Islam in Anatolia
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.
This article is written in memory of the Turkish people and their sacrifices over the centuries in preserving Islam.
With such a rich Islamic heritage, one may almost be forgiven for thinking that Islam was present in Turkey from its earliest days. However, Anatolia (most of present-day Turkey) was in the heartlands of the Byzantine Empire with its capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) acting as the ‘crossroads of the world’. So how did Islam spread into Anatolia and become the birthplace of one of the mightiest Muslim empires in history?
The Muslim caliphate had spread to the borders of Anatolia during the reigns of the Abbasid Caliphs. However, a shift in focus meant that “the era of Muslim military conquest had ended was over for the time being” and “instead, the era of Muslim intellectual conquest was about to begin”.1 It was only until the Seljuk dynasty rose to prominence that expansion would resume into Anatolia. The Seljuks were a group of nomadic tribes who embraced Islam and after years of struggle, established the ‘Great Seljuk Empire’. During the reign of Sultan Tughrul I (d.1063), Seljuk tribes started settling in Anatolia. The initial excursions into Anatolia were very small and unorganised as they were merely raiding parties sent by the tribes that had settled in the region. A more organised effort was made by Sultan Alparslan I (d.1072). After he ascended to the throne, he turned his attention towards the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt but abandoned the campaign upon hearing about a Christian army that marched out of Constantinople. The outnumbered Seljuk army met with Emperor Romanos’ army in 1071, resulting in the climactic battle of Manzikert. The battle forever changed the annals of history and “effectively ended the ability of the Byzantines to hold onto Anatolia as a complete unit.”2 Sultan Alparslan’s victory “ opened the floodgates of Turkish invasion and migration into Anatolia”.3 His successor, Sultan Malikshah I (d.1092) continued to expand into the region and within the next few years, the Seljuks appeared on the shores opposite Constantinople which sparked the first crusade. Islam now had a strong foothold in Anatolia and would remain there till today.
Following the death of Sultan Malikshah I, the Seljuks fell into civil war and collapsed. However, the sons of Sulayman Shah (d.1086), whose father was a member of the Seljuk royal family, escaped captivity and fled to Anatolia. There, the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm was established. They ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. The devastating Seljuk defeat at the battle of Kosedag in 1243 meant the end of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm as a sovereign state as they now became vassals to the ever-expanding Mongol Empire.
Anatolia became a region where small independent leaders known as beys ruled over small principalities known as ‘beylics’. Of these Beys was Osman Bey (d.1323). Born in 1258, the same year as the Mongol conquest of Baghdad, Osman Bey expanded his beylic to the Western side of Constantinople. This was the first time Muslims had crossed these shores and entered Eastern Europe. A new frontier in Muslim expansion was established. However, he and his successors also consolidated their rule over the other Beys in Anatolia with some joining Osman Bey willingly whilst others putting up futile resistance to the burgeoning beylic of Osman. Thus the Ottoman Empire was born from the furthest lands west in Anatolia and Islam would once again thrive in the region under one unified state.
It is evident that Islam has existed in Anatolia for more than a millennium, and the Turkish people proudly celebrate their rich Islamic legacy. They have long been ambassadors of Islam and have played a significant role in elevating the Muslim community to remarkable heights. This history gives hope for the continued flourishing of Islam and the Turkish people’s continued contributions to the faith.
We ask Allah (SWT) to accept the efforts of these great people and alleviate the suffering of the Turkish people!
References:
1. AlKhateeb, F ‘Lost Islamic History’
2. AlKhateeb, F ‘Lost Islamic History’
3. Todd Carey, B ‘Battle of Manzikert, Oxford Bibliographies’