Seljuk Empire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Seljuk Empire آلِ سلجوق Āl-e Saljuq
1037–1194
Seljuk double-headed eagle
Seljuq Empire at its greatest extent in 1092, upon the death of Malik Shah I
Capital	Nishapur (1037–1043) Rey (1043–1051) Isfahan (1051–1118) Merv, Eastern capital (1118–1153) Hamadan, Western capital (1118–1194)
Common languages	Persian (official and court; literature and lingua franca) Oghuz Turkic (dynastic and military) Arabic (theology, law and science)
Religion	Sunni Islam (Hanafi)
Government	De facto: Independent Sultanate De jure: Under Caliphate
Caliph
• 1031–1075	Al-Qa'im
• 1180-1225	Al-Nasir
Sultan
• 1037–1063	Toghrul I (first)
• 1174–1194	Toghrul III (last)
History
• Tughril formed the state system	1037
• Battle of Dandanaqan	1040
• Battle of Manzikert	1071
• First Crusade	1095–1099
• Battle of Qatwan	1141
• Replaced by the Khwarezmian Empire	1194
Area
1080 est.	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 Sultanate of Rûm 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 was a high medieval Turko-Persian 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 (990–1063) and his brother Chaghri Beg (989–1060) in 1037. From their homelands near the Aral Sea, the Seljuks advanced first into Khorasan and then into mainland Persia, before eventually 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). From c. 1150-1250, the Seljuk empire declined, and was invaded by the Mongols around 1260. The Mongols divided Anatolia into emirates. Eventually one of these, the Ottoman, would conquer the rest.

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.

Images for kids

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  Head of male royal figure, 12–13th century, found in Iran.

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  Ahmad Sanjar seated on his throne

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  Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar in Merv, Turkmenistan.

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  Sultan Barkiaruq, the Seljuk ruler during the First Crusade, from the manuscript of Hafiz-i Abru's Majma’ al-Tawarikh, Yale University Art Gallery

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  Map depicting military actions during the Battle of Qatwan

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  Seljuk stucco figurine (12th century)

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  Seljuk Dinar (gold), 12th century

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  Ruins of ancient Marv, one of the capitals of the Great Seljuk Empire

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  Seljuk ceramic tile

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  Muqarnas in a mosque

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  A folio from Qarmathian Qur'an, c. 1180

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  The angel Metatron from the Daqa'iq al Haqa'iq, an occult manuscript (c. 1272–73)

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  Bowl with an Enthronement Scene,12th-13th century, Brooklyn Museum

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  Seljuk pottery head

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  Seljuk-era art: Ewer from Herat, Afghanistan, dated 1180–1210CE. Brass worked in repousse and inlaid with silver and bitumen. British Museum.

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  Section of a Water Jug, Habb, 12th-13th century, Brooklyn Museum

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  Toghrol Tower, a 12th-century monument south of Tehran in Iran commemorating Tughril Beg.

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  The Kharāghān twin towers, built in 1053 in Iran, is the burial of Seljuk princes.

See also

In Spanish: Imperio selyúcida para niños