page_title: Seljuk architecture
section_title: Anatolian Seljuk architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Seljuk architecture / Anatolian Seljuk architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Ince Minareli Medrese, Konya, Turkey Français&#160;: Médersa Ince Minareli, Konya, Turquie
context_page_description: Seljuk architecture comprises the building traditions used by the Seljuq dynasty, when it ruled most of the Middle East and Anatolia during the 11th to 13th centuries. After the 11th century, the Seljuks of Rum emerged from the Great Seljuk Empire developing their own architecture, though they were influenced and inspired by the Armenian, Byzantine and Persian architectural traditions.
context_section_description: The greatest number of surviving Seljuk monuments are in Anatolia.
  The Seljuks of Rum built monumental stone buildings of elegantly simple design and harmonious proportion, for the most part severely plain, but with bursts of elaborate decoration around doorways.
  In their construction of caravanserais, medreses and mosques, the Rum Seljuks translated the Iranian Seljuk architecture of bricks and plaster into the use of stone. Among these, the caravanserais (or hans), used as stops, trading posts and defense for caravans, and of which about a hundred structures were built during the Anatolian Seljuqs period, are particularly remarkable. Along with Persian influences, which had an indisputable effect, Seljuk architecture was also influenced by Armenian architecture, such as by having Muslim architects who originated from historical Armenia, and by having Armenian architects and masons. As such, Anatolian architecture represents some of the most distinctive and impressive constructions in the entire history of Islamic architecture. Later this Anatolian architecture would be transmitted to Sultanate India.
  Most Anatolian Seljuk works are of dressed stone, with brick reserved for minarets. The use of stone in Anatolia is the biggest difference with the Seljuk buildings in Iran, which are made of bricks. The buildings make frequent use of muqarnas (stalactite vaulting). In the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum the courts are often covered to protect against the colder and snowier winters of the Anatolian plateau. Thus some madrasas (theological seminaries) such as the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Erzurum have an open court, and others, such as the Karatay Medrese in Konya, have covered courts.
   
  Konya, the capital of the Seljuks and the other great Seljuk cities--Alanya, Erzurum, Kayseri, Sivas—have important Seljuk buildings, but Seljuk works are abundant in almost any Anatolian city or town, especially in Central and Eastern Anatolia. Seljuk power extended (briefly) as far as the Aegean coast, so there are Seljuk türbes (tombs) even in—appropriately—the town of Selçuk, next to Ephesus, south of İzmir.
  The great caravanserais, or hans, are among the finest and most characteristic of Seljuk buildings. Built during the 13th century to encourage trade throughout the empire, several dozen survive in good condition.
  After the Mongol invasions of the mid-13th century, the wealth and power of the Seljuk empire declined. The few late 13th century-early 14th century buildings that survive include the bimarhane (madhouse) in Amasya, and the "Süngür Bey Mosque" in Nigde. One of the last Seljuk architectural endeavors was the tomb of 'Ismat al-Dunya wa 'l-Din ibint al-malik al-Adil built by her daughters after 1243.
caption: Ince Minaret Medrese in Konya
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