One of the most formidable medieval Asian conquerors was the Seljuk Turks. For several decades they were able to create a huge empire of their time, which, however, soon collapsed. But these fragments of the empire gave birth to an even more powerful state. Let's find out what the Seljuk Turks were, who they are and where they came from.
Ethnogenesis of the Seljuks
First of all, we need to determine where the Seljuk Turks came from. Their appearance still contains many mysteries for historians.
According to the most common version, they are one of the branches of the Oghuz Turkic people. The Oguzes themselves, most likely, were the fruit of mixing in the territory of Central Asia of local Ugric and Sarmatian tribes with newcomers Turks, with the numerical and cultural prevalence of the latter. Like the rest of the Turkic peoples, the Oghuzs were engaged in nomadic animal husbandry, as well as raids on other tribes. Initially, they were vassals of the powerful Khazar Khaganate, but then they separated and organized their own state on both sides of the Syr Darya with the capital in Yangikent, which was controlled by the yabgu.
The formation of the state of the Seljuks
In the IX century, the noble Oguz Tokak ibn Lukman from the KΔ±nΔ±k tribe, together with his subordinates, switched over to serve the Khazar Kaganate. But with the decline of the Khazar power, he returned to Central Asia, where he began to serve the Oguz Yabgu Ali, thereby becoming the second most important person in the Oghuz State.
Tokak had a son named Seljuk, who once served with his father among the Khazars. After the death of Tokak, Seljuk received the title of shubashi (army commander) from the yabgu. But over time, relations between Seljuk and the ruler of the Oghuz state went wrong. Fearing for his life and the life of loved ones, Seljuk was forced in 985 to retire with the members of his tribe south to Muslim lands, where he converted to Islam. He switched to the service of the Samanids, who were nominally considered the governors of the Caliph in Central Asia, and in fact were completely independent rulers.
Then, having recruited people, Seljuk, under the banner of a new faith, returned to the Oghuz state, leading the fight against the yabgu. Thus, the personal enmity of Seljuk and Ali grew into a Muslim jihad. Soon, the young commander managed to capture the large city of Jend and settle here. He was able to unite other Turkic peoples, thus establishing his own still small state. Its capital was the city of Jend. And all the tribes that came under the banner of the Seljuk became known in history as Seljuk Turks.
State Strengthening
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the XI century, the state of the Samanids fell under the onslaught of another powerful Turkic union - the Karakhanids. Initially, the Seljuks supported their overlords, the Samanids, in the struggle, for which they received great benefits and independence in managing their lands, but after their fall they switched to the Karakhanids.
After the death of Seljuk, five of his sons ruled the state: Israil (Turkic name Arslan), Mikail, Musa, Yusuf and Yunus. The main one was the eldest son Israil. He further strengthened the power of the Seljuks in the region.
Israil was married to the daughter of the ruler of the Karakhanids, Ali Tegin. He sent his two nephews to the capital city of Bukhara to serve Ali-tegin, the sons of Mikail - Togrul and Daud (Chagra-bek), whose great conquests we will discuss below.
At this time, the powerful ruler of Ghazna Mahmoud entered into conflict with the Karakhanids, supported by the Seljuks. He succeeded in capturing in 1025 Israil, who was imprisoned and died seven years later. This event marked the beginning of the struggle between the Ghaznavids and the Seljukids, whose head was Mikail, who strengthened in Bukhara.
Great Conquests
After the death of Michael, power was inherited by his sons Togrul and Chagra-bey, the first of whom was considered the first. The conflict between them and the Ghaznavids was all aggravated until in 1040 it was resolved by the great battle of Dandakan, in which the Seljuk Turks won a complete victory. After the conclusion of peace, they received in their possession the entire Khorasan, taken from the Ghaznavids, and Togrul with full right now became known as the Sultan.
In the coming years, the Seljuk Turks conquered Khorezm and the whole of Iran. In 1055, the capital of the caliphate, the city of Baghdad, was captured. But Togrul, being a faithful Muslim, left the spiritual power to the caliph, and in return from him received the highest secular authority and the title of king of the East and West.
Then the Seljuks began their raids in Transcaucasia and Asia Minor, which at that time belonged to Byzantium. Togrul directly attached some regions to his state, in others he put relatives on the throne, in others - he left power to local rulers, taking a vassal oath from them.
Seljukid Empire
Toward the end of Togrul's life, a real Seljuk empire was formed, stretching from the Aral Sea in the east to the Caucasus and the borders of Asia Minor in the west. The great commander died in 1063, transferring supreme power to his nephew Alp Arslan, who was the son of Chagra-bek.
However, Alp-Arslan did not stop at the achievements of his uncle, but continued to expand the empire. He managed to conquer Georgia and Armenia, and in 1071 not only inflicted a crushing defeat on the Byzantine Empire under Manzikert, but also captured his emperor. Soon after, almost all of Asia Minor belonged to the Seljuk Turks.
In 1072, when Alp-Arslan directed his army against the Karakhanids, an attempt was made on him. The sultan soon died of his wounds, bequeathing the throne to his underage son, Malik Shah.
Despite his infancy, the new sultan managed to suppress the erupted rebellion. He was able to take Syria and Palestine from the Fatimid state, which did not recognize the Caliphβs power, and also forced to recognize the vassal dependence of the Karakhanids. Under him, the Seljukid state reached its maximum power.
The decline of the Seljuk empire
After the death in 1092, the Malik Shah began the decline of the great empire, which was actually divided between the sons of this sultan, who constantly participated in internecine wars. The situation was aggravated by the beginning of the Crusades of the West European knights from 1096, as well as the strengthening of Byzantium under the Komnin dynasty. In addition, the area began to fall away from the empire, in which the side branches of the Seljukids ruled.
In the end, after the death of other brothers, the remnants of the empire in 1118 fell into the hands of Ahmad Sanjar. This was the last supreme sultan recognized by the Seljuk Turks. The history of the Seljukid empire ends in 1153 with his death.
The final collapse of the Seljuk power
Long before the death of Sanjar, entire countries fell away from the empire, which were ruled by representatives of the side branches of the Seljukid dynasty. So, in 1041, the Karman Sultanate was founded in the south-west of Iran, which lasted until 1187. In 1094, the Syrian Sultanate separated. True, his existence was limited to 23 years. The foundation of the Iraqi Sultanate falls on 1118, the fall of which dates back to 1194.
But of all the fragments of the Seljuk Empire, the Koni Sultanate (or Rum) located in Asia Minor lasted the longest. The founder of this state is Alp-Arslan's nephew Suleiman ibn Kutulmysh, who began to rule in 1077.
The heirs of this ruler strengthened and expanded the sultanate, which reached its highest power at the beginning of the XIII century. But the Mongol invasion in the middle of the same century shook the last state of the Seljuks. In the end, it broke up into many beyliks (areas), only formally subordinate to the Sultan. Finally, the Koni Sultanate ceased to exist in 1307.
Ottoman Parish
Even before the final death of the Koni Sultanate, one of its rulers, Kei-Kubad, in 1227 allowed one of the Oguz tribes, the Kayi, led by Ertogrul, to resettle on the territory of his state. Prior to this, this tribe lived on the territory of modern Iran.
The son of Ertogrul Osman founded the new Turkish state on the territory of Asia Minor, which later received the name of the Ottoman Empire. Under his heirs, this power captured a significant part of Asia, Africa and Europe, territorially exceeding the size of the Seljukids empire. As you can see, the Seljuk Turks and the Ottoman Turks are links in the same chain of changing state formations.
The significance of the conquests of the Seljuk Turks
The conquest of the Seljuk Turks was very important for history. It was they who opened the period of widespread penetration of Turkic tribes into western Asia. They had a significant impact on the formation of a number of modern ethnic groups: Azerbaijanis, Turks, Kyzylbash and a number of other peoples.
In addition, do not forget that the great Ottoman Empire, which had a very great influence on the historical processes not only in Asia but also in Europe, became the actual successor of the Seljukids.