Anatolian Seljuk Tilework

Timeline

1. c. 1050–1110Isfahan and Mesopotamia · West AsiaAnatolian Seljuk tilework inherited the glazed-tile traditions of the Great Seljuk Empire and Mesopotamia, with craftsmen migrating from the Iranian plateau and the two-river region into Rum. The technique applied cobalt blue, turquoise, and purple oxides over a tin-glaze base, fired a second time to produce a glossy surface, used for geometric inlay and Kufic calligraphic decoration.
2. 1111–1120Konya · Sultanate of RumIn the early 12th century the Sultanate of Rum began using glazed-tile decoration in early mosques and religious buildings in Konya and elsewhere, adorning mihrabs and lintels with geometric patterns and Arabic calligraphy. Works of this period were limited in scale but already showed Seljuk characteristics, accumulating craft experience for later large-scale tile decoration.
3. 1220–1280Kubadabad and Sivas · TurkeyDuring the reign of 'Ala al-Din Kayqubad I, large-scale glazed-tile murals depicting figures, animals, and geometric patterns were laid at the lakeside palace of Kubadabad, the pinnacle of Anatolian Seljuk tile art. Mosques and madrasas in Sivas, Kayseri, and elsewhere also widely used blue-green glazed tiles, forming a distinctive visual identity for Rum architecture.
4. 1300–1600Northwestern Anatolia · TurkeyAfter the fall of the Sultanate of Rum, the Anatolian Seljuk tilework tradition was inherited by the emerging Ottoman polity. In the 15th–16th centuries, Iznik ceramics continued and developed the Seljuk blue-green glazed-tile tradition in glaze formulas and decorative subjects, becoming a signature element of Ottoman imperial architectural decoration.