Nizam al-Mulk | |
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Vizier of the Seljuk Empire | |
In office 29 November 1064 –14 October 1092 | |
Monarch | Alp Arslan, Malik Shah I |
Preceded by | Al-Kunduri |
Succeeded by | Taj al-Mulk Abu'l Ghana'im |
Personal details | |
Born | April 10,1018 Tus,Ghaznavid Empire |
Died | October 14,1092 (aged 74) Nahavand,Seljuk Empire |
Spouse | Unnamed Bagrationi princess [1] [2] |
Children | Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk Shams al-Mulk Uthman Abulfath Fakhr al-Malik Mu'ayyid al-Mulk Jamal al-Mulk Fakhr al-Mulk Izz al-Mulk Imad al-Mulk Abu'l-Kasim Safiyya |
Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ali Tusi (April 10,1018 –October 14,1092),better known by his honorific title of Nizam al-Mulk (Persian :نظامالملک, lit. 'Order of the Realm' [3] ) was a Persian [4] [5] scholar,jurist,political philosopher and Vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a lowly position within the empire, [6] he effectively became the de-facto ruler of the empire for 20 years after the assassination of Sultan Alp Arslan in 1072, [7] serving as the archetypal "good vizier". [6] Viewed by many historians as "the most important statesman in Islamic history",the policies implemented by Nizam al-Mulk would go on to remain as the basic foundation for administrative state structures in the Muslim world up until the 20th Century. [8]
One of his most important legacies was the founding of the madrasa system in cities across the Seljuk Empire which were called the Nizamiyyas after him. [9] This was seen to be as the first government sponsored education system in history and as the inspiration behind the university system in Western Europe. [10] He also wrote the Book of Government ,a political treatise that uses historical examples to discuss justice,effective rule,and the role of government in Islamic society, [11] which would go on to inspire the works of Ibn Khaldun and became the prototype for Machiavellian thought throughout Europe. [12]
Abu Ali Hasan was born on 10 April 1018,in a small village named Radkan,near Tus,in Iran,to a dehqan family. [13] [14] [15] [16] Growing up he studied Shafi fiqh and the Ashari school of theology. [8] His father Ali ibn Ishak served as a financial officer to the Ghaznavids. [17] However,when the Seljuk Turks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040,and conquered Khorasan,Abu Ali Hasan's father fled to Ghazni. Hasan followed his father to Ghazni,and it is there where he first assumed a government office. He remained in Ghazni for three or four years,when he left the Ghaznavid court and entered service with the Seljuks. [17]
Around the year of 1043,Abu Ali Hasan stopped serving the Ghaznavids and entered the service of the Seljuk Turks. He later became chief administrator of the entire Khorasan province by 1059. [18] When Tughril died childless in the city of Ray,he was succeeded by his nephew Suleiman which was contested by Alp Arslan,both of them sons of Tughril's brother Chaghri. His cousin Kutalmish who had both been a vital part of his campaigns and later a supporter of Yinal's rebellion also put forth a claim. Alp Arslan,with the aid of Abu Ali Hasan,defeated Kutalmish and succeeded him on April 27,1064.
After Alp Arslan had consolidated his power in the Sejluk realm,he appointed Abu Ali Hasan as his vizier who would remain in that position throughout the reigns of Alp Arslan (1063–1072) and Malik-Shah I (1072–1092). Abu Ali Hasan was also given the title of "Nizam al-Mulk" ("Order of the Realm").[ citation needed ]
Alp Arslan's strength lays in the military realm. Domestic affairs were handled by Nizam al-Mulk,who also founded the administrative organization that characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son,Malik Shah I. Military iqtā’ (fiefs),governed by Seljuk princes,were established to provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the established Anatolian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Iranians,and other established cultures within the Seljuk realm,and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge standing army without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiers. He not only had enough food from his subjects to maintain his military,but the taxes collected from traders and merchants added to his coffers sufficiently to fund his continuous wars.[ citation needed ]
Nizam accompanied Alp Arslan in all his campaigns and journeys,except a few. In February/March 1064 Alp Arslan,along with his son Malik-Shah I and Nizam al-Mulk,campaigned in Byzantine Armenia,where they managed to capture Ani. Several minor rulers then acknowledged Seljuk authority,while Alp Arslan and Nizam continued to penetrate deeper into the Caucasus,reaching Georgia. The Georgian ruler Bagrat IV,managed to make peace with Alp Arslan by giving his niece to him in marriage. [2] [1]
Nizam also made some expeditions on his own and conquered the citadel of Estakhr from the Shabankara chieftain Fadluya in 1067,and made another expedition in Fars. These successful conquests are said to have greatly increased his reputation. [18] On August 26 of 1071,the decisive Battle of Manzikert was fought,which Nizam al-Mulk had missed because he had been sent to Persia with a convoy of materials.
Following Alp Arslan's assassination in 1072,Malik-Shah I was challenged in battle by his uncle,Kavurt. In January 1074,their armies met near Hamadan. Kavurt's troops consisted of the traditional Turkmen elements from Alp Arslan's army,while Malik's consisted of ghulams and contingents of Kurdish and Arab troops. Due to Turkmen defections to Malik's army,Kavurt was defeated and,despite Malik's consideration for mercy,later poisoned,presumably on the orders of Nizam al-Mulk. [19]
Under Nizam's excellent guidance the Seljuk armies contained the Ghaznavids in Khorasan,rolled back the Fatimids in Syria,defeated other Seljuk pretenders to the throne,invaded Georgia and reduced it to a tributary state,compelled the submission of regional governors,and kept the Abbasid Caliphs in a position of impotence. [20]
Nizam al-Mulk left a great mark on organization of the Seljuk governmental bodies and hence the title Nizam al-Mulk which translates as "Order of the Realm." He bridged political gaps among the Abbasids,the Seljuks,and their various rivals such as the Fatimids. The Seljuk military was heavily mixed of different ethnicity,including Turks,Armenians,Greeks,Arabs,and Slavs. Nizam,however,favored Iranian soldiers,such as the Dailamites,Khorasanis,and the Shabankara. He also favored non-Iranian soldiers such as the Georgians. [21]
Nizam al-Mulk's many political objectives included:[ citation needed ]
In 1081/1082,Ibn Bahmanyar,one of the many enemies of Nizam,tried to poison him,but failed and was blinded by Nizam. After the blinding of Ibn Bahmanyar,the enemies of Nizam made false stories about him and his son. This greatly angered Nizam's son Jamal al-Mulk,who tore out the tongue of Ja'farak,one of the perpetrators of the false stories. Malik Shah had no power to intervene in the event,but instead had Jamal poisoned. [21]
In 1091,a group of Qarmatians sacked Basra,while the Isma'ilis under the leadership of Hassan-i Sabbah seized the fortress of Alamut. Moreover,the succession to the sultanate was complicated by the death of two of Malik-Shah's eldest sons:Dawud (died 1082) and Ahmad (died 1088),whom both were sons of the Kara-Khanid Princess Terken Khatun. She also had a son named Mahmud (born 1087) whom she wanted to succeed his father,while Nizam and most of the Seljuk army was in favor of Barkiyaruq, [21] the oldest of all Malik-Shah's living sons and born to a Seljuk princess. Terken Khatun then allied with Taj al-Mulk Abu'l Ghana'im to try to remove Nizam from his post. Taj even accused Nizam of corruption before the sultan. Malik Shah I,however,did not dare to dismiss Nizam. [22] Nizam later besieged Alamut,but was forced to withdraw.
In 1092,Nizam,just before his death,knowing that his enemies were planning plots against him,made a famous speech at the court:
Tell the Sultan, If you have not already realized that I am your co-equal in the work of ruling, then know that you have only attained to this power through my statesmanship and judgement. Does he not remember when his father was killed, and I assumed responsibility for the conduct of affairs and crushed the rebels who reared their heads, from his own family and from elsewhere. Tell him that the stability of that regal cap is bound up with this vizierial inkstand, and that the harmony of these two interests is the means of securing all objects soughts after and the ultimate cause of all objects gained. If ever I close up this inkstand, that royal power will topple. [21]
Aside from his extraordinary influence as vizier with full authority, he is also well known for systematically founding a number of schools of higher education in several cities like Baghdad, Isfahan, Amol, Nishapur, Mosul, Basra, and Herat, the famous Nizamiyyah schools, which were named after him. In many aspects, these schools turned out to be the predecessors and models of universities that were established in Europe.
Nizam al-Mulk is also widely known for his voluminous treatise on kingship titled Siyasatnama (Book of Government) which was written after Malik Shah had requested that his ministers produce books on government, administration and the troubles facing the nation. However, the treatise made by Nizam was the only one to receive approval and was consequently accepted as forming "the law of the constitution of the nation". [23] The treatise uses historical examples to discuss justice, effective rule, and the role of government in Islamic society, and has been compared to Machiavelli's The Prince . [11] The work also discusses various aspects of state surveillance and spying, advising rulers to establish an extensive espionage network. [24]
He also wrote a book titled Dastur al-Wuzarā, written for his son Abulfath Fakhr al-Malik, which is not dissimilar to the famous book of Qabus nama.
Nizam al-Mulk was assassinated en route from Isfahan to Baghdad on 10 Ramadan 485 A.H. (14 October 1092) The mainstream literature says he was stabbed by the dagger of a member of the Assassins, sent by the notorious Hassan-i Sabbah near Nahavand, as he was being carried on his litter. The killer approached him disguised as a Sufi. [25] [26]
This account is particularly interesting in light of a possibly apocryphal story that first appeared in English in the introduction to Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam . In this story a pact is formed between a young Nizam al-Mulk (at that time known as Abdul Khassem) and his two friends, Omar Khayyam and Hassan-i-Sabbah. Their agreement stated that if one should rise to prominence, that they would help the other two to do likewise. Nizam al-Mulk was the first to do this when he was appointed vizier to the sultan Alp Arslan. To fulfill the pact he offered both friends positions of rank within the court. Omar refused the offer, asking instead to be given the means to continue his studies indefinitely. This Nizam did, as well as building him an observatory. Although Hassan, unlike Omar, decided to accept the appointment offered to him, he was forced to flee after plotting to depose Nizam as vizier. Subsequently, Hassan came upon and conquered the fortress of Alamut, from where he established the Assassins. According to Bernard Lewis, this tale is unlikely to be true because Hassan-i Sabbah died in 1124, and Omar Khayyam in 1123 at the earliest. Since Nizam al-Mulk was born in 1020 at the latest, the three were not of similar ages and were probably not students together. [27]
Nizam al-Mulk was an excellent and clever vizier, he represented the majesty, splendor and hospitality of the Barmakids, historians and poets describe him as a great organizer and an ideal soldier and scholar. [28] Only thanks to him it was possible for the Seljuk Turks to establish a powerful empire in their new home. [29] Nizam was not only the leader of the Persian-dominated bureaucratic ( divan ), but was also an atabeg who served in the royal court (dadgar) and played an important role between the politically and culturally different Iranians and Turks. He was also responsible for establishing distinctly Persian forms of government and administration which would last for centuries. [30] Because of his excellent tutorship and close friendship with Malik-Shah, he was usually called "father" by him. [18] He was even greatly respected by his ghulams , who, after the death of Nizam, took revenge on several of his rivals, such as Taj al-Mulk Abu'l Ghana'im. [18]
Even after his death his family continued to play an important role in the Seljuk Empire. He was married to a niece or daughter of Bagrat IV of Georgia, who had previously been married or betrothed to Alp Arslan. [31] All of his twelve sons held important offices in the Seljuk Empire, the most prominent of his sons were: Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk, served as the vizier of the Seljuk Sultan Muhammad I Tapar and the Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid; [1] Shams al-Mulk Uthman was the governor of Merv and head of the Seljuk military; Fakhr al-Mulk served as the vizier of Barkiyaruq and Muhammad I Tapar; Jamal al-Mulk (who died before Nizam) served as the governor of Balkh; Izz al-Mulk and Mu'ayyid al-Mulk served as viziers of Barkiyaruq; [32] Imad al-Mulk Abu'l-Kasim served as the vizier of the Seljuk governor of Balkh.
Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, ushered in the Turkoman settlement of Anatolia. For his military prowess and fighting skills, he obtained the name Alp Arslan, which means "Heroic Lion" in Turkish.
Jalāl al-Dawla Mu'izz al-Dunyā Wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fatḥ ibn Alp Arslān, better known by his regnal name of Malik-Shah I, was the third sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire from 1072 to 1092, under whom the sultanate reached its zenith of power and influence.
Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il, better known as Tughril, was a Turkoman chieftain, who founded the Seljuk Empire, ruling from 1037 to 1063.
Abu Shuja Ghiyath al-Dunya wa'l-Din Muhammad ibn Malik-Shah, better known as Muhammad I Tapar, was the sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1105 to 1118. He was a son of Malik-Shah I and Taj al-Din Khatun Safariya. In Turkish, Tapar means "he who obtains, finds".
Abū'l-Qasim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qa'im better known by his regnal name Al-Muqtadi(1056 – February 1094) was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1075 to 1094. He succeeded his grandfather caliph al-Qa'im in 1075 as the twenty-seventh Abbasid caliph.
Nasir al-Din Mahmud I was the sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1092 to 1094. He succeeded Malik Shah I as Sultan, but he did not gain control of the empire built by Malik Shah and Alp Arslan.
Rukn al-Din Abu'l-Muzaffar Berkyaruq ibn Malikshah, better known as Berkyaruq (برکیارق), was the fifth sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1094 to 1105.
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids, also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans or the Saljuqids, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to the Turco-Persian tradition in the medieval Middle East and Central Asia. The Seljuks established the Seljuk Empire (1037–1194), the Sultanate of Kermân (1041–1186) and the Sultanate of Rum (1074–1308), which at their heights stretched from Iran to Anatolia and were the prime targets of the First Crusade.
The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of 3.9 million square kilometres from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to the Hindu Kush in the east, and from Central Asia in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south.
Kara Arslan Ahmad Qavurt, better simply known as Qavurt was a Seljuq prince. Upon his brother's death, he led an unsuccessful rebellion against his nephew in an attempt to gain the Seljuk throne.
Ḍiyaʾ al-Mulk Aḥmad ibn Niẓām al-Mulk, was a Persian vizier of the Seljuq Empire and then the Abbasid Caliphate. He was the son of Nizam al-Mulk, one of the most famous viziers of the Seljuq Empire.
Amid al-Mulk Abu Nasr al-Kunduri, commonly known as al-Kunduri, was a Persian bureaucrat, who served as the vizier of the first Seljuk Sultan Tughril and his nephew Alp Arslan.
Ali ibn Ishak, also known as Abu'l Hasan, was a Persian dehqan who served as the financial minister of the Ghaznavids. He was a native of small village named Radkan, near Tus, in Iran. When the Seljuq Turks conquered Khorasan in 1040, Ali fled to Ghazni, where his son Nizam al-Mulk was working within the government. Nizam would later serve the Seljuqs, where he became the vizier of the Empire and almost held near absolute power over 20 years. Nothing more is known about the life of Ali.
Terken Khatun was the second/third wife and chief consort of Malik Shah I, Sultan of the Seljuk Empire from 1072, until his death in 1092. She was born as a Karakhanid princess, the daughter of Tamghach Khan Ibrahim. She was the mother of Mahmud I, the next ruler of the Seljuk Empire, and regent during his minority in 1092–1094.
Amir Abu'l-Abbas Fadl, better known as Fadluya, was a Kurdish chieftain of the Shabankara in Fars. He was the son of Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ayyub of the Ramani clan of the Shabankara, and was the founder of the Shabankara dynasty in Fars, which lasted sporadically from 1030 to 1355. The Shabankaras occupied the mountain region of Kuhgiluya and maintained a great scale of independence.
The Kerman Seljuk Sultanate was a Persianate Sunni Muslim state, established in the parts of Kerman and Makran which had been conquered from the Buyid dynasty by the Seljuk Empire which was established by the Seljuk dynasty, which was of Oghuz Turkic origin. The Founder of this dynasty, Emadeddin Kara Arslan Ahmad Qavurt who succeeded the ruler of this dynasty after the surrender of the ruler of Buyyids, Abu Kalijar Marzuban. For first time in this period, an independent state was formed in Kerman; eventually, after 150 years, with the invasion of the Ghuzz leader Malik Dinar, the Kerman Seljuk Sultanate fell.
Battle of Kerj Abu Dulaf was fought in 1073 between the Seljuk Army of Malik-Shah I and Kerman Seljuk army of Qavurt and his son, Sultan-shah. It took place approximately near Kerj Abu Dulaf, the present-day between Hamadan and Arak, and was a decisive Malik-Shah I victory.
Mu'ayyid al-Mulk was a Persian bureaucrat, who served as the vizier of the Seljuk sultan Berkyaruq from 1094 to 1095, and later vizier of the Seljuk prince and contender Muhammad I Tapar from 1099 to 1101. He was the most energetic and gifted of the sons of Nizam al-Mulk, with whom he neared in capability.
The Banū Jahīr, or "the sons of Jahir", were a family that produced several high-ranking government officials who at various times served both the Abbasids and the Seljuks. Most notably, they dominated the Abbasid vizierate for almost 50 years during the second half of the 11th century and then in the early years of the 12th century. They were also known as the Āl Jahīr, or "the people of Jahir".
Sa'd ad-Dawla Gohar-Ā'īn was an 11th-century Turkic eunuch mamluk who served as a government official, diplomat, and military commander for the Seljuk Empire. The name "Gohar-Ā'īn" means "jewel-mirror". Medieval authors had differing opinions about him – Ibn al-Jawzi spoke highly of him, praising "his capability, clear view, and leadership of the army" as well as his "piousness, uprightness and justice". Ibn al-Athir also had a positive opinion of him, saying he "did not take anything for himself from the people of his wilaya". Bundari, on the other hand, spoke negatively of him, calling him "cunning like a dog, something like a beast, a man without penis, a woman without vagina".
In Iran, the Seljuks established their capital at Esfahan, where they built important monuments such as the congregational mosque which remains functional today. Their prime minister, Hasan of Tus (known as Nezam ol-Molk, or Orderer of the Realm), set up a system of seminaries, called nezamiyyas, and also reformed the army and the tax system
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