Seljuk Empire

Romanus took in hand with the greatest of vigor the task of repelling the Turks, which his predecessors had so grievously neglected.

He led into the field every man that could be collected from the European or Asiatic themes, and for three successive years was incessantly marching and countermarching in Armenia, Cappadocia, and Syria in the endeavor to hunt down the marauding bands of the Seljuks.

The operations of Romanus were not entirely unsuccessful.

Alp Arslan, the Sultan of the Seljuks, contented himself at first with dispersing his hordes in scattered bands and attacking many points of the frontier at once.

Hence the Emperor was not unfrequently able to catch and slay off one of the minor divisions of the Turkish army.

But some of them always contrived to elude him.

But fresh hordes kept coming on, and in the evening the fight was still undecided.

As the night was approaching, Romanus prepared to draw his troops back to the camp.

This was at the time before him, the Seljuks had gained control over much of the Middle East.

So this was the time of the Seljuk conquest.

They conquered regions such as Iran and Iraq.

They also gained control of Baghdad.

But one thing interesting about the Seljuks is that even though they gained control of Baghdad, they did not... rule over it directly.

Instead, they ruled over it indirectly through a military governor known as the Shehna.

And so there was this kind of mutually beneficial yet passive-aggressive relationship between the Seljuq sultans and the Abbasid caliphs for a very long time, for more than a century.

The Seljuqs could claim to be fighting on behalf of the caliph and by extension on behalf of Sunni Islam, while the caliphs, on the other hand, would bestow upon them these robes of honor and recognize them as sultans, fighting on behalf of them.

So I'm talking about the 1000s, right, around there.

This was the time before him, the Seljuks had gained control over much of the Middle East.

So this was the time of the Seljuk conquest.

They conquered regions such as Iran and Iraq.

They also gained control of Baghdad.

But one thing interesting about the Seljuks is that even though they gained control of Baghdad, they did not... rule over it directly.

Instead, they ruled over it indirectly through a military governor known as the Shehna.

And so there was this kind of mutually beneficial yet passive-aggressive relationship between the Seljuq sultans and the Abbasid caliphs for a very long time, for more than a century.

But the project which most absorbed the mind of Gregory during the year 1074 was an expedition to the East.

The Emperor Michael VII wrote a letter to Gregory in 1073, craving the help of Western Christendom against the Seljuk Turks and suggesting hopes of reunion between the Eastern and Western branches of the Church.

Gregory responded to the appeal with alacrity.

He sent the Patriarch of Venice to Constantinople as his envoy.

No attempt seems to have been made to test the truth of her statements.

A thrill of indignation and disgust convulsed the audience, and Henry was condemned unheard and undefended.

Not less momentous was the appearance of the ambassadors sent by the Eastern Emperor Alexius, appealing for help to defend his dominions against the Seljuk Turks.

Urban, like Gregory, cherished the hope of reuniting the two branches of the Catholic Church under the supremacy of the Roman See.

But some had gone to the southwest and had entered into the service of the caliph at Baghdad.

In the 11th century a great Turkish kingdom was formed by rulers descended from Seljuk, a legendary hero of whom little is definitely known.

The Seljuks conquered Persia and having adopted Islam were welcomed in 1055 as defenders by the weak Abbasid caliph at Baghdad.

From this time the Turkish sultan became supreme, although the caliph remained theoretically the religious ruler.

The Seljuks who were brave soldiers spread over all Asia Minor and Syria.

In 1071 they won a decisive victory at Manzikert, in which the Byzantine army was annihilated.

Within a few years all the Asiatic possessions of the Byzantine Empire had fallen under the rule of the Turks and they were threatening Constantinople.

A period of anarchy ensued, in which there was no legitimate heir, and five usurpers held the throne in succession within a period of twenty-five years.