* Lustreware great basin signed by Abu Zayd al-Kashani in 1191, Kashan, Iran.[154]

### Art of the book

[edit]

Pages from a Seven-part Quran, Iran, late 11th cen. Khalili Collection

Both secular and non-secular manuscripts were produced during the Seljuk period.[155][156] These pieces are now limited in availability, considering their ultimate susceptibility to damage overtime.[157] But those manuscripts that have survived over the centuries provide insight into the Seljuks' involvement in the arts of the book.[157] Calligraphers and illuminators were responsible for the creation of these manuscripts, though sometimes calligraphers mastered the art of both writing and illustration.[158] By the end of the 10th century, both illuminators and calligraphers were beginning to employ various colors, styles, and writing techniques in the realm of the book arts.[158]

The Qur'ans produced during the period of Seljuk rule evidence developments in calligraphy and other changes in how the holy text was divided.[158] Uniquely, calligraphers during this period frequently combined several scripts on one page of the Qur'an, such as Kufic and New Style.[158] In addition to these changes in the text, the dawn of the Seljuk empire coincided with a newfound increase in the popularity of paper as a replacement for parchment in the Islamic world.[159] The use of durable paper increased the production of compact, single-volume Qur'ans, whereas parchment codexes often contained multiple volumes of Qur'anic text.[160] Despite this development, parchment would remain popular for the production of some Qur'ans, and multi-volume pieces continued to be produced.[159][158] Illuminated borders continued to distinguish the Qur'ans produced during the Seljuk period and relative consistency was maintained with regard to their structure.[160]

Early world map from Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk ("Compendium of the languages of the Turks"), a Turkish-Arab dictionary by the Kara-Khanid author Mahmud al-Kashgari, written in Seljuk Baghdad in 1072–74 CE (1266 copy).[161]

One example of a manuscript created during Seljuk rule is a thirty-volume (juz) Qur'an created c. 1050, produced by only one calligrapher and illuminator (Freer Gallery of Art, District of Columbia, F2001.16a-b).[158] As paper had just been introduced to the Islamic world, this piece is an early Islamic paper manuscript.[159] This Qur'an is bound in brown leather, dyed in pink, decorated with gold, and offers an intricate frontispiece.[158] These elements imply the care that went into the production of this text and indications of frequent usage confirm that it was appreciated.[158] It is primarily written in the vertical "New-Style" Arabic script, a sharp, vertical script.[159] The dominant use of New Style in this folio, also referred to as "new Abbasid Script", attests to the shift from the geometric Kufic script to a more legible calligraphic style, which occurred in the 10th century.[159] Scattered remnants of Kufic, used primarily to indicate volume and page number, also appear in the text.[159] The verticality of the paper in this manuscript speaks to the historic shift away from the horizontal use of paper in many Qur'ans, also a 10th-century development.[159]

Another example of a religious manuscript produced closer to the end of the period of Seljuk Rule is the Qarmathian Qur'an (dispersed folio, Arthur M. Stackler Gallery of Art, District of Columbia, S1986.65a-b).[158] This manuscript's folios are illuminated with a gold border and thin, spiraled illustration, featuring vegetal motifs.[158] Despite the generous illumination, the four lines of Qur'anic text on the folio are exceptionally legible.[158] Created between the years 1170–1200, this particular folio demonstrates the evolution of New Style, as both vocalized cursive and diacritical dots appear in this later version of the script.[158] Only during the 13th century would New Style be replaced by the curvier proportional scripts for regular use.[159]

A Seljuk manuscript on astrological figures: Book of Fixed Stars (Kitāb suwar al-kawākib al-ṯābita), by ‛Abd al-Rahman ibn ‛Umar al-Ṣūfī, dated 1125 CE, Baghdad (controlled by the Seljuks from 1055 to 1135).[162] Doha Museum of Islamic Art MS 2.1998.[163]

A final example of a Seljuk Qur'an that has entered into scholarship is a manuscript studied in-depth by the art historian Richard Ettinghausen.[156] This piece was written in 1164 by Mahmud Ibn Al-Husayn and contains the entirety of the Qur'an (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, NEP27).[156] Unlike the two Seljuk Qur'ans discussed prior, this manuscript primarily contains Naskh script, another early Arabic script that replaced Kufic.[164] However, some Kufic calligraphy is embedded in the chapter headings.[156] This aspect speaks to how the inclusion of Kufic in Qur'ans became more of a decorative element overtime, often included in headings as opposed to the main body of text.[159][158] The manuscript is large, with seventeen lines of text per two-hundred and fifteen sheets of paper.[156] Though not all of the Qur'an is illuminated, both the beginning and the end boast elaborate illustration, with blue, gold, and white hues.[156] Ettinghausen describes the subsequent visual effect as "brilliant".[156] The inscriptions feature detailed rosettes, vines, medallions, and arabesques, some exclusively as decoration and others to indicate the end of particular lines of Qur'anic text.[156]

Manuscript production during the Seljuk period was not limited to religious texts. Beyond these religious manuscripts, scientific, literary, and historical pieces were created.[141] One example of a secular manuscript is the Nusrat al-fatrah, a historiographical and literary account of the Seljuk period written in 1200 by Imād al-Dīn (Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London).[165] Meanwhile, the scientific manuscripts produced during the Seljuk period oftentimes pertained to geography, physics, mechanics, mathematics, and astronomy.[141] The former Seljuk city of Isfahan not only boasted twelve libraries that contained a total of twelve thousand volumes, but also had an observatory where scholars could record their astrological findings.[141][155] Secular manuscripts from the Seljuk empire bear illuminations that often relate to the alignment of planets and the zodiac, a couple examples of common themes.[160]

Whether secular or non-secular, Seljuk illuminated manuscripts had enough influence as to inspire other relevant art forms, such as brass or bronze metal objects.[158] For example, the large Qarmathian Qur'an influenced some of the inscriptions on Seljuk ceramic wares.[158] Even mirrors, candlesticks, coins, and jugs manufactured in Anatolia during the Seljuk period would often bear occult astrological images inspired by manuscripts.[155] Occult knowledge persisted in manuscripts produced after the decline in the Seljuk's political power in the late 12th century, as the Seljuk sultanate's influence on the book arts continued in Anatolia.[155]

The first known illustrated manuscript of Kitâb al-Diryâq, is dated 1198, around the end of the Seljuk dynasty, and is generally attributed to the Jazira (northern Syria or Northern Iraq).[166][167]

Historian Andrew Peacock demonstrates an interest in the Seljuks of Anatolia's focus on occult themes and its manifestation in the book arts.[155] Peacock describes this finding as something that challenges the reigning view that the Seljuks were exclusively the "pious defenders of Islam" when it came to larger systems of belief.[155] Some of the occult sciences that the Seljuks took special interest in included geomancy, astrology, alchemy. A relevant occult manuscript from a later period of Seljuk influence in the 13th century is the Dustur al-Munajjimin, otherwise known as the "Rules of Astrologers", while another is the Daqa'iq al-Haqa'iq, or the "Fine Points of Eternal Truths", dating to the Sultanate of Rum in 1272.[155] The latter text captures an interest in magic and spells, with a particular focus on calling upon spiritual beings, such as angels, through ritualistic acts (Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, Persan 174).[155] The text was written by a man who wrote under a pen name, "Nasiri".[155] Interestingly, Nasiri's Daqa'iq al-Haqa'iq challenges prevailing Islamic understandings of God while encouraging piety and invoking both Sufi terms and themes.[155] For example, while incorporating a Sufi poem, the occult text speaks of supernatural bodies and disputes what Islam considers to be the accepted number of names for God.[155]

#### Illustrated manuscripts

[edit]

The western area of the Seljuk realm including Syria, Jazira and Iraq saw an "explosion of figural art" from the 12th to 13th centuries, particularly in the areas of decorative art and illustrated manuscripts.[134][168] This occurred despite religious condemnations against the depiction of living creatures, on the grounds that "it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God".[134] The origins of this new pictorial tradition are uncertain, but Arabic illustrated manuscripts such as the Maqamat al-Hariri shared many characteristics with Christian Syriac illustrated manuscripts, such as Syriac Gospels (British Library, Add. 7170).[169] This synthesis seems to point to a common pictorial tradition which developed from circa 1180 CE in the region, which was highly influenced by Byzantine art.[169][170]

### Metalwork

[edit]

Seljuk celestial globe with stand, Iran, 1144–45, Louvre Museum. The globe mentions: "This globe includes all the stars mentioned in the book of the Almagest after modifying them in proportion with the interval between the calculations of Ptolemy and the year [A.H.] 540, i.e. 1144. [It is t]he work of (san‘at) Yunis b. al-Husayn al-Asturlabi [in the] year 539".[171]

Starting around the middle of the 12th century, there appears to have been a major increase in the number of artistic metalwork objects produced in the eastern Islamic world (roughly Iran and Central Asia).[172] More of these objects have survived from after the 1140s than from before this period.[173] The major centers of production were initially concentrated in the Khorasan region, including Nishapur, Herat, and Ghazna.[173] There is some scholarly debate about the patronage of these objects,[173] with some suggesting that the growth in production is explainable by the growth of a bourgeoisie in Khorasan which had the means to afford such costly craftsmanship.[172] This is attested in part by inscriptions naming merchant owners, but most surviving objects are nonetheless attributed by their inscriptions to sultans, royal household members, or state officials.[173] In the early 13th century, this expansion of metalwork art and patronage also occurred further west, in the Levant and Mesopotamia, under the successors of the Great Seljuks (the Zengids, the Artuqids, and the Anatolian Seljuks), spurred in part by the immigration of metalworkers from Iran.[174]

Made of bronze or brass, objects could also be inlaid with copper and silver. This latter technique had fallen out of fashion in previous centuries but it underwent a revival that probably originated in Khorasan during this period.[173] The forms produced include both traditional Khorasani types, such as fluted ewers and hooded incense burners, and newe shapes, such as penboxes with rounded ends and candlesticks with drum-like bodies.[173] Many metal vessels also featured zoomorphic forms. The most sophisticated works were created by raising and sinking, with decoration executed in repoussé. To create some shapes, multiple metal sheets were carefully soldered together, with the seams made invisible by various means, such as by camouflaging them under decorative friezes.[173] The wide range of ornamental motifs include arabesques, geometric designs, real and mythological animals, and even scenes of human figures such as musicians and horsemen.[173] Arabic inscriptions are found on almost all metalwork art objects.[175] An innovation of this period, almost exclusive to metalwork, is the rendering of Arabic script into figurative forms. The earliest example of this is found on the so-called Bobrinsky Bucket.[173]

* "A demonstration of the excellence achieved in metalwork under the Seljuqs": bronze incense burner shaped like lion, with removable head, dated 1181–82 CE, Taybad, Iran. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)[176][177]

* Gold roundel, 11th century Iran. It "exemplifies the refinement of Seljuq goldsmithing".[178][179]

* Seljuk gold necklace, 11th century Iran.[180][181]

* Bobrinsky Bucket, a bronze cauldron decorated with human figures. From 1163 CE, Herat, Afghanistan. (Hermitage Museum)[182]

### Textiles and clothing

[edit]

Seljuk period figures in Turkic dress, with aqbiya turkiyya coat, tiraz armbands, boots and sharbush hat. Kitāb al-Diryāq, Jazira, 1198 CE.[167]

Seljuk silk robe in aqbiya tatariyya style, with birds motifs in medallions (11th–12th century).[183]

The general clothing style attributed to the Seljuks is that of the aqbiya tatariyya, or long robe or decorated caftan with a "Turkish" cut, with a front opening closing diagonally from right to left.[184] Patterned textiles were used, together with tiraz bands on the upper sleeves. Clothing included tall boots, as well as various hats of the sharbush type, often including a fur lining.[135] These styles continued during the 13th century in the smaller Turkic successor states, such as the Zengids or Artuqids, where many more illustrations are available, especially in manuscripts.[135]

On the other hand, the affluent sedentary Persian population seems to have adopted different robe styles, with a front opening closing diagonally from left to right, called the aqbiya tatariyya or "Tatar style", but actually also characteristic of Persian caftans from the last decades of the Sasanian dynasty.[184][135] The fabrics represent what could be called a "Sasanian renaissance", with styles going back to the Sasanian or Sogdian period.[185] Seljuk fabrics are often distinguished by the representation of nature, by minimal ornamental details, and by the combination of colorful linens giving an interchangeable color effect to the fabric. Many realistic natural elements characterize the composition of the fabrics, such as animals and plants, forming patterns consisting of arabesque elements.[185]

In many manuscripts of the period, great care is taken to distinguish the clothing of figures of power and authority in Seljuk style, from that of the otherwise omnipresent figures in Arab or local style with their long robes, turbans and bare or sandalled feet.[186][67] According to Snelders:

> In a number of these manuscripts a careful distinction is made between royal and non-royal figures, both in terms of physical appearance and dress. Whereas princes and governors are commonly represented with the same 'Asiatic' or 'Oriental' facial features, and dressed in Turkish military garments like fur-trimmed caps (sharbush) and short close-fitting tunics, most other figures are depicted with 'Arab' or 'Semitic' facial features, and dressed in long robes and turbans. Apparently in keeping with the contemporary political and social makeup of the region in which these manuscripts were produced, a visual distinction was made along ethnic and social lines, between the non-Arab Turkish ruling elite and the indigenous Arab bourgeoisie.

— Snelders Identity and Christian-Muslim interaction : medieval art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul area.[187]

## Legacy

[edit]

The dynasty brought revival, energy, and reunion to the Islamic civilization hitherto dominated by Arabs and Persians. The Seljuks founded universities and were also patrons of art and literature. Their reign is characterized by Persian astronomers such as Omar Khayyam, and the Persian philosopher al-Ghazali. Under the Seljuks, New Persian became the language for historical recording, while the center of Arabic language culture shifted from Baghdad to Cairo.[188]

## Sultans

[edit]

Main article: List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire

* v
* t
* e

Great Seljuk sultans family tree

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tuqaq Temur
Yalig Beg
(b. ? – d. ?)
Commander-in-chief
of The Oghuz army| | | | | | | |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Seljuk Beg
(b. ? – d. ?)
The founder of
Seljuk dynasty| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Qawam al-Dawla[189]
(r. 1012–1028)
Buyid Governor in Kerman| | | | | | Arslan Yabgu
(b. ? – d. 1032)
Chief of Seljuk dynasty| | Mikail ibn Seljuk
(b. ? -d. ?)| | The mother of
Toghrul, Chaghri,
Ibrahim and Artash| | Yûsuf Inal[190][191]| | Yûnus[192][193]| | Mûsâ Yabgu[194]
(İnanç Yabgu) Governor of Tokharistan
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Abu Kalijar[189]
(r. 1028–1048)
Buyid Amir in Kirman| | Kurlu Bey[195]
(r. 1069–1071)
Leader of the Seljuk
vassal state in Palestine| | Qutalmish[196]
Father of  the founder of
Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate| | 1.Toghrul I
(r. 1037–1063)
First sultan of
The Great Seljuk Empire| | Chaghri Beg[197]
(r. 1040–1060)
Governor of Khorasan| | Ibrahim Inal[196]| | Artash Inal[194]
(Artāsh)| | Abu Ali
Hasan Yabgu[194][196]| | Yûsuf, Kara Arslan,
Abu Bakr, Umar,[198]
Bori and Dawlatshah|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1.Qawurd-Beg[189]
Seljuk Shah of Kirman
(r. 1048–1073)
Kerman Seljuk Sultanate| | Atsiz ibn Uvaq[195]
(r. 1076–1079)
Amir of Dimashq| | Aksungur[199]
(r. 1086–1094)
Sultan of Aleppo| | 2.Suleiman[197]
(r. 1063)[200]
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | 3.Alp Arslan
(r. 1063–1072)
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | Alp Sungur Yâkūtî[197]
Prince
Governor of Azerbaijan| | Arslan Argun and Ilyas[197]
Other princes| | Khadija Arslan[197]
Princess
married Abbasid
caliph Al-Qa'im.| | Safiyya Khatun[197]
Princess|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
2.Kerman Shah[201]
(r. 1073–1074)
3.Hussain Omar Shah[201]
(r. 1074)| | | Tutush[202][203]
(r. 1079–1095)
Sultan of Dimashq and
(r. 1094–1095) of Aleppo| | Turkan Khatun[204]
The daughter of Tamghach Khan
Ibrahim of Kara-Khanid dynasty
and de facto ruler of Mahmud I| | 4.Malik-Shah I[205]
(r. 1072–1092)
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | Arslan-Shah
(r. 1066–1083)
Governor of Khorasan| | Doğan-Shah
(r. 1083–1092)
Governor of Khorasan| | Arslan-Argun[206]
(r. 1092–1097)
Governor of Khorasan| | Tuğrul and Böri-Bars
Other princes| | Aisha
Princess
married Kara-Khanid khan
Nasr Shams al-Mulk.| |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
4.Sultan Shah[201]
(r. 1074–1085)
5.Turan I Shah[201]
(r. 1085–1097)| | | Dawud and Ahmad[204][205]
Other princes| | | 5.Mahmud I[204][205][207]
(r. 1092–1094)
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | 6.Bark-Yaruq[207]
(r. 1092–1104)[200]
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | 8.Muhammad I Tapar[208]
(r. 1105–1118)
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | 9.Ahmad Sanjar[209]
(r. 1118–1153)
Last sultan of
The Great Seljuk| | Tuğrul and Amîr Humâr[205]
Other princes| | Gawhar Khatun[205]
Princess
married Ghaznavid
sultan Mas'ud III.| | Sayyeda[205]
Princess
married Abbasid
caliph Al-Mustazhir| | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
6.Iranshah[201]
(r. 1097–1101)
7.Arslan I Shah[201]
(r. 1101–1142)| | | Duqaq[203]
(r. 1095–1104)
Amir of Dimashq| | Mah-i Malak[204][205]
Princess
married Abbasid
caliph Al-Muqtadi| | 7.Malik-Shah II[207]
(r. 1104-1105)[200]
Sultan of Great Seljuk| | 1.Mahmud II[210][211]
(r. 1118–1131)
First sultan of
The Iraqi Seljuks| | | 3.Toghrul II[210][212]
(r. 1132–1134)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | Mu'mine Khatun
wife of Toghrul II
until 1134
wife of İldeniz from 1136| | Ildeniz
(r. 1160–1175)
de facto ruler
Atabeg of Arslan-Shah| | 4.Masud[210][213]
(r. 1134–1152)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
8.Malīk Muhammad I Shah[201]
(r. 1142–1156)
9.Toghrul Shah[201]
(r. 1156–1170)| | | Tutush II & Artash[203]
(Baktāsh) (r. 1104)
Amir of Dimashq| | 2.Dawud[210]
(r. 1131–1132)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | 5.Malik-Shah III[210]
(r. 1152–1153)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | 6.Muhammad II[210]
(r. 1153–1159)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | 7.Suleiman-Shah[210]
(r. 1159–1160)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | 8.Arslan-Shah[210][214]
(r. 1160–1177)
Sultan of Iraqi Seljuks| | Nusrat al-Din Muhammad
(r. 1175–1186)
de facto ruler of Toghrul III
Atabeg of Arslan-Shah| | Qizil Arslan
(r. 1186-1191)
de facto ruler of Toghrul III
Atabeg of the Eldiguzids|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
10.Bahrām, 11.Arslan II
Shah[201](r. 1170 - 1171)
12.Bahrām Shah[201]
(r. 1171 - 1172)| | 13.Bahrām & Arslan II
Shah[201](r. 1172–1175)
14.Bahrām Shah[201]
(r. 1175)| | 15.Muhammad II Shah[201]
(r. 1175)
16.Arslan II Shah[201]
(r. 1175 - 1177)| | 17.Turan II Shah[201]
(r. 1177–1183)
18.Muhammad II Shah[201]
(r. 1183–1187)| | Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan[203]
(r. 1095–1113)
Malik of Aleppo| | Alp Arslan[203]
(r. 1113–1114)
Sultan Shah[203]
(r. 1114–1117)| | 9.Toghrul III[210][215]
(r. 1177–1191, 1192–1194)
Last sultan of
The Iraqi Seljuks| | Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr
(r. 1191–1210)
de facto ruler
Atabeg of the Eldiguzids| | Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek
(r. 1210–1225)
Atabeg of the Eldiguzids
| | |

Notes:

*   *

## See also

[edit]

History of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century

Court of Seljuk ruler Tughril III, circa 1200 CE.

Turkic peoples

|  Onogurs|

|

Oghuz Turks|
Saragurs|
Utigurs|
Bulgars|
Sabir|
Kutrigurs|
Karluks|
Kimek|
Kipchaks|
Cherniye Klobuki|
Uyghurs|
Tatars|
Kumyks|
Yakuts|
Dolgans|
Krymchaks|
Crimean Karaites|

Turkic Languages

|  Turkish|

|

Azerbaijani|
Uzbek|
Kazakh|
Uyghur|
Turkmen|
Tatar|
Kyrgyz|
Bashkir|
Chuvash|
Qasgqai|
Karakalpak|
Sakha|
Kumyk|
Karachay-Balkar|
Tuvan|
Gagauz|
Karaim|
Krymchak|

Turkic Mythology

|  Belief system: Tengrism and Shamanism|

|

Chief gods and goddesses: Kayra and Ülgen|
Epics and heroes: Ergenekon and Asena|
Major concepts: Sheka and Grey wolf|

Pre-14th century

|  Yenisei Kyrgyz People 202 BCE–13th CE

* Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate

Dingling 71 BC–?? AD

* Tiele (Gaoche)

Göktürks

* First Turkic Khaganate 552–581
* Western Turkic Khaganate 581–657

(Tokhara Yabghus, Turk Shahis)

* Eastern Turkic Khaganate 581–650
* Second Turkic Khaganate 682–744

Sabiri People
Khazar Khaganate 618–1048
Xueyantuo 628–646
Kangar Union 659–750
Turk Shahi 665-850
Türgesh Khaganate 699–766
Kimek–Kipchak Confederation 743–1035
Uyghur Khaganate 744–840
Oghuz Yabgu State 750–1055
Karluk Yabgu State 756–940
Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1212

* Western Kara-Khanid
* Eastern Kara-Khanid

Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom 848–1036
Qocho 856–1335
Pecheneg Khanates 860–1091
Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186
Seljuk Empire 1037–1194

* Sultanate of Rum

Cuman–Kipchak Confederation 1067–1239
Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231
Kerait Khanate 11th century–13th century
Atabegs of Azerbaijan 1136–1225
Delhi Sultanate 1206–1526

* Mamluk dynasty
* Khalji dynasty
* Tughlaq dynasty

Qarlughid Kingdom 1224–1266
Golden Horde 1242–1502
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) 1250–1517

* Bahri dynasty

Ottoman State 1299–1922

* v
* t
* e

* Anatolian Seljuks family tree
* History of the Turks
* List of battles involving the Seljuk Empire
* Nizari–Seljuk conflicts
* Rahat al-sudur
* Timeline of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
* Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)
* Turkic migration

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In order to distinguish it from the Anatolian branch of the Seljuk dynasty, the Sultanate of Rum.[15][16]
2. ^ "...renewed the Seljuk attempt to found a great Turko-Persian empire in eastern Iran …", "It is to be noted that the Seljuks, those Turkomans who became sultans of Persia, did not Turkify Persia - no doubt because they did not wish to do so. On the contrary, it was they who voluntarily became Persians and who, in the manner of the great old Sassanid kings, strove to protect the Iranian populations from the plundering of Ghuzz bands and save Iranian culture from the Turkoman menace."[78]

1. ^ Here, Iraq is meant in its medieval sense, which incorporated western Iran (historic 'Iraq al-'Ajam or Persian Iraq, also known as Jibal) as well as 'Iraq al-Arab (Arab Iraq), roughly the central and southern parts of present-day Iraq

## Footnotes

[edit]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Stone, Norman (1989). The Times atlas of world history. Maplewood, N.J.: Hammond Incorporated. p. 135\. ISBN 0-7230-0304-1.
2. ^ Peacock 2015, pp. 62–63.
3. ^ a b Savory, R. M., ed. (1976). Introduction to Islamic Civilisation. Cambridge University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-521-20777-5.
4. ^ Black, Edwin (2004). Banking on Baghdad: Inside Iraq's 7,000-year History of War, Profit and Conflict. John Wiley and Sons. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-471-67186-2.
5. ^ a b c C.E. Bosworth, "Turkish Expansion towards the west" in UNESCO History of Humanity, Volume IV, titled "From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century", UNESCO Publishing / Routledge, p. 391: "While the Arabic language retained its primacy in such spheres as law, theology and science, the culture of the Seljuk court and secular literature within the sultanate became largely Persianized; this is seen in the early adoption of Persian epic names by the Seljuk rulers (Qubād, Kay Khusraw and so on) and in the use of Persian as a literary language (Turkish must have been essentially a vehicle for everyday speech at this time)."
6. ^ Stokes 2008, p. 615.
7. ^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World, Ed. Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie, (Elsevier Ltd., 2009), 1110; "Oghuz Turkic is first represented by Old Anatolian Turkish which was a subordinate written medium until the end of the Seljuk rule."
8. ^ Holt, Peter M. (1984). "Some Observations on the 'Abbāsid Caliphate of Cairo". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 47 (3). University of London: 501–507\. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00113710. S2CID 161092185.
9. ^ Grousset 1988, p. 167.
10. ^ Grousset 1988, p. 159, 161.
11. ^ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D. (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
12. ^ Rein Taagepera (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 496. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793.
13. ^ Bang, Peter Fibiger; Bayly, C. A.; Scheidel, Walter (2020). The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume One: The Imperial Experience. Oxford University Press. pp. 92–94\. ISBN 978-0-19-977311-4.
14. ^ See:
* Peacock 2015
* Christian Lange; Songül Mecit, eds., Seljuqs: Politics, Society and Culture (Edinburgh University Press, 2012), 1–328
* P.M. Holt; Ann K.S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis, The Cambridge History of Islam (Volume IA): The Central Islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War, (Cambridge University Press, 1977), 151, 231–234.
15. ^ Mecit 2014, p. 128.
16. ^ Peacock & Yıldız 2013, p. 6.
17. ^ • Jackson, P. (2002). "Review: The History of the Seljuq Turkmens: The History of the Seljuq Turkmens". Journal of Islamic Studies. 13 (1). Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies: 75–76\. doi:10.1093/jis/13.1.75.
• Bosworth, C. E. (2001). Notes on Some Turkish Names in Abu 'l-Fadl Bayhaqi's Tarikh-i Mas'udi". Oriens, Vol. 36, 2001 (2001), pp. 299–313.
• Dani, A. H., Masson, V. M. (Eds), Asimova, M. S. (Eds), Litvinsky, B. A. (Eds), Boaworth, C. E. (Eds). (1999). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Pvt. Ltd).
• Hancock, I. (2006). On Romani origins and identity. The Romani Archives and Documentation Center. The University of Texas at Austin.
• Asimov, M. S., Bosworth, C. E. (eds.). (1998). History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV: "The Age of Achievement: AD 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century", Part One: "The Historical, Social and Economic Setting". Multiple History Series. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
• Dani, A. H., Masson, V. M. (Eds), Asimova, M. S. (Eds), Litvinsky, B. A. (Eds), Boaworth, C. E. (Eds). (1999). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Pvt. Ltd).
• Lars Johanson; Éva Ágnes Csató Johanson (2015). The Turkic Languages. p. 25\. "The name 'Seljuk is a political rather than ethnic name. It derives from Selčiik, born Toqaq Temir Yally, a war-lord (sil-baši), from the Qiniq tribal grouping of the Oghuz. Seljuk, in the rough and tumble of internal Oghuz politics, fled to Jand, c. 985, after falling out with his overlord."
18. ^ * "Aḥmad of Niǧde's al-Walad al-Shafīq and the Seljuk Past", A. C. S. Peacock, Anatolian Studies, Vol. 54, (2004), 97; "With the growth of Seljuk power in Rum, a more highly developed Muslim cultural life, based on the Persianate culture of the Seljuk court, was able to take root in Anatolia."
* Meisami, Julie Scott, Persian Historiography to the End of the Twelfth Century, (Edinburgh University Press, 1999), 143; "Nizam al-Mulk also attempted to organise the Saljuq administration according to the Persianate Ghaznavid model k..."
* Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Šahrbānu", Online Edition: "here one might bear in mind that non-Persian dynasties such as the Ghaznavids, Saljuqs and Ilkhanids were rapidly to adopt the Persian language and have their origins traced back to the ancient kings of Persia rather than to Turkish heroes or Muslim saints ..."
* Meri, Josef W. (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. p. 399\. ISBN 978-0-415-96690-0. "(Isfahan) has served as the political and cultural center of the Persianate world: during the reign of the Seljuks (1038–1194) and that of the Safavids (1501–1722)".
* Mandelbaum, Michael (1994). Central Asia and the World: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. Council on Foreign Relations. p. 79\. ISBN 978-0-87609-167-8. "Persianate zone (...) The rise of Persianized Turks to administrative control (...) The Turko-Persian tradition developed during the Seljuk period (1040–1118) (...) In the Persianate zone, Turkophones ruled and Iranians administered"
* Jonathan Dewald, Europe 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, p. 24: "Turcoman armies coming from the East had driven the Byzantines out of much of Asia Minor and established the Persianized sultanate of the Seljuks."
* Shaw, Wendy (2003). Possessors and Possessed: Museums, Archaeology, and the Visualization of History in the Late Ottoman Empire. University of California Press. p. 5\. ISBN 978-0-520-92856-5. "In the tenth century, these and other nomadic tribes, often collectively referred to as Turkomans, migrated out of Central Asia and into Iran. Turkish tribes initially served as mercenary soldiers for local rulers but soon set up their own kingdoms in Iran, some of which grew into Empires – most notably the Great Seljuk Empire. In the meantime, many Turkic rulers and tribespeople eventually converted to Islam."
* Gencer, A. Yunus (2017). Thomas, David; Chesworth, John A. (eds.). Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 10 Ottoman and Safavid Empires (1600–1700). Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-34565-2. "Turkish music completed its transformation into completely makam-based music in the early 11th-century, in the period of the Turko-Persian Seljuk Empire."
* Calmard, Jean (2003). Newman, Andrew J. (ed.). Society and Culture in the Early Modern Middle East: Studies on Iran in the Safavid Period. Brill. p. 318\. ISBN 978-90-47-40171-1. "A particularly interesting text, which reveals the socio-religious mood of the Turco-Persian world from Seljuk times, is the Abù Muslim romance."
* Pfeifer, Helen (2022). Empire of Salons: Conquest and Community in Early Modern Ottoman Lands. Princeton University Press. p. 46\. ISBN 978-0-691-22495-4. "The cultural influence of the Turco-Persian Seljuks long outlasted their political control of Anatolia, and the Turkish principalities that succeeded them starting in the late thirteenth century continued to look to that tradition for models of refinement and sociability."
* Khazonov, Anatoly M. (2015). "Pastoral nomadic migrations and conquests". In Kedar, Benjamin Z.; Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. (eds.). The Cambridge World History, Volume 5. Cambridge University Press. p. 373\. ISBN 978-0-521-19074-9. "The Seljuk Empire was another Turco-Iranian state, and its creation was unexpected even by the Seljuks themselves."
* Partridge, Christopher (2018). High Culture: Drugs, Mysticism, and the Pursuit of Transcendence in the Modern World. Oxford University Press. p. 96\. ISBN 978-0-19-045911-6. "Under his leadership, the Nezāris mounted a decentralized revolutionary effort against the militarily superior Turko-Persian Saljuq empire."
* Neumann, Iver B.; Wigen, Einar (2018). The Steppe Tradition in International Relations. Cambridge University Press. p. 135\. ISBN 978-1-108-35530-8. "The Seljuq Empire is nevertheless the foremost example of a Turko-Persian Islamic empire."
* Hathaway, Jane (2003). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. State University of New York Press. p. 98\. ISBN 978-0-7914-5884-6. "Farther east, medieval Turco-Iranian military patronage states, such as those of the Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Timurids, and early Ottomans, appear to have been more directly affected by the banner traditions of the nomadic Turkic and Mongol populations of the Central Asian steppes, who in turn were influenced by the traditions of the various empires and kingdoms that ruled China, Japan, and Korea."
* Cupane, Carolina; Krönung, Bettina (2016). Fictional Storytelling in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond. Brill. p. 532\. ISBN 978-90-04-30772-8. "Seljuk(s) medieval Turko-Persian dynasty"
19. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 32: "Later sources also play down the role of a third Seljuk, Musa Yabghu, who certainly occupied an equal position to Tughril and Chaghri, and possibly even a senior one."
20. ^ a b c d Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S. (2009), "Saljuq", The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195309911.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1, retrieved 2023-01-01
21. ^ a b Biran 2005, p. 44.
22. ^ Johanson & Johanson 2015, p. 25.
23. ^ a b Peacock 2015, p. 25.
24. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 26.
25. ^ Frye 1975, p. 159.
26. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 27.
27. ^ Peacock 2015, pp. 32–35.
28. ^ Paul, Jurgen (2008). "The Role of Khwarazm in Seljuq Central Asian Politics, Victories and Defeats:Two Case Studies". Eurasian Studies, VII. Martin-Luther Universität, Halle-Wittemberg. pp. 1–17.
29. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 33.
30. ^ Peacock 2010b, pp. 92–93.
31. ^ Basan 2010, pp. 61–62.
32. ^ Basan 2010, p. 62.
33. ^ Friedman, John Block (2017). Routledge Revivals: Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages (2000): An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 546\. ISBN 978-1-351-66132-4.
34. ^ a b c Basan 2010, p. 66.
35. ^ Paul A. Blaum (2005). Diplomacy gone to seed: a history of Byzantine foreign relations, A.D. 1047–57. International Journal of Kurdish Studies. (Online version) Archived 2012-07-08 at archive.today
36. ^ Princeton, University. "Dhu'l Qa'da 463/ August 1071 The Battle of Malazkirt (Manzikert)". Retrieved 2007-09-08.
37. ^ Battle of Partskhisi, Historical Dictionary of Georgia, ed. Alexander Mikaberidze, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), 524.
38. ^ Georgian-Saljuk Wars (11th–13th Centuries), Alexander Mikaberidze, Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. I, ed. Alexander Mikaberidze, (ABC-CLIO, 2011), 334.
39. ^ Beihammer 2017, pp. 234, 244.
40. ^ Korobeinikov 2015, p. 71.
41. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 68.
42. ^ Basan 2010, pp. 94–96.
43. ^ Grousset 1988, p. 159.
44. ^ a b c d Tor, Deborah G. (2000). "Sanjar, Aḥmad b. Malekšāh". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
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46. ^ Liao Shih (the official history of the Khitan Dynasty) cited by Wittfogel, Karl A. and Feng Chia-Sheng (1949) History of Chinese Society: Liao, 907–1125 American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, p. 639 OCLC 9811810
47. ^ a b Sinor, Denis (1990). The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 368\. ISBN 0-521-24304-1.
48. ^ a b Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ghurids. "The actual fighting in Khorasan at this time was largely between the Ghurids and Tekeš's brother Solṭānšāh, who had carved out for himself personally a principality in western Khorasan, until in 586/1190. Ḡīāṯ-al–Dīn and Moʿezz-al-Dīn defeated Solṭānšāh near Marv in 588/1192, captured him, and took over his territories (Jūzjānī, I, 303–304, tr. I, pp. 246–247). When Tekeš died in 596/1200 (Ebn al-Aṯīr, Beirut, XII, pp. 156–58), Ḡīāṯ-al-Dīn was able to take over most of the towns of Khorasan as far west as Besṭām in Qūmes."
49. ^ C. Edmond Bosworth, "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)," Camb. Hist. Iran V, 1968, pp. 94–185
50. ^ Saunders, John Joseph (1971). The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 60.
51. ^ "The Desolation of Merv".
52. ^ Tertius Chandler & Gerald Fox, "3000 Years of Urban Growth", pp. 232–236
53. ^ Beihammer 2017, pp. 278–280.
54. ^ a b Beihammer 2017, pp. 254–255.
55. ^ Basan 2010, pp. 98–100.
56. ^ "Standing Warrior Holding a Sword". Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum. The Walters Art Museum.
57. ^ Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. pp. 91, 92, 162 commentary. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0. "In the painting the facial cast of these Turks is obviously reflected, and so are the special fashions and accoutrements they favored. (p. 162, commentary on image p. 91)"`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
58. ^ "Crusades – Siege, Jerusalem, 1099". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
59. ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander. "'Miraculous Victory:' Battle of Didgori, 1121". Armchair General. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
60. ^ Anatol Khazanov. Nomads in the Sedentary World. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
61. ^ Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs - MetPublications - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 76–77, 314 note 3. "The ruler is usually identified as Sultan Tughril III of Iraq (r. 1176–94), who was killed near Rayy and buried there (Mujmal al-tavārīkh 2001, p. 465). Pope (Pope and Ackerman, eds. 1938–39, vol. 2, p. 1306) and Wiet (1932b, pp. 71–72) wrote Tughril II but intended Tughril III."
62. ^ Hillenbrand, Robert (1999). Islamic art and architecture. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 91, Fig. 64. ISBN 978-0-500-20305-7.
63. ^ El-Azhari 2019, p. 311.
64. ^ Boyle (Ed.), J. A. (1958). The Cambridge History of Iran: Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 188, Map 4. ISBN 9781139054973. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
65. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 49.
66. ^ Cunliffe 2015, p. 395.
67. ^ a b c Flood, Finbarr Barry (2017). "A Turk in the Dukhang? Comparative Perspectives on Elite Dress in Medieval Ladakh and the Caucasus". Interaction in the Himalayas and Central Asia. Austrian Academy of Science Press: 232.
68. ^ a b c d Wink, Andre, Al Hind the Making of the Indo Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, Jan 1, 1996, ISBN 90-04-09249-8 pp. 9–10
69. ^ Peacock 2015, pp. 6–8.
70. ^ a b Herzig & Stewart 2014, p. 3.
71. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 134.
72. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 135.
73. ^ "Bowl with Enthroned Figure and Horsemen, late 12th–early 13th century".
74. ^ • Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Šahrbānu", Online Edition: "here one might bear in mind that non-Persian dynasties such as the Ghaznavids, Saljuqs and Ilkhanids were rapidly to adopt the Persian language and have their origins traced back to the ancient kings of Persia rather than to Turkish heroes or Muslim saints ..."  • Josef W. Meri, "Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia", Routledge, 2005, p. 399  • Michael Mandelbaum, "Central Asia and the World", Council on Foreign Relations (May 1994), p. 79  • Jonathan Dewald, "Europe 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World", Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, p. 24: "Turcoman armies coming from the East had driven the Byzantines out of much of Asia Minor and established the Persianized sultanate of the Seljuks."
75. ^ • C.E. Bosworth, "Turkmen Expansion towards the west" in UNESCO History of Humanity, Volume IV, titled "From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century", UNESCO Publishing / Routledge, p. 391: "While the Arabic language retained its primacy in such spheres as law, theology and science, the culture of the Seljuk court and secular literature within the sultanate became largely Persianized; this is seen in the early adoption of Persian epic names by the Seljuk rulers (Qubād, Kay Khusraw and so on) and in the use of Persian as a literary language (Turkmen must have been essentially a vehicle for everyday speech at this time). The process of Persianization accelerated in the thirteenth century with the presence in Konya of two of the most distinguished refugees fleeing before the Mongols, Bahā' al-Dīn Walad and his son Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, whose Mathnawī, composed in Konya, constitutes one of the crowning glories of classical Persian literature."
• Mehmed Fuad Köprülü, "Early Mystics in Turkish Literature", Translated by Gary Leiser and Robert Dankoff, Routledge, 2006, p. 149: "If we wish to sketch, in broad outline, the civilization created by the Seljuks of Anatolia, we must recognize that the local—i.e., non-Muslim, element was fairly insignificant compared to the Turkish and Arab-Persian elements, and that the Persian element was paramount. The Seljuk rulers, to be sure, who were in contact with not only Muslim Persian civilization, but also with the Arab civilizations in al-jazlra and Syria—indeed, with all Muslim peoples as far as India—also had connections with {various} Byzantine courts. Some of these rulers, like the great 'Ala' al-Dln Kai-Qubad I himself, who married Byzantine princesses and thus strengthened relations with their neighbors to the west, lived for many years in Byzantium and became very familiar with the customs and ceremonial at the Byzantine court. Still, this close contact with the ancient Greco-Roman and Christian traditions only resulted in their adoption of a policy of tolerance toward art, aesthetic life, painting, music, independent thought—in short, toward those things that were frowned upon by the narrow and piously ascetic views {of their subjects}. The contact of the common people with the Greeks and Armenians had basically the same result. [Before coming to Anatolia,] the Turkmens had been in contact with many nations and had long shown their ability to synthesize the artistic elements that they had adopted from these nations. When they settled in Anatolia, they encountered peoples with whom they had not yet been in contact and immediately established relations with them as well. Ala al-Din Kai-Qubad I established ties with the Genoese and, especially, the Venetians at the ports of Sinop and Antalya, which belonged to him, and granted them commercial and legal concessions. Meanwhile, the Mongol invasion, which caused a great number of scholars and artisans to flee from Turkmenistan, Iran, and Khwarazm and settle within the Empire of the Seljuks of Anatolia, resulted in a reinforcing of Persian influence on the Anatolian Turks. Indeed, despite all claims to the contrary, there is no question that Persian influence was paramount among the Seljuks of Anatolia. This is clearly revealed by the fact that the sultans who ascended the throne after Ghiyath al-Din Kai-Khusraw I assumed titles taken from ancient Persian mythology, like Kai-Khusraw, Kai-Ka us, and Kai-Qubad; and that. Ala' al-Din Kai-Qubad I had some passages from the Shahname inscribed on the walls of Konya and Sivas. When we take into consideration domestic life in the Konya courts and the sincerity of the favor and attachment of the rulers to Persian poets and Persian literature, then this fact [i.e., the importance of Persian influence] is undeniable. With regard to the private lives of the rulers, their amusements, and palace ceremonial, the most definite influence was also that of Iran, mixed with the early Turkish traditions, and not that of Byzantium."  • Stephen P. Blake, Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India, 1639–1739. Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 123: "For the Seljuks and Il-Khanids in Iran it was the rulers rather than the conquered who were "Persianized and Islamicized"
76. ^ *Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Šahrbānu", Online Edition: "here one might bear in mind that non-Persian dynasties such as the Ghaznavids, Saljuqs and Ilkhanids were rapidly to adopt the Persian language and have their origins traced back to the ancient kings of Persia rather than to Turkish heroes or Muslim saints ..."  • O.Özgündenli, "Persian Manuscripts in Ottoman and Modern Turkish Libraries[usurped]", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition  • M. Ravandi, "The Seljuq court at Konya and the Persianisation of Anatolian Cities", in Mesogeios (Mediterranean Studies), vol. 25–26 (2005), pp. 157–69  • F. Daftary, "Sectarian and National Movements in Iran, Khorasan, and Trasoxania during Umayyad and Early Abbasid Times", in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol 4, pt. 1; edited by M.S. Asimov and C.E. Bosworth; UNESCO Publishing, Institute of Ismaili Studies: "Not only did the inhabitants of Khurasan not succumb to the language of the nomadic invaders, but they imposed their own tongue on them. The region could even assimilate the Turkic Ghaznavids and Seljuks (eleventh and twelfth centuries), the Timurids (fourteenth–fifteenth centuries), and the Qajars (nineteenth–twentieth centuries) ..."
77. ^ "The Turko-Persian tradition features Persian culture patronized by Turkic rulers." See Daniel Pipes: "The Event of Our Era: Former Soviet Muslim Republics Change the Middle East" in Michael Mandelbaum, "Central Asia and the World: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkemenistan and the World", Council on Foreign Relations, p. 79. Exact statement: "In Short, the Turko-Persian tradition featured Persian culture patronized by Turcophone rulers."
78. ^ Grousset 1988, p. 161, 164.
79. ^ Grousset 1988, p. 574.
80. ^ Bingham, Woodbridge, Hilary Conroy and Frank William Iklé, History of Asia, Vol.1, (Allyn and Bacon, 1964), 98.
81. ^ Green 2019, p. 16.
82. ^ "Head from a Figure with a Beaded Headdress". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
83. ^ Tor 2012, p. 149.
84. ^ Spuler 2014, p. 349.
85. ^ El-Azhari 2021, p. 286.
86. ^ *An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (Peter B. Golden. Otto Harrasowitz, 1992). p. 386: "Turkic penetration probably began in the Hunnic era and its aftermath. Steady pressure from Turkic nomads was typical of the Khazar era, although there are no unambiguous references to permanent settlements. These most certainly occurred with the arrival of the Oguz in the 11th century. The Turkicization of much of Azarbayjan, according to Soviet scholars, was completed largely during the Ilxanid period if not by late Seljuk times. Sumer, placing a slightly different emphasis on the data (more correct in my view), posts three periods which Turkicization took place: Seljuk, Mongol and Post-Mongol (Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu and Safavid). In the first two, Oguz Turkic tribes advanced or were driven to the western frontiers (Anatolia) and Northern Azarbaijan (Arran, the Mugan steppe). In the last period, the Turkic elements in Iran (derived from Oguz, with lesser admixture of Uygur, Qipchaq, Qaluq and other Turks brought to Iran during the Chinggisid era, as well as Turkicized Mongols) were joined now by Anatolian Turks migrating back to Iran. This marked the final stage of Turkicization. Although there is some evidence for the presence of Qipchaqs among the Turkic tribes coming to this region, there is little doubt that the critical mass which brought about this linguistic shift was provided by the same Oguz-Turkmen tribes that had come to Anatolia. The Azeris of today are an overwhelmingly sedentary, detribalized people. Anthropologically, they are little distinguished from the Iranian neighbors."
* John Perry: "We should distinguish two complementary ways in which the advent of the Turks affected the language map of Iran. First, since the Turkish-speaking rulers of most Iranian polities from the Ghaznavids and Seljuks onward were already Iranized and patronized Persian literature in their domains, the expansion of Turk-ruled empires served to expand the territorial domain of written Persian into the conquered areas, notably Anatolia and Central and South Asia. Secondly, the influx of massive Turkish-speaking populations (culminating with the rank and file of the Mongol armies) and their settlement in large areas of Iran (particularly in Azerbaijan and the northwest), progressively turkicized local speakers of Persian, Kurdish and other Iranian languages"
(John Perry. "The Historical Role of Turkish in Relation to Persian of Iran". Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 5, (2001), pp. 193–200.)
* According to C.E. Bosworth:
"The eastern Caucasus came under Saljuq control in the middle years of the 5th/11th century, and in c. 468/1075–56 Sultan Alp Arslān sent his slave commander ʿEmād-al-dīn Savtigin as governor of Azerbaijan and Arrān, displacing the last Shaddadids. From this period begins the increasing Turkicization of Arrān, under the Saljuqs and then under the line of Eldigüzid or Ildeñizid Atabegs, who had to defend eastern Transcaucasia against the attacks of the resurgent Georgian kings. The influx of Oghuz and other Türkmens was accentuated by the Mongol invasions. Bardaʿa had never revived fully after the Rūs sacking, and is little mentioned in the sources." (C.E. Bsowrth, Arran in Encyclopædia Iranica)
* According to Fridrik Thordarson:
"Iranian influence on Caucasian languages. There is general agreement that Iranian languages predominated in Azerbaijan from the 1st millennium b.c. until the advent of the Turks in a.d. the 11th century (see Menges, pp. 41–42; Camb. Hist. Iran IV, pp. 226–228, and VI, pp. 950–952). The process of Turkicization was essentially complete by the beginning of the 16th century, and today Iranian languages are spoken in only a few scattered settlements in the area."
87. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 185.
88. ^ a b Peacock 2015, p. 182.
89. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 30.
90. ^ a b Peacock 2015, p. 183.
91. ^ Peacock 2015, pp. 163–164.
92. ^ Gardet 1970, p. 570.
93. ^ Tor 2011, p. 54.
94. ^ Bulliet 1994, p. 223.
95. ^ Lambton 1968, pp. 215–216.
96. ^ a b Bulliet 1994, p. 147.
97. ^ Hillenbrand 1994, p. 174.
98. ^ Peacock 2015, p. ?.
99. ^ "Panel of al-Khatun (the lady) Fatima bint Zahir al-Din". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
100. ^ a b Blair, Sheila; Bloom, Jonathan (2011). "The Friday Mosque at Isfahan". In Hattstein, Markus; Delius, Peter (eds.). Islam: Art and Architecture. h.f.ullmann. pp. 368–369\. ISBN 9783848003808.
101. ^ Canby et al. 2016, pp. 8–9.
102. ^ a b Lambton 1968, p. 223.
103. ^ a b Van Renterghem 2015, pp. 80–81.
104. ^ a b c Kuru 2019, p. 101.
105. ^ Arjomand 1999, p. 269.
106. ^ Safi 2006, p. xxx.
107. ^ Minorsky 1953, p. 65.
108. ^ Bosworth 1968, p. 85.
109. ^ Christie 2014, p. 36.
110. ^ Mirbabaev 1992, p. 37.
111. ^ Berkey 2003, p. 217.
112. ^ Safi 2006, p. 67.
113. ^ a b Falk, Avner (2018). Franks and Saracens: Reality and Fantasy in the Crusades. Routledge. p. 76\. ISBN 978-0-429-89969-0.
114. ^ a b McHugo, John (2018). A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is. Georgetown University Press. p. 118\. ISBN 978-1-62616-588-5.
115. ^ Rice, David Talbot (1965). Islamic Art (Volume 20 of World of art) (PDF). London: Thames and Hudson.
116. ^ a b Küçüksipahioğlu, Birsel (30 June 2020). "Musul ve Halep Valisi İmâdeddin Zengi'nin Haçlılarla Mücadelesi". Journal of Oriental Studies (36): 103–126\. doi:10.26650/jos.2020.005. "Staying in Mosul until the death of Sultān Muhammad Tapar in 1118, Zangi then entered the service of the Sultān's son and the new Seljuk ruler Mahmūd (1118–1119), remaining loyal to him to the end. With the new era introduced with the defeat of Sultān Mahmūd in the Sāveh battle he engaged his uncle Sanjar in 1119, which opened the way for Sanjar (1119–1157) to accede to the throne of Great Seljuk Empire, Mahmūd was assigned to the Iraqi Seljuk Sultānate (1119–1131), continuing his rule there. In 1124, Sultān Mahmūd granted the city of Wasit to Imad al-Din Zangi as a ıqta, and conferred him the Military Governorship of Basra together with Baghdad and Iraq in 1127. The reason behind such assignments was to attempt to impede Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid (1118–1135) who then wished to build a worldwide dominance. Indeed, the efforts of Zangi in the fight of Mahmūd, whom Sanjar urgently sent to Baghdad, against the Caliph ensured the Sultān became victorious, and he contributed to the efforts in damaging the sole authority and dominance claims of the Caliph. Following the deaths of Mosul Governor Aq-Sunqur el-Porsuqi and his successor and son Mas'ud in the same year in 1127, Zangi was appointed Governor of Mosul. He was also in charge of al-Jazeera and Northern Syria, and Sultān Mahmūd approved him being assigned as the Atabeg of his two sons, Farrukh shāh and Alparslan. Thus the Atabegdom of Mosul was formed."
117. ^ "Metropolitan Museum of Art". metmuseum.org.
118. ^ Heidemann, Stefan; De Lapérouse, Jean-François; Parry, Vicki (2014). "The Large Audience: Life-Sized Stucco Figures of Royal Princes from the Seljuq Period". Muqarnas. 31: 35–71\. doi:10.1163/22118993-00311P03. ISSN 0732-2992. JSTOR 44657297.
119. ^ Peacock, Andrew C. S. (2010b). Early Seljūq History: A New Interpretation. pp. 83–84.
120. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 218.
121. ^ Durand-Guédy, David (2015). "Goodbye to the Türkmen? The Military Role of Nomads in Iran after the Saljuq Conquest". Nomadic Military Power: Iran and Adjacent Areas in the Islamic Period, in K. Franz and W. Holzwarth (eds). Wiesbaden. pp. 110–113..
122. ^ al-Jawzi, Sibt (1968). Sevim, Ali (ed.). Mir'āt al-Zamān fī Ta'rīkh al-A' yan: al-Óawādith al-khā' a bi-ta'rīkh al-Salājiqa bayna al-sanawāt 1056–1086. Ankara. p. 5.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
123. ^ Peacock 2015, pp. 224–225.
124. ^ "İKTÂ SİSTEMİ Ansiklopediler - TÜBİTAK". ansiklopedi.tubitak.gov.tr. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
125. ^ "İKTÂ". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
126. ^ "İKTÂ". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
127. ^ "GULÂM". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-08-15.
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129. ^ "GULÂM". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-08-15.
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132. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 225.
133. ^ Lambton, Anne (1988). Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia: Aspects of Administrative, Economic and Social History. Albany, NY: Bibliotheca Persica. pp. 240–241.
134. ^ a b c George, Alain (February 2012). "Orality, Writing and the Image in the Maqamat : Arabic Illustrated Books in Context". Art History. 35 (1): 10–37\. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8365.2011.00881.x. "The Islamic world witnessed, in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, an explosion of figural art. (...) The making of it is forbidden under every circumstance, because it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God"
135. ^ a b c d Peck, Elsie H. Clothing viii. In Persia from the Arab conquest to the Mongol invasion. Encyclopaedia Iranica. pp. 760–778.
136. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. xiii: "While one could quibble that the art could not be Seljuq if their dynasty was no longer in power, we argue that the twenty-five years after the end, in 1194, of the Great Seljuq dynasty in Iran marked a continuation of the styles and techniques in various media that had been established during Seljuq rule. Likewise, through their architecture and luxury objects, the Seljuqs of Rum and their atabegs and successors in Anatolia, the Jazira, and Syria had a lasting impact on the art of those areas until the early fourteenth century. Their distinctive choice of iconography is found on all forms of the visual arts associated with them, revealing the strength of their cultural contribution."
137. ^ Hillenbrand 2010, p. 118, note 10.
138. ^ Contadini 2012, pp. 126, 127, 155 p. 126: “Official” Turkish figures wear a standard combination of a sharbūsh, a three-quarters length robe, and boots. Arab figures, in contrast, have different headgear (usually a turban), a robe that is either full-length or, if three-quarters length, has baggy trousers below, and they usually wear flat shoes or (...) go barefoot (...) p. 127: Reference has already been made to the combination of boots and sharbūsh as markers of official status (...) the combination is standard, even being reflected in thirteenth-century Coptic paintings, and serves to distinguish, in Grabar’s formulation, the world of the Turkish ruler and that of the Arab. (...) The type worn by the official figures in the 1237 Maqāmāt, depicted, for example, on fol. 59r,67 consists of a gold cap surmounted by a little round top and with fur trimming creating a triangular area at the front which either shows the gold cap or is a separate plaque. A particular imposing example in this manuscript is the massive sharbūsh with much more fur than usual that is worn by the princely official on the right frontispiece on fol. 1v.
139. ^ Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, p. 146.
140. ^ a b c d Hillenbrand, Robert (2003). "Saljuq family". Grove Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T075354. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
141. ^ a b c d Starr, S. Frederick (2013). "Tremors under the Dome of Seljuk Rule". Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. pp. 381–435\. ISBN 978-0-691-15773-3. JSTOR j.ctt3fgz07.20.
142. ^ Bloom, Jonathan N.; Blair, Sheila S., eds. (2009). "Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; A. Eastern Islamic lands.". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911.
143. ^ a b c Tabbaa, Yasser (2007). "Architecture". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three. Brill. ISBN 9789004161658.
144. ^ a b c d e Tabbaa, Yasser (2003). "Muqarnas". Grove Art Online. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T060413. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
145. ^ Curatola, Giovanni. Turkish Art and Architecture: From the Seljuks to the Ottomans. New York and London: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2010.
146. ^ Özcan, Koray. "The Anatolian Seljuk City: An Analysis of Early Turkish Urban Models in Anatolia". Central Asiatic Journal 54, no. 2 (January 2010): 273–290). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262096804_The_Anatolian_Seljuk_City_An_Analysis_on_Early_Turkish_Urban_Models_in_Anatolia
147. ^ Peacock 2015, p. 187.
148. ^ "Bowl, LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org.
149. ^ a b c Oktay, Aslanapa. "Turkish Ceramic Art". Archeology 24, no. 3 (June 1971): 209–219.
150. ^ a b Ceken, Muharrem. "Materials, Techniques, and Kilns Used in the Production of Seljuk and Beylik Period Glazed Tiles". In Tiles: Treasures of Anatolian Soil. Istanbul: Kale Group Cultural Publications, 2008.
151. ^ Graves, Margaret S. (2008). "Ceramic House Models from Medieval Persia: Domestic Architecture and Concealed Activities". Iran. 46: 227–251\. doi:10.1080/05786967.2008.11864746. ISSN 0578-6967. JSTOR 25651444. S2CID 192268010.
152. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 112, object 40.
153. ^ "Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org.
154. ^ "Large Luster Bowl". 1186–1196.
155. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Peacock, A. C. S. "A Seljuq Occult Manuscript and its World". In The Seljuqs and their Successors: Art, Culture, and History, edited by Sheila R. Canby, D. Beyazit, and Martina Rugiadi, 163–176. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2020.
156. ^ a b c d e f g h Ettinghausen, Richard (1935). "A Signed and Dated Seljuq Qur'an". Bulletin of the American Institute for Persian Art and Archaeology. 4 (2): 92–102\. ISSN 2573-6159. JSTOR 44240425.
157. ^ a b Hillenbrand, Robert. "The Relationship Between Book Painting and Luxury Ceramics in 13th-Century Iran". In The Art of the Seljuqs in Iran and Anatolia. edited by Robert Hillenbrand, 134–139. Costa mesa: Mazda Publishers, 1994.
158. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Farhad, Massumeh and Simon Rettig. The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. District of Columbia: Smithsonian Books, 2016.
159. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ekhtiyar, Maryam. "The Arabic Script". How to Read Islamic Calligraphy: 25–34.
160. ^ a b c Allan, James. "Manuscript Illumination: A Source for Metalwork Motifs in Saljuq Times". In The Art of the Saljuqs in Iran and Anatolia: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Edinburgh in 1982, edited by Robert Hillenbrand, 119–126. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh press, 1994.
161. ^ Yong, Heming; Peng, Jing (14 August 2008). Chinese Lexicography: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911. OUP Oxford. pp. 379–380\. ISBN 978-0-19-156167-2.
162. ^ Falk, Avner (8 May 2018). Franks and Saracens: Reality and Fantasy in the Crusades. Routledge. p. 76\. ISBN 978-0-429-89969-0.
163. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 196, Fig.78.
164. ^ Massoudy, Hassan. "The Calligrapher's Art". UNESCO Courier, vol. 48, no. 4, Apr. 1995, p. 19+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16920765/ITOF?u=mlin_m_wellcol&sid=ITOF&xid=4ee5f15f. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
165. ^ Peacock, Andrew. "Nusrat al-fatrah wa-usrat al-fitrah" [The History of the Seljuks]. Journal of Islamic Studies 32, no.1 (2021): 125–127.
166. ^ Pancaroǧlu, Oya (2001). "Socializing Medicine: Illustrations of the Kitāb al-diryāq". Muqarnas. 18: 155–172\. doi:10.2307/1523306. ISSN 0732-2992. JSTOR 1523306.
167. ^ a b Shahbazi, Shapur (30 August 2020). "Clothing". Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Brill. "Nevertheless, the most distinctive feature of late Saljuq and post-Saljuq male dress was the popularity of patterned textiles for these garments. (...) That these patterns do not merely represent ceramic conventions is clear from the rendering of garments in fragmentary wall paintings and in illustrations from the copy of Varqa wa Golšāh already mentioned, as well as in frontispieces to the volumes of Abu'l-Faraj Eṣfahānī's Ketāb al-aḡānī dated 614–16/1217–19 and to two copies of Ketāb al-deryāq (Book of antidotes) by Pseudo-Galen, dated 596/1199 and ascribed to the second quarter of the 7th/13th century respectively (Survey of Persian Art V, pl. 554A-B; Ateş, pls. 1/3, 6/16, 18; D. S. Rice, 1953, figs. 14-19; Ettinghausen, 1962, pp. 65, 85, 91). The last three manuscripts, all of them attributed to northern Mesopotamia, show that the stiff coat with diagonal closing and arm bands was also worn in that region from the end of the 6th/12th century."
168. ^ Snelders 2010, p. 3.
169. ^ a b The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1997. pp. 384–385\. ISBN 978-0-87099-777-8.
170. ^ Snelders 2010, pp. 1–2.
171. ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 195, object 116.
172. ^ a b Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, pp. 166–167.
173. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S., eds. (2009). "Metalwork; III. c. 1100–c. 1500.". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911.
174. ^ Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, p. 244.
175. ^ Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, p. 167.
176. ^ "Incense Burner of Amir Saif al-Dunya wa'l-Din ibn Muhammad al-Mawardi". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
177. ^ Ekhtiar, Maryam (2011). Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-434-7.
178. ^ "Roundel". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
179. ^ Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs – MetPublications. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 94.
180. ^ "Necklace". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
181. ^ Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs – MetPublications. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2016. pp. 99–100.
182. ^ "Cauldron". The State Hermitage Museum. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
183. ^ Canby et al. 2016, pp. 95-96, object 24.
184. ^ a b Canby et al. 2016, p. 98: "Paradoxically, however, while the style commonly attributed to the Seljuqs is that of the left-buttoning aqbiya turkiyya, or “Turkish” cut, and although this is the prevailing style of robe in illustrations from contemporary manuscripts, there is perhaps only a single complete robe attributed to the Seljuq period that closes (...) Taken within the context of adab, however, it becomes possible that the adoption of the “Tatar-style” coat was a conscious decision on the part of the affluent sedentary Persian population, as it was less identifiable with the Seljuq Turks. These associations would have been increasingly acute toward the end of the Seljuq period, as a result of the Khwarazm Shah invasions and perhaps exacerbated by the westward migrations of nomadic groups at the start of the Mongol invasion."
185. ^ a b Weibel, Adèle Coulin (1935). "Seljuk Fabrics". Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit. 15 (3): 41–43\. doi:10.1086/BULLDETINST41501410. JSTOR 41501410. S2CID 222813497.
186. ^ McSweeney, Anna. "The Maqamat of al-Hariri. Two Illustrated Mamluk Manuscripts at the British Library MS Or.9718 and Ms.Add.22114.pdf (MA Thesis, SOAS)". SOAS Dept. Art and Archaeology: 29–30.
187. ^ Snelders 2010, Paragraph 4.7.
188. ^ Andre Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol. 2, 16.
189. ^ a b c Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2002). "KAVURD BEY" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 25 (Kasti̇lya – Ki̇le) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 73–74\. ISBN 978-975-389-403-6.
190. ^ Zahîrüddîn-i Nîsâbûrî, Selcûḳnâme, (Muhammed Ramazânî Publications), Tahran 1332, p. 10.
191. ^ Reşîdüddin Fazlullāh-ı Hemedânî, Câmiʿu’t-tevârîḫ, (Ahmed Ateş Publications), Ankara 1960, vol. II/5, p. 5.
192. ^ Râvendî, Muhammed b. Ali, Râhatü’s-sudûr, (Ateş Publications), vol. I, p. 85.
193. ^ Müstevfî, Târîḫ-i Güzîde, (Nevâî Publications), p. 426.
194. ^ a b c Osman Gazi Özgüdenli (2016). "MÛSÂ YABGU". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Supplement 2 (Kâfûr, Ebü'l-Misk – Züreyk, Kostantin) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 324–325\. ISBN 978-975-389-889-8.
195. ^ a b Sevim, Ali (1991). "ATSIZ b. UVAK" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 4 (Âşik Ömer – Bâlâ Külli̇yesi̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 92-93. ISBN 978-975-389-431-9.
196. ^ a b c Sümer, Faruk (2002). "KUTALMIŞ" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 26 (Ki̇li̇ – Kütahya) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 480–481\. ISBN 978-975-389-406-7.
197. ^ a b c d e f Sevim, Ali (1993). "ÇAĞRI BEY" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 8 (Ci̇lve – Dârünnedve) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 183–186\. ISBN 978-975-389-435-7.
198. ^ Beyhakī, Târîḫ, (Behmenyâr), p. 71.
199. ^ Alptekin, Coşkun (1989). "AKSUNGUR" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 2 (Ahlâk – Amari̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 196\. ISBN 978-975-389-429-6.
200. ^ a b c Sümer, Faruk (2009). "SELÇUKLULAR" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 36 (Sakal – Sevm) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 365–371\. ISBN 978-975-389-566-8.
201. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Sümer, Faruk (2009). "KİRMAN SELÇUKLULARI" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 36 (Sakal – Sevm) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 377-379. ISBN 978-975-389-566-8.
202. ^ Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2012). "TUTUŞ" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 41 (Tevekkül – Tüsterî) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 446–449\. ISBN 978-975-389-713-6.
203. ^ a b c d e f Sümer, Faruk (2009). "SELÇUKS of Syria" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 36 (Sakal – Sevm) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 385–386\. ISBN 978-975-389-566-8.
204. ^ a b c d Bezer, Gülay Öğün (2011). "TERKEN HATUN, the mother of MAHMÛD I" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 40 (Tanzi̇mat – Teveccüh) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 510\. ISBN 978-975-389-652-8.
205. ^ a b c d e f g Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2004). "MELİKŞAH" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 29 (Mekteb – Misir Mevlevîhânesi̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 54–57\. ISBN 978-975-389-415-9.
206. ^ Sümer, Faruk (1991). "ARSLAN ARGUN" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 3 (Amasya – Âşik Mûsi̇ki̇si̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 399-400. ISBN 978-975-389-430-2.
207. ^ a b c Özaydın, Abdülkerim (1992). "BERKYARUK" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 5 (Balaban – Beşi̇r Ağa) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 514–516\. ISBN 978-975-389-432-6.
208. ^ Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2005). "MUHAMMED TAPAR" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 30 (Misra – Muhammedi̇yye) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 579–581\. ISBN 978-975-389-402-9.
209. ^ Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2009). "AHMED SENCER" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 36 (Sakal – Sevm) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 507–511\. ISBN 978-975-389-566-8.
210. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sümer, Faruk (2009). "Irak Selçuklulari" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 36 (Sakal – Sevm) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. p. 387\. ISBN 978-975-389-566-8.
211. ^ Özaydın, Abdülkerim (2003). "MAHMÛD b. MUHAMMED TAPAR" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 27 (Kütahya Mevlevîhânesi̇ – Mani̇sa) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 371–372\. ISBN 978-975-389-408-1.
212. ^ Sümer, Faruk (2012). "TUĞRUL I" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 41 (Tevekkül – Tüsterî) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 341–342\. ISBN 978-975-389-713-6.
213. ^ Sümer, Faruk (2004). "MES'ÛD b. MUHAMMED TAPAR" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 29 (Mekteb – Misir Mevlevîhânesi̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 349–351\. ISBN 978-975-389-415-9.
214. ^ Sümer, Faruk (1991). "ARSLANŞAH b. TUĞRUL" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 3 (Amasya – Âşik Mûsi̇ki̇si̇) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 404–406\. ISBN 978-975-389-430-2.
215. ^ Sümer, Faruk (2012). "Ebû Tâlib TUĞRUL b. ARSLANŞAH b. TUĞRUL" (PDF). TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 41 (Tevekkül – Tüsterî) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 342–344\. ISBN 978-975-389-713-6.

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* Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2005). "Šahrbānu". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
* Arjomand, Said Amir (1999). "The Law, Agency, and Policy in Medieval Islamic Society: Development of the Institutions of Learning from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 41, No. 2 (Apr.) (2): 263–293\. doi:10.1017/S001041759900208X. S2CID 144129603.
* Basan, Osman Aziz (2010). The Great Seljuqs: A History. Taylor & Francis.
* Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim Turkish Anatolia, ca. 1040–1130. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-22959-4.
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* Bosworth, C.E. (1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In Boyle, J.A. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge University Press.
* Bosworth, C.E., ed. (2010). The History of the Seljuq Turks: The Saljuq-nama of Zahir al-Din Nishpuri. Translated by Luther, Kenneth Allin. Routledge.
* Bulliet, Richard W. (1994). Islam: The View from the Edge. Columbia University Press.
* Canby, Sheila R.; Beyazit, Deniz; Rugiadi, Martina; Peacock, A. C. S. (2016). Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-589-4.
* Contadini, Anna (2012). A World of Beasts: A Thirteenth-Century Illustrated Arabic Book on Animals (the Kitāb Na't al-Ḥayawān) in the Ibn Bakhtīshū' Tradition. Brill. p. 155\. doi:10.1163/9789004222656_005.
* Cunliffe, Barry W. (2015). By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean: The Birth of Eurasia. Oxford University Press.
* El-Azhari, Taef (2019). "The Seljuqs from Syria to Iran: The Age of Khatuns and Atabegs". Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257. Edinburg University Press. pp. 285–348\. doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474423182.003.0007. ISBN 978-1-4744-2318-2. S2CID 219872073.
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* Frye, R.N. (1975). "The Samanids". In Frye, R.N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4: The Period from the Arab invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge University Press.
* Grousset, Rene (1988). The Empire of the Steppes. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 159, 161. ISBN 978-0-8135-0627-2. "In 1194, Togrul III would succumb to the onslaught of the Khwarizmian Turks, who were destined at last to succeed the Seljuks to the empire of the Middle East."
* Gardet, Louis (1970). "Religion and Culture". In Holt, P.M.; Lambton, Ann K. S.; Lewis, Bernard (eds.). The Cambridge History of Islam. Vol. 2B. Cambridge University Press. pp. 569–603.
* Herzig, Edmund; Stewart, Sarah (2014). The Age of the Seljuqs: The Idea of Iran Vol. 6. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-947-9.
* Hillenbrand, Robert (1994). Islamic Architecture: Form, Function, and Meaning. Columbia University Press.
* Hillenbrand, Robert (1 January 2010). "The Schefer Ḥarīrī: A Study in Islamic Frontispiece Design". Arab Painting: 117–134\. doi:10.1163/9789004236615_011. ISBN 978-90-04-23661-5.
* Johanson, Lars; Johanson, Éva Ágnes Csató (2015). The Turkic Languages.
* Korobeinikov, Dimitri (2015). "The Kings of the East and the West: The Seljuk Dynastic Concept and Titles in the Muslim and Christian sources". In Peacock, A.C.S.; Yildiz, Sara Nur (eds.). The Seljuks of Anatolia. I.B. Tauris.
* Kuru, Ahmet T. (2019). Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Underdevelopment. Cambridge University Press.
* Lambton, A.K.S. (1968). "The Internal Structure of the Saljuq Empire". In Boyle, J.A. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge University Press.
* Lyons, Malcolm Cameron; Jackson, D. E. P. (1982). Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521317398.
* Minorsky, V. (1953). Studies in Caucasian History I. New Light on the Shaddadids of Ganja II. The Shaddadids of Ani III. Prehistory of Saladin. Cambridge University Press.
* Mirbabaev, A.K. (1992). "The Islamic lands and their culture". In Bosworth, Clifford Edmund; Asimov, M. S. (eds.). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Vol. IV: Part Two: The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. Unesco.
* Christie, Niall (2014). Muslims and Crusaders: Christianity's Wars in the Middle East, 1095–1382: From the Islamic Sources. Routledge.
* Peacock, Andrew C. S. (2010). Early Seljūq History: A New Interpretation.
* Peacock, A.C.S.; Yıldız, Sara Nur, eds. (2013). The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84885-887-9.
* Peacock, Andrew (2015). The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7486-9807-3.
* Mecit, Songül (2014). The Rum Seljuqs: Evolution of a Dynasty. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-50899-0.
* Safi, Omid (2006). The Politics of Knowledge in Premodern Islam: Negotiating Ideology and Religious Inquiry (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks). University of North Carolina Press.
* El-Azhari, Taef (2021). Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661–1257. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-2318-2.
* Green, Nile (2019). Green, Nile (ed.). The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua Franca. University of California Press.
* Snelders, Bas (2010). Identity and Christian-Muslim Interaction: Medieval Art of the Syrian Orthodox from the Mosul Area. Peeters. pp. Online extract with unnumbered pages. ISBN 978-90-429-2386-7.
* Spuler, Bertold (2014). Iran in the Early Islamic Period: Politics, Culture, Administration and Public Life between the Arab and the Seljuk Conquests, 633–1055. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-28209-4.
* Stokes, Jamie, ed. (2008). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East. New York: Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-7158-6. Archived from the original on 2017-02-14.
* Tor, D.G. (2011). "'Sovereign and Pious': The Religious Life of the Great Seljuq Sultans". In Lange, Christian; Mecit, Songul (eds.). The Seljuqs: Politics, Society, and Culture. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 39–62.
* Tor, Deborah (2012). "The Long Shadow of Pre-Islamic Iranian Rulership: Antagonism or Assimilation?". In Bernheimer, Teresa; Silverstein, Adam J. (eds.). Late Antiquity: Eastern Perspectives. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 145–163\. ISBN 978-0-906094-53-2.
* Van Renterghem, Vanessa (2015). "Baghdad: A View from the Edge on the Seljuk Empire". In Herzig, Edmund; Stewart, Sarah (eds.). The Age of the Seljuqs: The Idea of Iran. Vol. VI. I.B. Tauris.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Previté-Orton, C. W. (1971). The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Tetley, G. E. (2008). The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History. Abingdon. ISBN 978-0-415-43119-4.

## External links

[edit]

Wikisource has the text of The New Student's Reference Work article "Seljuks".

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Governors of Aleppo (1086–1117)|

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Modern|

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| Colonial|

* American
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* attempts
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* attempts
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* attempts
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|

Lists|

* Empires
* largest
* Ancient great powers
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* European colonialism
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Miscellaneous|

* Academic
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Turkic topics

Languages|

* Afshar
* Altai
* Northern
* Southern
* Äynu
* Azerbaijani
* Bashkir
* Bulgar
* Chagatai
* Chulym
* Chuvash
* Crimean Tatar
* Cuman
* Dolgan
* Fuyü Gïrgïs
* Gagauz
* Ili Turki
* Karachay-Balkar
* Karaim
* Karakalpak
* Karamanli Turkish
* Kazakh
* Khakas
* Khalaj
* Khazar
* Khorasani Turkic
* Kipchak
* Krymchak
* Kumyk
* Kipchak languages
* Kyrgyz
* Nogai
* Old Turkic
* Ottoman Turkish
* Pecheneg
* Qashqai
* Sakha/Yakut
* Salar
* Shor
* Siberian Tatar
* Tatar
* Telengit
* Tofa
* Turkish
* Turkmen
* Tuvan
* Urum
* Uyghur
* Uzbek
* Western Yugur

| Alphabets|

* Old Turkic
* Common Turkic
* Cyrillic
* Old Uyghur
* Persian

|

Peoples|

* Afshars
* Altaians
* Chelkans, Kumandins, Telengits, Teleuts, Tubalars
* Azerbaijanis
* in Iran, Armenia, Georgia1
* Balkars
* Bashkirs
* Chulyms
* Chuvash
* Crimean Karaites
* Crimean Tatars
* Dolgans
* Gagauz
* Karachays
* Karakalpaks
* Kazakhs
* in China1
* Khakas
* Khalaj
* Khorasani Turks
* Krymchaks
* Kyrgyz
* in China1
* Kumyks
* Naimans
* Nogais
* Qarai Turks
* Qashqai
* Salar
* Shors
* Siberian Tatars
* Baraba Tatars
* Chat Tatars
* Kalmak Tatars
* Eushta Tatars
* Zabolotnie Tatars
* Tobol Tatars
* Tatars
* Astrakhan, Chinese, Finnish, Lipka, Kryashens, Mishar, Nağaybäk, Volga
* Tofalar
* Turkmens
* Afghan, Iranian1
* Turkish
* in Abkhazia, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Crete, Cyprus, Dodecanese, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, North Macedonia, Meskhetia (Ahiska), Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia, Western Thrace, Yemen1
* Tuvans
* Uyghurs
* Uzbeks
* in Afghanistan1
* Yakuts (Sakha)
* Yugurs

| Extinct Turkic groups|

* Bulaqs
* Bulgars
* Cumans
* Dughlats
* Göktürks
* Karluks
* Khazars
* Kimek
* Kipchaks
* K'o-sa
* Oghuz Turks
* Shatuo
* Türgesh
* Uzes

|

Politics|

* Grey Wolves
* Kemalism
* Burkhanism
* Jadid
* Pan-Turkism
* Turkesism
* Turanism (Hungarian)

Origins|

* Turkestan
* Mongolia
* History
* Timeline of the Göktürks
* Timeline 500–1300
* Migration
* Turkification
* Nomadic empire
* Turco-Mongol
* Tian Shan / Altai Mountains
* Otuken
* Oğuz

Locations|

| Sovereign states|

* Azerbaijan
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Northern Cyprus2
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

|

Autonomous areas|

* Altai Republic
* Bashkortostan
* Chuvashia
* Crimea
* Gagauzia
* Kabardino-Balkaria
* Karachay-Cherkessia
* Karakalpakstan
* Khakassia
* Nakhchivan
* Sakha
* Tatarstan
* Tuva
* Xinjiang

Studies|

* Old Turkic script
* Proto-Turkic language
* Turkology

Religions|

* Turkic mythology
* Tengrism
* Shamanism
* Aiyy Faith
* Tibetan Buddhism
* Islam
* Alevism
* Batiniyya
* Bayramiye
* Bektashi Order
* Burkhanism
* Christianity
* Hurufism
* Khalwati order
* Malamatiyya
* Qadiri
* Qalandariyya
* Rifaʽi*
* Safaviyya
* Zahediyeh
* Vattisen Yaly

Traditional sports|

* Kyz kuu
* Jereed
* Kokpar
* Jigit
* Chovgan

Organizations|

* Organization of Turkic States
* International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY)
* Parliamentary Assembly (TURKPA)
* Turkic Academy
* Organization of the Eurasian Law Enforcement Agencies with Military Status (TAKM)
* World Turks Qurultai

1These are traditional areas of settlement; the Turkic group has been living in the listed country/region for centuries and should not be confused with modern diasporas.
2State with limited international recognition.

* v
* t
* e

Turkey

History|

| Ancient and Middle Ages|

* Prehistory of Anatolia
* Classical Anatolia
* Byzantine Anatolia

|

Seljuks and Beyliks|

* Seljuk Empire
* Battle of Manzikert
* Sultanate of Rum
* Anatolian beyliks

Ottoman Empire|

* Rise
* Classical Age
* Conquest of Constantinople
* Transformation
* Ottoman Old Regime
* Tulip era
* Decline and modernization
* Tanzimat
* First Constitutional Era
* Second Constitutional Era
* Dissolution
* Partition

Republic of Türkiye|

* War of Independence
* Proclamation of the republic
* Atatürk's reforms
* Language reform
* Secularism
* One-party period
* Multi-party period

Overviews|

* Constitutional
* Economic
* Ottoman
* Military

Topics|

* Turkic migration
* Oghuz Turks
* Turkification
* Ancient peoples of Anatolia
* History of Anatolia
* History of Thrace

Geography|

| Regions
(west to east)|

* Marmara region
* Aegean region
* Mediterranean region
* Black Sea region
* Central Anatolia region
* Eastern Anatolia region
* Southeastern Anatolia region

|

Topics|

* Climate
* Climate change
* Earthquakes
* East Anatolian Fault
* North Anatolian Fault
* Environmental issues
* Air pollution
* Waste management
* Fauna
* Flora and vegetation
* Geology
* Lakes
* Mountains
* National parks
* Rivers
* Turkish Riviera
* Wildlife

Government|

| Branches|

* Legislative
* Executive
* Cabinet
* Judicial
* Constitutional Court
* Court of Cassation
* Court of Jurisdictional Disputes
* Council of State

|

Politics|

* Elections
* Parliamentary elections
* Presidential elections
* Electoral system
* Political parties
* Referendums

Topics|

* Administrative divisions
* Foreign relations
* Intelligence Services
* Ministry of the Interior
* National Police
* Gendarmerie
* The constitutional system
* Turkish Armed Forces
* Air Force
* Land
* Navy

Economy|

* Automotive
* Banking and Finance
* Construction
* Currency
* Defense
* Energy
* Coal
* Gas
* Oil
* Renewables
* Free trade agreements
* Science and technology
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Transportation
* Aviation
* Turkish Airlines
* Railways

Demographics|

* Turkish people
* Ethnic Kurds
* Minorities
* Languages
* Turkish language
* Religion
* Islam in Turkey
* Cities and towns
* Istanbul
* Ankara
* İzmir
* Immigration
* Life expectancy

Society|

* Education
* Universities
* Health care
* Human rights
* LGBT rights
* Individuals
* Law enforcement
* Crime
* Corruption
* Terrorism
* Marriage
* Poverty
* Women in Turkey

| Culture|

* Anthem
* Architecture
* Seljuk
* Ottoman
* Art
* Carpet
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Ottoman
* Festivals
* Flag
* Folk dance
* Folklore
* Illumination
* Intangible cultural heritage
* Literature
* Media
* TV
* Newspapers
* Radio stations
* Miniature
* Music
* Names
* Painting
* Postage stamps
* Pottery
* Sports
* Football
* Oil wrestling
* Theater
* TV series
* Video games
* Wine
* World heritage sites

|

* Portal
* Category
* Commons
* WikiProject
* Outline

* v
* t
* e

Iran topics

History

Prehistory

Ancient|

| 3400–539 BC|

* Kura-Araxes culture (3400–2000 BC)
* Proto-Elamite civilization (3100–2700 BC)
* Elamite dynasties (2700–540 BC)
* Akkadian Empire (c.2334 BC–c.2154 BC)
* Lullubi (c.2300–675 BC)
* Kassites (c.1595–c.1155 BC)
* Kingdom of Mannai (10th–7th century BC)
* Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC)
* Urartu (860 BC–590 BC)
* Median Empire (678–549 BC)
* Scythian Kingdom (652–625 BC)
* Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC)

|

550 BC–AD 224|

* Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
* Atropatene (c.323 BC–AD 226)
* Kingdom of Armenia (321 BC–AD 428)
* Kingdom of Cappadocia (320s BC–AD 17)
* Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC)
* Frataraka (c.295–220 BC)
* Kingdom of Pontus (281 BC–AD 62)
* Parthian Empire (247 BC–AD 224)
* Kings of Persis (after 132 BC–AD 224)

AD 224–651|

* Sasanian Empire (AD 224–651)

Medieval and
early modern|

| 632–1090|

* Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)
* Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
* Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)
* Samanid dynasty (819–999)
* Tahirid dynasty (821–873)
* Alavid dynasty (864–928)
* Saffarid dynasty (861–1003)
* Ziyarid dynasty (931–1090)
* Buyid dynasty (934–1062)

|

977–1432|

* Ghaznavid Empire (977–1186)
* Ghurid dynasty (1011–1215)
* Seljuk Empire (1037–1194)
* Anushtegin dynasty (1077–1231)
* Eldiguzids (1135/36-1225)
* Kart dynasty (1244–1381)
* Ilkhanate (1256–1335)
* Muzaffarid dynasty (1314–1393)
* Jalayirid Sultanate dynasty (1335–1432)
* Chobanid dynasty (1338–1357)

1370–1925|

* Timurid Empire (1370–1507)
* Qara Qoyunlu Turcomans (1374–1468)
* Aq Qoyunlu Turcomans (1378–1508)
* Safavid Empire (1501–1736)
* Afsharid Empire (1736–1796)
* Zand Dynasty (1751–1794)
* Qajar Empire (1789–1925)
* Khanates of Azerbaijan (18th–20th centuries)
* Khanates of the Caucasus (18th–19th centuries)
* Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911)
* 1908 bombardment of the Majlis
* Kurdish separatism in Iran (1918–)
* 1921 Persian coup d'état
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan (1922–2020)

Modern|

| 1925–1979|

* Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979)
* Shatt al-Arab dispute (1936–1975)
* Iran crisis of 1946
* Insurgency in Balochistan (1948–)
* 1949 Iranian Constituent Assembly election
* 1953 coup d'état
* Iranian Revolution (1979)

|

Islamic Republic
1979–present|

* History (1979–)
* Interim Government (1979)
* March 1979 Iranian Islamic Republic referendum
* 1979 Khuzestan insurgency
* Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981)
* December 1979 Iranian constitutional referendum
* Iranian Embassy siege (1980)
* Nojeh coup plot (1980)
* Iran–Iraq War (1980–88)
* Interim Government of Iran (1981)
* 1987 Mecca incident
* Iran Air Flight 655 shootdown (1988)
* KDPI insurgency (1989–1996)
* PJAK conflict (2004–)
* 2009 Iranian presidential election protests
* Syrian civil war (2011–)
* International military intervention against the Islamic State (2014–)
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015)
* United States withdrawal (2018)
* 2017–2018 Iranian protests
* 2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests
* COVID-19 pandemic
* 2019 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2019–2020 Iranian protests
* 2021 Sistan and Baluchestan protests
* 2021–2022 Iranian protests
* 2024 Iran–Israel conflict
* Iran–Israel war

See also|

* Ancient Persians
* Greater Iran
* Persianization
* Persianate society
* Turco-Persian
* Indo-Persian
* Iranic peoples
* languages
* Jiroft culture
* Aryans
* Azerbaijanis
* Peoples of the Caucasus
* Persians
* Monarchs of Persia
* Heads of state of Iran
* History of democracy in classical Iran
* Military history
* Electric history
* Years in Iran

Geography

* Borders
* Cities
* largest
* twin towns and sister cities
* Earthquakes
* Environmental issues
* Climate change
* Iranian Azerbaijan
* Iranian Balochistan
* Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
* Caucasus
* Iranian Kurdistan
* Iranian plateau
* Lake Urmia
* Islands
* Mountains
* Provinces
* Wildlife

Politics

| General|

* Censorship
* Constitution (Persian Constitutional Revolution)
* Corruption
* Elections (2009 presidential)
* Foreign relations
* Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
* Human rights
* Children's rights
* LGBT
* Women's rights
* Judicial system
* Military (Army
* Air Force
* Navy)
* Ministry of Intelligence
* Cyberwarfare
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Political parties
* Principlists
* Propaganda
* Reformists
* Terrorism (state-sponsorship allegations)
* White Revolution (1963)
* Women's rights movement

|

Councils|

* Assembly (or Council) of Experts
* Expediency Discernment Council
* Guardian Council
* Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament)
* Local councils
* Supreme National Security Council

Officials|

* Ambassadors
* President
* Provincial governors
* Supreme Leader

Economy

| General|

* Bonyad (charitable trust)
* Brain drain
* Companies (Automotive industry)
* Child labour
* Corruption
* Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
* Economic history
* Economic Reform Plan
* Energy
* Environmental issues
* Foreign direct investment
* Intellectual property
* International oil bourse
* International rankings
* Iran and the World Trade Organization
* Taxation
* Main economic laws
* Economy of the Middle East
* Milad Tower and complex
* Military equipment manufactured
* Nuclear program (UN Security Council Resolution 1747)
* Privatization
* Rial (currency)
* Space Agency
* Setad
* Supreme Audit Court
* Tehran Stock Exchange
* Venture capital (Technology start-ups)

|

Sectors|

* Agriculture (fruit)
* Banking and insurance
* Central Bank
* Shetab Banking System
* Construction
* Defense
* Health care (Pharmaceuticals)
* Industry
* Mining
* Petroleum (Anglo-Persian Oil Company)
* Telecommunications and IT (TCI)
* Transport (airlines
* metro
* railways
* shipping)
* Tourism

State-owned
companies|

* Defense Industries Organization (DIO)
* Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)
* Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO)
* Iran Electronics Industries (IEI)
* National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)
* National Development Fund

Places|

* Asaluyeh industrial corridor
* Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
* Kish Island Free Trade Zone
* Research centers

Society

| Demographics|

| Languages|

* Persian (Farsi)
* Armenian
* Azerbaijani
* Kurdish
* Hebrew
* Georgian
* Neo-Aramaic
* Iranian languages

|

Peoples|

* Iranian citizens (abroad)
* Ethnic minorities
* Armenians
* Assyrians
* Azerbaijanis
* Circassians
* Georgians
* Kurds
* Jews
* Turkmen

Religion|

* Islam
* Baháʼí Faith (persecution)
* Christianity
* Zoroastrians (persecution)
* Freedom of religion

Other|

* Corruption
* Crime
* Education (higher
* Intellectual movements
* scientists and scholars
* universities)
* International rankings
* Nationality
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women

Culture|

* Architecture (Achaemenid
* architects)
* Art (modern / contemporary)
* Astronomy
* Blogs
* Calendars (Persian New Year (Nowruz))
* Fashion
* Chicago Persian antiquities dispute
* Cinema
* Cuisine (wine)
* Folklore
* Intellectual movements
* Iranians
* Iranian studies
* Islam (Islamization)
* Literature
* Media (news agencies (student)
* newspapers)
* Mythology
* National Jewels
* National symbols (Imperial Anthem)
* Opium consumption
* Persian gardens
* Persian name
* Philosophy
* Public holidays
* Scouting
* Sport (football)

Music|

* Folk
* Jazz
* Pop
* Rap and hip-hop
* Rock
* Traditional
* Ey Iran

Other topics|

* Science and technology
* Anti-Iranian sentiment
* Tehrangeles

* Category
* Portal

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