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Seljuk Empire: History, Timeline & Map

Great Seljuk Empire history (1037–1194): Tughril, Alp Arslan, Malik-Shah, Nizam al-Mulk and Seljuk Isfahan, on an interactive timeline and map of Iran.

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What was the Seljuk Empire?

The Great Seljuk Empire was a Turkic-ruled state that, from the mid-eleventh to the late twelfth century, united Iran and Iraq with much of Central Asia, Syria and eastern Anatolia. Its sultans came from the Oghuz Turks, but they governed through Persian bureaucrats and in Persian and Arabic, establishing the Turko-Persian pattern of rule, with a Turkic military elite and a Persian administrative class, that lasted in Iran for centuries.

Rise of the Seljuks: From the Steppe to Baghdad

Led by the brothers Tughril and Chaghri, the Seljuks entered Khorasan in the 1030s, took Nishapur around 1037–38 and crushed the Ghaznavid army at Dandanaqan in 1040. Tughril entered Baghdad in 1055, ending Buyid control there and ruling as sultan in the name of the Sunni Abbasid caliph. His nephew Alp Arslan defeated the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV at Manzikert in 1071, opening Anatolia to Turkish settlement.

Nizam al-Mulk, Isfahan and Seljuk Culture

Under Alp Arslan and Malik-Shah, the Persian vizier Nizam al-Mulk directed the administration for about three decades. He founded the Nizamiyya madrasas in Baghdad, Nishapur and other cities and is credited with the Siyasatnama, a book of advice on government, parts of which may be later additions. Malik-Shah's capital, Isfahan, gained the great domes of its Friday Mosque, landmarks of the four-iwan plan. Omar Khayyam worked on the reformed Jalali calendar, and al-Ghazali taught at the Nizamiyya of Baghdad.

Fragmentation and Legacy

In 1092 Nizam al-Mulk was assassinated, an act attributed to the Nizari Ismailis, although some suspect court rivals, and Malik-Shah died weeks later, triggering succession wars. Sanjar held Khorasan until his defeat by the Qara Khitai at Qatwan in 1141 and his capture by Oghuz tribesmen in 1153. The last Seljuk sultan in Iran was killed by the Khwarazmshah in 1194, while the Seljuks of Rum lasted in Anatolia into the fourteenth century. The madrasa, the iqta land-grant system and Persian as a language of government spread with Seljuk rule.

Timeline of events

Frequently asked questions

Were the Seljuks Turkish or Persian?

The ruling family was Turkic, from the Oghuz tribes of the Central Asian steppe. But the empire was governed largely by Persian administrators, its court culture and literature were heavily Persian, and it is usually described as a Turko-Persian state.

Who was Nizam al-Mulk?

Nizam al-Mulk (1018–1092) was a Persian vizier from the Tus region who ran the Seljuk administration under Alp Arslan and Malik-Shah. He founded the Nizamiyya madrasas, is credited with the Siyasatnama, and was assassinated in 1092.

Why was the Battle of Manzikert important?

At Manzikert in 1071 Alp Arslan defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV. Byzantine civil strife after the battle allowed Turkish groups to settle across Anatolia, a long-term shift that eventually led to the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and later Turkish states.

Key events on the map

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