The Power of Women in the Seljuk

In the Turkish state tradition, the relationship between the kagan and the khatun was also reflected in the social structure. When the kagan became the head of the state, the "khatun" would ascend to the throne with him and would have a "kut". The harmony of the kagan and the khatun duo in the Turkish tradition set an example for the families that formed the society.

"When the blue sky above and the dark earth below were created, mankind was created between them. In order for the Turkish nation not to perish and to become one nation, God raised my father iterish Kagan and my mother Il-Bilge Hatun above them (exalted them)." The expression "shows that having a kut is valid for the khagan as well as the khagan." The Tengri-Kagan and Umay-Khatun relationship emphasizes divinity; the khagan is likened to the Umay goddess, and the khagan to the Sky God. Among the Uyghur Turks, the khagan provided all kinds of assistance to the khagan; in the 8th century, Ulugh Khatun resolved disputes, heard lawsuits, and determined the appropriate punishment for the crime. The khagan and the khatun personally participated in Böğü Kagan's expedition to China.

During the Seljuk period, women directed the state administration, participated in power struggles with their means and organizations, and governed the state by taking over as guardians or regents. According to Islamic law, women had the authority to depose as well as to participate in consultation and public services; women belonging to the dynasty benefited from these rights. Women took on diplomatic roles on their own initiative; the wife of Kavurd Bey (1083-84) went to Isfahan to have her son made sultan and appeared before Sultan Melikşah, thus fulfilling her ambassadorial duty.

In Turkish epics and stories, "women are always guiding." In contrast, in Nizam al-Mulk's Siyasetname, women's intervention was criticized with the words, "When the sultan's wives become decree givers... corruption arises," and Ravendi expressed similar concerns by saying, "If women rule over a ruler's thoughts, the rule of his enemies prevails in his country." The conflicts between Terken Hatun, a powerful political figure, and the vizier were influential behind these harsh statements.

As a result; in the Seljuk period, which was an important period in Turkish history, women, despite undergoing some changes with the acceptance of Islam, played an active role in military, political, legal, social, economic, cultural and religious life, and used the rights they had before Islam and continued to take an active role. In historiography, women's intervention in power was called "women's sultanate" in the Ottoman state with similar expressions. Nevertheless, it is striking that women and men had a say in power together during the periods when states were strong: this relationship remains an important topic for future research.