Seljuk Empire

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE) was among the most influential thinkers in Islamic history. His Ihya Ulum al-Din synthesized law, theology, and mysticism, while his critique of Aristotelian rationalism and account of spiritual crisis remain landmarks of medieval thought.

Alp Arslan (c. 1029-1072) was the second Seljuk sultan, whose victory over the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV at Manzikert in 1071 broke Byzantine defences in Asia Minor and opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement. He was killed the following year on campaign in Transoxiana.

Malik-Shah I (1055-1092) was the third Seljuk sultan, under whom the empire reached its greatest extent and its administrative and cultural height. His reign produced the Jalali solar calendar, and it ended with the deaths of both his vizier Nizam al-Mulk and himself within weeks.

Nizam al-Mulk (1018-1092 CE) was one of the greatest statesmen in Islamic history, serving as vizier to the Seljuk sultans. He established the Nizamiyya schools that revolutionized Islamic education and wrote the influential Siyasatnama on political philosophy.

The Seljuk Empire (1037-1194 CE) was a powerful Turkish-Sunni dynasty that dominated the Middle East and Anatolia, defeated the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert, established Turkish power in Anatolia, and patronized the famous Nizamiyya schools.