The arrival of the Turks came when the ancestors of the modern Turks traveled by horse as nomadic tribesmen who lived on the steppes of Central Asia in the A.D. sixth century. Over the next thousand years, after a series of conquests, different Turkic clans created a succession of multicultural, multiethnic empires that stretched from China to the Mediterranean.You may not have ever heard before now about the group called the Oghuz Turks who moved west to Transoxiana (roughly modern-day Uzbekistan and southwest Kazakhstan), where they settled and embraced Islam, before migrating south to Iran. It was there they founded the Great Seljuk Empire, which created an inclusive Turkic, Arab and Persian culture. Waves of breakaway tribes from the Oghuz confederation started entering Anatolia, where each would establish a kingdom, only to fall to the next Turkic group to come their way.
This is a simple explanation of the origin of the Turks!
A boat ride up the Bosporus or a tour of the Dardanelles or a visit around central and eastern Anatolia will remind you of all the battles fought across this land over the centuries. As far as Lake Van at Manzikert, located in eastern Turkey, you can view ruins where battles were fought. By A.D. 1000 the Byzantine Empire was fading away. In the 11th century, the caliph of Baghdad, the supreme religious leader of Islam, recruited Seljuk mercenaries to help him maintain his position. As a result, their leader Tughrul was made sultan of Sunni Islam. The Seljuks assumed control of Baghdad and soon their empire covered most of modern Turkey, Iraq and Iran. In 1071 the Byzantine army of Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes was utterly defeated by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert. It was only six years later that the Seljuks founded a new state in Rum, which is what the Muslims called the Eastern Roman Empire.
You have perhaps visited or at least heard of the famous city of Konya in Central Anatolia. This used to be known as Iconium. This city is rich in Christian and Islamic history. Standing at the crossroads of major empires, it served as a conduit for the ideas and influences of nations of diverse ethnicity, language and culture.
One of the things I love about traveling around Turkey is the diversity, not only in landscape, but in architecture. Around the Aegean and the far western Marmara coast you see remnants of Greek influence in architecture; and near Harran, just southeast of Şanlıurfa, you can view conical houses shaped like beehives. The architecture has created houses which are congruent with the climate of the region; that is to say, cool in summer and warm in winter. One of the most spectacular places to visit to admire both the architecture and history of the Turks is Konya.
Konya is worth a visit! The Seljuk architecture is splendid. You can see many ruins and ancient mosques built by Seljuks. The period is famous for developing the use of brickwork, which enabled building to be decorated with relief and they took full advantage of the strong sunlight in Turkey. You can see the elaborate interplay of light and shade with the use of large portals, processional courtyards, vivid colors and intricate masonry. Of course, Konya is also famous for its great mystical literary work of Sufi poets Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi and Yunus Emre.
By the mid-1200s the Seljuk Empire neared collapse. With the invasion of the Mongols, Seljuk power was broken, and by the end of the 13th century, Anatolia was in anarchy.
This brings us to the rise of the Ottomans.
If you’d like a simple synopsis, Greenhouse published a book entitled “Some of My Ancestors are Ottomans and Turks” by Judy Ayyıldız. This book covers the span of about 600 years of Ottoman rule in about 40 pages. Though it is geared for young readers, adults have learned from it and enjoyed the history lesson. Sue Hodge, a retired elementary school teacher, had this to say about the book, “A warm, loving, yet informative teaching tool bound to whet children’s appetites to further search out their culture and to feel pride in ancestry.”
Turkish history and the origin of Turks are reflected in the Turkish proverb “Two captains will sink a ship.”
Turks are survivors and have much to be proud of.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
