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"Seljuk troops, Tzyvritze Pass, Asia Minor, September 17, 1176: A) Greek who converted to Islam or descendant of mixed Greek-Turkish marriages (Igdish) or otherwise 'Mixobarbaros' (Mixed-Barbarian). Second generation Muslims, they still spoke Greek but with a growing Turkish consciousness. They mainly fought as light/medium infantry in the service of the Seljuk Sultans, primarily originating from Cappadocia, Lycaonia, and Eastern Pisidia, areas that had been permanently lost to the Empire after 1100. Among them were also Christians who still had a Greek consciousness, but they were usually limited to garrison duties in cities, as the Turkish sultans did not trust them much and considered them suspicious. B) Turkmen chieftain, mounted, from the Afshar tribe, which was settled in large numbers (30,000 tents) in the lower Meander as well as in the mountains of Pisidia. They were the ones who attacked 'like wolves' the French of the Second Crusade during the crossing of Mount Cadmus (Khonaz-Dag, 2,900 meters) on January 6, 1148: Hard and ferocious warriors, they were paid by the Sultan with loot and slaves, which they sold in Iran, while their chieftains were also paid in gold. However, in 1176, the Turkmens supported the Seljuk Sultan anyway, as in the event of a victory by Manuel Komnenos, the Emperor would have 'swept' them from the plateau. C) Gulam warrior, which means 'Owned'. Kilij Arslan II had 10,000 of them, who were recruited from a very young age, and in some ways were precursors to the Janissary corps, not in ethnic composition but in terms of ownership status, as both groups were considered 'Slaves of the Sultan'. Unlike the Janissaries, the Gulams were recruited from everywhere: Children of Turkmens sold by their parents to the Sultan of Ikonion, converted Greeks, unemployed young Turks of the cities, Russian, Georgian and Circassian slaves and war captives, even young Syrians, Arabs, and Iranians. All now Muslims, they were int |
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