Key Facts
- Dynasty duration
- c. 1000–1308 AD
- Seljuk Empire
- 1037–1194 AD
- Sultanate of Rum
- 1074–1308 AD
- Sultanate of Kerman
- 1041–1186 AD
- Cultural identity
- Oghuz Turkic origin, Persianate culture
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The Seljuk dynasty traces its origins to Seljuk Beg, descended from a Khazar royal advisor named Tuqaq. From Transoxiana, the Oghuz Turkic clan converted to Sunni Islam and migrated westward, seizing Khorasan from the Ghaznavids after the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040. Under Tughril, they captured Baghdad in 1055, receiving the title of Sultan from the Abbasid Caliph and establishing authority across Persia and Iraq.
Phase II: Zenith
At their height under Alp Arslan and Malik Shah I, the Seljuks ruled a domain stretching from Central Asia through Persia, Mesopotamia, and into Anatolia. The decisive victory at Manzikert in 1071 opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement. The court became a center of Persian literary and administrative culture, patronizing scholars such as Omar Khayyam and supporting the Nizamiyya madrasa network established by vizier Nizam al-Mulk.
Phase III: Decline
Following Malik Shah I's death in 1092, succession disputes fractured the empire into rival branches and atabeg principalities. The main Seljuk Empire collapsed by 1194 under Khwarazmian pressure, while the Sultanate of Kerman ended in 1186. Only the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia persisted, itself fragmenting after the Mongol invasion and the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, finally dissolving around 1308.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory