View source for Seljuk (warlord)

{{Short description|Eponymous founder of the Seljuk dynasty}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Seljuk
| title        = [[Bey]]
| image        = 
| royal house  = [[Seljuk dynasty]]
| father       = [[Tuqaq]]
| death_date   = {{circa}} 1007<ref name=Selçuk /> or 1009 (age 100/107)
| death_place  = [[Jand (Transoxania)|Jand]]
| burial_place = Unknown, possibly near [[Jand (Transoxania)|Jand]], [[Kazakhstan]]<ref name=Selçuk>{{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/selcuk-bey|title=SELÇUK BEY|first=ABDÜLKERİM | last= ÖZAYDIN|volume=36}}</ref>
| issue        = {{Unbulleted list|[[Mikail of Kınık tribe|Mikail]]|[[Arslan Yabgu|Arslan]]|Musa|Yunus|Yusuf}}
| religion     = {{Unbulleted list|[[Islam]] ([[Sunni]])|Previously: [[Tengrism]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sevim |first1=Ali |title=Selçuklu devletleri tarihi: siyaset, teşkilât ve kültür |last2=Merçil |first2=Erdoğan |date=1995 |publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi |isbn=978-975-16-0690-7 |series=Türk Tarih Kurumu yayınları |location=Ankara |pages=2 & 16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Turan |first=Osman |url= |title=Selçuklular Tarihi ve Türk-Islâm Medeniyeti |publisher=Ötüken Neşriyat |year=1969 |isbn=978-975-437-470-4 |edition=2 |location=[[Istanbul]], Turkey |pages=39–40 |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kafesoğlu |url=http://archive.org/details/prof-dr-ibrahim-kafesoglu-selcuklu-tarih |title=Selçuklu Tarihi |pages=6–7}}</ref>}}
}}

'''Seljuk''' (died {{c.|1007}} or 1009) was an [[Oghuz Turk]] warlord. He was the eponymous founder of the [[Seljuk dynasty]] and the namesake of [[Selçuk]], the modern town near the ruins of ancient [[Ephesus]] in [[Turkey]].

{{anchor|Etymology}}

== Name ==
The warlord's personal name is '''[[Selçuk (name)|Selçuk]]''' {{IPA|tr|sælˈtʃʰʊk|}} in the modern [[Turkish language]] – a name oftentimes [[anglicization of names|anglicized]] as "Seljuk". His name varies in different sources and languages. The form {{lang|ota|سلجك}} ({{translit|ota|Selcük}} {{IPA|ota|sælˈd͡ʒʏk|}}) appears in [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]]'s 1072{{ndash}}1074 [[Karakhanid language|Karakhanid]] ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk]]'' and in the anonymous 13th{{ndash}}15th-century [[Old Anatolian Turkish]] ''[[Book of Dede Korkut]]''.<ref name=gedikli>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Dil Bilimi, Dil Bilgisi ve Dil Eğitimi / Linguıstics Grammar And Language Teaching / Языкознание Грамматика И Обучение Языку|section="Selçuk" kişi adının köken ve anlamı (etimolojisi)|author=Gedikli Yusuf|page=650|year=2015|volume=2}}</ref> His name is spelled in Arabic and Persian sources as {{lang|ar|سلجوك}}, {{lang|ar|سلجك}}, {{lang|ar|سلچوق}}, {{lang|ar|سلجوق}}, and {{lang|ar|سلجق}}.<ref name=Selçuk /> Romanizations include '''Seljuk''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|l|dʒ|ʊ|k}} {{respell|SEL|juuk}} – the English standard); '''Seljuq'''; '''Səlcuq''', '''Sälcuq''' or '''Seljug''' (from Azerbaijani); '''Saljuk''' or '''Saljuq''' (from Persian); '''Seldjuk''' or '''Seldjouk''' (from French); '''Saljūk''' or '''Saljūq''' (from Arabic); '''Selyuq''' (from Spanish); '''Seljuque''' (from Portuguese); '''Selgiuc''' (from Romanian); '''Seldschuk''' (from German); '''Seltsjoek''' (from Dutch); '''Szeldzsuk''' (from Hungarian); '''Seldzhuk''' (from Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian); and '''Seldžuk''' (from Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbo-Croatian). His name is sometimes given the title [[bey (title)|bey]], also variously romanized.

There are different theories about the etymology of Seljuk:<ref name=gedikli /><!-- See also [[MOS:SINGLE]]. -->
* ''selçük'', meaning 'small flood'
* ''salçuk'', meaning 'little raft'
* ''salçığ'', meaning 'disputant'

According to Caferoğlu, the name was derived from the [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''sil-'' in [[Old Uyghur]], meaning 'clean'. Although, the root of ''sil-'' was transformed as i > e, and that the name was created by adding the diminutive of ''-çük''.<ref>{{citation |last=Caferoğlu |first=Ahmet |date=1993 |title=Eski Uygur Türkçesi Sözlüğü |location=Istanbul |publisher=Enderun Kitabevi |edition=3rd |language=tr |pages=133 ff }}.</ref> The meaning of the word could be interpreted as 'pure', 'clean', 'honest', or 'man of [his] word'. It is argued that it was a unisex name, given both to boys as well as girls in the past and that some of these traits were sought in women, thus it would make more sense to name girls after some of these qualities.<ref name=gedikli />

According to Hungarian Turkologist [[László Rásonyi]], his name should be read as '''Selcik'''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bahaeddin Ögel|title=Türk Mitolojisi (Kaynakları ve Açıklamaları ile Destanlar)|year=1971|page=589|language=tr}}</ref> [[Josef Markwart]] proposed that the name should be read as '''Salçuk'''.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the Seljuks: İbrahim Kafesoğlu's Interpretation and the Resulting Controversy|year=1988|page=21|author=Ibrahim Kafesoglu}}</ref> [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] suggested the vocalization '''Salçuq''' ~ '''Saljuq''', based on the Islamic and Syriac transcriptions {{smallcaps|{{Transliteration|syc|sljwq}}}} and saw a connection with root ''sal-'' "to move (something), to put into motion with some implication of violent motion", an etymology consistent with contemporary Turkic anthroponymy.<ref>Golden, Peter B. (1992). ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic People''. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. p. 217</ref>

==Life==
===Origin===
Seljuk was the son of Tuqaq{{sfn|Golden|2007|p=159}} or Tuqaq Beg (دوقاق دمور یالیق ''Dûqâq Demur Yalığ'')'','' known as ''Temür Yalığ'' (meaning 'iron [[Bow and arrow|bow]]') because of his skills in his works. In Oghuz culture, arrow and bow are considered as a sign of sovereignty and considering Duqaq's nickname, he wasn't an ordinary soldier, but a ''sü-başı'' (commander-in-chief). According to various sources, Duqaq was a powerful statesman and possessed great power and influence in the [[Oghuz Yabgu State]] and died around 924.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=27}}

===Immigration to Jand===
[[File:AD 750OguzYabgu.png|thumb|275px|Oghuz Yabgu (750-1055 AD)]]
Seljuk had great power and influence among the people of his tribe who lived within the territory of the Oghuz Yabgu State. The relationship between Seljuk and Oghuz Yabgu was overshadowed by an incident that is not well known because of lack of reliable sources. Nonetheless, Seljuk left the Oghuz Yabgu State and immigrated with his tribe, to the town of [[Jand (Transoxania)|Jand]],{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=29}} located on the left bank of the [[Syr Darya]]. It is rumored{{by whom|date=April 2020}} that there were 100 horseman, 1,500 camels and 50,000 sheep with Seljuk Beg during this migration. If each horseman equates to a family, the Seljuks who migrated to Jand were likely a small nomadic community of about 500 people.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=31}}

Jand was an important border town in the [[Great steppe|steppes]] during the X to XIII centuries. This town, inhabited by both nomadic and sedentary people, served as gateway to the steppes. Jand was a relatively popular destination for Muslims and religious propagandists from Transoxiana as well as merchants from various places. There, Seljuk and his Oghuz tribe accepted Islam. This event took place after Seljuk had migrated to Jand in 985-986, and before Seljuk left for Transoxiana to help the Samanians in 992.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=31}}

After accepting Islam, Seljuk expelled the officials sent by the Oghuz Yabgu to Jand to collect the annual tax, saying "Muslims will not pay tribute to the unbelievers", and set up a war against the non-Muslim Turks. This may well be proved by [[Al-Bayhaqi]] who calls Seljuk Beg as ''al-Malik al-Ghâzî Seljuk'' (meaning "ruler and religious fighter Seljuk").{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=32}}

The most important event that took place during this period was the death of Seljuk's elder son [[Mikail ibn Seljuk|Mikâ'îl]], who was the father of [[Tughril|Tughrul]] Beg and [[Chaghri Beg]], founders of the Great Seljuk Empire. After this incident, the wife of Mikâ'îl (Tughril and Chaghri's mother) married Yusuf, the other son of Seljuk. According to the old Turkic traditions (the reason for such a tradition was that someone could use a widowed noblewoman to gain strength among the tribe/country), while two of his sons, Tughrul and Chaghri, were raised by their grandfather Seljuk Beg.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=32}}

===Relations with Samanids===
[[File:Transoxiana 8th century.svg|thumb|right|300px|Map of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and [[Transoxiana]].]]
Seljuk, who gained power with his war activities in Jand and its vicinity, gradually became involved in politics in [[Transoxiana]]. After the [[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Kara-Khanid]] ruler [[Hasan b. Sulayman|Hasan b. Sulayman Bughra Khan]] captured the [[Samanid Empire|Samanid]] city of [[Bukhara]], the Samanids asked Seljuk for aid against Bughra Khan. Upon this, Seljuk sent his eldest son Arslân (''Isrâ'il'') to Transoxiana.<ref name=":0">{{harvnb|Grousset|1970|pp=149–150}}</ref>

Since Seljuk was getting old in this period, the administration was now actually in the hands of Arslân. In the meantime, the Samanid state, which thoroughly lost its power, was subjected to frequent renewed attacks by the Kara-Khanids, which gave Arslan the opportunity to prove his military prowess. In a period when the Samanid state was shaken by the internal turmoil caused by Fâ'ik, [[Abû 'Alî Simcûr]], and [[Bek-tüzün]], and the Kara-Khanids who entered Transoxiana and [[Karakhanid–Samanid wars|seized Bukhara]] for the second time (999), the Seljuks under Arslân provided military assistance to [[Isma'il Muntasir|Abû İbrâhîm İsma'îl al-Muntasir]] (1000–1005), the last member of the [[Samanid Empire|Samanid dynasty]] (1003). Although al-Muntasir gained some success against the Kara-khanid army under the command of [[Ilig Khan Nasr]] with the support he received from the Seljuks, he couldn't prevent the collapse of the Samanid state.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=32}} Arslan himself was taken prisoner in 1025 by [[Mahmud of Ghazni]]. After this incident, all of Transoxiana came under the Kara-Khanid rule and the Seljuks had to submit to the Kara-Khanids.<ref name=":0" />

===Relationship with Khazars===
It is speculated that according to some sources, Seljuk began his career as an officer in the [[Khazars|Khazar]] army.{{sfn|Rice|1961|p=18-19}} These sources provide information about the ancestors of the Seljuks, records that Duqaq is connected to Khazar Melik. The fact that these records, which appear ambiguous in ''[[Melik-nâme]]'', was repeated by [[Ibn Hassûl]] who wrote his work during the time of Tughrul Beg, does not leave any doubt about the Seljuk's relationship with the Khazars. Due to a lack of resources, it is not possible to reveal the nature of this relationship nor to fully define its framework, yet it is difficult to say whether this relationship was done via Oghuz Yabgu state or independent. However, if political contact has been established between the ancestors of the Seljuks and the Khazars, the most appropriate date for this must be the middle of the second quarter of the X. century, when the Khazar Khaganate needed military help. As a result, it is possible that Duqaq had political and military relations with the Khazars during their collapse either directly or through the Oghuz Yabgu State, and that these memories could only be spoken verbally in the family reflect only the vague records of the Seljuk histories written about one hundred and fifty years later.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=26}}

===Founding of the Seljuk dynasty===
Under Mikâîl's sons [[Tughril|Tughrul]] and [[Çağrı Bey|Chaghri]], the [[Seljuks]] migrated into [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]]. [[Ghaznavid]] attempts to stop Seljuks raiding the local [[Muslim]] populace led to the [[Battle of Dandanaqan]] on 23 May 1040. Victorious Seljuks became masters of Khurasan, expanding their power into [[Transoxiana]] and across [[Iran]]. By 1055, Tuğrul had expanded his control all the way to [[Baghdad]], setting himself up as the champion of the [[Abbasid caliph]], who honored him with the title ''[[sultan]]''. Earlier rulers may have used this title but the Seljuks seem to have been the first to inscribe it on their coins.{{sfn|Findley|2005|p=68}}

===Death===
Seljuk Beg died in Jand at the age of about a hundred towards the year 1009. After his death, Arslân, one of his three surviving sons, took over the administration under the old Oghuz traditions. His son Arslân, who had the title of yabgu, was assisted by Yusuf, who had the title of inal and Mûsâ, who had the title of inanç from his brothers. Meanwhile, Mikâ'îl's sons Tughrul and Chaghri took their place in the administration as "beg" at the age of 14-15. Although Arslan Yabgu was the head of the family, the sons and grandchildren of Seljuk ruled the Turkoman Begs and other forces affiliated to them in a semi-connected manner in the line with the old Oghuz traditions.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=33}}

==Family==
According to various sources, Seljuk had four or five sons: [[Arslan Yabgu|Isrâ'îl]] (''Israel, Arslân)'', [[Mikail (son of Seljuk)|Mikâ'îl]] (''Michael''), Mûsâ (''Moses''), Yusuf (''Joseph'') and/or Yûnus (''Jonah''). All five names mentioned are related to Judaism. Some researchers who pointed out the religious status of the names have concluded that the Seljuk family was either [[Khazars|Khazar]] [[Judaism|Judaic]] or [[Nestorian Christianity|Nestorian Christian]] before accepting Islam.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dietrich|first1=Richard|date=May 2018|title=The Names of Seljuk's Sons as Evidence for the Pre-Islamic Religion of the Seljuks|journal=Turkish Historical Review|volume=9|issue=1|pages=54–70|doi=10.1163/18775462-00901002|hdl=11511/41747|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunlop |first1=Douglas M. |title=The History of the Jewish Khazars |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1954 |pages=260–261}}</ref> However, given that the names of these individuals are widely used in the Islamic world, Turkish historians state that such an interpretation cannot be solely based on names.{{Sfn|Özgüdenli|2018|p=31}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===References===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Adas |title=Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2001 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World |first=C.E. |last=Bosworth |title=The Cambridge History of Iran:The Saljuq and Mongol Periods  |volume=5 |editor-first=J. A. |editor-last=Boyle |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1968 }}
*{{cite book |last=Brook |first=Kevin Alan |title=The Jews of Khazaria |edition=2nd  |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc |year=2006 }}
*{{cite book |chapter=The Turkish Invasion: The Selchukids |first=Claude |last=Cahen |title=A History of the Crusades: The First Hundred Years |editor-first=Kenneth Meyer |editor-last=Setton |publisher=The University of Wisconsin Press |year=1969 }}
*{{cite book |last=Dunlop |first=D.M |title=The Khazars, The Dark Ages: Jews in Christian Europe, 711-1096 |year=1966 }}
*{{cite book |last=Findley |first=Carter Vaughn |title=The Turks in World History |year=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}
*{{cite book |chapter=The Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism |first=Peter |last=Golden |title=The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives. |editor-first1=Peter |editor-last1=Golden |editor-first2=Haggai |editor-last2=Ben-Shammai |editor-first3=András |editor-last3=Roná-Tas |publisher=Brill |year=2007 }}
*{{cite book |last=Grousset |first=Rene |title=The Empire of the Steppes |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppes00grou |url-access=registration |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=9780813506272 |oclc=90972}}
*{{cite book |last=Özgüdenli |first=Osman Gazi |chapter=Selçukluların Kökeni |trans-chapter=Origin of the Seljuks |pages=19–37 |editor-last=Turan |editor-first=Refik |language=tr |title=Selçuklu Tarihi El Kitabı |trans-title=Seljuk History Handbook |publisher=Grafiker Yayınları |year=2018}}
*{{cite book |last=Rice |first=Tamara Talbot |title=The Seljuks in Asia Minor |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.38227 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1961 }}
{{refend}}

{{Seljuk dynasty}}

[[Category:Seljuk rulers]]
[[Category:Military history of the Khazars]]
[[Category:1000s deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Converts to Islam]]
[[Category:Eponyms]]
[[Category:Warlords]]