Seljuk Dish with Engraved Decorations - FZ.407, Origin: Middle East, Circa: 12 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 1.25" (3.2cm) high x 7" (17.8cm) wide, Collection: Islamic Art, Style: Seljuk, Medium: Bronze. Although individual Turkish generals had already gained considerable, and at times decisive, power in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the tenth and eleventh centuries, the coming of the Seljuks signaled the first large-scale penetration of the Turkish elements into the Middle East. Descended from a tribal chief named Seljuk, whose homeland lay beyond the Oxus River near the Aral Sea, the Seljuks not only developed a highly effective fighting force but also, through their close contacts with Persian court life in Khorasan and Transoxania, attracted a body of able administrators. Extending from Central Asia to the Byzantine marches in Asia Minor, the Seljuks established a highly cohesive, well- administered state under the nominal authority of the Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East