ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book concerns itself with the earliest stage in the penetration of Asia Minor by the so-called Seljuk Turks, their first encounter with the Byzantine-Christian sphere, and the beginnings of their gradual transformation from rather superficially Islamized warrior groups and nomadic shepherds to state founders and rulers of durable principalities based on distinct ideological and organizational patterns as well as a Muslim religious identity. It develops a different approach by focusing on the complex interplay of different factors, such as the changing administrative and military structures of the Byzantine state, the raiding activities of Turkmen groups, and the expansion of the Seljuk sultanate. The book focuses on Upper Mesopotamia at the time of the final contest for control between the Great Seljuk sultanate and the Anatolian Seljuks up to 1107.
