The Idea of Iran: The Age of the Great Saljuqs

Baghdad: a view from the edge on the Saljuq empire

Dr Vanessa Van Renterghem, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco,Paris) & Institut Français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo, Beirut)

The control of Saljuq Sultans over Baghdad was less a Sunni liberation from the Buyid Shi’i rulers than a new tutelage over the Abbasid caliphate. For more than half a century, the Caliphs continued to be deprived of an army and were at the head of a highly reduced administration, while the Saljuq Sultans were actually ruling; nevertheless, both authorities shared control over the city. This contribution examines the balance of power between Caliphs, Sultans and the local population and underlines the slow recovery of Abbasid power over Iraq during the twelfth-century CE.

What Does the History of Isfahan Inform Us About Iranian Society During the Saljuq Period?

Dr Durand-Guédy, Research Associate, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

While the political history of Iran during the Saljuq period has been fairly well investigated, the evolution of Iranian society is far less known. Isfahan, which played the role of capital before and after the Turkish conquest, represents an ideal frame through which to scrutinise what happened at the local level: what was the attitude of the population towards the coming of the Turks? How was local society transformed by the Saljuq state? How did it react to the collapse of central authority and to the endemic warfare in Western Iran which lasted until the Mongol invasion?

Ismaili-Saljuq Relations: Conflict and Stalemate

Dr Farhad Daftary, Co-Director, The Institute of Ismaili Studies and Co-Editor, Encyclopaedia Islamica

In 1090, the Persian Ismailis established a state of their own in the midst of the Saljuq sultanate centred at the fortress Alamut. Its founder, Hassan-i Sabbah (d. 1124 CE), designed a policy of uprooting the Saljuq Turks whose alien rule was detested by Persians of different social classes. Hassan failed to attain his objective but the Saljuqs, despite their much superior military power, did not succeed in dislodging the Ismailis from their network of fortress communities. This paper will address the nature of Hassan’s anti-Saljuq policy, and the reasons for the Ismailis’ survival as well as the circumstances which led to stalemate in Ismaili-Saljuq relations.

Images into Words: Metaphors as Hallmarks of Poetic Individuality

Dr Ali-Asghar Seyed-Ghorab, Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Leiden Institute for Area Studies (Leiden University)

In modern scholarly discussions, on early Persian poetic stylistics, the three main Ghaznavid poets: Farrokhi, Manuchehri ‘Onsori are usually named in one breath. In this paper, I would like to put forward the hypothesis that each of these poets has a completely different way of contriving metaphors and imagery. While one relies on short metaphors to illustrate an idea, another uses extended metaphors, and a third tends to use riddling metaphors. I will show how metaphors became the hallmark for individual poets to show their virtuosity and poetic veneer, competing with other court poets.

The Mirrors for Princes Fabricated at the Saljuq Court: The Siyasat-name (Siyar al-muluk) by Nizam al-Mulk and the bi-partite Nasihat al-muluk by al-Ghazali

Dr Alexey A. Khismatulin, The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, St Petersburg

Some of the texts written in the Mirrors for Princes’ genre and ascribed to famous statesmen or outstanding Muslim scholars are the subject of false attribution or deliberate fabrication. This paper focuses on two outstanding cases of counterfeiting at the Saljuq court: the Siyar al-muluk (Siyasat-name), ascribed to the famous Saljuq wazir Nizam ul-Mulk (d. 1092 CE), and the second part of the Nasihat al-muluk, attributed to al-Ghazali (d. 1111 CE). Both texts were written in the twelfth-century CE and their fates are so closely entwined, and so similar to each other, that they deserve to be studied together.

Structures of Power and Influence in Seljuq Iran: The Case of Nizam al-Mulk

Professor Carole Hillenbrand, FBA, OBE, Professor Emerita of Islamic History, University of Edinburgh

This lecture looks at the remarkable career of the famous Persian vizier, Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092 CE). He held this key position for over 30 years, serving two Turkish Sultans in the heyday of Seljuq. His role in Seljuq government, both as a theorist and practitioner will be assessed. The lecture will also explore the motives behind his patronage of madrasas bearing his name in key cities of the Seljuq empire.

The Friday Mosque of Isfahan: The Crowning Achievement of Seljuq Architecture?

Professor Robert Hillenbrand, Emeritus Professor of Islamic Art, University of Edinburgh

This paper will test the frequently made claim that the Friday Mosque of Isfahan in its Seljuq incarnation is the quintessential Seljuq building and determined the future of the Iranian mosque. The lecture will identify the key innovations in form, structure and decoration encountered in this iconic monument and will discuss these both in their contemporary political milieu and in the context of the other regional schools that flourish in the Iranian world between the eleventh- and the thirteenth-centuries CE.

‘Seljuq’ Ceramics?

Professor Oliver Watson, I.M.Pei Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford

The twelfth-century saw the development in Iran of a luxury ceramic industry of unprecedented sophistication. New technologies in making and decorating allowed wares of exceptional quality to be made in quantity, and these wares were traded all over Iran and beyond. A similar rise in inlaid metalwork parallels this ceramic activity, and together they form the basis of much discussion of ‘Seljuq’ art. This paper will examine the role of the Seljuqs in enabling and promoting such industries, and will question the assumption that strong government ensures artistic flourishing at every level.