The Role of Seljuk Period Scholars of Xi-Xii Century in the Development of Islāmic Sciences

Abstract

This article discusses the scholars who worked during the dynasty that ruled under the name of the “Great Seljuk Empire” in the XI-XII centuries, their works and their great contribution to the development of Islāmic civilization. The article also discusses the activities of Nizamiyya madrasahs, which were famous in the middle ages. Although there are many studies on the scientific and intellectual life of the Seljuk State in the periods of Alp Arslan and Malik Shah, the period of Sultan Sanjar has not been studied as a whole except for a few articles. In fact, the enlightenment of the Great Seljuk period reached its peak after Sultan Meliksah during the reign of Sultan Sanjar. Sultan Sanjar himself had surpassed his ancestors in every way in his patronage of science and enlightenment. Although his reign was marked by battles against various misguided sects, knowledge did not cease. On the contrary, the sultan himself sought to create conditions for all the sciences in the kingdom. With the need arising from this situation, it is aimed to examine the scientific and intellectual structure of the Sultan Sanjar period with this study. During the reign of Sultan Sanjar, the scholars in the geography of Khorāsān and Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr (Transoxania), their works, studies, innovations, and intellectual life will be examined, and within the framework of the scientific environment provided by Sultan Sanjar and his contributions to Islāmic civilization, the point where the Seljuks brought the scientific heritage they took over and how they achieved this will be examined.