What Were The Seljuks Like The Persians?

The Seljuks were a group of Turks who had converted to Sunni Islam in 1000 B.C. They had migrated into the Abbasid Empire while it weakened, and were named the Seljuks after their leader's family. (1) They were a large, yet somewhat short-loved empire. (2) The Seljuks inhabited Baghdad by 1055 B.C. (3) They treated their subjects fairly and gained the support of the Persians by doing so. Toghril Beg, who founded the Seljuk Dynasty, wanted a Persian city named Isfahan to be the capital, plus Persians were made government officials. Since the Seljuks had come while being almost illiterate and not knowing much about Islam, they followed the Persian's culture and religion in some ways. The Seljuks deeply admired the Persians, using some of their
language and way of life while supporting their artists. (4) Shahs, which were Seljuk kings, strongly promoted architects, writers, artists and more, which is what I will be focusing on.
(5) During this time in their main "golden age," Seljuks believed that they were meant to rule the world, but it was not to be. (6) There was a constant feud between Byzantine and the Seljuk Empire because because the Oghuz Turks kept raiding Byzantine, and when the Byzantines started a war against that, they were defeated. (7) After Malik Shah, who was the last great ruler of the Seljuks, the empire began to slowly fall apart. Oghuz Turks started migrating more and more into Seljuk territory, and the powerful men who previously served the shah began their own lesser governments. (8&9) Then the Crusaders came, and the Seljuks fell for about a century, until they fought back and regained a little but more control. (10) What caused the final end of the Seljuks were the Mongols. The Mongols were an Asian nomadic group who became stronger and we Genghis Khan, and then they conquered China. By the time the Mongols reached the Seljuks, they had already killed off and defeated countless cities and entire
populations. Baghdad resisted the attacks for 50 days, it is said, but could not once catapults were set up. Most everyone in the Seljuk area was slaughtered, and the last ruler was executed, ending the age of the Seljuk Empire. (11) My main focus if the Seljuks were their aesthetics and how they prove that the Seljuks were in a golden age.
The Seljuks had branched off into several smallest territories during its prime, but the largest area was the Great Seljuk, or the Seljuk sultanate. During the time when the Seljuk sultanate controlled Iran, the arts and the culture flourished. (12) Seljuk architecture was a huge achievement, as was the learning of literature, art and more. (13) Seljuk buildings are considered to be some of the best monuments on Islamic land, with some still standing today. The Seljuks made several different kinda of structures, ranging from mosques to mausoleums to bridges. Most constructions were created in the 13th century. Some distinct features of the Seljuk's buildings were the huge portals, or entrance gates, that were highly decorated, along with the painted and glazed stones with the various designs covering them. (14) Mosques, or muslim places of worship, were made everywhere on Islamic land, along with madrasas, which were schools about Islamic teachings. Iwans were popular, which were huge chambers with one open end that usually surrounded a courtyard. (15) Couryards were either open or enclosed by a dome decorated lavishly with tiles or glazed bricks, and supported by squib he's called "Turkish triangles." Mausoleums, or kümbets, were also made to honor the dead. They usually were either cylindrical with a dome, or a turret on a square base. They were often covered with
inscriptions and carved figures. (16) Seljuk architecture and art is mainly a combination of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic styles, put together to make it's own distinctive look. (17) Seljuk bridges were also another accomplishment, and several of them are still standing. They were originally made to accompany the building of caravanserais, or inns for traders. They aren't decorated like the other structures, but are made of carefully laid stone in a pointed arch design. Overall, the architectural accomplishments made by the Seljuks were huge. (18) Art was another big achievement if the Seljuks. They made countless things, including sculpture, textiles, ceramics and oil lamps. (19) They began the art of inlaying objects made of brass or bronze with more valuable metals such as gold and silver and copper. The objects were usually filled with Arabic inscriptions that were then made into human or animal shapes, called animated inscriptions. Sometimes the object itself was shaped into a human or animal sculpture. (20) Most of the metal works or ceramics like oil lamps, cases or platters were painted bright colors. (21) The Seljuks also were fond of glazed tiles or bricks that could be used for the buildings or otter artistic purposes. The most popular colors were turquoise, violet, blue and black. The tiles could be in several shapes and could make intricate patterns. (22) The tiles or bricks could be glazed in around 10 different ways, showing how advanced the Seljuks were in this specific art. One technique was called underglaze, which was where a transparent color was applied over an opaque one, and the luster technique was where a glazed tile was covered with a metal oxide, producing a golden sheen. The tiles could be covered in smaller paintings or designs, as they often were. (23) The Seljuk art pieces seem to have been exported all over Central Asia, since they have been found very far from were they seem to have been made, proving their popularity. (24) It is said that there was a hugely intellectual environment during the Seljuk dynasty. Poets, philosophers and mathematicians had thrived under it. (25) A city called Seljuk Merv has been recorded to have had the most libraries in the eastern Muslim territory. Merv also had a centuries old observatory, helping astronomers of the time. (26) Also, because of the extensive amount of madrasas, it was easy to learn all about Islam. (27) Clearly, according to my research on the Seljuk's aesthetics, they were in a golden age. A golden age is defined as when an art or skill is at its peak, which architecture definitely was at. The art and learning were also at a very high point, in the Islamic world, so it is certain the the Seljuks were in a golden age.