Central Asia - Chapter 14:i - [Image source:

Nomadic tribes from the steppes of central Asia invaded and conquered territories in eastern Asia, the Middle East, and eastern Europe between A.D and A.D [Image source:

These invaders were loosely organized into clans, or groups based on family ties. [Image source:

For their livelihood these nomads depended on the grazing animals. [Image source:

Organized into cavalry units under powerful chiefs, these horseback riding warriors became a military threat to their more culturally developed neighbors. [Image source:

These invasions transformed the cultures of eastern Asia, the Middle East, and eastern Europe. [Image source:

The Seljuk Turks [Image source:

The first people of the steppes to engage in conquest were the Turks. [Image source:

Turkish warriors were hired as mercenaries by the Abbasid government in Baghdad circa 800 A.D. [Image source: eljuk_warriors_enh.jpg]

The Turks soon became powerful enough to control the Abbasid government. [Image source: res/seljuk/Sanjar.jpg]

Circa 1000 A.D. the Seljuk Turks moved into the Middle East, where they restored the Sunni caliphate. [Image source:

The Seljuk Turks soon gained control of the main trade routes connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. [Image source:

The Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 A.D. when they invaded Anatolia. [Image source:

Turkish official with two noblemen [Image source:

Turkish women. [Image source:

Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus appealed to pope and monarchs of Western Europe for assistance in combating the Seljuk Turks. [Image source: /emperors/andron1.jpg]

The Seljuks eventually conquered Palestine, including the city of Jerusalem. [Image source: ]

Pope Urban II called for a crusade to expel the Infidel from the Holy Land. [Image source: holliday.com/holysepulchre/History.jpg]

Internal conflicts eventually weakened the Seljuk Turks, and they became victims of new nomadic invaders from central Eurasia. [Image source:

The Mongols [Image source:

The Mongols emerged as the dominant nomadic group of central Eurasia circa the late-100s A.D. [Image source: aventures/Mongols/mongol2.jpg]

The nomadic Mongols herded sheep, horses, and yaks (long-haired oxen). [Image source:

The Mongols dwelled in movable tents called yurts. [Image source:

The Mongols were originally divided into a number of clans. [Image source

The Mongols were expert horseback riding warriors. [Image source:

A leader named Temujin unified the scattered clans under one ruler circa 1206 A.D. [Image source:

Temujin brought together all of the laws and created a standardized legal code for the Mongols known as the yasa. [Image source: sen.org.tr/yasa.jpg]

Mongol tribal chiefs began to plan military campaigns under the leadership of Temujin. [Image source:

Temujin organized Mongol warriors into a disciplined cavalry army. [Image source:

Temujin was recognized as khan, or “absolute ruler.” [Image source:

As Genghis Khan, or “universal ruler,” he set-out to conquer a large empire. [Image source:

In 1211 A.D. the Mongols conquered China with an army of 100,000 horsemen. [Image source:

The Mongols learned how to conduct sieges from the Chinese. [Image source:

All of China was under the rule of the Mongol dynasty by 1279 A.D. [Image source:

The Mongols continued to conquer a larger empire, even after Genghis Khan’s death in 1227 A.D. [Image source:

Mongol forces under Ogadai moved westward threatening, Europe during the 1230s and 1240s A.D. [Image source:

A Mongol army under the command of Batu conquered the Slavs of Eastern Europe. [Image source:

Some Slavic peoples languished under the Mongol Yoke for almost two hundred years. [Image source: ngols/images/fight_with_tatar_mongols_fr3.jpg]

This westward advance was halted when Ogadai died. [Image source:

The Mongols used terror to subdue the Middle East. [Image source: tions/mongol/mongol.shtml]

The Mongol Helagu leader conquered Baghdad in 1258 A.D. [Image source:

[Image source: The Mongol advance was finally arrested by the Mamluks, a Muslim military caste that ruled Egypt.

The Mongols succeeded in creating the largest contiguous land empire in history. [Image source:

They controlled many of the important trade routes between the Orient and the Occident. [Image source:

Mongol rulers often assimilated into the cultures they conquered, making it easier for them to rule. [Image source:

In places where Islam was the dominant religion, many Mongols became Muslims. [Image source:

By the late- thirteenth century, local rulers increasingly became more independent, and the Mongol empire fractured into separate dominions. [Image source:

In the late- 1300s, a Turkish-Mongol chief named Timur Lenk rose to power. [Image source:

He extended his rule over neighboring tribes through warfare. [Image source:

The large empire he established in central Eurasia collapsed during the 1400s A.D. shortly after his death. [Image source:

His capital was the wealthy trading and craft center of Samarkand. [Image source: