The Great Seljuqs This book provides a broad history of the Seljuq Turks from their origins and early conquests in the tenth century, through the rise of the empire, until its dissolution at the end of the twelth century. Where the history of the Seljuqs is usually studied in the context of medieval Persian, Arabic or Islamic history, this book considers the subject from the perspective of Turkish history. Examining the corpus of academic work on the period and how Turkish historiography has interpreted and understood the Seljuqs, the author demonstrates how the Great Seljuq Empire can be considered not only in a historical context, but as the instigator of Turko-Islamic civilization. Rejecting traditional Turkish scholarship, which places Iranian culture and Islam as the civilising elements in the Great Seljuq Empire, the author shows how the nature of nomadic pastoral empires has come under fresh scrutiny, reassessing Seljuq history and the framework within which it has been treated. This book provides a unique insight into the adoption of Turkic expectations to an urban environment that were forged on the Eurasian steppes, showing how the outcome put its stamp on the second millennium throughout the Middle East and the Balkans. It will be an important addition to the literature on medieval Islamic, Turkish and Middle Eastern history. Aziz Başan completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, and is now an independent scholar. Routledge studies in the history of Iran and Turkey Edited by Carole Hillenbrand University of Edinburgh This series publishes important studies dealing with the history of Iran and Turkey in the period CE 1000–1700. This period is significant because it heralds the advent of large numbers of nomadic Turks from Central Asia into the Islamic world. Their influence was felt particularly strongly in Iran and Turkey, territories which they permanently transformed. The series presents translations of medieval Arabic and Persian texts which chronicle the history of the medieval Turks and Persians, and also publishes scholarly monographs which handle themes of medieval Turkish and Iranian history such as historiography, nomadisation and folk Islam. Mediaeval Islamic Historiography and Political Legitimacy Bal’ami’s Tarikhnamah A.C.S. Peacock History of the Seljuq Turks The Seljuq-nama of Zahir al-Din Nishpuri Translated by Kenneth Allin Luther Edited by Edmund Bosworth The Annals of the Seljuq Turks Selections from al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh of Ibn al-Athir D. S. Richards Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth Century Iran A Persian renaissance George Lane The Ghaznavid and Seljuq Turks Poetry as a source for Iranian history G.E. Tetley Iranian Elites and Turkish Rulers A history of Isfahan in the Seljuq period David Durand-Guédy Early Seljuq History A new interpretation A.C.S. Peacock The Great Seljuqs A history Aziz Başan The Great Seljuqs A history Aziz Başan First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Aziz Başan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Basan, Aziz. The great Seljuqs : a history / Aziz Basan. p. cm. – (Routledge studies in the history of Iran and Turkey) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Seljuks – History. 2. Seljuks – Historiography. 3. Turkey – History – To 1453. 4. Turkey – History – To 1453 – Historiography. I. Title. DS27.B37 2010 950’.1 – dc22 2009052455 ISBN 0-203-84923-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN: 978-0-415-55539-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-84923-1 (ebk) For Maureen Contents List of maps x Acknowledgements xi Spelling and abbreviations xii 1 Introduction 1 Ottoman influences 1 Republican concerns 5 Why the Seljuqs? 7 The historians and their works 9 The Turkish view and its problems 14 Methodology 20 2 Overview 21 Origins 22 Conquest (985/993–1063) 22 Empire (1063–92) 27 Interregnum (1092–1105) 34 Dissolution (1105–94) 38 3 Origins 45 The Eurasian steppe zone 45 The Oguz 47 The Türkmen 50 The Seljuqs 51 4 Conquest (985/993–1063) 53 Transoxania 53 The Türkmen of Iraq 58 Victory at Dandankan 61 viii Contents Seljuqid sovereignty 63 Ruler of the East and the West 66 Seljuqid discord 67 5 Empire (1063–92) 70 Unification of the empire 71 The Caucasus and Transoxania 73 The war for Anatolia 75 Victory at Malazgirt 78 Contention for the realm 81 Transoxania 82 The Caucasus 83 Anatolia 84 Syria and Palestine 85 The rise of Süleyman-Shah 86 Incorporation of Syria 88 Anatolia after Süleyman-Shah 92 Central Asia 94 Arabian peninsula and the Gulf 94 Coming of the assassins 94 6 Interregnum (1092–1105) 97 Contention for the realm 98 Coming of the Crusaders 100 The rise of Muhammad Tapar 104 Anatolia and Syria 109 7 Dissolution (1105–94) 112 Unruly servants and vassals 113 The Crusaders 116 Transoxania and the Ghaznavids 121 The Seljuqs of Iraq 121 Sultan Mahmud 122 Dissension 127 Defeat at Katvan 131 Sultan Mascud 133 The Oguz rebellion 136 Collapse 138 Contents ix 8 Evaluation 140 Nomadic pastoral organization 143 The Seljuqs’ nobility and aspirations 149 The problems of conquest 151 The conquest of Anatolia 156 The basis of empire 165 The power struggle 180 Common ownership of the realm 183 The role of women 184 9 Conclusion 186 Appendix 1: Maps 188 Appendix 2: The Oguz 197 Appendix 3: Seljuq rulers 198 Bibliography 200 Index 207 Maps A1.1 Turkic migrations and the Seljuqs 189 A1.2 The Great Seljuq Empire 190 A1.3 Urban centres in Seljuq history 191 A1.4 Raids under Sultan Tuğrul 192 A1.5 Raids under Sultan Alp-Arslan and Afşin 193 A1.6 Emperor Diogenes’ second campaign 194 A1.7 Manuel and Er-Basgan 195 A1.8 Emperor Diogenes’ final campaign 196 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Carole Hillenbrand for her invaluable guidance throughout. This work would not have been possible without her encouragement and support. There are others I must also thank, as without their help I could not have accessed all the relevant sources. First, I would like to thank the staff at the Librarie de Pera, in Istanbul, who found and delivered all the books by Turkish scholars for the period in question. Secondly, there is my childhood friend Mustafa Bozcaadalı, who acquired copies of Köymen’s articles, and also my good friend Cem Kum, who referred me to relevant works by military historians. Third, there is my colleague Cengiz Tomar, who drew my attention to pertinent articles and theses. Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife Maureen for her moral support whenever I needed it most. Spelling and abbreviations There are many problems with Turkish spellings. The silent /i/, namely /ı/, pronounced as in –tion, presents a challenge not overcome by /y/ or indeed /ï/. Although Kyrgyz is fine for Kırgız, Osmanly does not render Osmanlı. Likewise /ğ/ is a softening not a hardening of /g/, so that /gh/ as in Oghuz or yoghurt renders neither Oğuz nor yoğurt. Both /ö/ and /ü/ now seem acceptable, /ç/ as in /ch/ and /ş/ as in /sh/ are becoming more so. I have retained all six in proper Turkish nouns, so that care should be taken also with /c/, which is pronounced as /j/. Thus, for example, Sancar should be read as ‘Sanjar’ and Altuncan as ‘Altunjan’. I have given Arabic and Persian names and titles minimal transliteration due to their complexity. Initial hamzas and cayns have been omitted, but they are indi- cated in the middle of words. There are two abbreviations worthy of note. These concern the I˙slâm Ansiklopedisi (IA) and the Diyanet Vakfı I˙slâm Ansiklopedisi (DVIA). Furthermore, volumes 5 and 12 of the I˙slâm Ansiklopedisi have been split into two. Thus (Eren IA/11: 709ff) refers to Eren’s article on pages 709 follow- ing in volume 11 and (Minorsky IA/12/2: 107ff) refers to Minorsky’s article on pages 107 following in volume 12/2. Last but not least, Kaşgarlı Mahmut’s and Ibn Fadlan’s works as well as the Orkhun stone inscriptions are referenced under their editors’ and translators’ names in the Bibliography, Primary sources in Turkish; namely under Atalay, Şeşen and Tekin respectively. 1 Introduction The purpose of this work is to provide a history of the Great Seljuq Empire in a Western language. Although it is a translation, Gary Leiser’s A History of the Seljuqs: I˙brahim Kafesoğlu’s Interpretation and the Resulting Controversy (1988) is the only full length narrative of Seljuqid war and politics in a Western language (see Humphreys 1991: 156). Another aim of this work is to reassess the framework within which the his- tory of the Great Seljuqs has been treated. In the West, the Seljuqs are studied in the context of medieval Persian, Arabic or Islamic history (see Hodgson 1974; Lambton 1987; Frye 1993; Lewis 1993; Kennedy 1994; Morgan 1994a).