Page:Destruction of the Greek Empire.djvu/86

52 DESTEUCTION OF THE GEEEK EMPIEE CHAPTEK III THE TURKS : THEIR ENTRY INTO ASIA MINOR : NOT AT FIRST EXCLUSIVELY MAHOMETAN : THEIR CHARACTER- ISTICS : OTHMAN FOUNDS A DYNASTY: PROGRESS OF MOSLEMS IN EUROPE AND ASIA MINOR : CAPTURE OF BROUSA IN 1326. The great central plains of Asia, stretching almost without an interruption from the Caspian Sea to China, have during all historical time produced hardy races of nomad warriors. On the three occasions in their history when they have found skilful leaders, their progress as conquerors has been epoch-marking. Twice their progress has been westward. Mounted warriors and hordes of foot soldiers made their way towards the Euxine, some going to the north and others to the south of that sea. The first of these waves of genghis population thus moving westward was that led by Genghis moves Khan, a Mongol belonging to the smallest of the four great w divisions of the Tartar 1 race. His followers were, however, mainly Turks, the most widely spread of these divisions. 2 He had established his rule before 1227, the year in which he died, from the Sea of Japan to the Dnieper. He and his immediate successors ravaged a greater extent of territory than any other conqueror. Like Alexander the Great, he and they advanced with regularly organised armies, with appa- rently no other object than conquest and plunder. Their 1 Dr. Koelle has in my opinion satisfactorily demonstrated that « Tatar ' is an incorrect spelling, due mainly to the fact that this form of the word comes to us from the Chinese, who cannot pronounce the letter r. 2 The Mahommedans, by J. D. Rees, C.I.E., 1894.