A few years ago I drew up a family tree of the Seljuk dynasty.
Interestingly, the second generation of this dynasty seems to have been followers of Judaism, with Hebrew names such as Israel and Mikhael.
That they seem to have later converted to Sunni Islam is evident in the name changes.
It seems that after leaving the Khazar khanate, in which they had served a vital part of the Khazar cavalry, then settling in Khwarezm, then taking over the Samanid emirate in 962 AD, they had become the champions of Sunni Islam.
An example of such an apparent mercenary attitude to religion was seen later in the 13th century, the Mongol dynasty that ruled Persia, known as the Ilkhanate, were initially Animist, then pro-Christan (one Khan, Teguder, was even baptised as a Christian) then finally Muslim.
Interestingly, the second generation of this dynasty seems to have been followers of Judaism, with Hebrew names such as Israel and Mikhael.
That they seem to have later converted to Sunni Islam is evident in the name changes.
It seems that after leaving the Khazar khanate, in which they had served a vital part of the Khazar cavalry, then settling in Khwarezm, then taking over the Samanid emirate in 962 AD, they had become the champions of Sunni Islam.
An example of such an apparent mercenary attitude to religion was seen later in the 13th century, the Mongol dynasty that ruled Persia, known as the Ilkhanate, were initially Animist, then pro-Christan (one Khan, Teguder, was even baptised as a Christian) then finally Muslim.
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