THE ANATOLIAN SELJUKID SULTANS’ MARRIAGES WITH NON-MUSLIM WOMEN

In Turkish states, the marriages of the dynastic members with the women from the neighboring courts became a tradition since the pre-Islamic eras. The Anatolian Seljukid sultans, too, followed this tradition that they took from the Great Seljukid and married with the princesses of both Muslim and Christian courts. This research focuses on the marriages of these sultans with the Byzantine, Georgian and Crusader princesses as well as with the Christian women living in Anatolia but exclude their marriages with Muslim women. With few exceptions, all of these marriages were made out of political concerns and contributed to the enthronement of sultans and sometimes to ward off the Byzantine and Crusader threats. On the other hand, these marriages played a significant role in shaping the Seljukid tolerance toward the non-Muslim people living in Anatolia.