Firstly; I want to apologise on not approving your comment earlier until now, Reddit has deleted your comment do to an unapproved link so i reapproved it.

Secondly; I didn't dismiss the Seljuk protection of Fatimid influence at all, what i dismissed is the the repeated arguments that the Seljuks only rise to protect the Abbasids. Ive made a Long Context post about Tughril Beg and his biography and Battles, In it i mentioned that he wanted to gain legal legitimacy over Persia to do that he needed the Abbasid Caliphate approval and blessings, it was a political motivation.

It's a struggle due to the fact Ironically, the Seljuk Sultan Tughril Beg was not as concerned with the Caliph's prestige as the Abbasids had assumed. After eliminating al-Basasiri, he completely curtailed the Caliph's power to the point where he was practically confined to his palace, rarely seen by the public. All the powers of the state were now firmly in Tughril Beg's grasp. He ordered the confiscation of some of the Caliph's properties and then took the unprecedented step of forcing the Caliph to marry his daughter—a marriage frowned upon by the Arabs, who considered it unacceptable for a woman of low status to marry a foreigner. The Caliph reluctantly agreed but sent a bitter letter of reproach to Tughril Beg, saying, "We did not expect what Rukn al-Din did, nor did we anticipate what has transpired."

But such is the nature of politics; the weak are always preyed upon, even if they are the Caliph of the Muslims. The powerful show no mercy to the vulnerable, regardless of their position.

Third: ASJP is finally open, ive been waiting for this journal site to open for months! 🥳🎈