Islamic Studies and the Religious Scholars in the Saljuq Era in Iran: A Statistic Study

Superiority of the Sunni jurists and scholars was one of the historical developments of the Saljuq era from educational, social, and cultural points of view. Despite the vast quantitative studies, the historical dimensions of this subject have not been analyzed thoroughly yet. In this paper, based on the findings of statistical analysis method, the situation of the religious scholars of the Saljuq era, in three fields of their scientific activities, sects, and the places of residence is investigated. For this purpose, the essential historical sources such as Al-kāmil by Ibn al-Athīr, Al-montaẓam of Ibn al-Jozī, Vafayāt Al-aʻyān of Ibn Xallikān, Siyāq-e Tārix-e Neyšābūr by ʻAbd al-ghāfer-e Fārsī, and Al-ansāb of Samʻānī have been studied. According to this research, the geographical regions known as ʻIrāq-e ʻArab and Xorasān were in first places in terms of the presence and activity of religious scholars; and ʻIrāq-e ʻAjam was in the third place. Moreover, around 80 percent of the known scholars belonged to the Šāfeʻī school. From intellectual and educational points of view, around 70 percent of known religious scholars of the Saljuq era were involved in the field of Ḥadith. This situation was the result of historical background and centricity of the above mentioned regions in the Saljuq era, establishment of Neẓāmīyyeh schools in the important cities of those regions, as well as the Saljuqid's support of the Šāfeʻī sect and the Sunni traditional studies.