Humanities › History & Culture Who Were the Seljuks? Share Flipboard Email Print Michael Runkel via Getty Images History & Culture Asian History Central Asia Basics Major Figures & Events Southeast Asia East Asia South Asia Middle East Wars & Battles American History African American History African History Ancient History & Culture European History Family History & Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More by Kallie Szczepanski Updated February 06, 2018 The Seljuks were a Sunni Muslim Turkish confederation that ruled much of Central Asia and Anatolia between 1071 and 1194. The Seljuk Turks originated on the steppes of what is now Kazakhstan, where they were a branch of the Oghuz Turks called the Qinik. Around 985, a leader called Seljuk led nine clans into the heart of Persia. He died in about 1038, and his people adopted his name. The Seljuks intermarried with Persians and adopted many aspects of the Persian language and culture. By 1055, they controlled all of Persia and Iraq as far as Baghdad. The Abbasid caliph, al-Qa'im, awarded the Seljuk leader Toghril Beg the title sultan for his assistance against a Shi'a adversary. The Seljuk Empire, based in what is now Turkey, was a target of the Crusaders from western Europe. They lost much of the eastern part of their empire to Khwarezm in 1194, and the Mongols finished off the Seljuk remnant kingdom in Anatolia in the 1260s. Pronunciation: "sahl-JOOK" Alternate Spellings: Seljuq, Seldjuq, Seldjuk, al-Salajiqa Examples: "The Seljuk ruler Sultan Sanjar is buried in a magnificent tomb near Merv, in what is now Turkmenistan." Continue Reading