Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī (Persian: ابوعلی حسن بن علی طوسی) (1018 – 1092), better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk (Persian: نظامالملک, lit. 'Orderer of the Realm'), was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, and vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a low position within the empire, he became the de facto ruler of the realm for 20 years after the assassination of Sultan Alp Arslan in 1072, and is often portrayed in Persianate historical traditions as the archetypal "good vizier". Widely regarded as one of the most influential statesmen in medieval Islamic history, the administrative policies and bureaucratic frameworks formalized by Nizam al-Mulk deeply influenced Perso-Islamic statecraft for centuries.
One of his most important legacies was the founding of a system of madrasas in cities across the Seljuk Empire which were called the Nizamiyyas after him. He is also traditionally credited with authoring the Siyasatnama (Book of Government), a political and administrative treatise that uses historical anecdotes to pragmatically discuss justice, effective rule, and the role of the bureaucracy in Islamic society.
Early life and service to the Ghaznavids
Two days after his birth, his mother saw in a dream a woman of dignity and majesty sitting on a chair with a Quran by her side, holding a child. When she asked about her, she was told: She is Fatima al-Zahra. She greeted her and kept her distance out of respect for her. When the righteous woman saw her, she allowed her to approach, and she took her son and breastfed him. She inquired about his name, and when she learned that he had not yet been named and that his father's name was "Ali Hasan," she said: "Name him 'Hasan,' like my son, for he has a father named Ali" . In the morning, she recounted her dream to his father and gave her newborn that name.
Abu Ali Hasan was born on 10 April 1018, in a small village named Radkan, near Tus, in Iran, to a dehqan family. Growing up he studied Shafi fiqh and the Ashari school of theology. His father Ali ibn Ishak served as a financial officer to the Ghaznavids. However, when the Seljuk Turks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040, and conquered Khorasan, Abu Ali Hasan's father fled to Ghazni. Hasan followed his father to Ghazni, and it is there that he first assumed a government office. He remained in Ghazni for three or four years, when he left the Ghaznavid court and entered service with the Seljuks.
Reign of Tughril and Alp Arslan
Around the year 1043, Abu Ali Hasan stopped serving the Ghaznavids and entered the service of the Seljuk Turks. He later became the chief administrator of the entire Khorasan province by 1059. When Tughril died childless in the city of Ray, he was succeeded by his nephew Suleiman which was contested by Alp Arslan, both of them sons of Tughril's brother Chaghri. His cousin Kutalmish, who had both been a vital part of his campaigns and later a supporter of Yinal's rebellion, also put forth a claim. Alp Arslan, with the aid of Abu Ali Hasan, defeated Kutalmish and succeeded him on 27 April 1064.
After Alp Arslan had consolidated his power in the Sejluk realm, he appointed Abu Ali Hasan as his vizier, who would remain in that position throughout the reigns of Alp Arslan (1063–1072) and Malik-Shah I (1072–1092). Abu Ali Hasan was also given the title of "Nizam al-Mulk" ("Order of the Realm").
Alp Arslan's strength lies in the military realm. Domestic affairs were handled by Nizam al-Mulk, who also founded the administrative organization that characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his son, Malik Shah I. Military iqtā' (fiefs), governed by Seljuk princes, were established to provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the established Anatolian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Iranians and other established cultures within the Seljuk realm, and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge standing army without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiers. He not only had enough food from his subjects to maintain his military, but the taxes collected from traders and merchants added to his coffers sufficiently to fund his continuous wars.
Nizam accompanied Alp Arslan in all his campaigns and journeys, except for a few. In February/March 1064, Alp Arslan, along with his son Malik-Shah I and Nizam al-Mulk, campaigned in Byzantine Armenia, where they managed to capture Ani. Several minor rulers then acknowledged Seljuk authority, while Alp Arslan and Nizam continued to penetrate deeper into the Caucasus, reaching Georgia. The Georgian ruler Bagrat IV, managed to make peace with Alp Arslan by giving his niece to him in marriage.
Nizam also made some expeditions on his own and conquered the citadel of Estakhr from the Shabankara chieftain Fadluya in 1067, and made another expedition in Fars. These successful conquests are said to have greatly increased his reputation. On 26 August 1071, the decisive Battle of Manzikert was fought, which Nizam al-Mulk had missed because he had been sent to Persia with a convoy of materials.
Following Alp Arslan's assassination in 1072, Malik-Shah I was challenged in battle by his uncle, Kavurt. In January 1074, their armies met near Hamadan. Kavurt's troops consisted of the traditional Turkmen elements from Alp Arslan's army, while Malik's consisted of ghulams and contingents of Kurdish and Arab troops. Due to Turkmen defections to Malik's army, Kavurt was defeated and, despite Malik's consideration for mercy, later poisoned, presumably on the orders of Nizam al-Mulk.
Under Nizam's excellent guidance the Seljuk armies contained the Ghaznavids in Khorasan, rolled back the Fatimids in Syria, defeated other Seljuk pretenders to the throne, invaded Georgia and reduced it to a tributary state, compelled the submission of regional governors, and kept the Abbasid Caliphs in a position of impotence.
Nizam al-Mulk left a great mark on the organization of the Seljuk governmental bodies and hence the title Nizam al-Mulk which translates as "Order of the Realm." He bridged political gaps among the Abbasids, the Seljuks, and their various rivals such as the Fatimids. The Seljuk military was heavily mixed of different ethnicity, including Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, and Slavs. Nizam, however, favored Iranian soldiers, such as the Dailamites, Khorasanis, and the Shabankara. He also favored non-Iranian soldiers such as the Georgians.
Nizam al-Mulk's many political objectives included:
Creating an employment opportunity for the Turkmens, who had immigrated to the Iranian plateau during the Seljuk successes in Persia, the nomadic way of life of the Turkmens represented a significant threat to the political and economic stability of the country.
Demonstrating the power of the Sultan (i.e. the strength and mobility of his forces, but also his grace towards docile rebels).
Maintaining local Sunni and Shiite rulers as vassals of the Sultan and the increased use of relatives of the Sultan as provincial governors.