Effective Factors in the Promotion of Political and Social Status of the Twelver Shiites in Iran during Seljuk Period

Sunni-Seljuk's empowerment splited the social and political relations among Shias and Sunnis, but this did not destroy their social basis and their intellectual power. The gradual integration of Seljuk's ruling system with Islamic-Iranian traditions put them in the right direction. More importantly, Twelver Shiites showed its true identity and paved the ground for their influence in the government and the society. The political and social conduct of Twelver Shiites, and their utilization of their principles had a significant contribution in this regard. Twelver Shiites enjoying the status of Naghibs, praise singers, influential ministers, and using the strategic principle of Taqiya (=reservation, prudence) tried to keep the identity of their group in this incompatible context. The results of using this approach was the strengthening of the influence of Shiites in the final period of Seljuk Empire, and paving the ground for its effectiveness in Khwarazmian, Mongols, and Ilkhanid dynasties. In this regard, the present study, using a descriptive-analytical method, aims at investigating effective factors in the promotion of political and social status of the Twelver Shiites in Iran during Seljuk period