Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk has developed the divan (imperial council) as the basic institution of government, and employs a bureaucratic hierarchy organized around a financial and administrative unit known as iqta.
He embodies these measures in his voluminous treatise on kingship titled Siyasatnama (The Book of Government) which had been written in response to Malik Shah’s request that his ministers produce books on government, administration and the troubles facing the nation.
However, the treatise made by Nizam is the only one to receive approval and is consequently accepted as law.
Nizam al-Mulk will leave a great impact on organization of the Seljuq governmental bodies and hence the title Nizam al-Mulk which translates as "Order of the Realm".
He is a pivotal figure who bridges the political gap between both the Abbasids and the Seljuqs against their various rivals, including the rival Fatimid Caliphate.
The Seljuq military is a heavy mixed different peoples, including Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, and Slavs.
Nizam, however, favors Iranian soldiers, such as the Dailamites, Khorasanis, and the Shabankara Kurds; he also favors the Georgians.
As the nomadic way of life of the Turkmens represents a significant threat to the political and economic stability of the country, Nizam al-Mulk seeks to create employment opportunity for those Turkmens who had migrated to the Iranian plateau during the Seljuq successes in Persia.
Ibn Bahmanyar, one of Nizam’s many enemies, tries to poison him in 1081/1082, but fails and is blinded by Nizam, after which enemies of Nizam spread false stories about him and his son, Jamal al-Mulk, who tears out the tongue of Ja'farak, one of the perpetrators.
Malik Shah has no power to intervene in the event, but instead has Jamal poisoned.
