The admi̇ni̇strati̇on of The Great Seljuk Empi̇re accordi̇ng to Ni̇zam al-Mulk's Si̇yasetname

This study aims to analyze Vezir Nizamülmülk's work Siyasetnâme, which played a significant role in the institutionalization of the Great Seljuk Empire, from the perspective of state administration and bureaucratic mechanisms. Considered one of the classics of Turkish-Islamic political thought, the work is not merely a theoretical treatise but is also regarded as a practical reform project developed in response to the shortcomings of the Seljuk administrative structure. The first section of the three-part study examines Nizam al-Mulk's political career and the historical processes that influenced the formation of his state philosophy, focusing on the reasons for the composition of the Siyasetname and the contents of its chapters. In the second section, data on the fundamental elements of the Seljuk State organization—sovereign law, palace hierarchy, military structure, and justice system—are thematically classified across the fifty-one chapters of the work. In the third section, Nizam al-Mulk's services in the fields of education, culture, religious activities, and architecture are examined with a focus on the Nizamiye madrasas, interpreting the state's transition from a nomadic character to a settled and centralized imperial structure. In this study, which utilizes document analysis as a qualitative research method, the effects of the administrative model created by Nizam al-Mulk on the survival of the Seljuk state have been determined. As a result, it has been concluded that the Siyasetname is the most fundamental source for deciphering the administrative codes of the Great Seljuk Empire and that it established a permanent administrative bureaucracy in the Turkish tradition.