Seljuk Dynasty: Difference between revisions

<onlyinclude>{{#ifeq:{{{section|editorial box}}}|editorial box|{{Editorial Box

  | quality = c

  | navbox =

  | references =

  | good article =

  | featured article =

}}}}</onlyinclude>

The '''Seljūk''' (Persian: {{ia|سلجوقیان}}) was an Oghuz Turk dynasty who ruled [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Transoxiana]] and parts of [[Anatolia]] for about two centuries (5th/[[11th century|11th]] and 6th/[[12th century|12th]] centuries) after defeating [[Ghaznavid]] and [[Buyid]] dynasties. The Seljuks were [[Hanafi]] Muslims, and were supporters of the [[Abbasid]] caliph against [[Shi'a]] powers, such as [[Fatimids]] and Buyids, thus, introducing themselves as revivers of the [[Sunni]] denomination of [[Islam]]. In the early years of the Seljuk government, the Shi'as who had gained a tremendous social power in the Buyid period came to be constrained and oppressed, but after the period of [[Malik-Shah]], Seljuk kings exhibited more religious tolerance, and thus, the Shi'as could rapidly regain their social and even political power, occupying high-ranking positions in the Seljuk government. In the Seljuk period, the Shi'as were dispersed in different cities of Iran and had active flourishing [[seminary school]]s. One social feature of the Seljuk period was religious quarrels between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims in some cities, such as [[Baghdad]] and [[Neyshabur]] which sometimes led to widespread battles in cities and districts.

==Political History==

The periods of two successors of Tughril, that is, Alp Arslan and Malik-Shah, was the peak of Seljuk power and their economic progress. In the period of Alp Arslan, the second Seljuk king, their territory expanded eastward to Syr Darya and westward to the Mediterranean Sea. In 463/1070, Alp Arslan defeated and imprisoned the emperor of Eastern Rome.

After the death of Sultan Muhammad, the Seljuk territory was practically divided into two parts. Sanjar and his successors ruled eastern areas of Iran from [[Rey]] to [[Transoxia]], and children of Sultan Muhammad, who came to be called Iraqi Seljuks, ruled eastern parts of Iran and Iraq.

==The Beginning of the Seljuk Rule and the Oppression of the Shi'as==

The Seljuks were Hanafis and they entered Baghdad with the slogan of reviving the Sunni power. When Shiite Fatimid caliphs exerted pressures on the Abbasid caliphate, the Seljuks gained part of their political legitimacy from the slogan of reviving the Abbasid caliphate and the Sunni dominance.

===Sunni Ministers and their Attempts to Constrain the Shi'as===

There are reports of social and political constraints for the Shi'as in the early period of the Seljuk monarch. For example, in his ''Siyasatnama'', Nizam al-Mulk al-Tusi cited that in the period of Tughril and Alp Arslan, no Shi'a could occupy governmental positions. People were only admitted to serve in government or the military after being vetted with respect to their lineage and denomination.

===The Burgeoning of Shiite Schools===

According to reports, in the Seljuk era the Shiite population was usually concentrated in some cities of Iran, including Qom, Kashan, Aveh, and Rey. As Nizam al-Mulk say in his book, residence in any of these cities would mean that the person was a Shi'a. This implies that the Shi'as constituted the majority of the population in these cities.

* Muhammad b. Husayn, the author of the Persian work, ''Ramish afzayi Al Muhammad dar tarikh anbiya' wa imaman'' (a history of prophets and Imams) which is not available today.

* [[Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Shahrashub]], the author of ''[[Manaqib Al Abi Talib]]''.

* Muhammad b. Hasan al-Fattal al-Nishaburi, the author of ''[[Rawdat al-wa'izin]]''.

[[fa:سلجوقیان]]