The Turks in Anatolia World History/Napp
“To the east of Constantinople and south of Russia, the mighty Muslim empire of the Abbasids had ruled since the eighth century. By the mid-tenth century, however, their control of the region would end as a powerful group known as the Turks emerged.
As powerful as the Abbasids were, they constantly struggled to maintain control of their empire. Spain broke away in 756, six years after the Abbasids came to power. After setting up their capital in Baghdad, the Abbasids lost their grip on other parts of the empire as well: Morocco in 788 and Tunisia in 800. In 809, they lost some regions of Persia. Then, in 868, the Abbasids lost control of Egypt. Finally, in 945, Persian armies moved into Baghdad and put an end to the power of the caliph, an Islamic religious or political leader. Even though the caliph continued as the religious leader of Islam, he gave up all political power to the new Persian ruler. It wasn’t long, however, before the Persians themselves fell to a powerful group in the region.
As early as 1300 B.C., Chinese records mention a people called the Tu-Kiu living west of their borders. The Tu-Kiu may well have been the Turks. For centuries, these nomads rode their horses over the vast plains. They herded goats and sheep, lived in tents, and used two-humped camels to carry their goods. The Islamic world first met them as raiders and traders along their northeastern frontiers.” ~ World History
Questions:
- Prove that the Abbasids constantly struggled to maintain control of their empire.
- Define caliph.
- Describe the culture of the Tu-Kiu.
- How did the Muslims first meet the Tu-Kiu?
“The Abbasids took note of the Turks for their military skills. They began buying Turkish children to raise as slaves, train as soldiers, and employ as bodyguards. The Abbasids came to prize the slaves for their skill and loyalty. On the subject, one author wrote, ‘One obedient slave is better than 300 sons; for the latter desire their father’s death, the former [desires] long life for his master.’ Over time, Turkish military slaves, or mamelukes, became a powerful force in the Abbasid Empire.
In the tenth century, a growing number of Turks began converting to Islam and slowly migrating into the weakened Abbasid Empire. One of the first of these migrating Turkish groups was known as the Seljuks, after the family that led them. The Seljuks gradually grew in number and strength. In 1055, they attacked and captured Baghdad from the Persians. Nearly 20 years later, the Seljuk sultans marched on the Byzantine Empire. At the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Turkish forces crushed the Byzantine defenders. Within ten years, the Seljuks occupied most of Anatolia, the eastern flank of Byzantium. This brought the Turks closer to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, than the Arabs or
Persians had ever come. This near conquest of the New Rome also inspired the name of the Seljuk sultanate of Rum (from ‘Rome’). Rum survived in Anatolia after the rest of the Seljuk Empire had crumbled.” ~ World History
Questions:
- Why did the Abbasids begin buying Turkish children?
- Why did one author note that one obedient slave is better than 300 sons?
- Define mamelukes.
- What did a growing number of Turks do in the tenth century?
- Who were the Seljuks and what did they capture in 1055?
- What happened at the Battle of Manzikert?
- Define Anatolia.
- What did the Turks eventually capture and how did this Turkish victory change world history?
Crusades- Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade in 1095
- He called on Christians to drive the Turks out of Anatolia and recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule
- Armies from Western Europe soon poured through Constantinople and proceeded on to Palestine
- In 1099, the Crusaders captured Jerusalem and massacred its Jewish and Muslim inhabitants
- Eventually, a fragment of the former Seljuk Empire gathered enough strength to fight back
- Under their famous Kurdish captain Saladin, the Muslims recovered Jerusalem in 1187
- Eventually, Saladin and his Western opponent King Richard I of England signed a truce
- Their agreement gave Jerusalem to the Muslims but granted Western pilgrims access to Christian holy places
- Subsequent popes called for further Crusades but each new military expedition proved weaker than the last
- Where is Turkey located?
- What percentage of its residents are descendants of the Seljuks and other Turkish groups?
- When did Turkey become a republic and what does the flag of Turkey reveal about its history?
a. Constantinople
b. Istanbul
c. Byzantium
d. Lygos
2.Which of the following is not one of the Five Pillars of Sunnism?
a. faith
b. prayer
c. repentance
d. fasting
3. Islam is a ______religion.
a. monotheistic
b. polytheistic
c. monolatrous
d. transtheistic
4. Base your answer to this question on the passage below.
“The basic idea of this book is simple: to tell the story of the Crusades as they were seen, lived, and recorded on ‘the other side’—in other words, in the Arab camp. Its content is based almost exclusively on the testimony of contemporary Arab historians and chroniclers….”
~ Amin Maalouf, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, Al Saqi Books
In order to achieve what Maaloof refers to as “the basic idea of this book”, which of the following is a primary source he could use for research?
a. A college level history textbook written in Arabic
b. The diary of Richard the Lionheart, King of England
c. A personal letter from Saladin to his eldest son
d. A modern atlas of Middle Eastern maps / 5. Pope Urban II, Saladin, and King Richard the Lion-Hearted are leaders associated with the
a. Age of Charlemagne
b. Crusades
c. Glorious Revolution
d. Counter Reformation
6. A primary goal of European Crusaders fighting in the Middle East was to
a. establish markets for Italian merchants
b. rescue Pope Urban II from the Byzantines
c. halt the advance of Mongol armies in the Asian steppes
d. secure access to Christian holy sites in Jerusalem
7. Which statement accurately describes the actions of Muslims during the Crusades?
a. Most Muslims converted to Christianity.
b. Muslims attacked and conquered Constantinople.
c. Muslims defended Jerusalem because it was sacred to them.
d. Many Muslims visited Europe for the first time to obtain luxury goods.
8. Base your answer to the question on the speakers’ statements below.
Speaker A: We must fight to keep control of Jerusalem in the hands of those who believe in Allah.
Speaker B: Come and battle while there is still time to protect the Holy Land where Christ walked.
Speaker C: We must go forth to heal the split between the churches.
Speaker D: An investment in ships and knights will yield control of profitable trade routes.
Which speaker is expressing an economic motive for the Crusades?
1.A 3. C
2.B 4. D