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Fragmentation of the Seljuk Empire
In the 1120s, the Great Seljuk Empire under nominal rule of Sultan Sanjar was already partitioned, with atabegs and local sultans ruling Syria, Iraq,…
Timeline
- 1121–1130Merv · KhwarazmSultan Ahmad Sanjar based himself in Khwarazm, nominally supreme ruler of the Great Seljuk Empire, but in practice unable to effectively control distant vassal domains.
- 1122–1129Damascus · LevantAtabeg regimes in Syria and Mesopotamia each went their own way, alternately submitting to and rebelling against Sanjar; the empire's west had effectively split into multiple military fiefdoms.
- 1124–1130Konya · Asia MinorThe Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia moved toward independence under rulers such as Sultan Shah, dealing with the Byzantines and Crusader states, no longer effectively constrained by Khwarazm.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods — J. A. Boyle (ed.) (1968)
- A History of the Seljuks — Aziz Ahmad (1975)