Seljuk dynasty

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The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids (/ˈsɛldʒʊk/ SEL-juuk; Turkish: Selçuklular, Persian: سلجوقیان Saljuqian,) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that culturally became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture.

Seljuk dynasty
Double-headed eagle, used as a symbol by several Seljuk rulers including Kayqubad I
Founded10th century – Seljuk
Titles
TraditionsSunni Islam (Maturidi Hanafi)
DissolutionDamascus:
1104 – Baktāsh (Ertaş), dethroned by Toghtekin
Great Seljuk:
1194 – Toghrul III was killed in battle with Tekish
Rum:
1308 – Mesud II died

The founder of the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuk Beg, was a descendant of a royal Khazar chief Tuqaq who served as advisor to the King of the Khazars, in West Asia and Central Asia. The Seljuks established the Seljuk Empire (1037–1194), the Sultanate of Kermân (1041–1186) and the Sultanate of Rum (1074–1308), which stretched from Iran to Anatolia and were the prime targets of the First Crusade.

Early history

The Seljuks originated from the Kinik branch of the Oghuz Turks, who in the 8th century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world; north of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea in their Oghuz Yabgu State in the Kazakh Steppe of Turkestan. During the 10th century, Oghuz had come into close contact with Muslim cities. When Seljuk, the leader of the Seljuk clan, had a falling out with Yabghu, the supreme chieftain of the Oghuz, he split his clan from the bulk of the Oghuz Turks and set up camp on the west bank of the lower Syr Darya. Around 985, Seljuk converted to Islam.

In the 11th century, the Seljuks migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the province of Khurasan, where they encountered the Ghaznavids. The Seljuks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Nasa in 1035. Seljuk's grandsons, Tughril and Chaghri, received the insignias of governor, grants of land, and were given the title of dehqan. At the Battle of Dandanaqan, they defeated a Ghaznavid army, and after a successful siege of Isfahan by Tughril in 1050/51, established the Great Seljuk Empire. The Seljuks mixed with the local population and adopted the Persian culture and Persian language in the following decades.

Later period

After arriving in Persia, the Seljuks adopted the Persian culture and used the Persian language as the official language of the government, 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.

Seljuk rulers

Rulers of the Seljuk Dynasty

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

Titular name(s) Personal name Reign
Bey
بیگ 		Tughril I
طغرل 		1037–1063
Suleiman
سلیمان شاہ 		1063
Sultan
سلطان 		Alp Arslan (Arslan I)
الپ ارسلان 		1063–1072
Sultan
سلطان
Jalāl al-Dawlah
جلال الدولہ 		Malik Shah I
ملک شاہ یکم 		1072–1092
Sultan
سلطان
Nasir al-Duniya wa al-Din
ناصر الدنیا والدین 		Mahmud I
محمود یکم 		1092–1094
Sultan
سلطان
Abul Muzaffar Rukn al-Duniya wa al-Din
أبو المظفر رکن الدنیا والدین 		Barkiyaruq
برکیارق 		1094–1105
Sultan
سلطان
Muizz al-Din
معز الدین 		Malik Shah II
ملک شاہ دوم 		1104–1105
Sultan
سلطان
Ghiyath al-Duniya wa al-Din
غیاث الدنیا والدین 		Muhammad I Tapar
محمد تاپار 		1105–1118
Sultan
سلطان
Muizz al-Din
معز الدین 		*Ahmad Sanjar
احمد سنجر 		1118–1153
Khwarazmian dynasty replaces the Seljuk dynasty. From 1157, the Oghuz took control of much of Khurasan, with the remainder in the hands of former Seljuk emirs.
  • Muhammad's son Mahmud II succeeded him in western Persia, but Ahmad Sanjar, who was the governor of Khurasan at the time being the senior member of the family, became the Great Seljuk Sultan.

Seljuk sultans of Hamadan

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

  • Mahmud II 1118–1131
  • 1131–1133 disputed between:
    • Dawud 1131–1132
    • Mas'ud (in Jibal and Iranian Azerbaijan) 1132
    • Toghrul II, 1132–1133
  • Mas'ud 1133–1152
  • Malik Shah III 1152–1153
  • Muhammad II 1153–1159
  • Suleiman-Shah 1159–1161
  • Arslan-Shah 1161–1177
  • Toghrul III 1177–1194

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

Seljuk rulers of Kerman

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

  • Qavurt 1041–1073 (great-grandson of Seljuq, brother of Alp Arslan)
  • Kerman Shah 1073–1074
  • Sultan Shah 1074–1075 or 1074–1085
  • Hussain Omar 1075–1084

or 1074 (before Sultan Shah)

  • Turan Shah I 1084–1096 or 1085–1097
  • Iranshah ibn Turanshah 1096–1101 or 1097–1101
  • Arslan Shah I 1101–1142
  • Muhammad I 1142–1156
  • Tuğrul Shah 1156–1169 or 1156–1170
  • Bahram-Shah 1169–1174 or 1170–1175
  • Arslan Shah II 1174–1176 or 1175–1176
  • Turan Shah II 1176–1183
  • Muhammad II Shah 1183–1187 or 1183–1186

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

Seljuk rulers in Syria

  • 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 Ridwan 1095–1113
  • Tadj ad-Dawla Alp Arslan al-Akhras 1113–1114
  • Sultan Shah 1114–1123

To the Artuqids

Sultans/Emirs of Damascus:

Damascus seized by the Burid Toghtekin

Seljuk sultans of Rum (Anatolia)

The Seljuk line, already having been deprived of any significant power, effectively ended in the early 14th century.

  • Kutalmish 1060–1077
  • Suleyman I (Suleiman) 1077–1086
  • Dawud Kilij Arslan I 1092–1107
  • Malik Shah 1107–1116
  • Rukn ad-Din Mesud I 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 Kayqubad 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
  • Shatranj chess set, glazed fritware, 12th-century Iran. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Seljuk sarcophagus at the Eskişehir Eti Archaeology Museum

Family tree