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Seljuk dynasty

Oghuz Turk Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became a Persianate society

29 dated entries naming Seljuk dynasty, drawn from 26 separate years between 1040 CE and 1243 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Seljuk Turks, Seljuks, Seljuq Turks, Seljuq dynasty in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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11th century

  • 1040May 23 – Battle of Dandanaqan: The Turkmen Seljuqs defeat the Ghaznavid forces (50,000 men) led by Sultan Masʽud I at Dandanaqan, a fortress city in the desert near Merv. Ghaznavid commanders Ali Daya and Begtoghdi are blamed for the defeat and executed.source
  • 1043The Seljuqs under Tughril Beg expel the Oghuz Turks from Khorasan and conquer Qazvin (modern Iran). They become the new masters of the Ziyarid dynasty (approximate date).source
  • 1054Sultan Tughril leads a large Seljuk army out of Azerbaijan into Armenia, possibly to consolidate his frontier, while providing an incentive to his Turkoman allies in the form of plunder. Tughril divides his army into four columns, ordering three to veer off to the north to raid into central and northern Armenia, while he takes the fourth column towards Lake Van. The Seljuk Turks capture and sack the fortress city of Artchesh, after an 8-day siege.source
  • 1055Winter – The Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Tughril capture Baghdad and enter the city in a Roman-styled triumph. Al-Malik al-Rahim, the last Buyid emir in Iraq, is taken prisoner.source
  • 1065Alp Arslan, leader of the Seljuk Turks, campaigns against the Kipchaks and the Türkmen in Central Asia. He captures the city of Kars and plunders the western provinces of Georgia.source
  • 1068Autumn – Romanos IV begins a campaign against the Seljuk Turks, leading a Byzantine expeditionary force (which is in poor condition). He is successful in recapturing the fortress city of Hieropolis (modern-day Manbij) near Aleppo in northern Syria.source
  • 1069Spring – Emperor Romanos IV begins a campaign against the Seljuk Turks, and marches towards the Euphrates via Melitene. He crosses the river at Romanopolis (modern Turkey), and captures the strategic fortress city of Chliat on the north-western shore of Lake Van. Romanos leaves a Byzantine rear guard on the upper Euphrates under General Philaretos Brachamios with orders to defend the Mesopotamian frontier.source
  • 1070A successful Byzantine counter-attack drives the Seljuq Turks across the Euphrates.source
  • 1074Spring – Norman mercenaries, led by Roussel de Bailleul, proclaim John Doukas emperor of the Byzantine Empire. His nephew, Emperor Michael VII Doukas, forms an alliance with Seljuk chieftain Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, who is raiding in the eastern regions of Anatolia. The Seljuk Turks ambush the Norman forces; Roussel and John are defeated and captured; but a ransom, raised by Roussel's wife, allows him to return to Amaseia.source
  • 1078Spring – Nikephoros Botaneiates, a Byzantine general (strategos) of the Theme of the Anatolics, revolts against Emperor Michael VII Doukas. With the support of the Seljuk Turks who provide him with troops, Nikephoros marches upon Nicaea (modern Turkey). He defeats the imperial army and proclaims himself emperor.source
  • 1079The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Suleiman ibn Qutulmish reach and occupy the western coast of Asia Minor, an area known since the Archaic Period (c. 800–c. 500 BC) as Ionia (modern Turkey).source
  • 1082Spring – The Normans under Duke Robert Guiscard take Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës) in Illyria and advance inland, capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly. Robert is forced to leave Greece to deal with an uprising in Italy. He leaves his son Bohemond in charge of the army, who lays siege to the city of Larissa. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos mobilizes a new army, and with the support of 7,000 Seljuk Turks he clears Thessaly from the Normans.source

12th century

  • 1101Crusade of 1101 – A second wave of European crusaders attempts to cross Anatolia, to reach the Kingdom of Jerusalem. They are defeated by the Seljuk troops under Sultan Kilij Arslan I, at Heraclea. A handful of crusaders under Raymond IV of Toulouse manage to reach the Byzantine port of Bafra, at the mouth of the River Halys.source
  • 1104May 7 – Battle of Harran: The Crusaders under Baldwin II are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtenay are taken prisoner. Tancred (nephew of Bohemond I) becomes regent of Edessa. The defeat at Harran marks a key turning point of Crusader expansion.source
  • 1116Autumn – Battle of Philomelion (1116): Emperor Alexios I Komnenos leads an expedition into Anatolia and meets the Seljuk army under Sultan Malik Shah (near Philomelium). The Byzantines introduce a new battle formation of Alexios' devising, the parataxis (a defensive formation, consisting of a hollow square, with the baggage in the centre). During the battle, the Seljuk Turks mount several attacks on the formations, but all are repulsed. The Byzantine cavalry makes two counterattacks; the first is unsuccessful. But a second attack, led by Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger, breaks the Seljuk forces, who then turn to flight. The following day Malik Shah again attacks, his army completely surrounding the Byzantines from all sides. The Seljuk Turks are once more repulsed, with many losses. Alexios claims the victory, and Malik Shah is forced to accept a peace treaty, in which he promises to respect the frontiers of the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 1118David IV of Georgia captures Lori from the Seljuk Turks.source
  • 1118June 11 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.source
  • 1118August 15 – Emperor Alexios I Komnenos dies after a 37-year reign, in which he has regained control over western Anatolia (modern Turkey). He stabilizes his frontiers against the wars with the Normans in the western Balkans, and the Seljuk Turks in the East. Alexios is succeeded by his 30-year-old son, John II Komnenos (the Good), as ruler of the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 1120Siege of Sozopolis: Byzantine forces under Emperor John II Komnenos conquer Sozopolis in Pisidia, from the Sultanate of Rum. The Seljuk garrison is defeated while they are trapped between the Byzantine cavalry and the army (which is besieging the fortress).source
  • 1121The much larger Seljuk army is heavily defeated; Georgia is unified and independence is achieved from Muslim authority. King David IV lays siege and captures Tbilisi later in the year assigning it as his capital.source
  • 1121Emperor John II Komnenos recovers southwestern Anatolia (modern Turkey) from the Seljuk Turks and then hastens to the Balkans, where the Pechenegs are continuing their incursions. He transfers Byzantine troops to the Danube frontier at Paristrion.source
  • 1122Battle of Beroia: Emperor John II Komnenos transfers the Byzantine field army from Asia Minor (where it has been engaged against the Seljuk Turks) to the Balkans. The Pechenegs who have set up their camp (defended by a circular formation of wagons) near Beroia (modern Bulgaria) are defeated. John orders the Varangian Guard (some 480 men), the elite Palace Guard to hack their way through the Pecheneg circle of wagons, causing a general rout in their camp. Pecheneg survivors are taken captive and enlisted into the Byzantine army.source
  • 1125June 11 – Battle of Azaz: The Crusader states led by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeat the Seljuk forces at Azaz and raise the siege of the town. Baldwin mobilizes a force of 1,100 armoured knights (from Antioch, Edessa and Tripoli) and 2,000 foot-soldiers. The Crusaders capture the Seljuk camp and Baldwin takes enough loot to ransom the prisoners taken by the Seljuk Turks (including his 4-year-old daughter Ioveta and Joscelin II of Edessa who are taken hostage). Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi, governor (atabeg) of Mosul, withdraws to Aleppo and is forced to make a truce, leaving the frontier in northern Syria in peace for 18 months.source
  • 1134Mas'ud becomes sultan of the Seljuk dynasty in Hamadan.source
  • 1136August 14 – The siege of Bagdhad by the Seljuks ends after Abbasid caliph al-Rashid Billah flees to Mosul. Seljuk sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud enters the city the following day.source
  • 1176Summer – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) assembles a Byzantine expeditionary force, and marches towards Iconium, the Seljuk capital. Meanwhile, hordes of Seljuk Turks destroy crops and poison water supplies, to make Manuel's march more difficult, and harass the Byzantine army, in order to force it into the Meander Valley. Kilij Arslan II, ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, hears of the expedition, and sends envoys to ask for peace.source
  • 1194March 10 – Sultan Toghrul III is defeated and killed in battle with Ala ad-Din Tekish, near Rey in Persia – ending the Seljuq dynasty of Hamedan. The Seljuk Empire passes to the Khwarazmian dynasty.source

13th century

  • 1214November 1 – Siege of Sinope: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Kaykaus I capture the strategic Black Sea port city of Sinope – at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond (one of the Byzantine successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade). Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond leads an army to break the siege, but he is defeated and captured. His capture forces the Byzantines to accept tributary status to Kaykaus.source
  • 1243June 26 – Battle of Köse Dağ: The Mongols under Baiju Noyan defeat the Seljuk Turks of the Sultanate of Rum and their Byzantine allies. The Seljuks and the Empire of Trebizond become vassals of the Mongols.source

Named in the same entries