Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

, rfl|
.
TOGHRII, BEG.
CHAPTER LII
THE COMING OF THE SELJUK TURKS
While Apulia and Sicily were subdued by the Norman lance, a swarm of
northern shepherds overspread
the kingdoms of Persia their
; princes of the
race of Seljuk erected a splendid and solid empire from Samarcand to the
confines of Greece and Egypt. GIBBON.
The Importance of the Seljuks.
The previous chapter
is little more than a medley, dealing as it does with
numerous short-lived dynasties which seized upon various
provinces of the decrepit Caliphate and then tumbled to
pieces mainly from internal dissensions. The advent of
a new power, the Seljuk Turks, constitutes a notable
epoch in the history of the Middle and Near East, if only
because Jt_swe^t^j.way^ these insignificant^ and divided
dynasties and once again united Islam .under a,
,
powerful sway, stretching from Turkestan to the
terranean Sea. More than this, the Seljuks, with the
fervour of recent converts, revitalized Islam, just as the
3,
..^y, ....,.. .
J
|,.-jW^. J
Norsemen r revitalized Christendom, and when Europe
under Norman leaders attacked the East under the
impulse of the Crusades it was the light horse of the
Seljuks which met the 1
heavy horse of the Crusaders.
Their Origin.-
The Seljuks were a .branch of the
Ghuzz Turks, from whom, however, they kept distinct.
Their founder was Tukak (signifying a bow), the father
1
The authorities for this chapter include Browne, vol.ii., and Skrine and Ross's Heart
of Asia the native chronicles referred to in the
5 previous chapter are again used, more
especially in connexion with the Seljuks of Kerman. I have also consulted a synopsis
by Browne of The Notification of Kings, by Najm-u-Din, composed in A.M. 599 (1202),
vide art. xxvii. of Journal R.A.S. for 1902.
98