Peoples of Europe
1 total work
This is an overview of the history of the Turks from their first appearance as the founders of the steppe empire centred in Mongolia in the sixth century AD, down to the Muscovite conquest of Kazan' exactly at thousand years later. This event in AD 1552 effectively marked the beginning of the end of the Eurasian ascendancy of the Turco-Mongol 'nations of the archers'.The book examines the course of Turkish migration across much of Eurasia, discussing in particular their conquests into the settled lands of the Eurasian periphery, from North China to Eastern Europe. It also describes the formation, from the tenth century onwards, of Turco-Islamic states and empires in the Islamic world. Chapters then examine the formation and expansion of the Ottoman Empire, down to its mid-sixteenth century apogee, within the wider context of Eurasian history in the period. The book concludes with an epilogue covering the history of the Turkish peoples from the mid-sixteenth century to the present era of national revival and rediscovery.