Turkey In Photos - History

Seljuks were a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic roots from the Central Asia that ruled part of the Central Asia and the Middle East between the 11th and 13th centuries. The empire they built, The Great Seljuk Empire, stretched from Anatolia to Pakistan and was centered in Konya, Anatolia. Seljuk Turks were the actual targets of the First Crusade of the Christian European Armies in the aim of saving Anatolia.

At the beginning of the 11th century a great wave of Seljuk Turks led by Tugrul Bey conquered Iran. Thet captured Baghdad in 1055. Led by the successor of Tugrul, Sultan Alparslan, Seljuk Turks conquered Georgia, Armenia and much of Asia Minor. a milestone for the Turkic dominance in Anatolia was the defeat of the Byzantine Armies against the Seljuk Armies in 1071 in Malazgirt (located in Southeast Anatolia). This defeat was the sole reason of the First Crusade in the aim of supporting the Byzantine Armies against Turks. After this victory, Seljuk Turks moved easily in Anatolia and gained most of Anatolia. Konya was claimed as the capital of the Empire. The capture of Anatolia was so fast that only in 4 years, in 1075, Byzantine cities of Nicaea and Nicomedia (only 80 km. to Istanbul) fell. Under ultan Alaaddin Keykubad (1220-1237) Seljuk Empire reached the zenith of its power. Towards the end of the 13th century the Empire started losing power and entered a fast downfall period.

Throughout the 12th and 13th century Anatolia gets into a turmoil. Turkish tribes building independent states in anatolia fight among themselves. The Byzantines try to recover their land trying to benefit the turmoil. Christian Crusaders, passing through Anatolia towards Jerusalem from 1204 occupying Constantinople, complicates the picture. But the new and overriding fact is that Anatolia is now largely occupied by Turks. This fact enters the languages of the period. In addition to its many other names, the region begins to be referred to as Turkey - the land of the Turks. The new identity survives the arrival of the Mongols in the 13th century and the end of the Seljuk empire in the early 14th century. By then another Turkish tribe, the Ottomans, is built as an independent state and start strenthening.