AHistoryIndependent states
The Seljuks of Iraq (1118-1194)
The western half of the Great Seljuk realm: a sultanate ruled from Hamadan that covered western Iran and Iraq.
Sultan Muhammad Tapar died in 1118. Sanjar, the senior Seljuk, stayed in Khorasan and gave the western lands to his nephew Mahmud. The state that followed is known as the Seljuks of Iraq: in those days "Iraq" also meant the mountain country of western Iran, Persian Iraq.
Its capital was Hamadan. Sultans changed often and many came to the throne as children, so real power lay with their guardians, the Turkic atabegs. From the mid-12th century the Atabegs of Azerbaijan, the Eldiguzids, became the strongest force in the sultanate.
The last sultan, Toghrul III, tried to break free of the atabegs. In 1194 he fell in battle with the Khwarazmshah Tekish near Rey, and Seljuk rule in Iran came to an end.
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Updated: November 10, 2026