Seljuq dynasty

Seljuq dynasty

 or Saljuq dynasty

(c. 11th–13th centuries) Muslim Turkmen dynasty that ruled Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia. Seljuq was the chief of a nomadic Turkish tribe. His grandsons Chaghri Beg and Toghrïl Beg conquered realms in Iran. Under Alp-Arslan and Malik-Shah, the empire came to include all of Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine; Alp-Arslan's victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert led to several Crusades. Adherents of Sunnite Islam, the Seljuqs adopted Persian culture, and under them the Persian language partly displaced Arabic as a literary language in Iran. By 1200 Seljuq power remained only in their sultanate of Rum in Anatolia, which collapsed in a war against the Khwarezm-Shah dynasty in 1230 and was overrun by Mongols in 1243. See also Nizam al-Mulk.