This article is one in the Cultural History of Turkey series. For the description of any cultures or tribes please read that article.

The Turks throughout their history established many states, such as the Huns, Göktürks, Avars, Karahan State (Khanaate), and Gaznes and appeared under different names; the Bulgars, Peçenegs, Cumans, and Kıpçaks are few to mention. These states have an inherent weakness because of the Turkish customs and traditions. When the kaan or sultan died or had to abdicate his throne for some reason, the country had to be divided between his şehzades. Even though the Seljuk sultans tried to change this tradition and keep centralized governance the claimants to the throne fought back and fought each other every time a reign had to pass to the next generation. Because of this şehzade fights and killings were common.

Living a nomadic life in the Asian steppes made the Turkish tribes tough and natural fighters. They were soldier people. Fighting was their profession and war was their sole occupation. They joined into armies of their neighboring countries as soldiers and frequently rose in the ranks of these armies and dominated those neighbors. They used to live, fight, and die mounted on their horses. Horse was a very important part of their lives. Kımız, which is fermented mares’ milk, was their well known drink. The Seljuks, like the other Oğuz Turks, had the old shaman religion in the tenth century. They used to bury their dead with their horses and weapons since they believed that buried people would need them in their next life. They had long flowing hair and used bows and arrows as their weapons in the battles.

The Byzantines found out that the Turks did not fight, like the other people, in a formation in which the soldiers would line up in ranks in close order and lock their shields together. Instead they split their forces into three – the center and the two wings. When one was attacked, the others moved to help the attacked. They did not use lances. They preferred fighting from a distance with arrows instead. They were very skillful in handling the arrows. They rarely failed piercing either the soldier, or his horse, they were pursuing or being pursued by drawing their bow with great force and dexterity. Because of their unknown fighting skills and unusual fighting styles Byzantine defenses became less effective.

The Great Seljuk State (1040-1157)

The Great Seljuk State was one of the biggest states established by the Turks. The Seljuks were the representatives of a civilization with the borders extending from China to Western Anatolia and from the western Arabian peninsula to the lake of Aral, Caspian Sea, and Russian heartland.

The Seljuks played a very crucial role in encouraging and helping the Turkmens6 to settle in the Byzantine territories and making Anatolia7 a Turkish homeland. Anatolia in the known history was a magnet for the migrating people. Starting even before Hittites, countless number of people migrated and invaded this beautiful land. There were some indigenous people in Anatolia, such as Hattis, but over all most of the civilizations who made Anatolia homeland came from somewhere else. Before the Turks though most of the migration was from the west and north, possibly Europe and Caucasus. Turks, on the other hand, were coming from the east, from the Central Asian steppes.

Like the Hittite and Hellene civilizations, which were destroyed by the Sea People, the western Roman Empire, which was destroyed by the less developed European tribes, much advanced and sophisticated Seljuk State was destroyed by the Mongolians and the other Oğuz tribes. Interestingly enough, in all these cases the centuries of development and sophistication were destroyed by the less civilized new comers.

The Seljuks belonged to the Kınık tribe of Uç-ok Branch of Oğuzs. The Oğuz had known twenty four tribes, split into two branches, namely Uç-ok and Boz-ok. The Uç-ok branch consisted of Bayındır, Çavuldur, Peçene, Çepni, Ala-yuntlu, Salur, Eymür, İğdir, Yüreğir, Büğdüz, Yıva, and Kınık. The Boz-ok branch consisted of Kayı, Alka-evli, Kara-evli, Yazır, Bayat, Begdili, Döğer, Dodurga, Yaparlı, Avşar, Kızık, and Karkın. In the tenth century the Oğuz tribes inhabited the area between the Caspian sea in the west, the Aral lake and Syr Darya (Seyhun) in the east. Kınık tribe was living near the mouth of Syr Darya.

In the tenth century the main powers in the area were the Gaznes and Karahan State (Khanaate). Seljuk’s father Su-basi1 Dukak, was a prominent officer in the army of Oğuz Yabgu State. Seljuk had a long service in this army. However, there were some disagreements between Oğuz Yabgu and Seljuk. Seljuk was concerned about his own life. So he took his people and came to Cent2 from Yengi-Kent in Maveraunnehir3 and converted to Islam in 960. With this migration the saga of the Seljuk dynasty started. Yabgu’s control of the new settlement location was limited. The only authority Yabgu had in this area was to collect taxes twice a year. Seljuk denounced Yabgu and his tax men and refused to give tax saying that a Muslim does not give tax to an infidel. Seljuk family’s objective was to establish their own state. All the family members united in this objective. Tuğrul and Çağrı beys took the lead. After a long struggle they were recognized as a sovereign state. One of the main reasons of this recognition was the victory the Seljuks obtained at Dandanakan in 1040. With this victory the Seljuks declared their independence and showed that they were an important power to be acknowledged. Tuğrul Bey became the Sultan of this new state, and Çağrı Bey took the title of melik4. Tuğrul Bey moved the capital to Rey in Tahran, Iran. After this war the Seljuks started getting stronger and bigger and they expanded their territory at the expense of their neighbors as a result of more Turkmens migrating from the east into the new Seljuk lands.

The rise of the Seljuks and hence the expansion of their territory made them neighbor with the Byzantine Empire. The Anatolian (Rum) raids started with the probing raid of Tuğrul Bey in 1016. Tuğrul and Çağrı beys surveyed Anatolia and found it suitable for their people. In the mean time many Turkmen tribes were raiding Rum. These were the Turkmens who migrated to the Seljuk lands from the east. The armies of the Turkmens were small, typically a few thousand horse mounted soldiers. They were fast and agile. They were returning to their homeland after each raid with their booty. However, they lacked the heavy weaponry, such as catapult and battering ram to knock down the walls of the well-fortified citadels in the Rum lands. So they needed the help of a well disciplined, big Seljuk army.

The Turkmens came to Anatolia to settle and have a new homeland. This was the purpose of their raids in the Rum lands. The objectives of the Seljuks were two fold. On the one hand they were trying to expand their territory westward. More importantly though the exodus of the Turkmens from the Central Asia towards the Seljuk lands was creating instability and security problems and increasing the need for more land (pasture) to feed the animals but at the same time it was increasing strength of the Seljuks. The Seljuk’s active policy was to encourage and help the Turkmens to find new homelands in Anatolia.

On September 18, 1049 two Seljuk armies, one under the command of Ibrahim Yınal and the other under the leadership of Kutalmış, won a big battle against Constantine IX Monomachus (Constantine IX Monomachos) in the Pasinler valley near Kapetrou castle (Battle of Kapetrou or Kapetron).

The Byzantine Empire in its difficult years tried hard to stop the Turks invading and raiding its Anatolian territories. However, it was mostly unsuccessful. In 1071, the Byzantine Emperor Romanos (or Romanus) IV Diogenes left Constantinople with a huge army to solve this problem once and for all. According to the western sources this army consisted of 100,000 to 200,000 soldiers. It had a catapult capable of lobbing 5600 kg rocks. It included some non-Muslim Turkic people, such as the Peçenegs, the Oğuz, the Kıpçak, and the Bulgar. It also had the Slavs, the Germans, the Francs, the Armenians, and the Georgians. Sultan Alp Arslan, on the other hand, had 40,000 – 50,000 soldiers. The Seljuk army consisted of soldiers from Horasan (Khorasan), Azerbaijan, and Erran. The Seljuk and Byzantine armies came to the valley between Malazgirt (Manzikert) and Ahlat on August 24, 1071.

Sultan Arp Arslan was concerned very much and was not comfortable in accepting a battle out in the open field because of the big difference between the sizes of the two armies. However, after consultations with his officers he agreed to fight. His officers reminded him that although the Byzantine army was huge it was incoherent. It was made up of units, some times hostile to each other. Due to its size it was slow. On the other hand, the Seljuk army was fast and agile. It had battle hardened soldiers and very experienced commanders.

The Sultan having strong faith in his religion decided to attack on Friday, the sacred day of the week for the Muslims. Starting from Thursday night the religious fighting cries were heard in the Turkish camp. With the first lights of the day there was a commotion in the armies. On August 26 both armies took fighting positions. The Sultan had placed some of his soldiers strategically hidden for a possible ambush. He had a small middle section, and right and left wings. He was in the middle. His army had a crescent formation.

The Sultan donned all white that morning. He gave a pep talk to his soldiers. he told that there was no return. He reminded them the consequences if this battle was lost. That is, Anatolia would not be their homeland. They would lose everything they gained so far. He also said there was no Sultan other than the God on that day; he himself was also a soldier. He said if anyone wanted to return it was welcomed. He tied the tail of his horse according to the Turkish traditions from the Central Asia. He took his sword and a mace instead of a bow and arrow and ordered the assault.

The military campaign was opened with the Turkish archery harrying the enemy lines. The center of the Seljuk army, commanded by Alp Arslan, lead the attack. However, after a while it started retreating giving the sense that the Sultan’s army was losing ground. The Emperor Diogenes took the bait. This was a trick played by the Turks in the battles to pull the enemy deep into their center far from its strong and safe positions. By the time Diogenes realized that his army was tricked it was too late. The Sultan’s hidden soldiers joined the attack from sides, circled, and ambushed the Byzantine soldiers. In the heat of the fight some of the non-Muslim Turkic tribes, namely Peçenegs and Oğuz, fighting with the Byzantine army changed their minds and switched side, joining their kin. The right wing of the Byzantine army quickly lost cohesion and was broken. After the right wing fell in disarray left wing also collapsed. Some of the Byzantine army units gave up and left the battle field. By the end of the day there was not much left from the Byzantine army.

The Sultan Alp Arslan was a very brave, experienced, intelligent commander, and but also very, very lucky. During the fight the Byzantine Emperor fought bravely too but he lost. He was wounded, captured, and taken prisoner. He was brought to the Sultan Alp Arslan. The Sultan treated the Emperor as a guest and with utter respect. He built a tent for him and after a short duration he released him with very light conditions. A peace treaty was signed, according to which

1. The Emperor would pay 1.5 million gold coins as ransom.
2. Byzantine would pay 360,000 gold coins to the Seljuks every year as tribute.
3. All the Muslim prisoners in Byzantine would be released.
4. Byzantine would provide soldiers to the Seljuk army on demand.
5. If the Emperor keeps his throne some cities and castles like Antioch (Antakya), Urfa (Edessa), Ahlat, and Malazgirt (Manzikert) would be given to the Seljuks, and
   the Emperor also promised to give his daughter to the Sultan’s son.

This important war for the Seljuks had a far reaching and very favorable consequences for the Turks. The most important one was that the Byzantine Rum (Anatolia) was left defenseless against the Turkish attacks. From then on there was no Byzantine army to prevent the Turkmens from raiding and settling in Anatolia. Byzantine lost hope of having an Anatolia free of Turks (although a century later it tried to drive the Turks out of Anatolia again). By settling in Anatolia the Turkmens gradually changed their life style, abandoned the nomadic life, and transitioned to the Agricultural life. These and other successes of the Seljuks caused uproar in the Latin Europe and triggered the crusades. This treaty was never implemented by the Byzantines, which gave Alp Arslan an excuse to annex more land in Anatolia. So Sultan Alp Arslan ordered his emirs (lords) to raid inlands of Anatolia.

When Alp Arslan was assassinated later by a captured enemy officer during his Maveraunnehir expedition the Seljuk state’s borders reached to Kaşgar in the east, the Aegean coasts and the straits of Constantinople in the west, the Caspian and Aral sea in the north, and Yemen in the south. After this famous sultan the Great Seljuk Empire had many other great sultans, spread further, and as a protector of the Islamic world bore the brunt of the Crusader attacks.

By the time Sencer1 became the sultan, the crusaders in the west and Karahitays in the east became the greatest threats to the existence of the Great Seljuk State. The Sultan Sencer routed the army of Karahan State, however, lost the war against Karahitays at Katvan on September 10, 1141. Although he recovered and won more battles, with the insistence of his emirs, he fought against another Oğuz state and lost in March 1153 in the Belh area and became a prisoner. He was able to escape in 1156. He died at the age of 73 on May 9. 1157. After his death the Seljuk State never recovered and his lands were invaded by other Turkic tribes and Mongolians. So the year 1157 is accepted as the date of the Great Seljuk Empire’s collapse.

The Turkish kaans, and most of the Seljuk sultans including Tugrul, Alp Arslan, Melikşah, and Sencer considered themselves as the leaders of the known world. Although their empire reached to China in the east, Mediterranean Sea in the west they felt obligated to continue their expeditions to conquer the whole world. They thought that the world should be ruled by this Turkish-Islamic state.

The Great Seljuk Empire during its existence was split into smaller states a few times. The four major states established by the Seljuks were the Iraq Seljuks1, the Syrian Seljuks, the Kırman Seljuk’s, and the Anatolian Seljuks.

The Anatolian Seljuk State (c. 1075-1308)

Due to the Great Seljuk State’s policy of encouragement there was a massive Turkmen migration to Anatolia from the east. The Anatolian Seljuk State was founded as a result of these migrations. There was a struggle and interaction between some of the Turkmen tribes in the Seljuk lands. When one of the members of Kutalmış family was captured and sent to Melikşah as a result of a family feud, Suleyman Şah, the brother of the captured Kutalmış took Aleppo3 and entered Anatolia from Antioch and went on to conquer Iconium (cognate of Icon)4 area and Nicaea5. He made Nicaea the capital of the new state in 1075 and became the first sultan of the Anatolian Seljuks. Hence the Anatolian Seljuk State was founded. He was a member of the Seljuk dynasty, the son of Kutalmış and grandson of Arslan Yabgu, who, in turn, was the son of Seljuk himself.

Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Komnenos6 I (1081-1118) requested help from the Pope Urban II against the Turks. The Christian world responded in 1097 to stop and reverse the inexorable advance of the Turks with a military crusade7. The Crusaders had some initial success and regained some of the loss territory. They took Antioch in 1098 and Jerusalem in 1099. As a result of the first Crusade (1096-1099) the Anatolian Seljuks lost Nicaea after having it as a capital for 25 years and moved their capital to Konya (Iconium). However, they recovered quickly. Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Kılıç Arslan I and the crusaders met near Eskişehir (Dorylaeum)8. Kılıç Arslan Defeated the Crusaders (Dorylaeum War) on July 4, 1097. In 1100 Gümüş-tekin defeated a Crusader’s army, which planned to go to Syria. Later another Crusader army, which was sent to rescue the prisoners, was also defeated.

The Latin Catholic Europe had three more main crusades to the Muslim world. The reaction of Europe to the fall of Edessa9 to the Turks was the second crusade (1147-1149), lead by Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France. This expedition also failed. The crusaders were defeated by the Seljuks. Sultan Mesud defeated the second Crusade army lead by the German Emperor Conrad near Eskişehir (Dorylaeum) on October 25, 1147. When the king Lois learned the fate of Conrad’s army he followed a different route that goes through coastal areas to avoid the Seljuk armies but still he could not avoid a similar fate. His army was ambushed and destroyed along the way with raids by the Turkmens.

When the Sultan Mesud became too ill he made his son Kılıç Arslan II the new sultan. In the Sultan Mesud’s time the Europeans started using the term “Turkia” for the first time instead of the term Romania10. The Seljuks minted their own coins for the first time. Until then they were using the Byzantine’s or other Islamic states’ coins.

The third Crusade (1189-1192) came two years after Selaheddin Eyyubi captured Jerusalem, the Holy City, but the Crusaders failed to take Jerusalem back. In the fourth (1201-1204) the Crusaders were supposed to march to Jerusalem and Egypt but instead, they avoided the Seljuk lands and turned their attention to Constantinople to settle their own old disputes. The city fell to the Latin Crusaders in 1204.

In August 11761 the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos2 had a new military expedition to the east. He marched into the Seljuks lands. Kılıç Arslan II caught him in a narrow pass3 at Myriokephalon4 and annihilated his army in the battle. The Sultan accepted the defeated Emperor’s offer in the darkness of the night without realizing how great the victory he had. This victory, according to the historians, is as important as the one at Manzikert because it made clear that the Turks would never leave Anatolia. Byzantine gave up the idea of freeing Anatolia from the Turks. After this war the Anatolian Seljuks expanded their territory and became one of the most important Turkish state in the history. In the process Anatolia became the new homeland of the Turks.

During the reign of Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev II (1237-46) the Anatolian Seljuk’s 80,000 men army was defeated without too much difficulty by a 30,000 men Mongolian army lead by Baycu Noyan at Kösedağ5 in July 1243. Militarily superior Mongolians slowed down the advancement of the Turkish influence. This defeat was the beginning of the Seljuk’s decline and fall. After Gıyaseddin, Izzeddin and later Mesud became sultan. Although the Seljuk State continued to exist officially, in reality it was ruled by the Mongolians. The Mongolians invaded Anatolia and ruled through governors. The Sultan Mesud became paralyzed and died of sorrow. After his death the Anatolian Seljuk State did not survive long and disappeared from history in 1308. Anatolia was brought under the control of the Mongolians in the beginning of 14th century. The cruelty of the Mongolians reached to extreme levels. They mass murdered the people of the cities and castles when they captured. Cruelty of the Mongolians left deep scars physically and mentally in the lives of the Turkmens. The Mongolians tasted their first defeat with the victory of the Turkish Memluk’s sultan, Baybars. After 14th century the Ottomans took over and tried to heal the wounds the Mongolians caused.

Some of the Seljuk Sultans

• Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Şah
• Melikşah
• Kılıç Arslan I
• Şehinşah
• Sultan Mesud
• Kılıç Arslan II
• Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev
• Rukneddin Süleyman Şah
• Kılıç Arslan III
• Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev (returning to the throne)
• İzzedin Keykavus
• Alaeddin (or Alaaddin) Keykubad
• Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev II

The Seljuks created a very cultured and sophisticated society. They excelled in literature, arts, and sciences. The scientists, scholars, and poets of the Seljuks made great contributions to the general knowledge of humanity. They made advances in math, physics, chemistry, education, and astronomy. They built magnificent monuments, such as libraries, caravansaries, medreses6, and hospitals. They developed very sophisticated trade system. The sultans were the protectors and supporters of scholars. There was a very high degree of tolerance and freedom of expression in most of the Seljuk territories. However, most of the works of this highly cultured society were destroyed by the Mongolians during the invasion of the Seljuk lands. A small portion of it survived. The Mongolians burned the books in the libraries, opened up graves and mausoleums of the sultans to find buried treasure.

Sources

1. Merçil, Erdoğan, “Büyük Selçuklu Devleti,” 2. Basım, Nobel Yayın Dağıtım Tic, Ltd., Şti, ISBN 978-975-591-722-1
2. Öztürk, Oğuz Mete, “Geçmişten Günümüze Türk Devletleri,” Nokta Kitap, Kazancı Yokuşu, Muhtar Kamil Sokak, Basmacı; Han, No:5/3 Taksim, İstanbul, ISBN:978-9944-174-08-4.
3. Özkök, Rüsnü, Özkök, Mustafa Barış, “Malazgirt’ten Dumlupınar’a,” Anadolu Türk Tarihinden Sayfalar, Doğan Kitap, Doğan Egmont Yayıncılık ve Yapımcılık Tic. A.S., 19 Mayıs Cad. Golden Plaza, No 1. Kat 10, 34360, Şişli, İstanbul, ISBN 978-605-111-252-7, 2009
4. Turan, Osman, Prof. Dr., “Selçuklular Tarihi ve Türk-İslam Medeniyeti,” Ötüken Neşriyat A.S., İstiklal Cad. Ankara Han 65/3 34433 Beyoğlu-İstanbul, ISBN 978-975-437-470-4.
5. Library of Congress – Federal Research Division, Country Profile: Turkey, August 2008.
6. Stearns, Peter N., General Editor, “The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, medieval, and Modern, chronologically arranged,” Sixth Edition, ISBN 0-395-65237-5, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
7. Loverance, Rowena, “Byzantium,” ISBN 0-674-08972-3, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1988, printed in Italy.
8. Treadgold, Warren T., “A concise history of Byzantium,” Published in 2001 by Palgrave, ISBN 0-333-71829-1 hardcover.
9. Sherrard, Philip, “Byzantium: Great Ages of Man, a History of the World’s Cultures,” The Editors of Time-Life Books, Time Incorporated, New York, 1966
10. Mango, Cyril, (Editor) “The Oxford history of Byzantium,” Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-814098-3, published in the United States.

Further Reading

1. Phillips, Jonathan, “The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople,” ISBN 0-670-03350-2, Published in 2004 by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

This article is one in the Cultural History of Turkey series. For the description of any cultures or tribes please read that article.