Sultan Sanjar: the Seljuk ruler of Merv and his domed mausoleum

A tall square brick mausoleum with a large dome stands in the ruins of the ancient city of Merv in Turkmenistan. It is the tomb of the Seljuk sultan Sanjar. He ruled first as a subordinate sultan of Khorasan and then, from 1118 to 1157, as the “Great Sultan” of the whole Seljuk empire. According to Encyclopaedia Iranica, no Muslim ruler before the Mongols reigned longer.

Birth and name

According to Iranica, Sanjar was probably born in 1086 in the town of Sinjar, on the border of Syria and al-Jazira (one account gives 1084). He was the son of the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah I. His mother was with Malik Shah on his western campaign that year. Early sources say he was named after his birthplace. According to the historian Bosworth, however, “Sanjar” is a Turkish name meaning “the one who pierces”. His real name was Ahmad.

Sultan of Khorasan

Among the Seljuks, it was a Turkish tradition to give the provinces of the empire to different members of the family, all under one Great Sultan. According to Iranica, under this tradition his half-brother Barkyaruq appointed Sanjar subordinate sultan of Khorasan in 1097, when Sanjar was still young, under the supervision of a guardian (atabeg). In the years after Malik Shah’s death the empire was caught up in succession disputes. Sanjar sided with his full brother Muhammad Tapar.

As ruler of Khorasan, Sanjar established Seljuk supremacy over neighbouring states. According to Britannica, he made the Qarakhanid rulers of Transoxiana and the Ghaznavid state his vassals. In 1117 he entered Ghazni and installed his own nominee as ruler. According to Iranica, his method was to make ruler a prince of the defeated dynasty who was also related to the Seljuk family.

Great Sultan

When Muhammad Tapar died in 1118, his son Mahmud was made sultan in Baghdad. According to Iranica, Turkish tradition held that the headship of the family should go to the eldest living male, and Sanjar made his claim on that basis. After his success in 1119 he became the undisputed Great Sultan of the Seljuk empire. He appointed Mahmud his subordinate sultan in the western territories.

According to Iranica, the sources describe Sanjar as a ruler who not only reorganised the empire of his father Malik Shah but also expanded it. His capital was Merv. According to UNESCO, Merv was the capital of the Great Seljuk empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. In that period the city’s architecture, science and culture influenced the whole region.

Peace, prosperity and poetry

According to Iranica, Muslim sources call Sanjar’s reign a golden age, and it was remembered for peace and prosperity. Khorasan was then the most prosperous and populous province of the eastern Islamic world.

The period was also important for Persian literature. According to Iranica, several major figures of Persian literature were attached to Sanjar’s court: the poet laureate Mu’izzi, Nizami Aruzi Samarqandi, author of the “Chahar Maqala”, and Anvari, a great poet of the qasida. Iranica calls them witnesses to the cultural height of Sanjar’s reign.

Final years

The second part of Sanjar’s reign proved difficult. According to Iranica, he suffered only two military defeats in his life, both late in his reign. The first came in 1141 at the Qatwan steppe near Samarkand, at the hands of the Qara Khitay. After it, Transoxiana passed out of Seljuk hands. Even so, he kept his authority over Khorasan.

The second defeat came in 1153 at the hands of the Oghuz (Ghuzz) tribes, who were of the same stock as the Seljuks. According to Iranica, Sanjar and his queen remained in their captivity for three and a half years, and the cities of Khorasan suffered severe damage in that time. Sanjar escaped from captivity in the autumn of 1156.

Death

According to Iranica, about six months after his release, in the spring of 1157, Sanjar died in Merv. Britannica gives the date of death as 8 May 1157. According to Britannica, he was the last real Seljuk sultan in Iran. Iranica writes that with his death the Great Seljuk empire effectively came to an end.

The mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar

Sanjar was buried in “Sultan Kala”, the medieval city of Merv. According to UNESCO, his mausoleum was originally part of a large architectural complex. UNESCO counts it among the most notable architectural achievements of the Seljuk period because of its fine brickwork, carved stucco decoration and the wall paintings that survive to this day. According to UNESCO, the walls of Sultan Kala were built in the 11th century, and the walls of the city and the citadel together run for about 12 kilometres.

The mausoleum is part of the historical park of “Ancient Merv”. UNESCO has placed the park on the World Heritage List, describing it as the oldest and best preserved of the oasis cities of the Silk Road.

Legacy

According to Iranica, many historians of the 20th century do not hold a very high opinion of Sanjar. Muslim sources, however, call him the greatest of the Seljuk sultans. His fame rests on his long reign, the prosperity of Khorasan and the poets of his court. His most prominent memorial is the dome at Merv, which still stands more than eight centuries later.