Middle Ages

Great Seljuk Empire

Period
AD 1040 – AD 1201
Duration
approx. 161 years
Greatest extent
around AD 1085
Area (max.)
approx. 4.1 million km²
Great Seljuk Empire at its greatest extent (around AD 1085) · Borders: Cliopatria
▶ View on the interactive map

Profile

Strength

Turkmen cavalry warriors; under Alp Arslan they defeated the Byzantine Empire.

Famous figures

  • Tughril Beg
  • Alp Arslan
  • Malik-Shah I
  • Nizam al-Mulk
  • Sanjar

Wars & battles won

  • Battle of Dandanaqan (1040)
  • Battle of Manzikert (1071)

Wars & battles lost

  • Battle of Qatwan (1141)
  • Fragmentation into successor states (12th century)

Languages

  • Persian
  • Turkish
  • Arabic

Period and duration

Great Seljuk Empire — according to the map data from AD 1040 to AD 1201, roughly 161 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.

Greatest extent

Great Seljuk Empire — greatest extent around AD 1085: the mapped borders then cover about 4.1 million km², roughly 2.8% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.

AD 1040Area according to the map data (max. 4.1 million km²)AD 1201

Predecessors and successors

States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:

Before (AD 1039)

After

Neighbours around AD 1085

The largest states in the region at the same time:

Learn more

Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.