Synopses & Reviews
The Great Seljuk Empire was the Turkish state which dominated the Middle East and Central Asia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This book surveys that period, which was one of exceptional importance, witnessing profound demographic, religious, political and social changes in the Islamic Middle East. The Turkish invasions played a role in provoking the Crusades, led to the collapse of Byzantine power in Anatolia and brought about the beginnings of Turkish settlement in what is now Turkey and Iran, permanently altering their ethnic and linguistic composition.
Synopsis
Received an honorable mention at the 2016 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize
The Great Seljuk Empire was the Turkish state which dominated the Middle East and Central Asia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This book surveys that period, which was one of exceptional importance, witnessing profound demographic, religious, political and social changes in the Islamic Middle East. The Turkish invasions played a role in provoking the Crusades, led to the collapse of Byzantine power in Anatolia and brought about the beginnings of Turkish settlement in what is now Turkey and Iran, permanently altering their ethnic and linguistic composition.
Synopsis
The first English language general history of the Great Seljuk Empire outlines its chronological history and will explores its religious and institutional history.
Synopsis
The Seljuks, nomadic tribesman in origin, invaded the Middle East in the 11th century and established themselves as sultans in the Islamic tradition. The Great Seljuk Empire became one of the major empires of Middle Eastern history and dominated Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Syria in the 11th and 12th centuries.The proposed book will provide the first English language general history of this empire. It will outline the chronological history of the empire and will then explore the religious and institutional history, based on the following themes: * The relationship between tribes and the state* The development of administrative and religious institutions* The nature and impact of Turkish settlement in the Middle East and its consequences* The long-term significance of the religious history of the period* The struggle for legitimacy and authority between sultans, caliphs, religious scholars and amirs* The political role of women in the Seljuk court* The Seljuks and the non-Muslim world
About the Author
A.C.S.Peacock is Lecturer in Middle Eastern History at St Andrews University. Previous publications include
Early Seljuq History: a new interpretation (London, 2010) and as co-editor (with Sara Nur Yildiz)
The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East (London, 2013).
Table of Contents
List of box texts
Illustrations and maps
Abbreviations
A note on transliteration, conventions and geographical terminology
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Rise of the Seljuk Empire: from the Eurasian Steppe to the Gates of Cairo, c. 965-1092
Chapter 2. Crisis, Consolidation and Collapse: the Great Seljuk Empire and the Sultanate of Iraq, 1092-1194
Chapter 3. Sovereignty, Legitimacy and the Contest with the Caliphate
Chapter 4. The Dargah: Courts and Court Life
Chapter 5. The Kuttab: Bureaucrats and Administration
Chapter 6. The 'Askar: The Seljuk military
Chapter 7. Religion and the Seljuk Empire
Chapter 8. The Economic and Social Organisation of the Seljuk Empire
Conclusion: The Seljuk Legacy
Appendices: Regnal Dates of Seljuk Sultans
'Abbasid Caliphs, Khwarazmshahs and principal Atabegs
Genealogical chart of the Seljuk Sultans
Chronological Outline
Glossary
Bibliography