At a glance
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
Overview
The vizierate
He reversed what his predecessor, Amid al-Mulk, had done by cursing the Ash'aris. He championed the Shafi'is, honoured the imam al-Haramayn and Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri, and built the Nizamiyya. It is said to be the first school built for jurists 3.
Ibn al-Sam'ani said: "The Ka'ba of glory and the follower of generosity." Dawud ibn Mikal recommended him to his son Alp Arslan. When Alp Arslan died, he secured the realm for Malikshah, until the whole affair came to rest with Nizam al-Mulk, and he remained so for twenty years 4.
His death
He was killed by a young man with the appearance of a Sufi from the Batiniyya on the tenth night of Ramadan 485 AH. The man handed him a petition, then struck him in the chest with a knife. It is said that Malikshah had arranged it, but this report is not one we can affirm 4.
His works
The Amali of Nizam al-Mulk is attributed to him 5.
Connections
- Parent of
- Mu'ayyid al-Mulk Abu Bakr ibn Nizam al-Mulk
- Authored
- Amali Nizam al-Mulk
- Participated in
- The killing of Sultan Alp Arslan and the accession of Malikshah· وضع التقويم الجلالي في عهد ملكشاه· Nizam al-Mulk's Reform of the Calendar· The Founding of the Nizamiyya in Baghdad· The Nizamiyya of Nishapur· The Strife over Declaring the Hanbalis Unbelievers and the Looting of the Nizamiyya Market
- Founder of
- The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad
- Related to
- The sakk and the hawala
People and things also explored
Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi· السلطان ملكشاه جلال الدولة بن ألب أرسلان· Baghdad· Abu Nasr ibn al-Qushayri· ألب أرسلان عضد الدولة بن جغري بك· Yusuf al-Khwarizmi· Bukhara· Nishapur
Sources
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 645
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 381-382
- Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.645
- Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.381-382
- Kashf al-Zunun an Asami al-Kutub wa'l-Funun — Hajji Khalifa (Furqan ed.)
- al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “نظام الملك وزير ألب أرسلان”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/nizam-al-mulk/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.