ABSTRACT
A basic issue, which needs to be addressed with respect to the early Turkish penetration of Asia Minor and the ensuing collapse of the Byzantine imperial administration, is the nature of the relationship among the central government, the eastern peripheries, and the military aristocracy in the provinces. By juxtaposing the data available for Byzantine and Muslim territories one easily detects numerous common patterns, which give us a fairly clear image of the basic characteristics of Turkish warfare in both spheres. Most of the Turkish migrations and military activities on Byzantine soil took place without any direct involvement of the Great Seljuk dynasty. The Turkmen warriors' practice of political entrepreneurship based on raiding and profitable coalitions was supplemented by Seljuk imperial project focusing on Muslim kingship and jihad. The political context of Iraqi Turkmens' migrations and raids was characterized by absence of centralizing authority and inability of supra-regional powers to exert effective control and to establish durable coalitions with local rulers.
