Sentence:  A closer parallel was the <WSD>atabegate</WSD> in the powerful medieval Turkish dynasty of the Seljuks, centered in Iran. The "atabeg" (Turkish for "father-governor") was the Seljuk possessor of the "lala"; in fact, the Ottomans sometimes used the two terms interchangeably. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The office of atabeg, in his role as tutor to a crown prince or as warlord.