Soldiers of the Turkic Army
The Turkic Army was the military force of the Abbasid Caliphate composed of ghilmāns. These were slave-soldiers primarily descended from Turkic-speaking peoples but whose number also included Slavs and Caucasians.[1][2][3] They were raised from childhood to serve their master with unwavering loyalty.[3]
History[]
The Abbasid military was always multi-ethnic in composition, but in the first century of their rule, the backbone of their professional army was the Khurasani, Persian troops from the eastern region of Khorasan who had played a substantial role in the revolution that brought the Abbasids to power.[2] After the Fourth Fitna (811–813), a civil war between al-Amin and his brother al-Ma'mun for the throne, the Khurasani came under suspicion for their loyalties, and al-Ma'mun and his son al-Mu'tasim actively worked to phase them out with a counter-acting military force. To that end, they formed a unit comprising mostly Turkic slaves who they trained from childhood to serve them with utmost devotion as their elite soldiers.[3]
By the time of Caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), the Turkic body of troops had become so powerful as to be a threat to the regime in their own right.[2] Their commanders amassed wealth and status to hoist themselves into positions of tremendous political and financial influence over the government,[2][3] a development exacerbated by the Order of the Ancients' co-optation of their ranks.[4] After al-Mutawakkil was murdered by a young thief, Basim Ibn Ishaq, at his Winter Palace in Anbar,[5] subsequent history attributed his death to an assassination by disaffected Turk guards instead. Misadventure by a third party as it was, factions of the Turk military apparatus reacted to the decline in central authority by jockeying for control, violently deposing and instating caliphs as they pleased.[2]
During the Anarchy at Samarra, as this period of internal turmoil became known, the Order of the Ancients wielded control over the Turkic Army through the command of Wasif al-Turki.[6] Wasif effectively controlled half of Baghdad from the Great Garrison in Sharqiyah district,[7] and he held sway over the city's governor Muhammad ibn Tahir, who was otherwise unaligned with the Order.[8] This signified the Turks' erosion of legal authority with their military power. Other important members of the Order from the army were Jasoor ibn Basil[9] and Nadir ibn Havid, who commanded the Baghdadi navy.[10] All three were assassinated in the reign of al-Musta'in by Basim after he joined the Hidden Ones.[6][11][12]
Behind the scenes[]
The Turkic Army is an enemy faction in Assassin's Creed: Mirage (2023). In the game, their soldiers are colour-coded with cyan garb, as opposed to the other Abbasid soldiers, who are clothed in red. They can be principally found in the Sharqiyah district, with their headquarters at the Great Garrison and another major base at Qasr Salih.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Database: Turkic Army
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Assassin's Creed: Mirage – History of Baghdad: Abbasid Army
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Assassin's Creed: Mirage – History of Baghdad: Ghilman (Servant Soldiers)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – The Raptor and the Demon
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – The Master Thief of Anbar
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Den of the Beast
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Investigation: Al-Mardikhwar
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Judge and Executioner
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Investigation: Al-Rukh
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Investigation: Al-A'eshma
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Bird Trap
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Mirage – To Catch a Demon