The ancient Turks were overwhelmingly nomadic, with a strong interest in trade, and were mostly Shamanists, although others were also adherents of Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity, or, especially, Buddhism.[85] However, during the Muslim conquests, the Turks entered the Muslim world proper as slaves, the booty of Arab raids and conquests.[85] The Turks began converting to Islam through the efforts of missionaries, Sufis, and merchants. Although initiated by the Arabs, the conversion of the Turks to Islam was filtered through Persian and Central Asian culture. Under the Umayyads, most were domestic slaves, whilst under the Abbasids, increasing numbers were trained as soldiers.[85] By the ninth century, Turkish commanders were leading the caliphs’ Turkish troops into battle. As the Abbasid caliphate declined, Turkish officers assumed more military and political power taking over or establishing provincial dynasties with their own corps of Turkish troops
