IV/49 Anatolian Turkoman

15mm Essex Miniatures DBA 2.2

This Army consists of 14 elements:
1 x (General) 3Cv,  6 x 2Lh, 2 x Ax, 1 x 7Hd, 2 x 2Ps or 3Bw

Historical Enemies: Armenian, Cypriot, Mameluke Egyptian, IIkhanid, Palaiologan Byzantines, Ottoman, Order of St.John, Catalan Company, Italian Condotta (free Companies) Jalayirid, Black/White Sheep Turkoman, Trapezuntine Byzantines and the Georgians.

Historical Notes: From what I read the Turks, or Turkic peoples, are descendants of large groups of nomads who roamed in the Altai Mountains (also know as Altaic peoples) in northern Mongolia and on the steppes of Central Asia. The Turkic language is, to my understanding, of the Ural-Altaic clans. Physically the Turkic peoples resemble the Mongols, although those of the West have been so mixed with native peoples that they cannot be distinguished from other Mediterranean ethnic groups. 

The original Central Asian Turkic nomads established their first great empire in the 500's AD, a nomadic confederation that they called Gokturk meaning "Blue or Sky Turk". 

The Uighur remained in northern Mongolia and the Kirgiz wandered in the steppes to the north. The Oguz Turks, called the Turkmen (Turkoman) in Europe, dominated the area between Mongolia and Transoxiania, where contacts with Muslim missionaries, merchants and warriors led to further assimilation. 

Under the leadership of the Seljuk warrior family, the Oguz tribes entered Iran and then other parts of the Middle East. They went as raiders and mercenaries in service of the weakening Abbasid caliphs and also were hired by many towns to provide defenses against the anarchical conditions of the time. 

The Oguz Turks, under the leadership of Tugrul Bey and Cagri Bey, (the grandsons of Seljuk), subdued Horasan and defeated the Ghaznavids in the Dandanakan Battle and established the Great Seljuk Empire in 1040 AD. In 1071 Alparslan defeated the Byzantine emperor in the Battle of Manzikert which marked the beginning of the period of Turks and that of Islam in Anatolia. It was following this date that the Turks fully conquered the whole of Anatolia and established the Anatolian Seljuk State as part of the Great Seljuk Empire...........

to the figures...

Finally the third part/army of the "trilogy" between the Byzantines, Georgians and Anatolia Turks are done! These three armies are great and ideal to play battles and campaigns using DBA 2.2 or 3.0 rules set or any other rules for that matter. I even used, as a solo testing game, Commands and colors board game system, without hexes, and works fine, well for me anyway :o) I really had fun painting up these guys and I'm toying of the idea of putting together yet another Anatolian army using perhaps 15mm Old Glory Miniatures?