Turkish (Civ3)/Civilopedia

Although modern-day Turks are associated with Istanbul and Anatolia, their ancestors originated in the steppes of Central Asia. These nomadic peoples were the intermediaries for trade between China and the Mediterranean, and they were considered superior soldiers by the Muslim world. One group of Turkmen belonging to the Seljuk clan grew in power to dominate the region and to have a major impact on European history.
The Seljuks took over lands in Iran in 1040 CE and began moving west. Seljuk’s grandson, Togrul, conquered Baghdad in 1055 and was made Sultan by the Abbasid caliph, thus emphasizing the Turk’s secular authority. Mesopotamia was the main trade thoroughfare between the Mediterranean and Asia, so the Seljuks now controlled a very prosperous region. However, Egypt was an economic rival because she, too, had a sea route to India. Egypt was then under the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate, Shi’i Muslims who believed the Abbasid Caliphate (Sunni Muslims) were usurpers of the Prophet Muhammad’s legacy. Because of this economic and religious tension, and because the Fatimids supported anti-Seljuk dissidents, open warfare developed between the Seljuks and Fatimids. Then the Christian Byzantines intervened.
Emperor Romanos IV came to the Byzantine throne in 1068 CE, and he was eager to invade Armenia, a strategically important area noted for its warrior bands who raided both the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Sultanate. Possession of Armenia by either power would directly threaten the other, so in 1071 the second Seljuk sultan, Alp Arslan, felt compelled to intervene.
The resultant Battle of Manzikert, where Romanos was captured, is considered one of history’s most decisive battles because of its profound repercussions. Turkish clans were able to occupy Anatolia during the next decade, bringing it within the Seljuk Sultanate. The loss of Byzantine Asia to the Muslims alarmed Christian Europe at a time when Christian pilgrims and holy sites in Jerusalem were also being abused. These and other factors led to the First Crusade, which consisted of a Christian army that fought its way through Asia Minor to capture Antioch and Jerusalem just before the start of the 12th century.
The Crusades were very troublesome to the Seljuk Turks, but the greatest threat came in the 13th century from the Mongols. The Seljuks were squeezed into Anatolia between the Mongols and the Byzantines. Their domain consisted of many small emirates, one of which came under the leadership of Osman I. In the early 14th century, Osman won several successes against the Byzantines, and his son Orhan continued these victories, gaining a foothold in Europe. Their descendants would turn these gains into the Ottoman Empire, and in 1453 CE Turkish cannons breached the walls of Constantinople -- walls that had stood unbroken for a thousand years. Sultan Mehmet II captured this key city on the Bosporus Strait, and the Turks transformed it into Istanbul.