THE SERVICES OF NIZāM AL-MULK TO THE GREAT SELJUK EMPIRE

Having been one of the most successful statesmen of the Medieval Muslim world, Ni？ām al-Mulk, Grand Vizier of the Great Seljuk Empire, served Sultan Alp Arslan and then Sultan Malikshāh, and thus the Great Seljuk Empire, with loyalty for about 30 years without interruption. His services can be broadly grouped under the following titles: Services in the Conquests, Fights for the Throne, and Wars Ni？ām al-Mulk was a brave soldier and commander who knew the war feints and tactics of his time quite well. With the splendid military glories he won during the rules of Sultans Alp Arslan and Malikshāh, he gained the favors of both of the sultans. He also saved both of the sultans from grave dangers with his skilled and wise tactics and instructions during the fights for the throne. Services in the Seljukid-Abbasid Relations The renowned vizier did his best to help maintain the friendly relationships between the Abbasid Caliphates, who were considered to be the spiritual leaders of the Muslim world, and the Seljukid Sultans, from time to time enabled affinities to be created through marriages between two dynasties, and sometimes got personally involved in order to settle the disputes between the sultans and the caliphs. Services in the Fights against al-？asan b. al-？abbāh and Bā？inīds Having founded the NizārīIsmā？īlī State in 483 (1090) in Alamūt, al-？asan b. al-？abbāh and Bā？inīds had been one of the biggest and most lasting problems of the Great Seljukid Empire. Ni？ām al-Mulk fought vigorously, both in military and scholarly fields, against al-？asan b. al-？abbāh and Bā？inīds who aimed to destroy the Great Seljukid Empire and eliminate, with daggers, those who refused their ideology. Ni？ām al-Mulk served for this purpose to the state and the Sunnī-Muslim world greatly. Fights to End Sectarian Conflicts Medieval Muslim world was always filled with the sectarian conflicts caused by fanaticism. These conflicts did not occur only between Sunnī and Shī？a Muslims but also between Sunnī-Muslims themselves resulting in loss of many lives. Ni？ām al-Mulk fought with the Shī？aBā？inīds in the scholarly area with the Ni？āmiyya Madrasas he established, and he succeeded overwhelmingly in this field. In order to end the conflicts among the Sunnī-Muslims, he asked everyone to respect different sects and opinions, and he did not intervene with their intellectual discussions unless they caused conflicts to the extent that they challenged the state’s authority. Services in Extensification of the Eqtā？ System Ni？ām al-Mulk rendered the eqtā？ system, which had already been present