Seljuq BegSaljūq; also romanized Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; modern Turkish: Selçuk; Turkmen: Seljuk beg Dukak; Azerbaijani: Səlcuq bəy died 1009) was an Oghuz Turkic warlord, eponymous founder of the Seljuk dynasty.
Origin
Seljuq was the son of Duqaq or Tuqaq Beg, known as Temür Yalığ 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. According to various sources, Duqaq was a powerful statesman and possessed great power and influence in the Oghuz Yabgu State and passed away around 924.
Seljuq had great power and influence among the people of his tribe who lived within the territory of the Oghuz Yabgu State. The relationship between Seljuq 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, along with his tribe, to the town of Jand, located on the left bank of the Syr Darya. It is rumored 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. Jand was an important border town in the 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, Seljuq accepted Islam together with his Oghuz tribe. This event took place between 985-986, after when Seljuk had migrated to Jand, and before 992, when Seljuk would leave for Transoxiana to help the Samanians. After accepting Islam, Seljuq 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 Seljuq Beg as al-Malik al-Ghâzî Seljuk. The most important event that took place during this period was the death of Seljuq's elder son Mikâ'îl, who was the father ofTughrul Beg and Chaghri Beg, founders of the Great Seljuk Empire. After this incident, the wife of Mikâ'îl married Yusuf, the other son of Seljuq. According to the old Turkic traditions, while two of his sons, Tughrul and Chaghri, were raised by their grandfather Seljuk Beg.
Relations with Samanids
Seljuk, who gained power with his war activities in Jand and its vicinity, gradually began to enter into political events in Transoxiana. After Kara-khanid Hasan b. Sulayman Bughra Khan captured Samanid city Bukhara, Samanid's requested Seljuq to help against Bughra Khan. Upon this, Seljuk sent his son Arslân to Transoxiana. Since Seljuk was getting old in this period, the administration was now actually in the hands of his eldest son Arslân. In the meantime, the Samani state, which thoroughly lost her power, was subjected to frequent renewed attacks by Kara-khanids, which gave Arslan the opportunity to prove his military prowess. In a period when the Samani 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 seized Bukhara for the second time, Seljuqs under Arslân provided military assistance to Abû İbrâhîm İsma'îl al-Muntasir, the last member of the Samani dynasty. 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 Seljuqs, he couldn't prevent the collapse of the Samani state. After this incident, the entire Transoxiana came under the Kara-khanid administration and the Seljuqs had to recognize the administration of Kara-khanids.
Relationship with Khazars
It is speculated that according to some sources, Seljuk began his career as an officer in the Khazar army. 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.
Under Mikâîl's sons Tughrul and Chaghri, the Seljuqs migrated into Khurasan. Ghaznavid attempts to stop Seljuqs raiding the localMuslim populace led to the Battle of Dandanaqan on 23 May 1040. Victorious Seljuqs 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 Seljuqs seem to have been the first to inscribe it on their coins.
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. 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.
Family
According to various sources, Seljuq had four or five sons: Isrâ'îl '', Mikâ'îl, Mûsâ, Yusuf and/or Yûnus. 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 Khazar Judaic or Nestorian Christianity before accepting Islam. 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.
