In a land that was part of the Byzantine Empire, a new power from the Far East rose rapidly. They were a branch of the Seljuk Empire, but they grew in turmoil and eventually became the center of the Islamic world. It was under their rule that much of what is now Turkey was brought under the control of the same regime for the first time. What kind of ancient dynasty was that once so powerful that the Ottoman Empire, a new upstart who came from behind, had to bow down? How were they gradually replaced in the torrent of the times?
The rise and development of the Sultanate of Rûm
With the rise of the Seljuk Empire in the Islamic world in the 11th century, this Turkic ethnic group from the Far East began to expand westward. They conquered Azerbaijan, then the Fatimids in Egypt and the Shia dynasty of Baghdavishi. The Abbasid Caliphs were merely their puppets, and the entire Arab world was subservient to the iron heel of the Seljuk Empire.
In its heyday, the Seljuk Empire was ambitious and set its sights on the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. They soon occupied the peninsula of Asia Minor and settled a large Turkic population there, thus establishing the "branch" of the Sultanate of Rum.
The term Roma derives from the Byzantine name for Asia Minor, while Sultan is a title in Islam for a governor. He was named Sultan Rûm, but because of his direct lineage from the Seljuk Empire, he became the vanguard of the Turks in the region.
In 1092, chaos finally descended as the internal fighting of the Seljuk Empire intensified. The Sultanate of Rum seized the opportunity and decisively declared its independence. They broke free from the domination of their own ministry and opened a new chapter in their own development.
At the beginning of independence, the Sultanate of Rum was in a difficult situation. Not only was it besieged by the remnants of the Seljuk Empire, but it also had to confront the armies of the First Crusade. In desperation, the Sultanate of Rûm had to temporarily migrate to south-central Asia Minor to maintain its base.
Fortunately, its founder, Suleiman, and his successor, Arslan, were determined to expand abroad. Despite setbacks along the way, the Sultanate of Rûm gradually regained ground behind the developers of Arslan, gradually incorporating much of Asia Minor into its territory.
By the time of Messud I, the Sultanate of Rûm had finally expanded into central Asia Minor, laying its foundations. Later, Arslan II defeated Manuel I of the Byzantine Empire in 1176, bringing Asia Minor under the control of the Sultanate of Rûm.
In 1205, they recaptured the old capital of Konya from the Byzantines, and basically unified Asia Minor. Thus began the Sultanate of Rûm in its heyday in Asia Minor.
The difficult times of the Sultanate of Rûm under the Crusades and the Mongol iron heel
Although the Sultanate of Rûm gradually strengthened its foundations at the beginning of independence, threats from the outside followed. On the one hand, they had to face the onslaught of the Crusades coming in from the west; On the other hand, the arrival of the Mongol cavalry from the east brought an unprecedented test to this emerging country.
The First Crusade began in 1096, followed by armies from Europe arriving in Asia Minor. Despite a frustrating start, the Crusader forces eventually gained a foothold in Islamic territory by capturing the Syrian towns of Antioch and Jerusalem in 1099.
The conflict with the Crusaders has since fallen into a state of protracted warfare. Although the Sultanate of Rum tried to expel them by force, it failed to achieve its goal. The existence of the crusaders became a thorny problem for the Sultanate of Rûm.
While the Sultanate of Rûm was responding to the Crusader invasion, another formidable force was taking shape – the Mongols from the Far East. In 1218, the Mongol cavalry marched west under the leadership of Angdi Khan, and soon conquered Azerbaijan, Georgia and other surrounding regions.
In the face of this fierce and unusually strong enemy, the Sultanate of Rûm was powerless to resist. After the Mongol army captured Khaleb in 1243, the Romani Sultans had to submit to this bloodthirsty nomadic people.
Since then, the status of the Sultanate of Rûm has deteriorated. During the time of Phytri, the dynasty, which had once been an Islamic dynasty, was forced to pay tribute to the Mongols and became a vassal of the Mongol Empire. The decline of power and internal divisions pushed the Sultanate of Rûm to the brink of destruction.
In 1277, Fretri II was killed by the Mongols, and the Sultan of Rûm was divided into several small states. Although the Sultanate of Aydin and the Sultanate of Goremyan later flourished in Asia Minor, their overall strength was no longer comparable to that of the Seljuk Empire and the Sultanate of Rûm.
The Crusades and the Mongol conquests were a combination of the Crusades and the Mongols, and the once-glorious Sultanate of Rûm gradually declined in a turbulent era, and was finally completely replaced by new powers. It's just that no one would have thought that this dying dynasty would become the ancestor of the future Ottoman Turkish Empire.
The rise of the new Ottoman power and the decline of the Sultanate of Rûm
While the Sultanate of Rum was in decline, a new Turkic power was quietly emerging in Asia Minor. They were the Ottoman Turks who later unified Turkey and established the Ottoman Empire.
Osman I was the founder of this emerging power. In 1299, he gained independence in Sur-al-Din Shahir in northwestern Asia Minor and proclaimed the Ottoman Sultanate. Although it was only a small part of the territory at that time, it was undoubtedly an important step for the Ottomans to dominate the region in the future.
At first, the Ottomans remained under Mongol control, but as the Mongol empire declined, the Ottomans soon seized the opportunity to grow their power. By the time of the Orhan period, they had been able to contend with the remnants of the divided Sultanate of Rûm.
In 1326, the Ottoman army captured Brusa and captured the last stronghold of the Sultanate of Rûm in northwestern Asia Minor. Since then, the Sultanate of Rûm, once the main force, has completely withdrawn from the stage of history in most parts of Asia Minor.
For more than a century, the Ottomans continued to annex the other remnants of the Sultanate of Rûm, both through warfare and diplomacy. By 1426, they had finally unified the entire peninsula of Asia Minor in the hands of Murad II.
All this development can be traced back to the determination of Osman I to proclaim the establishment of the Ottoman Sultanate. Without the original independence, there would not have been a later Ottomans to replace the Sultanate of Rûm in this land.
Of course, the Ottomans were able to win this competition in large part due to the Mongol dynasty. By the 14th century, the Mongol Empire was in decline, and the Ottomans were the only way to fill the power vacuum.
In contrast, although the Sultanate of Rûm also briefly submitted to the Mongols, their long-term passive attitude eventually weakened their own strength. Coupled with internal divisions, they eventually struggled to defend themselves against the Ottomans, a new force.
The Sultanate of Rûm made a great contribution to the expansion of the Turkish region
Although the Sultanate of Rûm was eventually replaced by the rising Ottomans, this once glorious dynasty contributed significantly to the development of the Turkish region. In fact, they were the pioneers who really introduced the Turkic peoples to the hinterland of Asia Minor for the first time and expanded their territory.
Before the establishment of the Sultanate of Roman, the peninsula of Asia Minor was controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire for a long time, and the majority ethnic groups were Greeks and other Christian peoples. The Turkic population was scattered only in the border areas and never became the dominant ethnic group here.
It all started with the conquest of the Seljuk Empire. This powerful Turkic dynasty quickly conquered much of Asia Minor. In order to gain a foothold in Xinjiang, they settled a large number of Turkic people and migrated here.
As a "subsidiary" of the Seljuk Empire, the Sultanate of Rum came into being in this context. With the independence of the Seljuk Salt from the Mainland, a large Turkic population became the dominant ethnic group in the land.
After more than a hundred years of development, by the heyday of the Sultanate of Rûm, almost the entire peninsula of Asia Minor was unified by them. This means that, for the first time, the vast majority of the territory of modern Turkey is effectively controlled by the same regime.
More importantly, as a Turkic dynasty originating from the Far East, the Sultanate of Rûm settled a large number of people of Turkic descent here. They carried out a complete "Turkization" of the land, laying the national foundations for later generations of Ottoman rule.
Without the expansion of the Sultanate of Rûm, I am afraid that the territory of modern Turkey would not have been able to cohesion. Such a large territory that belonged to the Greeks could not be completely occupied by the Turkic peoples.
In addition, the Sultanate of Rûm had a profound impact on the demarcation of today's Turkish borders. For example, the region of Al Jerum in the northeast of modern Turkey is named after the Turkified tribe "Ergul" of the Sultanate of Rûm; The word Anatolia, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word and originally referred to Asia Minor.
In other words, without the expansion of the Sultanate of Rûm, the introduction of Turkic populations into Asia Minor, and the Turkization of the entire region, it would have been difficult for the Ottoman Empire to take root in the region and become the Turkish Republic today.
The cultural heritage of the Sultanate of Rûm and its influence on future generations
As the earliest Turkic dynasty in Turkey, the Sultanate of Rûm not only left a strong mark on politics and military, but also had a wide and far-reaching influence at the cultural level. The imprint of civilization they left on the land of Asia Minor laid the foundation for the Ottoman Empire and today's modern Turkey.
Among them, the most significant is the spread of religious beliefs. The Sultanate of Rum was the first regime to introduce Islam into the heart of Asia Minor. Under their rule, an Islamic cultural pattern dominated by the Turkic population was gradually formed.
This pattern lasted for hundreds of years until the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. The latter fully inherited the religious status of the Sultanate of Rum in this regard, further solidifying Islam in Asia Minor and becoming the dominant religious belief in the region.
In addition to religion, the Sultanate of Rûm has also made an indelible contribution to the building of political civilization. They followed many of the achievements of the Seljuk Empire and introduced them to Asia Minor, laying the foundation for the development of the political system in later generations.
For example, the hereditary land system of the military class during the Seljuk period was inherited and retained by the Sultanate of Rûm. This system later had a profound impact on the feudal hierarchy that sustained the Ottoman Empire.
In terms of architecture, the remnants of the Sultanate of Rûm are also remarkable. Although the architectural style at that time was mainly influenced by Byzantine art, later generations of Ottomans were able to draw nourishment from it and gradually mature.
Many of the mosques that exist in present-day Turkey can be traced back to the time of the Sultanate of Rûm. One of the masterpieces is the Aladdin Mosque in Konya, whose domed architecture is widely known.
In the field of literature and art, the Sultanate of Rûm also gave birth to many classics. One of the most famous is the poetry of the poet Nasili. He is known as the "Father of the Turkish Language" and laid a solid foundation for later generations of Ottoman literature.
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Overall, although the Sultanate of Rûm was eventually replaced by the Ottoman Empire, it made a remarkable contribution to the development of Turkic civilization in this region during its nearly two centuries of domination over the peninsula of Asia Minor.