Further to the west, a number of Turkic groups (denoting language rather than ethnology) rose to prominence. They were members of various nomadic peoples of Central Asia, now living chiefly in Turkmenistan and in north-eastern Iran. Turkoman or Turkmen (pl) is from Medieval Latin Turcomannus, from Persian turkuman resembling a Turk, and from turk Turk + mandan to be like. These included the Seljuk Turks, Ghaznavids, Khwarizmian, Qarluq/Karluk (or Karakhanids), and others. The majority of whom adopted Islam as a result of contact with the Arab Empire in the 7th and 8th Centuries.

The Arab Empire was impressed with the military prowess of the Turks and recruited from them (or acquired them as slaves), these were to become the well-known ghulams or mamluks of the Arabian and successor armies.

The Seljuks (Seldjuq) were a major branch of the Oghuz (or Ðuz) who lived in Central Asia in the 9th to 13th Centuries. An Oghuz bey (chief) called Seljuk (Seldjuq) was the founder of the dynasty. The Seljuks migrated into western Asia in the 10th Century while fighting with various states on their way. They founded dynasties in Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia. Seljuk Turks can be regarded as the ancestors of Western Turks (modern Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan). The Greater Seljuk Empire was a short-lived state and was torn apart by rival Seljuk leaders and their vassals. Its main successor was the Sultanate of Rum (Anatolia), which was defeated by the Mongols and made a vassal of the Mongol empire (paying tribute to the Ilkhans of Iran-Iraq).

The Ghaznavid Dynasty was founded by the Turkish sultan Sabuktagin, who governed from Ghazni (in what is now Afghanistan). He rebelled against the Samanid Dynasty (Persian rulers of Transoxiana) and created an independent state in Afghanistan and western Iran. The Ghaznavids spoke Persian, celebrated pre-Islamic festivals, and promoted neo-Persian letters. Despite Turkish roots, they considered themselves successors to the Sassanian Persians.

The Qarakhanids (Karakhanids), who belonged to the Qarluq tribal confederation, become prominent during the 9th Century. The origins of the Qarluq Turkmen are somewhat obscure. About 745 AD, they rose in rebellion against the Turks, then the dominant tribal confederation in the region, and established a new tribal confederation with the Turkic Uighur and Basmil tribes. With the disintegration of the Iranian Samanids, the Qarakhanids took over the Samanid territories in Transaxonia. In 999 AD, Harun (or Hasan) Bughra Khan, grandson of the paramount tribal chief of the Qarluq confederation, occupied Bukhara, the Samanid capitol.

The Samanid domains were split up between the Ghaznavids who gained Khorasan and Afghanistan, and the Qarakhanids, who received Transoxonia; the Oxus River (Amu Darya) thus became the boundary between the two rival empires. During this period the Qarakhanids were converted to Islam. Early in 11th Century the unity of the Qarakhanid dynasty was fractured by constant internal warfare. In 1041 Muhammad 'Ayn ad Dawlah (reigned 1041-52) took over the administration of the western branch of the family, centred at Bukhara. At the end of the 11th Century, the Qarakhanids were forced to accept Seljuk suzerainty. With a decline in Seljuk power, in 1140 the Qarakhanids fell under domination of the rival Kara-Khitan khanate. Uthman (reigned 1204-11) briefly re-established the independence of the dynasty, but in 1211 the Qarakhanids were defeated by the Khwarazm Shah Ala'ad Din Muhammad and the dynasty was extinguished.

Khwarazm/Khorezm was a region of the Arab Empire in which Turkic and Persian (Iranian) peoples lived. In 995 AD, it became a semi-autonomous state ruled by emirs. The Turkish emirs (and later, shahs) had their capital at Urgench (pr. oorgyench), now Kunya-Urgench. It became a major seat of Arabic learning and a centre of agriculture and trade. The first Shah, Ala'ad Din Muhammad, created a short-lived empire with strong ties to the Kipchak, Qarakhanid and Kara-Khitan states. He rebelled successfully against the Seljuk Turks, but was in turn defeated by the Mongols. His mother was of the Kangly one of the peoples of the Kipchak confederation.

Eurasian Nomads: Part 2

Magyars
Székely
Pechenegs
The Uighur Empire (744-840)
Xueyantuo
Kirghiz or Kyrgyz
Kipchaks
Kimeks
Tatars or Tartar
Steppe Kingdoms (840-1278)
Khitan or Kidan
Tanguts
Jurchen or Jurchid
Turks or Turkmen
Mongol World Empire (1206-1368)
Steppe Peoples' Political Decline (14th C. onward)
Descriptions of Non-Mongolian Physiques

Eurasian Nomads: Part 1

Background
Indo-European Period (4,000 BC-300 AD)
Hsiung-nu Period (250 BC-450 AD)
Turkic Kaganate (552-744)