User:Kansas Bear/Seljuk Architecture

Seljuk architecture is the name given to the architecture of the Seljuks. The architecture can be found in the areas where the Seljuks ruled, most of the Middle East and Anatolia between (11th - 13th Centuries). After the 11th century the Seljuks of Rum emerged out of the Great Seljuk Empire, developing their own unique architecture.

Great Seljuq Empire architecture
The architecture can be found in a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf. The homeland of the Seljuk architecture was Turkmenistan and Iran, where the first permanent Seljuk buildings were built. Unfortunately the Mongol invasions and earthquakes destroyed most of these buildings and only a few remain. In 1063 Isfahan was established as capital of the Great Seljuk Empire under Alp Arslan.

The most significant alteration carried out in the early twelfth century was the conversion of the mosque plan into a four-iwan plan mosque. Another mosque-type introduced at this time was the kiosk mosque, consisting of a domed space with three open sides and wall containing a mihrab on the qibla side.The architecture of this period was also characterized by memorial tombs which were usually octagonal structures with domed roofs, called Kümbet or Türbe. An impressive example of tomb architecture is the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar at Merv, a massive building measuring 27 m square with a huge double dome resting on squinches and muqarnas pendentives.

In Syria and Iraq the surviving monuments are represented by madrassas and tombs. The madrassas such as the Mustansiriya in Baghdad or the Muristan in Damascus were built to a four-iwan plan, while the tombs were characterized by conical muqarnas domes.

Some examples of Seljuk Empire architecture include:
 * Tomb of Ahmed Sanjar
 * Kharraqan towers

Anatolian Seljuk architecture
The greatest number of surviving Seljuk monuments are in Anatolia. The Seljuks of Rum built monumental stone buildings of elegantly simple design and harmonious proportion, for the most part severely plain, but with bursts of elaborate decoration around doorways. Most Anatolian Seljuk works are of dressed stone, with brick reserved for minarets. The use of stone in Anatolia is the biggest difference with the Seljuk buildings in Iran,who are made of bricks. The buildings make frequent use of mukarnas (stalactite vaulting).. In the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum the courts are often covered to protect against the colder and snowier winters of the Anatolian plateau. Thus some madrasas (theological seminaries) such as the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Erzurum have an open court, and others, such as the Karatay Medrese in Konya, have covered courts.

Konya, the capital of the Seljuks and the other great Seljuk cities--Alanya, Erzurum, Kayseri, Sivas--have important Seljuk buildings, but Seljuk works are abundant in  almost any Anatolian city or town, especially in Central and Eastern Anatolia. Seljuk power extended (briefly) as far as the Aegean coast, so there are Seljuk türbes (tombs) even in—appropriately—the town of Selçuk, next to Ephesus, south of Izmir. The great caravanserais, or hans, are among the finest and most characteristic of Seljuk buildings. Built during the 13th century to encourage trade throughout the empire, several dozen survive in good condition.

After the Mongol invasions of the mid-13th century, the wealth and power of the Seljuk empire declined. The few late 13th century-early 14th century buildings that survive include the bimarhane (madhouse) in Amasya, and the "Süngür Bey Mosque" in Nigde.

Religion
Rum Seljuks continued their observance of Sunni Islam, though they had little use for Islamic judges but supported Islamic courts. Their patronage of the mystical Islamic orders attracted numerous holy men and leaders. Among these Rumi, whom the Mevlevi dervishes consider their founder, found patronage at the Rum Seljuk court. Under the Mevlevi a form of Persian was spoken, though restricted to certain topics, until the 20th century.