Turkish+Muslims

toc = = = = = = =**How They Came to Be **=

The Seljuk Turks were closely related to the Mamelukes, or slave soldiers the Abbasids bought for war. The Seljuks, on the other hand, were a branch of Karakhanids, a vast group of Turkish people who converted to Islam in 960 AD. The Seljuks were named after their chief - Seljuk. The Seljuks were allies of the Persians because they (Seljuks) were seen as a way to counteract the Shiite movement of the Fatimids; since the Persians were Sunni at the time. Thus, began an empire that would fight against Byzantine, scrabble with the Crusaders, and abolish the Buyid emirate.

=**The Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks **=

The Seljuk Turks were the first people to invade Anatolia, which is basically the Asian portion of modern Turkey. This is hardly a chip in the accomplishments of the Seljuks. The Seljuks were, for lack of better terms, the rivals of the Byzantium Empire. In fact, the Seljuk Empire was created during the internal disputes of the Byzantine Empire.  In 1071, Romanus IV took over the Byzantine throne and launched a campaign against the Seljuks. His army of 100,000 men included not only Byzantine troops but also foreign mercenaries: Bulgarians, French, Normans, and Turks. The battles were swiftly being won by Romanlus. He had taken Asia Minor and the important city of Manzikert, and then sent the French and Normans to another objective. Meanwhile, Alp Arslan (third Sultan of the Seljuk Turks), had offered a truce, but Romanus rejected it. While Romanus would have won the battle, he lost because of treachery and betrayal. One of his commanding officers abandoned him and the Turkish mercenaries joined the Seljuks instead, and the French and the Normans refused to fight. Romanus lost and was taken prisoner. These events led to the eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire.

=**Accomplishments of the Seljuks** =

The reigns of Alp Arslan and Malik Shah marked the best times of the Seljuk Empire. They formed a tolerant government and the government (unlike many others) and it was not created to persecute Christians or any other religion. The Seljuks were tolerant of race, religion and gender and the ruled over a healthy population including Greek speaking Christians and a few Jews. In their Golden Age (which was during 1072-1092), the Seljuks advanced in literature, architecture, and religion, also, wealth and population increased dramatically. But perhaps the greatest contribution the Seljuk Turks made was the creation of the Turkish styled architecture. Because the government (and people) were religiously tolerant, there were masses of mosques, theological seminaries, hospitals, and caravansaries (theological seminaries are christian schools while caravansaries are road side inns that support information, ideas, and commerce). Turkish architecture had specialized brickwork. The buildings were decorated with relief work too, which created a beautiful interplay of light and shade in the sunlight. The buildings of the Turks were so beautiful that they were considered ‘poetry in stone’. The famous Seljuk tiles were the most significant product of the times also. These tiles were often in the colors of: turquoise, yellow-brown, green, and violet, the glazes of the ceramics were unusually thick also. The Seljuk Golden Age encouraged international trade. The Turks introduced the notion of insurances for the loss of traders and other things. The caravansaries m entioned earlier were ‘pit-stops’ that allowed traders to go further and trade with more.

=**The Crusades** =

The Crusades were a series of apoplectic wars Christians declared in the name of religion. The Christian soldiers wore red crosses upon their tunics, these crosses, called ‘croix’ in French, the words were warped by time into ‘croisades’ or crusades. The Christians were ruthless. Although Christianity was a relatively pacifist religion, the soldiers were told that, if they wanted to be relieved of their sins, they should fight. Some fought because they wanted Jerusalem back, others, because they thought they were doing good and that they would be able to enter Heaven if they fought. Yet others, there were some only because they wanted to steal money, and children, for example. There were around four armies of Crusaders, and countless small ones. There was no actual strategy and communication across countries was quiet difficult. The first city that was attacked was Nicea, a relatively important city but fell easily since the ruler was not there when the Crusaders invaded. The next was Antioch in 1098, and finally, Jerusalem in 1099. The attacks were brutal and unlike the way the Muslims fought. They treated prisoners horribly and utterly destroyed everything. The Crusaders established three principalities and thus ended the First Crusade... Because of continued attacks by the Muslims, the Second Crusade begun. But instead of attacking the power house of Emir Nur al-Din, the Crusaders attacked the small city state of Damascus. This led to the loss of land by the Crusaders as they failed to gain lost territories. As the Crusades continued on, it was apparent that the Crusaders lost their original goal. They started plundering and stealing, raiding conquered cities and fighting for power and possessions. Eventually, the Crusaders fell, and the Muslims started gaining more land.

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