The Seljuks of Anatolia Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East

by Peacock, Andrew; Yildiz, Sara Nur

• ISBN13: 9781848858879
• ISBN10: 1848858876
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-12-11
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

One of the most powerful dynasties to rule in the medieval Middle East, the Seljuks played a critical role in the development of Anatolia's multi-ethnic, multi-confessional identity. Under Seljuk rule (c. 1081-1308) the formerly Christian Byzantine territories of Anatolia were transformed by the development of Muslim culture, society and politics, and it was then - well before the arrival of the Ottomans - that a Turkish population became firmly established in these lands. Here, Andrew Peacock and Sara Nur Yildiz explore the history of Anatolia under Seljuk rule in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, examining developments in culture, politics, religion and society and shedding new light on the influence of the dynasty within Anatolia and throughout Western Asia. The Seljuks of Anatolia will therefore be of great interest to researchers with interests in Byzantium as well as the material culture and society of the medieval Islamic world.

Author Biography

A.C.S. Peacock is Lecturer in the School of History, University of St Andrews. He holds a PhD in Oriental Studies from the University of Cambridge and is the author of Early Seljuq History: A New Interpretation (2010).Sara Nur Yildiz is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Orient-Institut, Istanbul. She holds a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Introduction * Dynastic Identity and the Great Seljuk Inheritance * The House of Mengüjek in Divrigi: Constructions of Dynastic Identity in the Late 12th Century * 'The King of the East and the West': the Seljuk Dynastic Concept and Titles in the Muslim and Christian Sources * A Nadim for the Sultan: Rawandi and the Anatolian Seljuks * The Royal Household * Harem Christianity: The Byzantine Identity of Seljuk Princes * Paper, Stone, Scissors: 'Ala' al-Din Kayqubad, 'Ismat al-Dunya wa 'l-Din, and the Writing of Seljuk History * Sufism at Court and in Society * In the Proximity of Sultans: Majd al-Din Ishaq, Ibn 'Arabi and the Seljuk Court * Sufis and the Seljuk Court in Mongol Anatolia: Politics and Patronage in the Works of Jalal al-Din Rumi and Sultan Walad * Futuwwa in 13th-century Rum and Armenia: Reform Movements and the Managing of Multiple Allegiances on the Seljuk Periphery * Conclusion: Research on the Seljuks of Anatolia: Some Comments on the State of the Art