From a historical standpoint, it can be stated that the most successful Turkish tribe were the Ottoman’s due to the breadth of their empire and its sheer longevity. It is important to note that the Ottoman Empire lasted for more than 600 years since its inception and only collapsed by 1922 (Ottoman Empire 1). It should also be noted that the empire itself encapsulated most of Southern Europe, North Africa and even expanded as far as Western Asia and the Horn of African (i.e. modern day Somalia, Djibouti Eritrea and Ethiopia). In comparison, the Saljuq and Ghaznavid tribes lasted only 157 and 209 years respectively. Even if you were to combine the number of years that both tribes expanded, came into power, achieved the height of their supremacy and then subsequently went into decline, the Ottoman tribe last 300 years longer than the age of both tribes combined.
Another important piece of information is that the Saljuq and Ghaznavid empires each controlled areas that were smaller as compared to the sheer size of the territory that the Ottoman’s controlled at the height of their power. For instance, the Saljuq territory encompassed the area where modern day Turkey is located and extended to Central Asia (Saljuq 1). The same can be said of the Ghaznavid who were also isolated to Persia (i.e. modern day Turkey) and extended towards Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent (Ghaznavid 1). In comparison, the Ottoman’s controlled areas encompassed Southeast Europe, portions of Africa, much of Western Asia and various vassal states near modern day Russia. In terms of sheer territory and the diversity of the people they controlled, the Ottoman’s definitely came out “on top” so to speak when it comes to the sheer amount of people and territory that they ruled over.
Do note though that all three tribes do happen to have similar traits that resulted in their downfall. First and foremost, it is important to note that due to the sheer size of the territories that they controlled this resulted in considerable issues when it came to managing them properly. Even modern day countries cannot field the manpower necessary to guard all their borders; a problem that was exacerbated by the lack of modern communication and vehicles during the time of the Saljuq and Ghaznavid tribes which contributed significantly towards successful incursions from rival powers as well as secession by far flung regions. It should also be noted that regional governors of various areas within the respective territories of the tribes also had the habit of acting independently from the wishes of the central government. In fact, this often resulted in internal rebellions which further taxed the capabilities of the three tribes.
The final “nail in the coffin” so to speak for all three tribes and their control of their respective territories almost always came from outside forces. For the Ghaznavid tribe, this came in the form of the expansionary measures of the Saljuq which resulted in them losing vast swaths of their territory. For the Saljuq, this came in the form of the Kara-Khitais invading their territory which coincided with the rebellion of several of their vassal states. The decline of the Ottoman Empire was brought about by World War 1 and the subsequent dissolution of the state into individual countries. Overall, when examining all three tribes, it can be seen that they all shared numerous traits related to expansionism, however, given the similarity in which they all met their end, it can be stated that the Ottomans were definitely the most successful based on the fact that they lasted longer and controlled more territory.
Works Cited
“Ghaznavid.”Iranicaonline. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2001. Web.
“Saljuq.”Iranicaonline. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2001. Web.
“Ottoman Empire.”Infoplease. Columbia University Press, 2012. Web.