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The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Template:Lang-fa Ṣaljūqīyān; in Arabic سلجوق Saljūq, or السلاجقة al-Salājiqa) were a Turkic Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. They set up an empire, the Great Seljuq Empire, which at its height stretched from Anatolia through Persia and which was the target of the First Crusade. The dynasty had its origins in the Turcoman tribal confederations of Central Asia and marked the beginning of Turkic power in the Middle East. After arriving in Persia, the Seljuqs adopted the Persian culture and language, and played an important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition which features "Persian culture patronized by Turkic rulers." Today, they are remembered as great patrons of Persian culture, art, literature, and language and are regarded by some as the cultural ancestors of the Western Turks – the present-day inhabitants of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

Early history

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Prehistoric periodBCE / BC Baradostian culture c. 36,000–18,000 Zarzian culture c. 20,000–10,000 Shulaveri–Shomu culture c. 6000–5000 Zayandeh River Culture c. 6th millennium Dalma culture c. 5th millennium
Ancient period Kura–Araxes culture 3400–2000 Helmand culture/Jiroft culture c. 3300–2200 Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 Lullubi Kingdom/Zamua c. 3100-675 Elam 2700–539 Marhaši c. 2550-2020 Oxus Civilization c. 2400–1700 Akkadian Empire 2400–2150 Kassites c. 1500–1155 Avestan period c. 1500–500 Neo-Assyrian Empire 911–609 Urartu 860–590 Mannaea 850–616 Zikirti 750-521 Saparda 720-670
Imperial period Median Empire 678–550 BC Scythian Kingdom 652–625 BC Anshanite Kingdom 635 BC–550 BC Neo-Babylonian Empire 626 BC–539 BC Sogdia c. 6th century BC–11th century AD Achaemenid Empire 550 BC–330 BC Kingdom of Armenia 331 BC–428 AD Atropatene c. 323 BC–226 AD Kingdom of Cappadocia 320s BC–17 AD Seleucid Empire 312 BC–63 BC Kingdom of Pontus 281 BC–62 BC Fratarakas 3rd-century BC–132 BC Parthian Empire 247 BC–224 AD Elymais 147 BC–224 AD Characene 141 BC–222 AD Kings of Persis 132 BC–224 AD Indo-Parthian Kingdom 19 AD–224/5 Paratarajas 125–300 Sasanian Empire 224–651 Zarmihrids 6th century–785 Qarinvandids 550s–11th century
Medieval periodCE / AD Rashidun Caliphate 632-661 Umayyad Caliphate 661–750 Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258 Dabuyids 642–760 Bavandids 651–1349 Masmughans of Damavand 651–760 Baduspanids 665–1598 Justanids 791 – 11th century Alid dynasties 864 – 14th century Tahirid dynasty 821–873 Samanid Empire 819–999 Saffarid dynasty 861–1003 Ghurid dynasty pre-879 – 1215 Sajid dynasty 889–929 Sallarid dynasty 919–1062 Ziyarid dynasty 930–1090 Ilyasids 932–968 Buyid dynasty 934–1062 Rawadid dynasty 955–1070 Hasanwayhids 959–1095 Ghaznavid dynasty 977–1186 Annazids 990/1–1117 Kakuyids 1008–1141 Nasrid dynasty 1029–1236 Shabankara 1030–1355 Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Khwarazmian dynasty 1077–1231 Eldiguzids 1135–1225 Atabegs of Yazd 1141–1319 Salghurids 1148–1282 Hazaraspids 1155–1424 Pishkinid dynasty 1155–1231 Khorshidi dynasty 1184-1597 Qutlugh-Khanids 1223-1306 Mihrabanids 1236–1537 Kurt dynasty 1244–1396 Ilkhanate Empire 1256–1335 Chobanid dynasty 1335–1357 Muzaffarid dynasty 1335–1393 Jalayirid Sultanate 1337–1376 Sarbadars 1337–1376 Injuids 1335–1357 Afrasiyab dynasty 1349–1504 Mar'ashis 1359–1596 Timurid Empire 1370–1507 Kar-Kiya dynasty 1370s–1592 Qara Qoyunlu 1406–1468 Aq Qoyunlu 1468–1508
Early modern period Safavid Iran 1501–1736 (Hotak dynasty) 1722–1729 Afsharid Iran 1736–1796 Zand dynasty 1751–1794
Modern period Qajar Iran 1789–1925 Pahlavi Iran 1925–1979
Contemporary period Iranian Revolution 1979 Interim Government 1979 Islamic Republic 1979–present
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Origins

Prior to the ninth century, hordes of Turks had crossed the Volga River into the Black Sea steppes. Originally, the House of Seljuq was a branch of the Qinik Oghuz Turks who in the 9th century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world, north of the Caspian and Aral sea in their Yabghu Khaganate of the Oghuz confederacy, in the Kazakh Steppe of Turkestan. In the 10th century the Seljuqs migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the province of Khurasan, where they mixed with the local population and adopted the Persian culture and language in the following decades.

Seljuq leaders

Rulers of the Seljuq Dynasty (1037–1157)

The "Great Seljuqs" were heads of the family; in theory their authority extended over all the other Seljuq lines, although in practice this often was not the case. Turkish custom called for the senior member of the family to be the Great Seljuq, although usually the position was associated with the ruler of western Persia.

• 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 Muhammad/Mehmed I Tapar 1105–1118

Muhammad's son Mahmud II succeeded him in western Persia, but Sanjar, the governor of Khurasan from 1097 and the senior member of the family, became Great Seljuq sultan

• Mu'izz ad-Din Ahmed Sanjar 1118–1157

From 1157, the Oghuz took control of much of Khurasan, with the remainder in the hands of former Seljuq emirs

Seljuq sultans of Hamadan (1118–1194)

The rulers of western Persia, who maintained a very loose grip on the Abbasids of Baghdad. Several Turkish emirs gained a strong level of influence in the region, such as the Eldiduzids.

• Mahmud II 1118–1131
• Da'ud (in Jibal and Iranian Azerbaijan) 1131
• Tuğrul II 1131–1134
• Mas'ud 1134–1152
• Malik Shah III 1152–1153
• Muhammad II 1153–1160
• Suleiman Shah 1160–1161
• Arslan Shah 1161–1174
• Tugrul III 1174–1194

In 1194, Tugrul III was killed in battle with the Khwarezm Shah, who annexed Hamadan.

Seljuq rulers of Kerman (1041–1187)

Kerman was a province in southern Persia. Between 1053 and 1154, the territory also included Umman.

• 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
• Muhammad Shah 1183–1187

Muhammad abandoned Kerman, which fell into the hands of the Oghuz chief Malik Dinar. Kerman was eventually annexed by the Khwarezmid Empire in 1196.

Seljuq rulers in Syria 1076–1117

• Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I 1085–1086
• Jalal ad-Dawlah Malik Shah I of Great Seljuq 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 1114–1123

To the Artuqids

Sultans/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 1104

Damascus seized by the Burid Toghtekin

Seljuq sultans of Rûm (Anatolia) 1077–1307

See Sultanate of Rûm

• Kutalmish 1060–1077
• Suleyman 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 Kaykhusraw I 1192–1196
• Suleyman II (Suleiman) 1196–1204
• Kilij Arslan III 1204–1205
• Ghiyath ad-Din Kaykhusraw I (second time) 1205–1211
• Izz ad-Din Kaykaus I 1211–1220
• Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I 1220–1237
• Ghiyath ad-Din Kaykhusraw II 1237–1246
• Izz ad-Din Kaykaus II 1246–1260
• Rukn ad-Din Kilij Arslan IV 1248–1265
• Ala ad-Din Kayqubad II 1249–1257
• Ghiyath ad-Din Kaykhusraw III 1265–1282
• Ghiyath ad-Din Mesud II 1282–1284
• Ala ad-Din Kayqubad III 1284
• Ghiyath ad-Din Mesud II (second time) 1284–1293
• Ala ad-Din Kayqubad III (second time) 1293–1294
• Ghiyath ad-Din Mesud II (third time) 1294–1301
• Ala ad-Din Kayqubad III (third time) 1301–1303
• Ghiyath ad-Din Mesud II (fourth time) 1303–1307

The Seljuq line, already having been deprived of any significant power, effectively ends in the early fourteenth century

Gallery

Notes

1. "Seljuq Turks" in various scholastic sources
2. Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes, (New Brunswick:Rutgers University Press, 1988), 147.
3. Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes, (Rutgers University Press, 1991), 161,164; "..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."
4. • Jackson, P. (2002). Review: The History of the Seljuq Turks: The History of the Seljuq Turks.Journal of Islamic Studies 2002 13(1):75–76; doi:10.1093/jis/13.1.75.Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
   • 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.
5. • 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."
   • Ram Rahul. "March of Central Asia", Indus Publishing, page 124.
   • C.E. Bosworth, "Turkish expansion towards the west", in UNESCO HISTORY OF HUMANITY, Volume IV, 2000.
   • Mehmed Fuad Koprulu, "Early Mystics in Turkish Literature", Translated by Gary Leiser and Robert Dankoff, Routledge, 2006, pg 149.
   • O.Özgündenli, "Persian Manuscripts in Ottoman and Modern Turkish Libraries", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK)
   • Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Seljuq", Online Edition, (LINK)
6. Ram Rahul. "March of Central Asia", Indus Publishing, pg 124:"The Seljuk conquest of Persia marked the triumph of the Sunni over Shii but without a decline in Persian culture. The Seljuks eventually adopted the Persian culture.
7. C.E. Bosworth, "Turkish expansion towards the west", in UNESCO HISTORY OF HUMANITY, Volume IV: From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century, UNESCO Publishing / Routledge,2000. 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). 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."
8. Mehmed Fuad Koprulu, "Early Mystics in Turkish Literature", Translated by Gary Leiser and Robert Dankoff, Routledge, 2006, pg 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-jazīra 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-Dīn Kai-Qubād 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 Turks 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-Dīn Kai-Qubād 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 Turkistan, Iran, and Khwārazm 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 Ghiyāth al-Dīn Kai-Khusraw I assumed titles taken from ancient Persian mythology, like Kai-Khusraw, Kai-Kā'ūs, and Kai-Qubād; and that 'Ala' al-Dīn Kai-Qubād I had some passages from the Shāhnāme 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."
9. ^ O.Özgündenli, "Persian Manuscripts in Ottoman and Modern Turkish Libraries", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK)
10. ^ 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 ..."
11. 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, pg 79. Exact statement: "In Short, the Turko-Persian tradition featured Persian culture patronized by Turcophone rulers."
12. ^ M. Ravandi, "The Seljuq court at Konya and the Persianisation of Anatolian Cities", in Mesogeios (Mediterranean Studies), vol. 25–6 (2005), pp. 157–69
13. Previte-Orton (1971), vol. 1, pg.278
14. Concise Britannica Online Seljuq Dynasty article
15. Merriam-Webster Online – Definition of Seljuk
16. The History of the Seljuq Turks: From the Jami Al-Tawarikh (LINK)
17. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey – Stanford Shaw (LINK)
18. Wink, Andre, Al Hind the Making of the Indo Islamic World, Brill Academic Publishers, Jan 1, 1996, ISBN 90-04-09249-8 pg.9
19. Islam: An Illustrated History, p. 51
20. M.A. Amir-Moezzi, "Shahrbanu", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, (LINK): "... here one might bear in mind that turco-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 ..."
21. 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) ..."

21 Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes, (New Brunswick:Rutgers University Press, 1988),147.

References

• Previte-Orton, C. W (1971). The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• http://www.selcuklular.com/?

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