Seljuk Empire facts for kids

Seljuk Empire
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

Seljuq-era art: Ewer from Herat, Afghanistan, dated 1180–1210CE. Brass worked in repousse and inlaid with silver and bitumen. British Museum.
Section of a Water Jug, Habb, 12th-13th century, Brooklyn Museum
Bowl with an Enthronement Scene,12th-13th century, Brooklyn Museum
Head of male royal figure, 12–13th century, found in Iran.
Toghrol Tower, a 12th-century monument south of Tehran in Iran commemorating Tughril Beg.
The Kharāghān twin towers, built in 1053 in Iran, is the burial of Seljuq princes.
Seljuq sultan Barkiyaruq
Seljuk Sultan Muhammad ibn Malik-Shah