sultanate · Mesopotamia and Iran

Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq

1118 CE – 1194 CE · capital Hamadan

The western branch of the Great Seljuks, ruling western Iran and Iraq from Hamadan while real power slipped to their atabegs and the caliphs.

Origins

When Sultan Muhammad I Tapar died in 1118, his son Mahmud II succeeded to the western lands of the Seljuk Empire, while his uncle Sanjar kept Khurasan as senior sultan. The western sultanate, centred on Hamadan, covered 'Persian Iraq' (the Jibal), Azerbaijan and Arab Iraq.

Rule and society

The sultans depended on Turkish emirs who served as atabegs (guardians) of young princes and often held real power, most notably the Eldiguzids of Azerbaijan. Sultan Mas'ud defeated the caliph al-Mustarshid, who was murdered in 1135, but the Abbasid caliphs gradually regained control of Iraq, and Muhammad II's siege of Baghdad in 1157 failed. Persian court culture and patronage continued, with poets and historians at Hamadan.

Decline and legacy

Tughril III tried to free himself from the Eldiguzids, but he was killed near Ray in 1194 by the Khwarazmshah Tekish of the Khwarazmian Empire, ending Seljuk rule in Iran.

Lineage

Seljuk Empire 1037 CE – 1194 CESeljuk Sultanate of Iraq

Connections (6)

Ahmadili dynasty was a vassal of Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq1122 CE – 1194 CE
Zengid dynasty of Mosul was a vassal of Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq1127 CE – 1146 CE
Eldiguzids was a vassal of Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq1136 CE – 1194 CE
Salghurid dynasty was a vassal of Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq1148 CE – 1194 CE
Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq was a protectorate of Eldiguzids1160 CE – 1186 CE
Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq was conquered by Khwarazmian Empire1194 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/seljuk-sultanate-of-iraq
MLA: “Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/seljuk-sultanate-of-iraq. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/seljuk-sultanate-of-iraq.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Seljuk Sultanate of Iraq’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/seljuk-sultanate-of-iraq (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻