The Turks were part of a powerful military empire that unified the region of Turkey under a Middle Eastern religion called Islam, and played an important role in spreading the Muslim culture that led to the international religious wars called the Crusades.
The ancient Turks were nomadic peoples who lived near the Altai Mountains bordering modern Russia, in the sixth century. By the 8th century, the Muslim forces of the Arabian Peninsula had formed a massive empire and were constantly advancing towards the region.
The Turks were incorporated for the first time as servants, and eventually as soldiers, even becoming the favored troops of the Caliph, the political and religious leader of a Muslim state.
At the end of the 9th century, Turkish leaders were gaining important military and political power and began to form their own empires.
The emergence of the Seljuk Empire proved to be crucial for the Islamic world. When the Seljuk Turks moved, they brought the Islamic religion, as well as the Persian culture, which the Turks had largely adopted after becoming part of the Muslim Empire.
Thus began the controversial transition of the Anatolian regon from European to Persian in terms of culture, religion, politics and identity.
