Seljuq dynasty
 |
The dynasty at the time of its largest extent |
The
Seljuqs (also
Seldjuk,
Seldjuq,
Seljuk, sometimes also
Seljuq Turks; in modern
Turkish Selçuklular; in
Persian سلجوقيان
Saljūqiyān; in
Arabic سلجوق
Saljūq, or السلاجقة
al-Salājiqa) were a dynasty that ruled parts of
Central Asia and the
Middle East from the
11th to
14th centuries. Today, they are remembered as great patrons of
Persian culture,
art,
literature, and
language and for setting up an empire known as
"Great Seljuk" that stretched from
Anatolia to
Pakistan and was the target of the
First Crusade. They are also regarded as the cultural ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of
Turkey,
Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan.
Origins
Originally, the House of Seljuq was a branch of the
Kýnýk Oghuz Turks who in the
9th century lived north of the
Aral sea in their
Yagbu Khaganate. In the
10th century, the Seljuqs migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland
Persia, where they adopted the culture and language of the native inhabitants and became assmiliated
[M.A. Amir-Moezzi, "Shahrbanu", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK): "... 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", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK)][Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Seljuq", Online Edition, (LINK): "... Because the Turkish Seljuqs had no Islamic tradition or strong literary heritage of their own, they adopted the cultural language of their Persian instructors in Islam. Literary Persian thus spread to the whole of Iran, and the Arabic language disappeared in that country except in works of religious scholarship ..."].
Seljuk
Main article: Seljuk
The
apical ancestor of the Seljuqs is their
bey Seljuq who was reputed to have served in the
Khazar army, under whom, circa 961 they migrated to
Khwarezm, near the city of Jend also called
Khujand.
The Seljuqs were allied with the
Persian Samanid Shahs against the
Qarakhanids. The
Samanids however fell to the
Qarakhanids and the emergence of the
Ghaznavids and were involved in the power struggle in the region before establishing their own independent base.
Toghrül and Chagri Begh
Main article: Toghrül
Toghrül Begh was the grandson of Seljuk and Chagri was his brother, under whom the Seljuks they wrested an empire from the
Ghaznavids. Initially the Seljuks were repulsed by
Mahmud and retired to
Khwarezm but Toghrül and Chagri led them to capture
Merv and
Nishapur (1028-1029). Later they repeatedly raided and traded territory with his sucessors across
Khorasan and
Balkh and even sacked
Ghazni in 1037. In 1039 at
The Battle of Dandanaqan they decisively defeated [[Mas'ud I of Ghazni|Mas'ud I of the Ghaznavids]] resulting in him abandoning most of his western territories to the Seljuks. In 1055 Toghrul captured Baghdad from the
Shia Buyids under a commission from the
Abbassids.
Alp Arslan
Main article: Alp Arslan
Alp Arslan was the son of Chagri Begh and expanded significantly upon Toghruls holdings by adding
Armenia and
Georgia in 1064 and invading the
Byzantine Empire in
1068 from whom he annexxed
Anatolia after defeating them at the
Battle of Manzikert. He ordered his Turcoman generals to conquer the Byzantine lands and allowed them to carve principalities of their own as
atabegs that were loyal to him. Within two years the Turcomans captured Asia Minor and went as far as the Aegean Sea establishing numerous "beghliks" such as the: Saltuqis in Northeastern Anatolia, Mengujeqs in Eastern Anatolia,
Artuqids in Southeastern Anatolia,
Danishmendis in Central Anatolia,
Rum Seljuks (Beghlik of
Süleyman, which later moved to Central Anatolia) in Western Anatolia and the Beghlik of
Chaka Begh in
Izmir (
Smyrna).
Malik Shah I
Under
Alp Arslan's successor
Malik Shah I and his two Persian
viziers[Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Nizam al-Mulk", Online Edition, (LINK)] Nizām al-Mulk and
Tāj al-Mulk, the Seljuk state expanded in various directions to former Iranian border before Arab invasion, so that it bordered
China in the East and the
Byzantines in the West.He moved the capital from
Rayy to
Isfahan. The Iqta mililtary system and the Nizamiyyah University at Baghdad were establised by the Nizam al-Mulk, and the reign of Malik Shah I was reckoned the golden age of "Great Seljuk". The Abassid Caliph titled him "The Sultan of the East and West" in 1087. The
Hashshashin of
Hassan-i-Sabah however started to become a force during his era and assassinated many leading figures in his administration including the Nizam al Mulk and Malik Shah I himself in
1092.
|
The Seljuk coat of arms was a double headed eagle |
See also: Sultanate of Rum, AtabegsWhen Malik Shah I died in
1092 the empire split, as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In Anatolia, Malik Shah I was succeeded by
Kilij Arslan I who founded the
Sultanate of Rum and in
Syria by his brother
Tutush I. In
Persia he was succeeded by his son
Mahmud I whose reign was contested by his other three brothers
Barkiyaruq in
Iraq,
Mehmed I in
Baghdad and
Ahmed Sanjar in
Khorasan.
When
Tutush I died 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.
In
1118, the third son
Ahmed Sanjar took over the empire. His nephew, the sone of Mehmed 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 Ahmed Sanjar.
Elsewhere in nominal Seljuk territory were the
Artuqids in northeastern Syria and northern
Mesopotamia. They controlled
Jerusalem until 1098. In eastern Anatolia and northern Syria a state was founded by
Danishmend, and contested land with the
Sultanate of Rum and
Kerbogha excercised greated independence as the
atabeg of
Mosul.
Main article: First Crusade
The fractured states of the Seljuks were on the whole more concerned with consolidating their own territories and gaining control of their neighbours, than with cooperating against the crusaders when the
First Crusade arrived in
1095 and successfully captured the
Holy land to set up the
Crusader States. The Seljuks had already lost
Palestine to the
Fatimid before their capture by the crusaders.
See also: Second Crusade, Zengi, Nur ad-DinAhmed Sanjar had to contend the revolts of
Qarakhanids in
Transoxiana,
Ghorids in
Afghanistan and
Qarluks in modern
Kyrghyzstan, evan as the nomadic
Kara-Khitais invaded the East destroying the Seljuk vassal state of the Eastern Qarakhanids. At the
Battle of Qatwan Sanjar 1141 and lost all his eastern provinces up to the
Syr Darya.
During this time conflict with the Crusader States was also intermittent and after the First Crusade and 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
Ortoqids against him. This event triggered the launch of the second crusade.
Nur ad-Din, one of Zengi's son who succeded him as atabeg of
Aleppo and created an alliance in the region to oppose the second crusade which landed in 1147.
See also:Saladin, Ayyubid, Khwarezmid EmpireIn 1153 the Oghuz turks rebelled and captured Sanjar. He managed to escaped three years later but died a year later. Despite several attempts to reunite the Seljuks by his successors, the
Crusades prevented them from regaining their former empire. While the Atabegs such as the
Zengids and
Artuqids were only nominally under the Seljuk Sultan, and generally controlled Syria independently. When Ahmed Sanjar died in 1156 it fractured the empire even further rendering the atabegs effectively independent.
#Khorasani Seljuks in
Khorasan and Transoxiana. Capital:
Merv#
Kermani Seljuks#Sultanate of Rum. Capital:
Iznik (
Nicaea), later
Konya (
Iconium)#Atabeghlik of Salgur in
Iran#Atabeghlik of Ildeniz in Iraq and Azerbaijan. Capital
Hamadan#Atabeghlik of Bori in Syria. Capital: Damascus#Atabeghlik of Zangi in
Al Jazira (Northern
Mesopotamia). Capital:
Mosul#Turcoman Beghliks:
Danishmendis,
Artuqids, Saltuqis and Mengujegs in Asia Minor#
Khwarezmshahs in
Transoxiana,
Khwarezm. Capital:
UrganchAfter the Second Crusade Nur ad-Din's general
Shirkuh, who had established himself in
Egypt on
Fatimid land, was succeeded by
Saladin who rebelled against
Nur ad-Din. Upon Nur ad-Dins death, Saladin married his widow and captured most of Syria creating the
Ayyubid dynasty.
|
The Middle East, c. 1190. Saladin's empire and its vassals shown in red; territory taken from the Crusader states 1187-1189 shown in pink. Light green indicates Crusader territories surviving Saladin's death. |
On other fronts the the
Kingdom of Georgia began to become a regional power and extended its borders at the expense of Great Seljuk as did the revival of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia under
Leo II of Armenia in Anatolia. The
Abbassid caliph
An-Nasir also began to reassert the authority of the caliph and allied himself with the Khwarezmshah
Ala ad-Din Tekish.
For a brief period
Toğrül III was the Sultan of all Seljuk except for Anatolia. In
1194 Toğrül was defeated by
Ala ad-Din Tekish, the Shah of
Khwarezmid Empire, and the Seljuk finally collapsed. Of the former Seljuk Empire, only the
Sultanate of Rüm in
Anatolia remained. As the dynasty declined in the middle of the
13th century, the
Mongols invaded
Anatolia in the
1260s and divided it into small
emirates called the
Anatolian beyliks, one of which, the
Ottoman would rise to power and conquer the rest.
Rulers of Seljuk Dynasty 1037-1157
*
Tugrul I (Tugrul Beg)
1037-
1063*
Alp Arslan bin Chaghri
1063-
1072* Jalal ad-Dawlah
Malik Shah I 1072-
1092* Nasir ad-Din
Mahmud I 1092-
1093* Rukn ad-Din
Barkiyaruq 1093-
1104* Mu'izz ad-Din
Malik Shah II 1105* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mehmed I Tapar (Muhammad)
1105-
1118*
Mahmud II 1118-
1131* Mu'izz ad-Din
Ahmed Sanjar 1131-
1157Seljuk Rulers of Kerman 1041-1187
Kerman was a nation in southern Persia. It fell in 1187, probably conquered by
Toğrül III of Great Seljuk.
*
Qawurd 1041-
1073*
Kerman Shah 1073-
1074*
Sultan Shah 1074-
1075*
Hussain Omar 1075-
1084*
Turan Shah I 1084-
1096*
Iran Shah 1096-
1101*
Arslan Shah I 1101-
1142*
Mehmed I (Muhammad)
1142-
1156*
Toğrül Shah 1156-
1169*
Bahram Shah 1169-
1174*
Arslan Shah II 1174-
1176*
Turan Shah II 1176-
1183*
Mehmed II (Muhammad)
1183-
1187* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla
Tutush I 1085-
1086* Jalal ad-Dawlah
Malik Shah I of Great Seljuk
1086-
1087* Qasim ad-Dawla Abu Said
Aq Sunqur al-Hajib 1087-
1094* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla
Tutush I (second time) 1094-
1095* Fakhr al-Mulk
Radwan 1095-
1113* Tadj ad-Dawla
Alp Arslan al-Akhras 1113-
1114*
Sultan Shah 1114-
1123Sultans/Emirs of Damascus:
* Aziz ibn
Abaaq al-Khwarazmi 1076-
1079* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla
Tutush I 1079-
1095* Abu Nasr Shams al-Muluk
Duqaq 1095-
1104*
Tutush II 1104* Muhi ad-Din
Baqtash 1104Atabegs of Aleppo:
*
Lulu 1114-
1117* Shams al-Havas
Yariqtash 1117* Imad ad-Din
Zengi 1128-
1146*
Nur ad-Din 1146-
1174*
Kutalmish 1060-
1077*
Süleyman Ibn Kutalmish (Suleiman)
1077-
1086* Dawud
Kilij Arslan I 1092-
1107*
Malik Shah 1107-
1116* Rukn ad-Din
Mas'ud 1116-
1156* Izz ad-Din
Kilij Arslan II 1156-
1192* Ghiyath ad-Din
Kay Khusrau I 1192-
1196*
Süleyman II (Suleiman)
1196-
1204*
Kilij Arslan III 1204-
1205* Ghiyath ad-Din
Kay Khusrau I (second time) 1205-
1211* Izz ad-Din
Kay Ka'us I 1211-
1220* Ala ad-Din
Kay Qubadh I 1220-
1237* Ghiyath ad-Din
Kay Khusrau II 1237-
1246* Izz ad-Din
Kay Ka'us II 1246-
1260* Rukn ad-Din
Kilij Arslan IV 1248-
1265* Ala ad-Din
Kay Qubadh II 1249-
1257* Ghiyath ad-Din
Kay Khusrau II (second time) 1257-
1259* Ghiyath ad-Din
Kay Khusrau III 1265-
1282* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mas'ud II 1282-
1284* Ala ad-Din
Kay Qubadh III 1284* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mas'ud II (second time) 1284-
1293* Ala ad-Din
Kay Qubadh III (second time) 1293-
1294* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mas'ud II (third time) 1294-
1301* Ala ad-Din
Kay Qubadh III (third time) 1301-
1303* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mas'ud II (fourth time) 1303-
1307* Ghiyath ad-Din
Mas'ud III 1307*
Turkic peoples*
Zengid dynasty*
Atabeg*
Artuqid*
Danishmend*
Ghaznavid Empire*
Sultanate of Rüm*
Ottoman Empire*
Seljuk*
Seldschuken-Fürsten, list of Seljuk rulers in the German Wikipedia
*
All Empires Online History Community: The Seljuk Empire
