Seljuk Empire Fractures After Malik Shah's Death

1092

The sudden deaths of Nizam al-Mulk and Sultan Malik Shah within weeks of each other shattered the Seljuk Empire into warring successor states. Sons, brothers, and generals carved out rival sultanates in Khorasan, Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia. The administrative genius of Nizam al-Mulk had been the empire's real binding force - without him, the Seljuks discovered that military power without bureaucratic coherence was just organized violence waiting to fragment.