Seljuk TurksThe Seljuk Turks (Arabic: سلجوق Saljūq, السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; Persian: سلجوقيان Saljūqiyān; Turkish: Selçuk; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that occupied parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The Seljuks migrated from the north into Persia, fighting and conquering various tribes on their way. They converted to Sunni Islam, zealously defending it and promoting its predominance among the branches of Islam. The lands they eventually accumulated, covering present-day Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, the entire Middle East, and a part of the Arabian peninsula, grew into the Seljuk Empire, also called the Great Seljuk. Seljuk, an Oghuz bey (chieftain), founded the dynasty around the year 1000. Seljuk's son led the Seljuks southward; his grandson, Toğrül (Tughril Beg), conquered Persia and occupied Baghdad. He established the Seljuk capital at Nishapur and died in 1063 leaving his holdings to his nephew, the great-grandson of Seljuk, Alp Arslan who invaded and conquered Anatolia in 1071 in the Battle of Manzikert and subsequently conquered Transoxiana. The Seljuk Turks are regarded as the ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. The Seljuk Turks and their descendants, the Ottoman Turks, played a major role in medieval history by creating a barrier to Europe against the Mongol invaders from the East, defending the Islamic world against Crusaders from the West, and conquering the Byzantine Empire. Under Alp Arslan's successor Malik Shah I and his vizier Nizam al-Mulk the Seljuk state expanded in various directions so that it bordered China in the East and the Byzantine Empire in the West. When Malik Shah died in 1092 the empire split, as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In 1118, the third son Ahmed Sanjar, unsatisfied by his portion of the inheritance, took over the empire. His brothers did not recognize his claim to the throne and Mahmud II proclaimed himself Sultan and established a capital in Baghdad. Ahmed Sanjar was captured and held captive by Turkish nomads from 1153 to 1156 and died the following year. Despite several attempts to reunite the Seljuks in the centuries following Malik Shah's death, the Crusades prevented them from regaining their former empire. 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 Khwarezm, and the Seljuk finally collapsed. Of the former Great 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 which in turn were later conquered by the Ottomans.
Seljuk Rulers in Syria 1076-1117\n* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I 1085-1086\n* Jalal ad-Dawlah Malik Shah I of Great Seljuk 1086-1087\n* Qasim ad-Dawla Abu Said Aq Sunqur al-Hajib 1087-1094\n* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I (second time) 1094-1095\n* Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan 1095-1113\n* Tadj ad-Dawla Alp Arslan al-Akhras 1113-1114\n* Sultan Shah 1114-1123\nSultans/Emirs of Damascus:\n* Aziz ibn Abaaq al-Khwarazmi 1076-1079\n* Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I 1079-1095\n* Abu Nasr Shams al-Muluk Duqaq 1095-1104\n* Tutush II 1104\n* Muhi ad-Din Baqtash 1104\nAtabegs of Aleppo:\n* Lulu 1114-1117\n* Shams al-Havas Yariqtash 1117\n* Imad ad-Din Zengi 1128-1146Seljuk Sultans of Rüm (Anatolia) 1077-1307\n* Kutalmish 1060-1077\n* Süleyman Ibn Kutalmish (Suleiman) 1077-1086\n* Dawud Kilij Arslan I 1092-1107\n* Malik Shah 1107-1116\n* Rukn ad-Din Mas'ud 1116-1156\n* Izz ad-Din Kilij Arslan II 1156-1192\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Kay Khusrau I 1192-1196\n* Süleyman II (Suleiman) 1196-1204\n* Kilij Arslan III 1204-1205\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Kay Khusrau I (second time) 1205-1211\n* Izz ad-Din Kay Ka'us I 1211-1220\n* Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I 1220-1237\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Kay Khusrau II 1237-1246\n* Izz ad-Din Kay Ka'us II 1246-1260\n* Rukn ad-Din Kilij Arslan IV 1248-1265\n* Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh II 1249-1257\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Kay Khusrau II (second time) 1257-1259\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Kay Khusrau III 1265-1282\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud II 1282-1284\n* Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh III 1284\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud II (second time) 1284-1293\n* Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh III (second time) 1293-1294\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud II (third time) 1294-1301\n* Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh III (third time) 1301-1303\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud II (fourth time) 1303-1307\n* Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud III 1307See also\n*Ghaznavid Empire\n*Sultanate of Rüm\n*Ottoman EmpireExternal links\n*All About Turkey: The Seljuks\n*Sadberkhanim Muzesi: Seljuk Art Category:Seljuk Turks\nCategory:Sunni Islam\nCategory:Crusades \n\n |
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