The-Seljuks.Pdf

V.M. Zaporozhets THE SELJUKS H a n n o v e r 2012 Printed by the decision of the European Academy of Natural Sciences e.V. V.M. Zaporozhets Member of the European Academy of Natural Sciences e.V. The Seljuks — 2012 — 321 p. ISBN Translated by K.A. Nazarévskaia The proposed scientific effort is written in an easily accessible format, and opens before the reader a panorama of the establishment, rise and the decline of the Seljuk dynasty, which in the 11th century created a powerful empire. Its territories spanned from the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains in the East, to the shores of the Red Sea in the West; from the Caspian Sea in the North, to the Indian Ocean in the South. One of the dynastic branches formed the Seljuk state in Asia Minor (1075 – 1318 CE), the direct predecessor of the Ottoman Empire and the modern-day Turkish Republic. This research is based upon rare medieval sources, contains maps and antique engravings of several cities under the Seljuk control. This book is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the history of the East. © V.M. Zaporozhets, 2012 Introduction Dear Readers, History is a legacy left to us by our ancestors; it is priceless experience that allows the future generations to learn on the mistakes of the past. It is the duty of every man to preserve the existential philosophy, momentous events, and celebrated names of his people. To carry within himself the spirit of his ancestors, complement it with the very best and pass it on to his children. There are plenty of books and other materials on the history of the great Ottoman Empire – the most powerful and influential Islamic state of the Middle Ages. Its territories included Eastern and Southern Europe, parts of North Africa and essentially all of Arab east. Ottoman Empire is also credited with conquering Byzantium, but few realize that the true victors in the battle against the mighty Byzantine Empire were the Seljuks – the subjects of this very book. The reader is given a chance to learn about the ascent and dawn of the Seljuk dynasty, as well as their contribution to the formation of the Ottoman state. The terms “Seljuks”, “Oghuz” are often heard as you travel through Turkey getting to know its splendid historical and cultural monuments. After all we are talking about the worthy ancestors of the Turkish people who are rightfully proud of their history. The rulers of the Seljuk state understood the importance of a rich social and intellectual life and made every effort to support literature, architecture, and music. Many of the historical monuments from the era, like Sultan Sanjar’s Mausoleum, are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to UNESCO (2007) the most read eastern poet throughout the world, Mevlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī, similar in the strength of his spirit to Andrei Rublev, Walther von der Vogelweide, Gottfried von Strassburg and the great troubadours gained fame at the Seljuk royal court. 3 The Seljuks The dynasty takes its name from its founder – Seljuk, whose descendants founded the so-called Great Seljuk Empire (1040 – 1195 CE) and the Seljuk state in Asia Minor (1075 – 1318 CE). At its height (end of the 12th – first third of the 13th centuries) the Great Seljuk Empire spanned from the slopes of Tian Shan Mountains in the East, to the shores of the Red Sea in the West; from the Caspian Sea in the North, to the Indian Ocean in the South. The other Seljuk state, formed by the “exiled branch” of the dynasty, and as the author demonstrated, contrary to the wishes of the Great Seljuks encompassed the absolute majority of Asia Minor. The author of this book, Professor at the Moscow State Institute (University) of Foreign Relations (MGIMO), current member of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, renowned for his works on the Seljuks, the history of the Ottoman Empire and the overall military history of Turkey, conducted enormous research in order to meticulously reconstruct the events of that period. The distinctive feature employed by the author is a thorough selection of eastern and western sources, comparative analysis of the evidence contained therein, research of evidence and what is most challenging, interpretation of different medieval scholars and the identification of the most reliable or probable facts or theories. This is the foundation upon which the author, for the first time in modern scientific literature, recreates in detail the internal political and ethno-religious conditions within the Seljuk states at different stages of their development. He creates a plausible image of the military and political atmosphere in the regions where the Seljuks planned or engaged in conquests. One of the most successful examples of this approach is the first-ever analysis of the military and political conditions in Central Asia and the Middle East 4 Introduction during the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th centuries where the Seljuks established their state. The clear graphical result of this analysis and its indisputable embellishment is the map composed by the author that shows the essential arrangement of the principal opposing forces in the region. The author carefully analyses and justly correlates and the Seljuks’ victorious conquests with the talents of their sultans and the state military organization. The author conclusively demonstrates that the Seljuk military and state governance systems were the most advanced of their time. Hence the military was comprised of two integral components: the iqta cavalry (the most numerous portion of the army) and the constant professional army, located in the capital or in its immediate vicinity. Service in the army was rewarded through the endowments of land. These lands, or more precisely the taxes collected from them were referred to as “iqta”. Its holder was obligated to select a number of local residents (that number varied depending on the size of the land), arm them, provide them with equipment and horses, train them and provide for them at his own expense. He was their commander and carried full responsibility for his men. The second component of the Seljuk army was comprised of the professional troops (the goulams). These troops were formed from the captives and slaves of different nationalities. Their training and upbringing was conducted over a long period of time, was very costly to the state, but at the end of their training the goulams were the absolute masters of their trade. The author describes stellar Seljuk victories, which were a consequence of their perfected military organization and - here the author cites an important point – a well-conceived strategy that combined war with diplomacy. These vivid examples, including the momentous battle at Malazgirt (1071 CE) between the Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire Alp Arslan (1063 – 1072 CE) and the Byzantine Emperor Empire 5 The Seljuks Romanus Diogenes, are of great interest to the professional historians and history enthusiasts alike. The author explained how the numerically superior Byzantine army was crushed at the hands of the Seljuk army with the Byzantine Emperor ending up in Seljuk captivity. The victory at Malazgirt crushed the Byzantine military machine and paved the way for the Turkic tribes (the Oghuz) to settle Asia Minor. Later, in 1147 CE the Sultan of the Seljuk state in Asia Minor Mesoud I (1116 – 1155 CE) annihilated the Crusaders of France and Germany led by their monarchs. As a consequence of this defeat the Crusaders had no desire to engage in yet another confrontation with the Seljuks and made their way to the Holy Land by sea. A memorable lesson indeed. The Ottoman Turks later adopted the Seljuk military structure. For centuries it was responsible for their many victories and allowed them to expand the boundaries of their empire beyond Asia Minor into Europe, Asia and Africa. In addition to the military structure the Ottoman Turks adopted the Seljuks’ framework of government, administrative and territorial structures, methods of economic development and much more. The scientific value of this work is further enhanced by the fact that the author is not limited to the analysis of the role of the ethnically Oghuz Seljuk dynasty in the history of Central Asia, the Middle East in the 11th - 13th centuries. Using well-documented sources, the author shows that the Oghuz were one of the Turkic peoples. He traced the history of this ethnic group, starting with the first Turkic state, which left written records about themselves – the ancient Turkic Qaghanate (534 – 745 CE) and decisively proved that the Oghuz were the integral, if not the primary, component of the state. The author proposes a hypothesis that the people who could be referred to as Turks in its widest sense – Turkic- speaking, and those who referred to themselves as Turks didn’t exist. Instead there was a clan, or a dynasty, or possibly 6 Introduction even a whole tribe that was called the Turks. This clan and the tribe disappeared after the Uighur liquidated the Second Eastern Turkic Qaghanate in 745 CE never to re-appear on the historic stage. In the 11th century members of the Seljuk dynasty led the Oghuz - their tribesmen - to Asia Minor and these people remained active throughout history. Due to high birth rates these people soon pushed out the area’s native Greek and Armenian populations. Starting with the 13th century the Oghuz Turks became the native population in Asia Minor and therefore are the direct ancestors of the Ottoman Empire’s Turkic population and hence modern-day Turks. A reasonable question arises: when and how did the Oghuz become known as the Türks (or Turks)? The author presents his view of this essential issue and offers his resolution in the form of a scientific hypothesis.

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