The Turkomans who settled in Asia Minor after the Battle of Manzikert(1071) originated in north-eastern Persia. The historical sources describethe majority of these Turkomans as ‘heterodox’ and in some cases as‘atheists’, because alongside their apparent adherence to Islam they preservedunchanged their pre-Islamic religious beliefs. These beliefs also containthe roots of some Christian heresies, which facilitated their propagandistactivity amongst the Christian populations of Asia Minor. The heterodoxTurkomans were a serious headache for the Seljuk and Ottoman rulers. Inmodern Turkey there are some 700,000 Alevis and Bektashis, who areincluded among the heterodox Turkoman population
