Armenia Under Turanian Rule
"Pick up the map, note our geographical position and remember that we managed to survive." T. Masaryk
The Invasion of the Seljuk Turks
We have already described the situation at the end of the Middle Ages during which the Turanian tribes first appeared.
At the end of the 10th century the first representatives of these tent-living nomads, who were excellent horsemen and competent warriors, appeared at the gates of Armenia.
In the beginning of the 11th century their forces of invasion grew stronger. In 1040, the Seljuk Turks, after the victory at Merv, became the masters of Persia. In the west, Armenia was able to stand against their invasion for many years and defended the country against their attacks. Bagratouni Armenia, in particular, held off their recurring attacks during the first decades of the 11th century. The unfortunate policy of Byzantine, by forcing Armenia to wage war on two fronts and annexing Armenia to the Byzantine Empire, took this shield of the western world away, creating an irreparable new situation. The Byzantine army proved to be incompetent in replacing the Armenian forces and the Seljuk Turks managed to occupy Armenia in 1064 and take the capital of Ani. In 1071 the decisive battle of Manazkert took place during which the Seljuk Turks, led by Sultan Alp Arsalan, destroyed the Byzantine army, led by Emperor Romanus IV (Romanus Diogenes). 2
This is one of the most significant battles in the history of the western world, and arguably its outcome in due time resulted in the Seljuk Turks' conquest of Constantinople, four centuries later (Indeed, W. S. Davis famously wonders why this historic war is not more prominently recognised).
After this battle, Greek Asia Minor, which since ancient times had been one of the most fertile and productive regions and the source of provision for the forces of Byzantine, was lost and, in the space of a few decades, was ruined.
After the victory at Manazkert the Seljuk Turks advanced into Asia Minor and all the way to Caesarea. During the reign of Seljuk Melik Shah, son of Alp Arsalan (a good-hearted and kind sultan, whose reign allowed a couple of years of peace and tranquillity for the Armenians), their headquarters remained in Persia, but one of the warlords of Melik Shah, Suleyman, finished the conquest of Asia Minor and his sons established a Seljuk rule here, choosing Konya as their capital.
This conquest of Asia Minor was implemented, to all intents and purposes, without war. In the reality, other citizens of Byzantine, in regard to their customs and tradition, were not similar to the Armenians at all. In Byzantine the war was meant for a professional army and as soon as this army was dissolved, they could no longer hope for a military intervention from the civilian population of the Asia Minor, who per se were courageous warriors, but one can not expect that they could replace the organized army. 4
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