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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
The Seljuks were a Turkish dynasty founded by Tugrul Beg in 1037 CE that ruled over a vast landscape stretching from Central Asia through Persia, Syria, the Hijaz and Anatolia. This dynasty ruled either directly or indirectly through vassals from the 11th to the 14th centuries CE and installed themselves in a few main principalities including Rum, Syria, and Kerman. The Seljuks were the target of the early crusades. Eventually, the Seljuks became vassals of the Mongols after their invasion in the mid 13th century CE and Anatolia was fragmented into beyliks or emirates. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire would emerge out of one of these beyliks.
The Seljuks were able to introduce social and political stability to their conquered territories through institution building, worked to revitalize Sunni Islam, and furthermore patronized the arts and intellectual culture. Although the Seljuks were Turkish, much of their emerging cultural forms were Persian influenced. Anatolia, formerly a hinterland of the Islamic world, was developed under the Seljuks as they introduced new forms of imperial architecture and style and embarked on expansive building projects. Kulliye, or complexes built around a mosque, were constructed and included such buildings as hospitals (mustashfa) and schools (madrasa). Nizam al-Mulk, the wazir of the first Seljuk ruler of Baghdad developed this latter institution. Also, in the 13th century CE and in the wake of the Mongol conquests, the Silk Road reemerged as an important trade route and the Seljuks began trading with the Genoese after the evacuation of the crusaders. In terms of religion, orthodox Sunni Islam was emphasized and further developed, especially around the Hanbali School of jurisprudence. Sufism also flourished in this period.
Notable intellectuals from the Seljuk Dynasty include the Omar Khayyam (the protagonist of Samarkand), the Orthodox Sunni theologian al-Ghazali, and the Sufi poet Rumi.
Posted at Apr 12/2009 09:39AM:
ian: Good stuff