Seljuk Turks: The Great Seljuk Empire
10371194
Area
1080 3,900,000 km2
Common languages
Persian (official and court; literature and lingua franca)
Oghuz Turkic (dynastic and military)
Arabic (theology, law and science)
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Religion Sunni Islam (Hanafi)
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Government De facto: Independent Sultanate
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De jure: Under Caliphate
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Caliph
10311075 Al-Qa'im
1180-1225 Al-Nasir
Sultan
10371063 Toghrul I (first)
11741194 Toghrul III (last)
History
Tughril formed the state system 1037
Battle of Dandanaqan 1040
Battle of Manzikert 1071
First Crusade 10951099
Battle of Qatwan 1141
Replaced by the Khwarezmian Empire 1194
Preceded by
Oghuz Yabgu State
Ghaznavids
Buyid dynasty
Byzantine Empire
Kakuyids
Fatimid Caliphate
Kara-Khanid Khanate
Marwanids
Rawadids
Succeeded by
Sultanate of Rϋm
Anatolian beyliks
Ghurid Dynasty
Khwarezmian Empire
Atabegs of Azerbaijan
Salghurids
Bavandids
Ayyubid dynasty
Burid dynasty
Zengid dynasty
Danishmends
Artuqid dynasty
Shah-Armens
Shaddadids
The Seljuk Empire or the Great Seljuq Empire was a high medieval Turkish
Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qiniq branch of Oghuz Turks.
At its greatest extent, the Seljuk Empire controlled a vast area
stretching from western Anatolia and the Levant to the Hindu Kush in the
east, and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf in the south.
The Seljuk empire was founded by Tughril Beg (9901063) and his brother
Chaghri Beg (9891060) in 1037. From their homelands near the Aral Sea,
the Seljuks advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia,
before eventually capturing Baghdad and conquering eastern Anatolia.
Here the Seljuks won the battle of Manzikert in 1071 and conquered most
of Anatolia from the Byzantine Empire, which became one of the reasons
for the first crusade (1095-1099). Starting from 1140s, the Seljuk
empire declined, and was eventually replaced by the Khwarazmian Empire
in 1194.
Seljuk gave his name to both the empire and the Seljuk dynasty. The
Seljuks united the fractured political landscape of the eastern Islamic
world and played a key role in the first and second crusades. Highly
Persianized in culture and language, the Seljuks also played an
important role in the development of the Turko-Persian tradition, even
exporting Persian culture to Anatolia. 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.
Map: Seljuq Empire at its greatest extent in 1092, upon the death of
Malik Shah I; showing the Great Seljuk Empire at its height, upon the
death of Malik Shah I in 1092. The capital of the Great Seljuk Empire is
shown at Ishfahan (Persia/Iran). The borders of present-day countries
are shown in gray. The lighter colour in the top right represents
Karakhanids. "In 1089, Malik Shah returned to the charge, occupied
Bukhara, captured Sarakand, and imprisoned the Karakhanid Ahmed . . .
whom he later reinstated as client-ruler. From that time forward, the
Karakhanids who reigned in Bukhara and Samarkand did so as lieutenants
of the Seljuk sultans. Transoxiana was now no more than a dependency of
the Seljuk Empire." (Grousset p. 147.) Other areas such as the
Danishmends are not shown separately. The locations of the Battle of
Manzikert (1071) and the Battle of Dandanaqan (1040) are also shown.
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First Crusade (1095-1099)
During the First Crusade, the fractured states of the Seljuqs were
generally more concerned with consolidating their own territories and
gaining control of their neighbours than with cooperating against the
crusaders. The Seljuqs easily defeated the People's Crusade arriving in
1096, but they could not stop the progress of the army of the subsequent
Princes' 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 Seljuqs had already
lost Palestine to the Fatimids, who had recaptured it just before its
capture by the crusaders.
After pillaging the County of Edessa, Seljuqid 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. 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. The Battle of
Didgori was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the
Seljuk Empire, on August 12, 1121. As a result, the Seljuks were routed
and fled from the battlefield, being run down by pursuing Georgian
cavalry for several days. The Didgori battle helped the Crusader states,
which had been under the pressure of Ilghazi's armies. The weakening of
the main enemy of the Latin principalities was beneficial for the
Kingdom of Jerusalem under King Baldwin II.
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Second Crusade (1147-1149)
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.
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http://www.transanatolie.com/English/Turkey/Turks/Selcuks/seljuks.htm
Seljuks- Mongols-Timur-Ottomans-Moguls-Safavids-Fall of East Roman
Empire
https://www.facebook.com/1577132965882383/videos/307318790640250
Two royal figures (Saljuq Period)
https://www.facebook.com/1577132965882383/videos/737391953740408
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The Turks Enter Anatolia (1016-1071) - History Time
https://youtu.be/YirWYMurJn4
The Rise and Fall of the Seljuk Empire (1:15m) - EmperorTigerstar
https://youtu.be/pUEqSQA5E5c
Tutush, Kerbogha & the Fall of the Great Seljuk Empire - History Time
https://youtu.be/MridMw5doyI
Rise of the Seljuk Empire - Nomadic Civilizations DOCUMENTARY - Kings &
Generals
https://youtu.be/P79ECnISamo
TransAnatolie Tour
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