In 1071, a small nomadic dynasty—named the Seljuks after their founder—fought a battle against Byzantine forces under the command of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes. The Seljuk victory in this battle opened up Anatolia to nomadic Turkic settlers, including the likes of Osman, founder of the Ottoman Empire.
Nomads From the East
Nomadic invaders from the east had always been a cause for fear in Europe and Asia. In the 3rd century BCE, the Chinese Qin Dynasty began the construction of the Great Wall of China to fortify their country against the nomadic Xiongnu Confederation. Later, in the 4th and 5th centuries, the Huns, likely connected to the Xiongnu, terrorized the Roman Empire. These threats repeated themselves throughout the Middle Ages with the arrival of the Turks into Eurasia.
The Seljuks were initially a semi-nomadic pastoralist people who, in the 10th century, were likely either employed in military positions under the Khazar Khaganate or the Oghuz Yabghū state. They were part of a larger ethno-tribal confederation called the Oghuz. The Oghuz were comprised of 24 Turkic tribes, each claiming descent from Oghuz Khan, a semi-mythical Turkic ruler and hero who purportedly united the Turkic clans.
Seljuk, an Oghuz warlord/ chieftain, led his tribe through the Central Asian Steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. His grandsons, Tughril and Cagri Bey (lord) expanded their small chieftaincy into an empire when they defeated the powerful Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan in 1040. This left a critical power vacuum in Greater Khorasan, a broad region comprised of Modern-day Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
In the 1040s, the Seljuks began a rapid expansion westward, conquering the Persian provinces of Ray and Hamadan. In 1055, Tughril besieged Baghdad, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, eventually having himself declared a Sultan in the Islamic tradition.
How Did the Seljuks End Up in Anatolia?
Born on the steppes of Central Asia, Tughril and his family were trained in the ways of nomadic conquerors, warriors, and horse archers. However, as an intelligent and farsighted man, Tughril understood that to develop his state, he would have to adopt the features of sedentary empires, such as bureaucracy and trade networks. In addition to this, as Muslims, they desired the blessing of the Abbasid caliph and his support in their imperial endeavors.
Cleverly, the Seljuks used the chaotic energy of their nomadic warriors to increase their own legitimacy and power. The Turkmen, the Seljuks’ nomadic followers, were sent on raids disguised as ghaza (holy war) across Anatolian, Georgian, and Armenian borders. In 1069, the Seljuk raiders had reached as far as Iconium (modern-day Konya) in Central Anatolia.
The aim of these raids was never to establish a permanent Turkic state in Anatolia. Rather, they were important nomadic pastimes, ways that the Seljuks could plunder livestock, and ways that they could gain the status of Islamic warriors. During the reign of Sultan Alp Arslan (1063-72), Turkmen tribes were settled along the borders of Georgia and Armenia, strengthening the Seljuk border and providing a base for Turkmen military activities.
Anatolia: A Melting Pot
Anatolia was an ethnically and politically diverse place in the 11th century. In the East were the Armenian states such as the Bagratids and the Kingdom of Vaspurakan. The Byzantines—or more accurately the Eastern Roman Empire—ruled important Western provinces such as Nicaea and Smyrna, with their capital in Constantinople. Yet, internal rivalries, inflation, and the East-West Schism of 1054 negatively affected these regional powers.
Despite their growing military weakness, the Byzantines managed to conquer Bulgaria and defeat the nomadic Pecheneg Turkic tribes who constantly harassed their borders. However, the Byzantine army was no match for the Seljuks who, as skilled raiders and conquerors, ravaged the eastern provinces that were neglected by the Byzantines.
Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes attempted to block these raids with his large army comprised of Greeks, Armenians, and even Pecheneg mercenaries (who later defected to the side of their Turkic cousins). He met Alp Arslan’s army at the Battle of Manzikert (modern-day Malazgirt) in 1071. However, his army was defeated by the tribal forces of the Seljuks who employed superior steppe warfare tactics; the “feigned retreat,” for instance, was used to convince the Byzantines that the Turks were fleeing. The Turkmen tribesmen swiftly turned back and ambushed the unsuspecting soldiers. When Emperor Diogenes was taken captive, the already shaky Byzantine Empire was thrown into a deeper political crisis.
Laying the Foundations of Turkish Rule
Following the Battle of Manzikert, Turkmen tribes flooded Anatolia. Although they were only around 5-10% of the total population, they quickly established principalities and political confederations. The continuation of raids and mass migrations probably exacerbated the growing Turkic influence. Local populations, including Greeks and Armenians, often abandoned their towns, while others may have converted, been taken as slaves, or killed.
Suleyman Kutalmish (d.1086), a member of the Seljuk Dynasty, used this opportunity to form a small offshoot of the Seljuk state in Anatolia. This branch of the Seljukids was called the “Sultanate of Rum,” of which Konya was to be the capital city for the next two centuries. Although they had an overarching authority in the vast Central Anatolian plateau, the Turkic tribes that were encouraged to settle on the borderlands slowly began to consolidate power in their names. The Danishmendid and Saltukid dynasties were two principalities formed by Turkmen generals (emirs) after the Battle of Malazgirt.
The Beyliks: Lords and Ladies
To cement their stronghold in Anatolia, the Seljuks sometimes supported (but mostly could not prevent) the establishment of beyliks (principalities). A chieftain, called a bey, ruled these principalities. He was often a popular warrior, military commander, or tribal leader who had proved his skill in battle. In rare cases, they were ruled by women like Mama Hatun (r.1191-1200) of the Saltukid Dynasty. In any case, these principalities conquered towns and cities around Anatolia, establishing centers of culture, art, and trade.
The Seljuks had a rocky relationship with the Turkic principalities. They employed them as buffer states against the Byzantines, Mamluks, and even Venetians. Chaka Bey (d.1093), a military commander and father-in-law of Seljuk Sultan Kilich Arslan I (r.1092-1107), formed a beylik that rivaled Byzantine power in the Eastern Aegean. He was, however, assassinated by the sultan, revealing how much influence the Seljuks had in both the consolidation and destruction of these polities.
The Beyliks likewise had an impact on Seljuk rule. They often disregarded Seljuk authority or—like the Karamanids in the 13th century—openly rebelled against the Seljuks. This eventually caused centralized Seljuk power in Anatolia to weaken in the 13th century.
What Went Wrong?
Internal and external pressures caused the collapse of the Sultanate of Rum. A series of Crusades in 1096, 1101, and 1147, and the occupation of Konya by the Crusaders in 1190, put a strain on the Seljuk military and economy. The state was also ravaged by civil war and a breakup of territory after the death of Sultan Kilich Arslan II (1192).
Despite recouping and experiencing a cultural and architectural golden age under Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I (r. 1220-1237), the Seljuks suffered several catastrophic events in the 13th century. They were faced with the unpredictable and ambitious Turkmen principalities who were quick to ally with other regional powers against the Seljuk government. The Babaii Revolts, a series of religio-political rebellions, also revealed growing discontent among the local populace.
The final nail in the coffin was the Mongol invasions of the 1240s. Seljuk Sultan Kayhusrev II’s refusal to swear allegiance to the Mongols after the death of Khan Ogedei was seen as an act of hostility. After a series of sieges in Anatolia, the Mongol army met their Seljuk counterparts in the mountains of Köse Dağ in 1243. The stunning victory of the Mongols led to the breakdown of Seljuk rule, as the dynasty became vassals of the Mongol Empire, and were replaced by new Turkmen beyliks, like the Ottomans.
The Sons of Osman
The Ottomans, referred to as the “sons of Osman” in the Late Medieval Period, were just one of several Turkic semi-nomadic chieftaincies that tried to fill the vacuum of power left by the end of Seljuk rule in 1308. The founder of the group, Osman I (d.1323), was a chieftain who raided Byzantine territories and controlled the region around Sögüt. However, his resourcefulness and drive attracted non-Turkic peoples to his cause and grew his small chieftaincy. His desire to co-exist with Byzantine locals was seen in his friendships with Byzantine governors like Köse Mihal, and the special protections he afforded to Greek townspeople and marketgoers.
Early modern Ottoman chroniclers liked to claim that the Seljuks had bestowed the title of uch beyi (frontier warrior/lord) on both Osman and his father Ertughrul. Modern scholars have suggested that Ertughrul was most likely a nomad—possibly even a shepherd—who settled in Anatolia after fleeing the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. However, the Seljuks were well known to settle warlike Turkmen tribes around Byzantine borderlands. Many of these tribes, including the Kayi (to which the Ottomans belonged) simply waited for the right time to declare their independent rule.
The Ottomans—like several other beyliks—claimed to be the political heirs of the Seljuks, allegedly continuing the latter’s holy wars. These claims were recorded by Ottoman chroniclers around the 15th and 16th centuries because Ottoman political legitimacy was often questioned by other Islamic states, like the Timurids, the Turkmen chieftaincies, and even by unorthodox religious leaders like Seyh Bedreddin (ca.1416).
Seljuk Heritage
The Seljuks had been great patrons of architecture in the centuries before Ottoman rule. They built mosques, bridges, bathhouses, foundations, trading posts, caravanserais, hospitals, and more. After taking control of Seljuk towns, the Ottomans continued (at least in the Late Medieval Era) to make use of these buildings, while simultaneously constructing their own.
The Seljuk and Ottoman political systems also had some similarities. Like the Seljuks, the Ottomans had a sovereign called the sultan. The sultan had a grand vizier, the highest-ranking government officer comparable to a modern-day prime minister. Although Seljuk queens were afforded greater public visibility and participation in governance than their Ottoman counterparts, their harem system (the women’s only quarters) was inherited by the Ottomans around the late 14th century.
