ELDEGZID DYNASTY

also spelled Ildigzid, Ildegzid, Ildegizid, or Ildenizid, (11371225), Iranian atabeg dynasty of Turkish origin that ruled in Azerbaijan (now divided between Iran and Azerbaijan). The founder of the dynasty was Shams ad-Din Eldegz (reigned c. 113775), originally a Turkish slave of the Seljuq minister Kamal al-Mulk Simirumi. In 1137 the Seljuq sultan Mas'ud I appointed Eldegz ruler of the Seljuq provinces of Arran and Azerbaijan. In 1161, shortly after he had married the widow of the Seljuq ruler Toghrl II, Eldegz was made atabeg (guardian) of his stepson, the infant Seljuq prince Arslan. During the next three decades the Eldegzids, using their position as atabegs of Seljuq princes, expanded their territories in Iran as far south as Isfahan and northward in the Caucasus to the borders of Shirvan and Georgia. In 1191 the Seljuq sultan Toghrl III defeated and subjugated Qutlugh Inanj (reigned 119195), the fourth Eldegzid ruler. Qutlugh had to retreat to Azerbaijan, where the Eldegzids held their position until 1225, when the Khwarezm-Shah, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, took over the administration of their territories.