The Seljuqs : politics, society and culture / edited by Christian Lange and Songül Mecit.

Papers presented at the "The Selijuqs: Islam revitalized?" conference, Edinburgh, 14-15 September 2008.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction ---- Part I. POLITICS. 1. The Origins of the Seljuqs --- 2. Aspects of the Court of the Great Seljuqs --- 3. 'Sovereign and Pious': The Religious Life of the Great Seljuq Sultans --- 4. Kingship and Ideology under the Rum Seljuqs --- 5. Seljuq Legitimacy in Islamic History ---- Part II. SOCIETY. 6. Arslan Arghun -- Nomadic Revival? --- 7. Controlling and Developing Baghdad: Caliphs, Sultans and the Balance of Power in the Abbasid Capital (Mid-5th/11th to late 6th/12th Centuries) --- 8. The Seljuqs and the Public Sphere in the Period of Sunni Revivalism: The View from Baghdad --- 9. Changes in the Office of Hisba under the Seljuqs --- 10. An Emblematic Family of Seljuq Iran: The Khujandis of Isfahan ---- Part III. CULTURE. 11. Shi'i Jurisprudence During the Seljuq Period: Rebellion and Public Order in an Illegitimate State --- 12. In Defence of Sunnism: Al-Ghazali and the Seljuqs --- 13. Arabic and Persian Intertextuality in the Seljuq Period: Hamidi's Maqamat as a Case Study --- 14. City Building in Seljuq Rum --- 15. The Seljuq Monuments of Turkmenistan.

A unique collaborative exploration of this pivotal yet understudied Muslim dynasty. What were the ideological foundations and ritual expressions of Seljuq power? How did the learned classes and the state feel about each other? How was social space organised? What was the relationship between nomads and settled peoples? Split into three parts, this collection of essays addresses questions like these about life during the Seljuq period. Part 1 follows the gradual transformation of the Seljuqs into a powerful dynasty and their concepts of political legitimisation. Part 2 examines social history, particularly with regard to the 'ulama' and the urban populations. Part 3 explores how religious thought, jurisprudence, belles-lettres and architecture developed under the Seljuqs. -- Publisher description.