Sanjar
Sanjar
Born 1086; died 1157. The last sultan (1118–57) of the state of the Great Seljuks in Khurasan.
Sanjar spread his rule to Sistan, Khwarazm, Ghazni, and Mavera-un-Nahr. In broadening the rights and privileges of the feudal lords, Sanjar could not contain the process of decentralization and the secession of individual regions. In 1141, after a defeat by the Karakitai, he lost Mavera-un-Nahr. In 1153 he was defeated and taken prisoner by rebelling Khurasan Oghuz tribes. In 1156, Sanjar fled from captivity to his capital of Merv, where he soon died.