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Turgish Khanate that gained power pursuant to the decline of the Gokturk State was in a
severe struggle with the Arabians in the Transoxania. Moreover, the Turks attained
superiority in the region for a while. Therefore, the Arabian dominion in the region was
in jeopardy. In the caliphate period of Hişam (724-743), Khorasan Governor, Eşres b.
Abdullah had appointed Ebu's Seyda b.Tarif and Rebi b. İmran El-Temimi for the
dissemination of Islam among Turks and these two persons made great efforts about the
attraction of Turks in Samarkand and within its environs. As a result, it has been
observed that a mosque was built in the city of Belh in the year of 742.
The famous Islam
geographer, Yakub El-Hamavi stated that the Caliph Hişam had sent a committee to the
Turkish Khan in order to invite them to the religion of Islam and the Khan had received
this committee with a marvellous ceremony and showed them his troops. Then, he said to
them "Tehre are not any physicians, shoe-makers, or any tailors among these soldiers.
They all are soldiers. If they adopt the religion of Islam and fulfil the requirements of
Islam, how can they keep on their lives". According to this information, it is not
possible to determine when and which Turkish Khan this committee of envoys was sent to.
Probably, they must have been sent to Sulu, the khan of Turgish State that was the most
powerful state in Turkestan in those years.
El-Cahiz
stated that Cüneyt b. Abdurrahman El Murri that was the governor of Khorasan connected to
Hişam (he was on duty as a governor between the years of 729-733) had met the Turkish
Khan and Cuneyt was astonished in terror when he saw the forces of Khan. He calmed down
upon the warranty of the Khan and he gave some information about the religion of Islam to
the Khan. According to this information, there is not any kind of registration that shows
the adoption of Islam by the Khan. As a matter of fact, the outbreak of a war in which
Cuneyt was defeated in the year of 730 indicates that the khan did not accede to the
adoption of Islam.
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