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The Seljuk Turks ( Turkish: Selçuk; Arabic: سلجوق Saljuq, السلاجقة al-Salājiqa; Persian: سلجوقيان Saljuqiyān; also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that occupied parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The Seljuks migrated from the north into Persia, fighting and conquering various tribes on their way. They converted to Sunni Islam, zealously defending it and promoting its predominance among the branches of Islam. The lands they eventually accumulated, covering present-day Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, TurkeyTurkey (officially the Republic of Turkey Turkish Turkiye is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the, the entire Middle East, and a part of the ArabiaArabia is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. It lies north of Ethiopia and northern Somalia; south of Israel, the disputed Palestinian territories, and Jordan; and southwest of Iran. The coastal limits of Arabia comprise: onn peninsula, grew into the Seljuk Empire, also called the Great Seljuk. SeljukFor the dynasty and empire founded by Seljuk, see Seljuk Turks. Seljuk (in Arabic Saljuq in Turkish Selcuk also Seldjuk Seldjuq Seljuq was the bey (chieftain) of a branch of Oghuz Turks known as the Seljuk Turks. He founded the Seljuk dynasty around year, an Oghuz beyBey is the Turkish word for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups In historical accounts, many Turkish and Persian leaders are titled bey beg or beigh''. They are all the same word with the simple meaning of "leader. (chieftain), founded the dynasty around the year 1000Events World Population 300 million. Gunpowder invented in China. Scandinavia, Iceland and Hungary Christianized. Stephen I becomes King of Hungary. Sancho III of Navarre becomes King Aragon, Navarre, and Castile. Leif Ericson lands in North America, call. Seljuk's son led the Seljuks southward; his grandson, ToğrülToğrul (Tuğril or Toghril Beg; ca 990 September 4 1063) was the third ruler of the Seljuk dynasty. He established a state called Great Seljuk and conquered Persia and Baghdad. He ascended to power ca 1016. In 1025 he, his uncle Arslan and his (Tughril Beg), conquered Persia and occupied BaghdadCapitals in Asia Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. It is the second largest city in Southwest Asia after Tehran, with the 2003 population estimated at 5,772,000. Situated on the Tigris River at 33°20 north and 44°26 east, the city w. He established the Seljuk capital at NishapurNishapur (or Neyshabur in Persian) is a town in the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad. The region's economy is largely agricultural, based on g and died in 1063 leaving his holdings to his nephew, the great-grandson of Seljuk, Alp Arslan who invaded and conquered Anatolia in 1071 in the Battle of Manzikert and subsequently conquered Transoxiana.The Seljuk Turks are regarded as the ancestors of the Western Turks, the present-day inhabitants of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. The Seljuk Turks and their descendants, the Ottoman Turks, played a major role in medieval history by creating a barrier to Europe against the Mongol invaders from the East, defending the Islamic world against Crusaders from the West, and conquering the Byzantine Empire.
Under Alp Arslan's successor Malik Shah I and his vizier Nizam al-Mulk the Seljuk state expanded in various directions so that it bordered China in the East and the Byzantine Empire in the West. When Malik Shah died in 1092 the empire split, as his brother and four sons quarrelled over the apportioning of the empire among themselves. In 1118, the third son Ahmed Sanjar, unsatisfied by his portion of the inheritance, took over the empire. His brothers did not recognize his claim to the throne and Mahmud II proclaimed himself Sultan and established a capital in Baghdad. Ahmed Sanjar was captured and held captive by Turkish nomads from 1153 to 1156 and died the following year.
Despite several attempts to reunite the Seljuks in the centuries following Malik Shah's death, the Crusades prevented them from regaining their former empire. For a brief period, Toğrül III , was the Sultan of all Seljuk except for Anatolia. In 1194 Toğrül was defeated by Ala ad-Din Tekish , the Shah of Khwarezm, and the Seljuk finally collapsed. Of the former Great Seljuk Empire, only the Sultanate of Rüm in Anatolia remained. As the dynasty declined in the middle of the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Anatolia in the 1260s and divided it into small emirates called the Anatolian beyliks, which in turn were later conquered by the Ottomans.
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