Relationship Between the Judicial System and Social Cohesion in the Seljuk Period with Emphasis on the Reign of Sultan Malik-Shah Seljuk
Keywords:
Seljuks, Malik-Shah, judicial system, Dīwān al-Maẓālim, security, social cohesionAbstract
With the rise of the Seljuks, the tendency toward centralization in the political structure of the eastern Islamic world intensified. This centralization became particularly evident in the judicial sphere through the prominence of the Dīwān al-Maẓālim during the period of the Great Seljuks, especially under the reign of Malik-Shah. In this regard, the present study examines the influence of the judicial system on the provision of security and social cohesion during a phase of Seljuk political life in which, on the one hand, the tribal Seljuk state, after eliminating regional governments, required social cohesion, and on the other hand, the extensive presence of Turkish tribes as well as social disorder necessitated the assertion of royal authority. The main question addressed is as follows: what was the position of the judicial system, as one of the components of the Seljuk state structure, in establishing social cohesion during the Seljuk period? The hypothesis of the study maintains that, based on the structural-functionalist sociological theory of cohesion, the emergence of the Dīwān al-Maẓālim as one of the pillars of the judicial system and the emphasis placed upon it during this period reflected the concern of the rulers and the Iranian bureaucratic classes for social cohesion, as well as the demonstration of the authority of Seljuk rule in preserving this cohesion within Sunni society against its opponents.
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