Seljuks << sehl JOOKS >> were members of a ruling family of Turkic-speaking peoples who controlled much of southwestern Asia from the mid-1000’s to the mid-1200’s. The Seljuks—also spelled Seljuqs or Saljuqs—originated in what is now Turkmenistan, and were named for Seljuk, their first leader. They became one of the first Turkish peoples to rule over Asia Minor (the peninsula that now makes up most of Turkey).
The Seljuks converted to Islam in the late 900’s after they encountered Sunni Muslim merchants and Sufis (Islamic mystics). At the time, the Seljuks were expanding westward from central Asia. During the middle and late 1000’s, the Seljuks gained control of Persia (now Iran), Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Syria, and Palestine. The Seljuks drew heavily from Persian examples of government administration and court ritual.
In 1071, Seljuk armies defeated Byzantine forces in the Battle of Manzikert, in what is now eastern Turkey. This victory enabled them eventually to win control of most of Asia Minor. Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus asked Pope Urban II for assistance, and Urban called upon European Christians to unite against the Muslims. The Crusades, which began in 1096, were a series of military expeditions led by Christians who wanted to reestablish control of Palestine, also called the Holy Land. The Seljuks defended Islamic civilization during the early years of the Crusades.
Much of the Seljuk Empire declined during the 1100’s. But the Seljuk branch in Asia Minor flourished until 1243, when Mongols from east Asia invaded and weakened its rule. This branch laid a foundation for the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 1300’s.
