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Seljuk

 
Architecture and Landscaping: Seljuk
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or Saljuk archictecture

Taking its name from a Turkish Islamic dynasty which, with its branches, ruled in Iran, Iraq, and Syria from 1038 to 1194 and in Anatolia from 1077 to 1307, it consists largely of madrasas, caravanserais, and mausolea, usually executed in high-quality masonry or brickwork embellished with glazed tiles. It evolved a type of mosque with four iwans facing the court, with a domed prayer-hall behind the prayeriwan (e.g. Great Mosque, Isfahan (C11) ). Mausolea comprise the most distinctive type of Seljuk architecture: they are towers, often circular or star-shaped on plan (e.g. the cone-capped Gunbad i Qabus, Gurgan (1006–7)) with elaborate inscriptions and ornament. Minarets were often very elaborate, created perhaps more as monuments than as mere elevated towers for calls to prayer: an example is the Ghurid minaret, Jam (1191–8). Other mausolea are not towers, but are domed, often surfaced externally with brilliantly coloured glazed tiles: a good example is the tomb of Sultan Sanjar, Merv (1157). Seljuk architecture was to influence later Islamic architecture, especially in Iran and Turkey.

Bibliography

  • Cruickshank (ed.) (1996)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

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Dictionary: Sel·juk   (sĕl'jūk', sĕl-jūk') pronunciation
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A Turkish dynasty ruling in central and western Asia from the 11th to the 13th century.

[From Ottoman Turkish Seljūq, name of the reputed ancestor of the dynasty.]


Wikipedia: Seljuk
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For other uses, see Seljuk (disambiguation).

Seljuk (Arabic: السلاجقة, Turkish: Selçuk; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) (d. c. 1038) was the eponymous hero of the Seljuks. He was the son of a certain Duqaq surnamed Timuryaligh -of the iron bow- and either the chief or an eminent member from the Kınık tribe of the Oghuz Turks. In about 985 the Seljuk clan split off from the bulk of the Tokuz-Oghuz, a confederacy of nine clans long settled between the Aral and Caspian Seas, and set up camp on the right bank of the lower Syr Darya(Jaxartes), in the direction of Jend, near Kzyl Orda in present day south-central Kazakhstan where they were converted to Islam.

The biblical names of his four sons -Mîkâîl, Isrâîl (Arslan), Mûsâ, and Yûnus (Jonah)- suggest previous acquaintance with either Khazar Judaism or Nestorian Christianity.[1] According to some sources, Seljuk began his career as an officer in the Khazar army.[2]

Under Mikail's sons Toghrul and Chaghri the Seljuks migrated into Khurasan. Ghaznavid attempts to stop Seljuks raiding the local Muslim populace led to the Battle of Dandanaqan on 23 May 1040. Victorious Seljuks became masters of Khurasan, expanding their power into Transoxiana and across Iran. By 1055 Toghrul had expanded his control all the way to Baghdad, setting himself up as the champion of the Abbasid caliph, who honored him with the title sultan. Earlier rulers may have used this title but the Seljuks seem to have been the first to inscribe it on their coins.[3]

Preceded by
-		 Seljuk Founder
?–1038[citation needed]		 Succeeded by
Toghrül

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Brook 74; Dunlop passim.
  2. ^ Rice 18-19.
  3. ^ Findley 68.

References

  • Brook, Kevin Alan. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.
  • Dunlop, D.M. "The Khazars." The Dark Ages: Jews in Christian Europe, 711-1096. 1966.
  • Findley, Carter Vaughn. The Turks in World History, pp. 68, 2005, Oxford University Press
  • Grousset, Rene . The Empire of the Steppes Rutgers University Press, 1970.
  • Rice, Tamara Talbot. The Seljuks in Asia Minor. Thames and Hudson, London, 1961.
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Architecture and Landscaping. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Seljuk".  Read more