History of the Seljuq State

The Akhbar al-dawla al-saljuqiyya is one of the key primary documents on the history of Western Persia and Iraq in the 11th and 12th centuries. This book provides an accessible English translation and commentary on the text, making available to a new readership this significant work on the pre-modern history of the Middle East and the Turkish peoples.

The text is a chronicle of the Seljuq dynasty as it emerged within the Iranian lands in the 11th and 12th centuries, dominating the Middle Eastern lands, from Turkey and Syria to Iran and eastern Afghanistan. During this formative period in the central and eastern Islamic lands, they inaugurated a pattern of Turkish political and military dominance of the Middle East and beyond, from Egypt to India, in some cases well into the 20th century.

Shedding light on many otherwise obscure aspects of the political history of the region, the book provides a more detailed context for the political history of the wider area. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Middle Eastern history and is an important addition to the existing literature on the Seljuq dynasty.

Review:

"The translation is commendably readable, particularly given the Akhbar'"s often highly detailed treatment of events, amounting at times to a rapid succession of military operations or intrigues by Seljuqid viziers; the potential of the narrative to bewilder the reader is mitigated by a full but unfussy commentary, which draws on an impressive range of Arabic and Persian sources and secondary literature. We are indebted to Professor Bosworth for making this important history accessible to a much wider segment of the scholarly world."

Peter Jackon, Keele University