TURKISH EMPIRES Rise of the Turks Turks and Persian Support Crusaders and Mongols
Jan 07, 2016
TURKISH EMPIRES
Rise of the TurksTurks and Persian SupportCrusaders and Mongols
ABBASIDS HOLD POWER
The family, Umayyads, came to power in the 7th century and soon moved the Muslim capital to Damascus
Umayyids did not lead simple lives, but surrounded themselves with wealth and pomp
These actions gave rise to a fundamental division in the Islamic faith
In interest of peace, Muslims accepted the Umayyads, but resist did fester and later spawned violence and division
Rebel groups led violent opposition to the Umayyads Umayyads lost power to the Abbasids by 750
ABBASIDS CONSOLIDATE POWER
Abbasids came to power and murdered the Umayyad family (only one family escaped, went to Spain)
Berbers, Muslim armies from Northern Africa, had already conquered Spain by 750
Abbasids moved Muslim capital to Baghdad, Iraq which was located on key trade route
Abbasids developed a strong bureaucracy to conduct affairs, manage money flow and manage an army
MAJOR TRADE NETWORK
The Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean were two major trade networks
Water and land networks allowed Muslim Empire to engage in trade with Europe and Asia
Muslim merchants needed only to know Arabic to travel the empire
Muslim money changers were set up throughout empire Banks offered letters of credit that could be exchanged
for cash at any bank throughout Muslim empire European called these letters “Checks”
Extent of Abbasid Control
Southern Spain
Iraq
Iran
Egypt
Byzantine
RISE OF TURKS
Abbasids constantly struggled to maintain control of their empire
Spain broke away from Abbasid control by 756
Abbasids lost their control of Morocco, Tunisia, parts of Persia and Egypt by mid-9th century
Persians invaded Baghdad in 945, but Persians also lost grip of power to the Turks
SELJUKS
Chinese have written records of people called Tu-Kiu living west of their borders (as early as 1300 BCE)
The Tu-Kiu may well have been Turks (scholars are uncertain) Nomads rode horses, herded goats and sheep and lived in tents The Abbasids came in to contact with the Turks and took note of their
military skills Abbasids bought Turkish children; raised them as slaves, soldiers and
bodyguards In the tenth century Turks began migrating into the Abbasid empire
and converting to Islam The migrating Turks were known as Seljuks and they eventually grew
powerful enough that they conquered Baghdad from the Persians in 1055
By 1071 the Turks were powerful enough that they occupied most of Anatolia from the Byzantines
TURKS AND PERSIANS
Seljuks worked for the support of Persians in order to receive loyalty in return
Turks appointed Persians as gov’t officials and also showed admiration for Persian learning.
Seljuks arrived basically illiterate and were unfamiliar with the tradition of Islam which they adopted
Seljuks looked to Persian subjects for guidance in language, arts and way of life
Seljuk leaders (like Malik Shah) had mosques built throughout empire
Arabic was kept alive by Qur’an scholars (The Turks’ preference for Persian culture led to almost complete disappearance of Arabic language in Persia)
The Great Mosque, Isfahan, Iran. Built during the time of Malik Shah
The Diyarbakir Great Mosque (Armenia); city was ruled by Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Arab Armies, Turks; Mosque was originally a church, then a mixed-use church and mosque and then rebuilt into mosque under orders of Malik Shah in 1091.
SELJUKS, CRUSADES AND MONGOLS
After Malik Shah’s death in 1092, no capable Shah took his place The Seljuk empire began to disintegrate into loose collection of
small kingdoms At this time, the West launched counterattack against the Turks and
other Muslims for control of the Holy Land in the Middle East (known as the Crusades)
Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade in 1095 He called on Christian kings and knights to drive Turks out of Anatolia and
recover Jerusalem Christians captured Jerusalem in 1099 and killed the Jewish and Muslim
inhabitants Muslims recaptured the city in 1187 and signed an agreement with
King Richard I of England Jerusalem will remain under control of the Muslims, but western Christians
were granted pilgrimage access to holy places Popes and Kings will continue to call for Crusades to the Holy Land,
well into the 13th century, but Turks were able to withstand European invasions
SELJUKS AND MONGOLS
Mongols were a nomadic tribe from Asian steppes They grew into unified force under Ghengis Khan by the early 1200s They conquered China and swiftly moved through Russia and western
Asia By 1258, Ghengis’s grandson Hulagu, led forces to the outskirts of
Baghdad Mongols besieged Baghdad for 50 days, built catapults and laid waste
to the city with stones, fire and arrows Halugu finally took the city and killed thousands of people The last Abbasid caliph was wrapped in carpet and trampled to
death by horses Warrior Mongols knew little about administration and their
empires crumbled after a few decades A new Turkish empire will come out of this: the Ottomans
Ottomans will build an empire that will last into the 20th century