Seljuk Empire
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Seljuk Empire was a medieval Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qiniq branch of Oghuz Turks.
The Seljuk Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to western Anatolia and the Levant, and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. The Seljuk empire was founded by Tughril Beg (1016–1063) 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 around 1260 invaded by the Mongols. The Mongols divided Anatolia into emirates. Eventually one of these, the Ottoman, would conquer the rest.
Seljuk gave his name to both the Seljuk empire and the Seljuk dynasty. The Seljuks united the fractured political scene of the eastern Islamic world and played a key role in the first and second crusades.
See also
- Artuqid
- Order of Assassins
- Atabeg
- Anatolian Seljuks family tree
- Danishmend
- Ghaznavid Empire
- Rahat al-sudur
- Seljuq architecture
- Seljuq dynasty
- Sultanate of Rûm
- History of the Turks
- List of Turkic dynasties and countries
- Timeline of the Sultanate of Rûm
- Timeline of the Turks (500–1300)
- Seldschuken-Fürsten, list of Seljuq rulers in the German Wikipedia
- Turkic migrations