Life
Religious Policy
When the Turks had founded their states, the most important element of the cultural environment within the Middle East was doubtlessly religion. The major duties that were required to be performed as stipulated by the religion of Islam were the dissemination of this religion. Actually, the understanding of jihad was in compliance with the philosophy of conquests among the Turks and it encouraged their conqueror spirits. Therefore, Kara Hanli State and people had established institutions that disseminated the religion of Islam not only in Bokhara and Samarkand that were the ancient cultural centres of Transoxania, but also in Balasagun and Kashgar that were located in the more east. They also were involved in struggles for this sake. In the middle of the 11th century, a Turkish group composed of 10 thousands of families adopted the religion of Islam within the environs of Balasagun. Towards the year of 1075, they had fought against Basmil and Yabaku tribes that lived between the rivers of Ili and Yamar. The crowded Turks that emigrated from the mountainous regions of Central Asia towards the country of the Karahanli State were given lands in the Khanate in order to encourage them to adopt the religion of Islam. From this respect, the rulers of the Karahanli State had mostly targeted Uighur people. Actually, they had considered this Turkish tribe that believed in the religions of Manichaeism and Buddhism as atheists that were obliged to find their way and to become Muslim people.
The unique element that provided the union of state-people was the religion of Islam in the Gazneli State. Therefore, in this Turkish state upon which the religion of Islam was much more dominant, the purpose of the severe wars with Efgan and Gurlu people was to enable the adoption of Islam by these people. Furthermore, they had fought against the Shiite Karmati people. However, it is beyond doubt that they had accomplished the greatest success in this field in the Northern India. Through 17 military expeditions that he organised towards India, Sultan Mahmud had brought the religion of Islam to the environs of Indus-Pinjab. Then, this religion was diffused by his sons and Delhi sultans. These steps had constituted the foundation of todays state of Muslim Pakistan. Through the efforts of Alâüd-dîn Muhammed from Kalaç family, the religion of Islam had expanded towards Dekkan.
In the conquest of Anatolia, the air of jihad that was shown as the requirement for saving these lands that were under the domination of the Byzantine from the Non-Muslim domination had much facilitated the duties of the Turkish commanders. This new spirit had developed around the common purpose of the augmentation of the honour and power of Turks and the exaltation of the religion of Islam that were provided by the spiritual union of Islam-Turkish identities. This new spirit had eliminated all the efforts of the Crusade armies and eradicated the Mongolian invasions in their own contents. As it has been known, this spirit had constituted one of the main lines of policy that was followed by all Turkish-Islamic states and communities for the period of 1000 years.