The Seljuks of Kerman (1041-1187)

The founder of the Kerman Seljuk state was Kara Arslan Ahmad Qavurt, a son of Chaghri Beg and elder brother of Alp Arslan. In 1041 he took Kerman from the Buyids and set up a separate Seljuk realm in south-eastern Iran.

Qavurt crossed the Gulf and brought Oman under his rule. After Alp Arslan's death he claimed the throne, but in 1073 he was defeated and killed by his nephew Malik-Shah. His line kept ruling Kerman. In the late 11th century, under Turan-Shah, the city's largest and oldest surviving mosque was built.

In the late 12th century quarrels over the throne weakened the state. In 1187 the Oghuz chief Malik Dinar, coming from Khorasan, took Kerman, ending some 150 years of Seljuk rule there.