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Terken Khatun

Type Figure Region West Asia Time c. 1053–1094 Also known as Terken Khatun、Turkan Khatun、Tarkhan Khatun、特尔肯可敦

Terken Khatun (c. 1053 – autumn 1094) was the principal wife of Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I, a Karakhanid princess, daughter of Khan Ibrahim, and moth…

Timeline

  1. 1065–1092Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceA Karakhanid princess, she married Malik-Shah around 1065. After her sons Dawud and Ahmad were successively named heirs but died young, she pressed for her youngest son Mahmud to succeed, and opposed the vizier Nizam al-Mulk. Her court influence rose markedly in Malik-Shah's later years.
  2. 1092–1094Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceAfter Malik-Shah's death she concealed the news and arranged for Mahmud's accession, negotiating with Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadi so that the khutba was read in the young son's name. The Taj al-Mulk faction at one point imprisoned Barkiyaruq, but was later defeated at Burujird; she withdrew to Isfahan and was besieged. She opposed Barkiyaruq, but Barkiyaruq's mother was Zubaida Khatun, not herself.
  3. 1094Isfahan · Isfahan ProvinceFrom Isfahan she tried to contact Tutush, but died suddenly in 1094; Mahmud also died about a month later, and the western Seljuks passed into Barkiyaruq's hands. The so-called 'alliance with Sanjar to support Tapar' of 1101–1110 does not match her lifespan or family relationships.

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