Seljuk architecture
Seljuk architecture is the name given to architecture built during the time when the Seljuks ruled most of the Middle East and Anatolia between (11th - 13th Centuries). After the 11th century the Seljuks of Rum emerged from the Great Seljuk Empire developing their own architecture, though they were influenced and inspired by the Armenians, Byzantines and Persians.
Great Seljuq Empire architecture
The architecture can be found in a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. The homeland of the Seljuk architecture was Turkmenistan and Iran, where the first permanent Seljuk buildings were built. Unfortunately the Mongol invasions and earthquakes destroyed most of these buildings and only a few remain. In 1063 Isfahan was established as capital of the Great Seljuk Empire under Alp Arslan.
The most significant alteration carried out in the early twelfth century was the conversion of the mosque plan into a four-iwan plan mosque. Another mosque-type introduced at this time was the kiosk mosque, consisting of a domed space with three open sides and wall containing a mihrab on the qibla side.The architecture of this period was also characterized by memorial tombs which were usually octagonal structures with domed roofs, called Kümbet or Türbe. An impressive example of tomb architecture is the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar at Merv, a massive building measuring 27 m square with a huge double dome resting on squinches and muqarnas pendentives.
Seljuk
Seljuk (Modern Turkish: Selçuk, Turkmen: Seljuk, Persian: سلجوق Saljūq; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; died c. 1038) was the eponymous hero of the Seljuq Turks. He was the son of a certain Toqaq surnamed Temür Yalığ (meaning "of the iron bow") and either the chief or an eminent member from the Kınık tribe of the Oghuz Turks. In 985, the Seljuq clan split off from the bulk of the Tokuz-Oghuz, a confederacy of nine clans long settled between the Aral and Caspian Seas. They 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. There, in 985, Seljuk converted to Islam.
The biblical names of his four sons — Mikâîl (Michael), Isrâîl (Israel), Mûsâ (Moses), and Yûnus (Jonah) — suggest previous acquaintance with either Khazar Judaism or Nestorian Christianity. According to some sources, Seljuk began his career as an officer in the Khazar army.
Under Mikâîl's sons Tuğrul and Çağrı, the Seljuqs migrated into Khurasan. Ghaznavid attempts to stop Seljuqs raiding the local Muslim populace led to the Battle of Dandanaqan on 23 May 1040. Victorious Seljuqs became masters of Khurasan, expanding their power into Transoxiana and across Iran. By 1055, Tuğrul 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 Seljuqs seem to have been the first to inscribe it on their coins.
Seljuk (disambiguation)
Seljuk was the founder of the Turko-Persian Seljuk dynasty in the Middle East and central Asia.
Seljuk may also mean:
See also
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