{"word_count": 377, "character_count": 2653}
Publication Date:Jan 2015Dimensions:234 x 156 mmExtent:392 pagesIllustrations:50 bw Ill.Series:The Edinburgh History of the Islamic EmpiresThe first textbook introduction to the history of the Great Seljuk Islamic Empire to be published in EnglishRead and download the introduction for free here (pdf)The Great Seljuk Empire was the Turkish state which dominated the Middle East and Central Asia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This book surveys that period, which was one of exceptional importance, witnessing profound demographic, religious, political and social changes in the Islamic Middle East. The Turkish invasions played a role in provoking the Crusades, led to the collapse of Byzantine power in Anatolia and brought about the beginnings of Turkish settlement in what is now Turkey and Iran, permanently altering their ethnic and linguistic composition.Key FeaturesThe first book in a western language to offer an overview of this major Islamic empireProvides a narrative history and a thematic analysis of the empire’s institutions and aspects of life in the Seljuk worldExamines the political, administrative, military, religious, economic and social organization of the Great Seljuk Empire using a wide variety of historical and literary sourcesDraws on the evidence of archaeology and material cultureIllustrated with images, maps, charts, family treesText boxes introduce key themes and institutions Table of Contentsist of box texts; Illustrations and maps; Abbreviations; A note on transliteration, conventions and geographical terminology; Acknowledgements Introduction; Chapter 1. The Rise of the Seljuk Empire: from the Eurasian Steppe to the Gates of Cairo, c. 965-1092; Chapter 2. Crisis, Consolidation and Collapse: the Great Seljuk Empire and the Sultanate of Iraq, 1092-1194; Chapter 3. Sovereignty, Legitimacy and the Contest with the Caliphate; Chapter 4. The Dargāh: Courts and Court Life; Chapter 5. The Kuttāb: Bureaucrats and Administration; Chapter 6. The ‘Askar: The Seljuk military; Chapter 7. Religion and the Seljuk Empire; Chapter 8. The Economic and Social Organisation of the Seljuk Empire; Conclusion: The Seljuk Legacy; Appendices: Regnal Dates of Seljuk Sultans; ‘Abbasid Caliphs, Khwarazmshahs and principal Atabegs; Genealogical chart of the Seljuk Sultans; Chronological Outline; Glossary; Bibliography.AuthorA.C.S.Peacock is Lecturer in Middle Eastern History at St Andrews University. Previous publications include Early Seljūq History: a new interpretation (London, 2010) and as co-editor (with Sara Nur Yıldız) The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East (London, 2013).