peoples embarked on new campaigns of expansion that eventually brought most of 1055 Tughril Beg named sultan India, much of central Asia, all of Anato- 1071 Battle of Manzikert |: lia, and a good portion of eastern Europe 1206-1227 Reign of Chinggis Khan I under their domination. 1211-1234 Mongol conquest of northern China The military campaigns of nomadic I peoples were sometimes exceedingly de- 1219-1221 Mongol conquest of Persia ! structive. Nomadic warriors demolished 1237-1241 Mongol conquest of Russia cities, slaughtered urban populations, and 1258 Mongol capture of Baghdad ravaged surrounding agricultural lands. 1264-1279 Mongol conquest of southern China Yet those same forces also encouraged systematic peaceful interaction between 1264-1294 Reign of Khubilai Khan peoples of different societies. Between 1279-1368 Yuan dynasty the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, the 1295 Conversion of llkhan Ghazan to Islam imperial campaigns of Turkish and Mon­ gol peoples forged closer links than ever 1336-1405 Life of Tamerlane before between Eurasian lands. By fos- 1453 Ottoman capture of Constantinople i tering cross-cultural communication and exchange on an unprecedented scale, the Chinese dynasty replaced the Mongol state in China, the Mon­ nomadic empires integrated the lives of peoples throughout gols continued to threaten its central Asian frontier. Moreover, much of the eastern hemisphere. from the fourteenth through the seventeenth century, Turkish Jerry H. Bentley, Herbert, F. Ziegler, Heather E. Streets-Salter, Tradition and Encounters: A Brief Global History, Vol. 1 (3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014). TURKISH MIGRATIONS AND Nomadic Peoples and Their Animals Nomadic peo­ ples drove their herds and flocks to lands with abundant IMPERIAL EXPANSION grass and then moved them along as the animals thinned Turkish peoples never formed a single, homogeneous group the vegetation. They carefully followed migratory cycles but, rather, organized themselves into clans and tribes that that took account of the seasons and local climatic con­ often fought bitterly with one another. All Turkish peoples ditions and lived mostly off the meat, milk, and hides of spoke related languages, and all were nomads or descen­ their animals. They used animal bones for tools and ani­ dants of nomads. From modest beginnings they expanded mal dung as fuel. They made shoes and clothes out of wool their influence until they dominated not only the steppes from their sheep and skins from their other animals. Their of central Asia but also settled societies in Persia, Anatolia, dwellings—large tents called yurts—were fashioned with and India. felt made from the wool of their sheep. They even prepared an alcoholic drink from their animals by fermenting mare’s Nomadic Economy and Society milk into a potent concoction known as kumiss. Nomadic societies in central Asia developed by adapting Nomadic and Settled Peoples The aridity of the cli­ to the ecological conditions of arid lands. Central Asia mate and the nomadic lifestyle limited the development of does not receive enough rain to support large-scale agricul­ human societies in central Asia. Intensive agriculture was ture. Oases permit cultivation of limited regions, but for impossible except in oases, and the need to regularly follow the most part only grasses and shrubs grow on the central the herds made large-scale craft production impractical. Asian steppe lands, and there are no large rivers or other As a result, nomads avidly sought opportunities to trade sources of water to support large-scale irrigation systems. with settled peoples. Much of that commerce took place Yet grazing animals thrive on grasses and shrubs, and the on a small scale as nomads sought agricultural products peoples of central Asia took advantage of this by herding and manufactured goods to satisfy their immediate needs. sheep, horses, cattle, goats, and camels. Often, however, nomads also participated in long-distance trade networks. Because of their mobility and their famil­ yurts (yuhrts) iarity with large regions of central Asia, nomadic peoples Chapter 14 ■ Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration 255 Nomadic life. A painting from the late fourteenth century by the central Aslan artist Mehmed Siyah Qalem suggests the physical hardships of nomadic life. In this scene from a nomadic camp, two men wash clothes (upper left), while another blows on a fire, and a companion tends to a saddle. Bows, arrows, and other weapons are readily available (top right). were ideally suited to organize and lead the caravans that Nomadic Religion The earliest religion of the Turkish crossed central Asia and linked settled societies from China peoples revolved around shamans—religious specialists who to the Mediterranean basin. During the postclassical eta possessed supernatural powers, communicated with the gods and later, Turkish peoples were especially prominent on the and natute spirits, and invoked divine aid on behalf of theit catavan routes of central Asia. communities. Yet many Turkish peoples became attracted to the religious and cultural traditions they encountered Nomadic Society Nomadic society generated two social when trading with peoples of settled societies, and by the classes: nobles and commoners. Charismatic leadets won sixth century c.E . many Turks had converted to Buddhism, recognition as nobles and thereby acquired the prestige Nestorian Christianity, or Manichaeism. Partly because of needed to organize clans and tribes into alliances. Nor­ theit newly adopted religious traditions and partly because mally, nobles did little governing, since clans and tribes of their prominence in Eurasian trade networks, Turkish looked after their own affairs and resented interfetence. peoples also developed a written script. During times of war, however, nobles wielded absolute au­ thority over the forces within their alliances. Turkish Conversion to Islam Between the tenth and The nobility was a fluid class. Leaders passed noble sta­ the fourteenth centuries, most Turkish clans on the steppes tus along to their heirs, but the heirs could lose their status of central Asia converted to Islam. Their conversion had great if they did not continue to provide appropriate leadetship significance. When Tutkish peoples began to migrate into for their clans and tribes. Over the coutse of a few gen­ settled societies in large numbers, they helped spread Islam erations, nobles could return to the status of commoners. to new lands, particularly Anatolia and notthern India. The Meanwhile, commoners could win recognition as nobles boundaries of the Islamic world thus expanded along with by outstanding conduct, particularly by courageous behav­ the political and military influence of Turkish peoples. ior during war. Then, if they were clever diplomats, they could attange alliances between clans and tribes and gain Nestorian (neh-STOHR-eeuhn) enough support to displace established leaders. Manichaeism (MAN-ih-kee-ism) 256 PART 4 ■ An Age of Cross-Cultural Interaction, 1000 to 1500 c. e. Homeland of Turkish peoples \ Turkish empires and their neighbors, ca. 1210 c .e. After about 1000 C.E., nomadic Turkish peoples conquered and ruled settled agricultural societies in several regions of Eurasia and north Africa. Turkish Empires in Persia, How were Turkish peoples able to venture so far from their Anatolia, and India central Asian homeland? Saljuq Turks and the Abbasid Empire Turkish peo­ ples entered Persia, Anatolia, and India at different times and for different purposes. They approached Abbasid Per­ Military Organization This expansion took place when sia much as Germanic peoples had earlier approached the nomadic leaders organized vast confederations of peoples Roman empire. From about the mid-eighth to the mid­ under the leadership of a khan (“ruler”). In fact, khans rarely tenth century, Turkish peoples lived mostly on the borders ruled directly, instead ruling through the leaders of allied of the Abbasid realm. By the mid— to late tenth century, tribes. Yet when organized on a large scale, nomadic peo­ large numbers of Saljuq Turks served in Abbasid armies ples wielded enormous military power due mostly to their and lived in the Abbasid realm itself By the mid-eleventh outstanding cavalry forces. Nomadic warriors had superior century the Saljuqs overshadowed the Abbasid caliphs so equestrian skills. Their arrows flew with deadly accuracy much that in 1055 the caliph recognized the Saljuq leader even when launched from the backs of galloping horses. Tughril Beg as sultan (“chieftain”). Tughril first consoli­ Moreover, units of warriors coordinated their movements to dated his hold on the Abbasid capital at Baghdad, then he outmaneuver and overwhelm their opponents. Indeed, few and his successors extended Turkish rule to Syria, Palestine, armies were able to resist the mobility and discipline of well- and other parts of the realm. For the last two centuries of organized nomadic warriors. With such military capabili­ the Abbasid state, the caliphs served only as figureheads: ties, several groups of Turkish nomads began in the tenth actual governance lay in the hands of the Turkish sultans. century c .e . to seize the wealth of settled societies and build imperial states in the regions surrounding central Asia. Saljuq Turks and the Byzantine Empire Some Saljuq Turks began to turn their attention to the rich land of Ana­ tolia, and in the early eleventh century they began migrat­ Abbasid (ah-BAH-sih) ing there in large numbers. In 1071 Saljuq forces