After the Seljuq conquest of Baghdad in 1055 CE, Tughril Beg and his successors replaced the Buyids as the designated military protectors of the Abbasids in Baghdad. A unique situation occurred in the early Seljuq era in which two regimes coexisted in Baghdad and maintained public order together. In this period, sectarian violence was epidemic in Baghdad. Ḥanbalis and Shafiʿis fought in street battles in the urban quarters of the city over disagreements in theology while the violent conflicts between Sunni and Shia continued from the Buyid era and became progressively worse. The Seljuq governor, the shiḥna, had at his disposal the entire military garrison of Baghdad to confront the sectarian militias. The Abbasid Caliphs’ police force at times worked together with the shiḥna. Also, the Abbasid Caliphs’ ties with urban notables and religious scholars in Baghdad allowed them the ability to mediate these sectarian conflicts. On the other hand, at times, Abbasid and Seljuq’s administrations’ attempts to deal effectively with the sectarian violence either were unsuccessful or escalated the violence further. A major factor that determined the success and failures of Abbasid and Seljuq’s efforts to reduce sectarian violence was the relationship between these two regimes. A working relationship between these two polities could lead to a decrease in these violent outbreaks. Inversely, an antagonistic relationship between these two regimes driven by their differing political interests could led to a escalation of public disorder and an infringement on the effectiveness of the law enforcement institutions and channels for mediation. As such, exploring the efforts of Abbasid and Seljuq’s administrations’ efforts to deal with sectarian violence in Baghdad within the background of their ever-changing relations provides a greater understanding of the maintenance of public order in Baghdad during this period. The paper utilizes Seljuq era chroniclers such as Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 1200 CE), Sibṭ ibn al- Jawzī (d. 1256 CE), and Ibn al-Bannā’ al-Ḥanbalī (d. 1079 CE). However, there is a lack of contemporary Seljuq era chroniclers, which poses an issue for the historiography of this period. The study's methodology is not based on verifying the accuracy of the incidents reported in these narratives, but rather on confirming the decisive factors in the constructed realities of these chroniclers, which resulted in the successes and failures of the Abbasids and Seljuqs’ approach to sectarian violence.