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== The Birth of Modern Turkey==
Prior to the Battle of Manzikert, there had been no Turks in Anatolia. However, in the wake of the victory of Alp Arslan hordes of Turks entered the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire. The defeat leads to dramatic demographic changes in Anatolia. Turkish raiders drove the Greek and other Christian populations westwards and they virtually abandoned the Anatolian plateau to the interlopers. Individual Turkish tribes began to conquer lands after the Seljuk victory. Members of noble Turkish families began to organize the various Muslim freebooters and raiders and established emirates in the former eastern provinces of Byzantium. They often had good relations with the Byzantine Empire and eventually, a member of the Seljuk royal family established the Sultanate of Rum and broke from the Turkish Empire. During the Sultanate of Rum, many more Turkish nomads settled in Anatolia and the area became increasingly Turkish and Muslim and lost it old Greek and Christian character. Many locals even converted to Islam and adopted the customs of the invaders. The dissolution of the Rum Sultanate in the 14th century left behind many small Turkish principalities, among them that of the Ottoman dynasty. They, established an Empire in the Middle East and eventually capture Byzantium in 1453<ref>Haldon, p. 292</ref>.
==Conclusion==
The defeat of Emperor Romanus IV army at Manzikert was a disaster for the Byzantine Empire. Not only did it lead to the collapse of the Eastern Frontier but also a ten-year period of civil war. This led to Turkish raids and eventually settlement in Anatolia. The loss of the Eastern provinces meant that the Byzantines military and economic resources were depleted, and this made them vulnerable to their enemies in the east and the west. As a result, the Empire began to lose even more lands and it became dependent on westerners. One consequence of the battle was that a request for help by an Emperor to the Pope and this led to the Crusades. The Seljuk victory effectively left the Byzantines as a second-rate- power and an Empire only in name. The loss of the eastern provinces led to a period of irreversible decline for the Christian Eastern Empire. The defeat of the Byzantines at Manzikert allowed the Turks to occupy Anatolia and this led to both the establishment of the Ottoman Empire and ultimately the modern Turkish state.
==References==
