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In the 10th century, a group of nomadic Turks called the Seljuks began a migration through Central Asia, searching for pasture for their herds. By 1071, this tribe had formed a mighty empire that encouraged the Turkic migration and settlement of Anatolia. This would ultimately lead to the establishment of other powerful Turkic dynasties, such as the Ottomans.Seljuks: Nomads From Central AsiaEurasian Steppe, Kazakhstan. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Oghuz Turks, the ethnic group to whom the Seljuk Dynasty belonged, originated in Central Asia. They had lived a pastoralist and nomadic life throughout the early Middle Ages. The Oghuz Turks were transhumant, meaning that they followed a pattern of seasonal migrations with their herds of animals. Historians believe that the Oghuz were originally a tribal confederation that, like many others, developed an ethnic identity. There were 24 major Oghuz tribes. The Kinik tribe was considered a prominent one, and a man named Seljuk (late 10th century) was a chieftain belonging to this tribe.Seljuk and his nomadic followers were accustomed to a tribal life on the volatile open grasslands, or steppes, of Central Asia. From a young age, tribespeople in this region learned how to ride horses like experts. Also, the threat of constant attacks by other tribes made them skilled in the art of war and defense. Archery was a valued art and an effective weapon for horseback riders. This made steppe nomads like the Seljuks (and later the Chinggisid Mongols) a dangerous force to be reckoned with.Though sources from this period are scarce, it is believed that Seljuk worked as a mercenary or chieftain for the Khazak Khaganate, a Judeo-Turkic polity situated around the Volga River. Possibly due to a falling out with the Khazak rulers in the late 10th century, Seljuk gathered his followers and began a southward migration that would forever change the fate of Asia and Europe.Entry Into AnatoliaTurkmen Nomad Camp by Muhammad Siyah Qalem, ca. 15th century. Source: Topkapi Palace MuseumIt was Seljuks grandsons Turil (d.1063) and ari who turned Seljuks small tribe into an empire. They conquered various cities around Central and Western Asia, including Nishapur (Iran) and Merv (Turkmenistan). However, it was aris son, Sultan Alp Arslan (d.1072) who began the incursion into Anatolia.To appease his unruly nomadic followers, the Sultan organized several gaza, or Islamically-sanctified raiding parties, into Christian territories. The Oghuz were accustomed to a tribal steppe lifestyle defined by inter-tribal raids and warfare. Their conversion to Islam did not stop them from their traditional raiding and looting, of which Muslim households were now the target. This upset the citizens of the civilized Islamic centers of Baghdad and Tabriz, who expected the Seljuk Dynasty to protect them.Directing the nomads energies towards Christian lands would not only save the reputation of the Seljuks in Islamic lands but it would also gain them territory, power, and prestige.The Seljuks had already conducted campaigns in Anatolia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In 1064, they conquered Ani (Eastern Anatolia), which the Byzantines could not protect. War between these two powers became inevitable as the Seljuks pushed further into Anatolia.In 1071, on the plain of Manzikert in Eastern Anatolia, the Byzantine army was defeated by Seljuk forces. That same year, the Seljuks secured Jerusalem, leading to the First Crusade (1096-1099).The Sultanate of RumMap of the Sultanate of Rum, or Anatolian Seljuk Empire. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe most crucial effect of the Battle of Manzikert was that it opened Anatolia to Turkic settlement. Hordes of Oghuz nomadsnow called Turkmen to separate them from some Oghuz tribes who were still paganmigrated to cities like Ani. In Anatolia, they found rich pasture and a terrain very similar to the steppe lands of Central Asia. This was a major factor in their permanent settlement in the country.Another factor in the Turkic settlement of Anatolia was the weakening of the Great Seljukid Empire based in Iran. By 1090, the state was beginning to show signs of decline. A power struggle between Sultan Malikshahs wife Terken Hatun and the Persian Grand Vizier Nizam-ul-Mulk ended in the latters death and Terkens removal from power.After Nizam-ul-Mulks death, the empire began to disintegrate. Yet, rather than disappearing altogether, the Seljuk Empire came back to life as the Sultanate of Rum. Rum referred to Rome, another name for Anatolia. In the early 12th century, Suleyman Shah I, cousin of Sultan Alp Arslan, set up his new capital in Iconium, the modern-day city of Konya.Court and Social Life in Seljuk AnatoliaInce Minareli Madrasa, with clear Central Asian influences, built ca. 1264. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Seljuks of Anatolia existed in a different political and social milieu than their brothers in Iran and Iraq had. Anatolia had a large Christian population, mainly made up of Greeks (called Rum, or Romans), Armenians, and Assyrians. There were also other populations, like Kurds and Arabs in the East. The entry of nomadic Turks had added another ethnic and religious element to this melting pot.Communities were not only divided along ethnic or religious lines. Sedentary peoples who lived in villages and towns, whether Christian or Muslim, mistrusted and feared nomads. The Turkmen nomads sometimes raided villages to obtain farmed goods that they could not produce themselves. Other times, nomads and townspeople traded goods at markets, facilitating a transfer of cultural and religious ideals.Amongst the elites and royals, Persian culture and language, rather than Turkic, was more popular. To the Seljuks, Persian language, literature, and religious movements, like Sufism, were considered more refined and superior to the Oghuz culture which was increasingly associated with uncouth nomads. Many court officials, along with popular personalities, like the Sufi poet Jalal-al-Din Rumi, were Persian and wrote in the Persian language.The Seljuks were also great patrons of art, science, and architecture. They built scores of mosques, caravanserais, hospitals, and madrasas (schools of learning) in their cities. In their art, they mixed Turkic and Persian motifs. Unlike other Islamic dynasties of the period, they liked to depict human, animal, and mythological figures in their palaces and pottery.The BeyliksDepiction of a Turkmen lord and the Turkmen principalities, from the Catalan Atlas, by Abraham Cresques, ca. 1375. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAlthough the diverse communities in Medieval Anatolia played different roles, it was the Turkmen who dominated politics. The Turkmen nomads who had supported the Seljuks since the 10th century, and who made up the bulk of their followers, also held military power. They made up the military class, including soldiers, commanders, and generals who were given timar (land grants) in return for their service.As Turkoman chiefs proved themselves in war and raids, they were given titles and land by the Seljuks. Backed by their followers, chiefs and gazis (raiders), like Danishmend Gazi (d.1085), formed their own principalities. Danishmend was a renowned gazi who formed the Danishmendid principality that eventually rebelled against the Seljuk Sultanate.These principalities, ruled by beys, meaning lords, were called beyliks and thus, the period from the late 11th to the 14th century is also often referred to as the First Beylik Period. The lords of these principalities were supported by the Seljuks at times because they secured land for the Turks and weakened the Seljuks Byzantine and Crusader enemies.The Mongol InvasionsPortrait of Chinggis Khan, Mongolian. Source: The British MuseumBy 1220, the Anatolian Seljuks were at the height of their power. Yet, to the east, there was a new force threatening to destroy all in its path: the Chingissid Mongols. Under the command of Chinggis Khan, the Mongol Empire was expanding considerably throughout Central and Western Asia. After this conquerors death, the Mongols continued to invade nations across Eurasia, including Anatolia.These invasions culminated in the Battle of Kse Da in 1241. The Mongols were led by Baiju Noyan, an effective commander appointed by Chinggis Khans son gedei Khan. Located in the mountain ranges of Kse Da, between the cities of Sivas and Erzincan, the battle was a decisive factor in the fall of the Anatolian Seljuks. The Mongols defeated the Seljuk army using steppe warfare tactics, like the famous feigned retreat of steppe warriors. Interestingly, these were tactics that the Seljuks themselves had used before their state took on a more sedentary and Persian identity.Although the Seljuks outnumbered the Mongol army, the latter fought ferociously and had effective commanders, something that the Seljuk forces lacked. The Seljuks were decimated, many of their soldiers eventually deserting the battlefield. As a result, Seljuk Sultan Keyhusrev II fled to Ankara. He eventually accepted Mongol suzerainty, paying an annual tribute to the Mongol Khaganate. This marked the end of independent Seljuk rule in Anatolia and began their slow process of decline.The Downfall of the Seljuk DynastyMongols (left) pursue the Seljuk army (right) at Kse Dag, by Hayton of Corycus, Fleur des Histoires dorient, ca. 1243. Source: Bibliothque Nationale de FranceAfter the decisive battle of Kse Da, the Seljuks reigned largely as figureheads. They were challenged by other Turkmen principalities, like the Karamanids, who disagreed with the Seljuks non-aggression policy towards the Mongols. These Turkmen could not accept being under the rule of those they considered pagans and infidels.In 1277, the Karamanidswho had long interfered in Seljuk politicsannexed Konya, the capital of the Seljuk state. However, since the Seljuks had the Mongol armys military support, they defeated the Karamanid army.Still, this did not put an end to popular rebellions against the Seljuks. In 1239, a mystic preacher named Baba Ishak managed to stir up rebellion amongst the Turkmen tribes. Likewise, in 1276, the Seljuk statesman Hatirolu Serafeddin began a revolt against Mongoland therefore Seljukrule. Both uprisings were ruthlessly suppressed, and their leaders were executed.A series of internal struggles for power among members of the Seljuk Dynasty ultimately contributed to the states disintegration in 1308. After the downfall of the Seljuk Dynasty in 1308, the Second Beylik Period began as several chieftaincies, including the Ottomans and Karamanids, vied for power for the next two centuries.

Long before the age of shoguns and samurai, before the Japanese people even arrived in what is now considered their homeland, the islands were already inhabited in what is known as the Jmon period. While the people of the Jmon period had no written language, archaeology reveals fascinating insights into their world.Incipient Jmon Period (10500-8000 BCE)Miso soup with Japanese littleneck clams. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAround 39,000 years ago, before the rise of sedentary civilization, hunter-gatherers lived by following the herds of animals upon which they relied. During the Last Ice Age, lower sea levels meant that Japans islands were connected to mainland Asia, allowing people to follow these herds into Japan. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japans volcanic landscape had many of the resources early hunter-gatherers needed to make stone tools. Evidence suggests that these early inhabitants were mining obsidian as far back as 35,000 years ago.When the Ice Age ended, the glaciers retreated to the north, melted, and the sea levels began to rise. By the end of the Last Ice Age, roughly 10,000 years ago, Japan was a series of islands, and those on them were cut off from the Asian mainland. The herds were similarly cut off and separated from their migration routes. They suffered and began to die off. The people on the islands had to change their lifestyle and began hunting smaller game, becoming knowledgeable and involved in the Japanese flora and fauna.The glacial retreat also turned Japan into a lush wilderness where trees and plants flourished. Among this flora were nut-bearing trees such as beeches, buckeyes, oaks, and chestnuts, which provided an invaluable source of food for the people of these Incipient and Initial Jmon periods.Initial Jmon Period (8000-5000 BCE)Hira-ide Historic Site Park is a reconstruction of a Middle Jmon period settlement. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe southern part of Kyushu is of prime importance to Jmon archaeology. Theories suggest that people in East Asia turned to a lifestyle that relied more heavily on a plant-based diet, and discoveries near Kagoshima support this theory. The ruins of Tanegashima are among Japans oldest and exhibit the extensive practice of preparation and cooking of nuts, most notably chestnuts, which may have formed the basis of these peoples diet.As an archipelago, the warmer climate also brought an abundance of sea life to the coastal waters, and much human activity began to center around the harvesting and consumption of this sea life. Large mounds of shells in the archaeological record are a testament to this.Prehistoric life was governed by Japans seasonal climate. In late autumn and winter, the Jmon hunted boar and deer. In the spring, they gathered wild greens and shellfish. In the summer, the calmer waters allowed them to venture out into the sea and fish, and in the autumn, attention turned to collecting the plentiful nuts and wild fruit that were available.The Initial Jmon period lasted until around 5000 BCE, when the population multiplied due to an abundance of food and resources made available by a period of warmer, more humid weather.The Early Jmon Period (5000-2500 BCE)The Early Jmon period Uenohara site near Kagoshima. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe emergence of pottery in Japan likely began during the Incipient Jmon period over 10,000 years ago. Around 5000 BCE, pottery slowly became more intricate as a culture formed around the creation of earthenware. This marked the beginning of the Early Jmon period and the end of the Initial Jmon period.Pottery at this time was simple and decorated with corded designs, which would become more intricate over the centuries. Limited agriculture was practiced as the culture transitioned from a hunter-gatherer society into a pastoralist one. Lacquer groves were tended, and crops were farmed on a small scale. These crops included bottle-gourd, adzuki beans, soybeans, hemp, and Perilla. There is also evidence to suggest that peaches were cultivated.The Middle Jmon Period (2500-1500 BCE)A flame-rimmed bowl from the Middle Jmon period, from around 3500 BCE to 2500 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThe period from 3520 BCE to 2470 BCE is considered the Middle Jmon period. It is marked by the end of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and a move towards a more sedentary way of life. This may have been affected by a spike in temperatures. People at this time also seem to have expanded into the mountains, where it was cooler. Populations also remained in the fertile plains, near the rivers, and in the coastal areas where food was plentiful.Communities became larger, and various parts of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle remained, despite the need to support themselves via agriculture. Deer, bear, rabbit, and duck were all hunted, and fishing continued. The shell mounds that began in earlier periods became significantly larger, and burials took place in these by-products of Jmon society. Clay beads that served an ornamental function in the early Jmon period became grave goods in the Middle Jmon period.Archaeologists have also discovered increased evidence of ritualistic practices, as attested to by the large numbers of female figurines carved from stone, as well as a significant amount of phallic imagery.Pottery from the end of the Middle Jmon period. Source: jomon.coWhile the Early Jmon period focused on creating objects more in line with function rather than form, the Middle Jmon period is notable for increased artistic exploration, even to the detriment of the objects function. This is most evident in the rise of ornamental pottery. Pottery decorations included animal forms, suggestive of totemic reverence. Clay figurines were also created with holes in their necks, presumably so they could be hung in the house where they would serve a spiritual function. While the quality of the pottery ornamentation increased significantly, what is noticeable is that the quality of the clay did not.A reconstruction of a building built around 2600 BCE at Sannai-Murayama. Source: Wikimedia CommonsDuring the Middle Jmon period, houses also became more complex, and the usual pit-floor dwellings started to include floors paved with stone. Walls and roofs were now separated as different parts of the building, and construction became more complex. Thatch and other reeds constituted the construction material of choice.Late Jmon Period (1500-300 BCE)A dog figurine from the Late Jmon period. Source: Wikimedia CommonsA striking feature of the Late Jmon period is the array of complex dog figurines that became common. They were highly stylized figures of humans and animals decorated with patterns. Although originating in the Middle Jmon period, their usage grew throughout the Late Jmon period.Dog figurines are theorized to have been representative of gods and used for sympathetic magic. This may have been used to absorb ailments and negative things affecting humans. Thereupon, the figurines were destroyed or discarded, as many dog figurines were found in ancient trash heaps. Many figurines have been found with parts of their bodies purposely removed.The Yayoi period, which began around 300 BCE, coincided with the mass migration of peoples from the Asian mainland. It marked an end to the manufacture and usage of Dog figurines, indicating a change in belief systems.Populations across Japan were, of course, not uniform. The pottery of the Tohoku region of northern Honshu and the southern Hokkaido region was notable for its elaborate decoration. In contrast to this culture, pottery in many parts of western Japan during the Late Jmon period showed a more austere aesthetic.The Late Jmon period was also notable for the prevalent style of beadwork. Curved, comma-shaped beads called Magatama were popular.A Jmon skull and facial reconstruction of a woman who had teeth ritually removed. Source: Wikimedia CommonsHousing structures also evolved during the Late Jmon period from rounded dwellings to square or rectangular houses. Packed mud floors were covered with rugs. Like the houses in the previous periods, they included indoor fire pits.One particularly common trait of the Jmon period, which continued through the Late Jmon period and well into the Yayoi period (300 BCE), was the practice of ritual tooth ablation. Around 80% to 90% of all skulls found from this time exhibit the absence of teeth that have been intentionally removed, probably as a rite of passage.From around 1500 BCE, the climate began to cool, and the population of Japan started to decrease. It is suggested that a decrease in resources led to the overall population decline. By 300 BCE, the Late Jmon period is considered to have ended, while some historians and archaeologists push this date further back as far as 1000 BCE.The end of the Late Jmon period was marked by an influx of people from the Korean Peninsula who began mixing with the local Jmon people. This event marks the beginning of the Yayoi period of Japanese history.Jmon LegacyModern Japan. Source: pxhere.comWhile many thousands of artifacts have been discovered relating to the Jmon period, it still remains the most mysterious part of Japanese history. We know nothing of the language, and most of what we know about their culture and religion is speculative. But the Jmon legacy has left its mark on modern Japan.From a genetic perspective, the Jmon people live on in the Yamato people, who constitute 98% of Japans current population. Research has shown that modern Yamato people carry 30% paternal Jmon DNA, 15% maternal DNA, and 10% autosomal (non-sex-specific) DNA.Modern interest in the Jmon culture has also gained much traction over the past few decades. Jmon patterns and designs have become frequent in Japanese fashion, as well as in other parts of Japanese culture, such as stationery and packaged food. Efforts have also been made to recreate Jmon pottery using ancient techniques.Fashion designer Ryunosuke Okazaki uses Jmon pottery as an influence on his couture. Source: Kenji Agata via spoon-tamago.comWith the designs on Jmon figurines being popular, there is speculation that the designs represented ancient tattoos, despite the stigma attached to tattoos in Japanese culture. Educational interest in the Jmon period has also increased, and Jmon exhibitions in museums draw large crowds.