The Role of the Policies of the Successors of the Malikshah in the Political instability of the Seljuk State

The despotic nature of the government of Seljuk kings and the unparalleled status of the Sultan in the structure of this government are important in analyzing the causes of the Seljuk collapse. The weakness and decay of the successor of the Malikshah was also a result of such political instability. In this article, we seek to answer the question of what is the relationship between the policies of the successors of Malikshah, such as the struggle for succession, the lack of attention to people's welfare, the blowing up of religious wars, the conflict with the caliphate, and the rise of political instability in this period. The authors' theoretical framework is the theory of David Saunders about political instability. Accordingly, the political instability in the successor of Malikshah is based on two fundamental concepts of change and challenges, and its indicators have been identified through four categories of change of norms, the change in key executive positions, changing borders and violent challenges. The results of this study indicate that there has been a significant correlation between the policies of the successors of Malikshah and the emergence of political instability in this period.