Among the successor states were the Zangid sultanate of Syria, whose ruler Nur ad-Din was known for his victories over the Crusaders; the empire of Khwarazm, which at one time nearly attained the limits of the earlier Seljuk empire; and the sultanate of Rum or Iconium (see Konya), which comprised a large part of Asia Minor. All the Seljuk states were overrun in the 13th cent. by Jenghiz Khan and his successors, whose hordes comprised both Mongols and Turks and became generally known as Tatars. The Turko-Tatars now living in the nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States are largely descended from the Golden Horde of Batu Khan, as are the Uzbeks (see Uzbekistan), who ruled a vast empire in the 16th cent.
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