what religion did the ottoman turks follow?
Islam Judaism Christianity
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 Gradually there were increased number of laws regulating Zoroastrian behavior , limiting their ability to participate in society , and made life difficult for the Zoroastrians in the hope that they would convert to Islam . Over time , persecution of Zoroastrians became more common and widespread , and the number of believers decreased significantly . Many converted , some superficially , to escape the systematic abuse and discrimination by the law of the land . Others accepted Islam because their employment in industrial and artisan work would , according to Zoroastrian dogma , make them impure as their work involved defiling fire . According to Thomas Walker Arnold , Muslim missionaries did not encounter difficulty in explaining Islamic tenants to Zoroastrians , as there were many similarities between the faiths . According to Arnold , for the Persian , he would meet Ahura Mazda and Ahriman under the names of Allah and Iblis . 

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 Islam was also well @-@ established throughout China , with a history said to have begun with Sa 'd ibn Abi Waqqas during the Tang dynasty and strong official support during the Yuan . Although the Ming sharply curtailed this support , there were still several prominent Muslim figures early on , including the Hongwu Emperor 's generals Chang Yuqun , Lan Yu , Ding Dexing , and Mu Ying , as well as the Yongle Emperor 's powerful eunuch Zheng He . 

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 In the latter half of the 11th century , the Seljuk Turks began penetrating into medieval Armenia and the eastern regions of Anatolia . In 1071 , the Seljuks defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert , starting the Turkification process in the area ; the Turkish language and Islam were introduced to Armenia and Anatolia , gradually spreading throughout the region . The slow transition from a predominantly Christian and Greek @-@ speaking Anatolia to a predominantly Muslim and Turkish @-@ speaking one was underway . Alongside the Turkification of the territory , the culturally Persianized Seljuks set the basis for a Turko @-@ Persian principal culture in Anatolia , which their eventual successors , the Ottomans would take over . 

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 The first non @-@ Christian ruler to be admitted to the Order was Abdülmecid I , Sultan of the Ottoman Empire , in 1856 as a Stranger Knight . 

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 The country 's position between the East and the Mediterranean Sea helped the Turks gain complete control of major trade routes , and an ideal environment allowed plants and animals to flourish . Turkish cuisine was well established by the mid @-@ 1400s , the beginning of the Ottoman Empire 's six hundred @-@ year reign . Yogurt salads , fish in olive oil , and stuffed and wrapped vegetables became Turkish staples . The empire , eventually spanning from Austria to northern Africa , used its land and water routes to import exotic ingredients from all over the world . By the end of the 16th century , the Ottoman court housed over 1 @,@ 400 live @-@ in cooks and passed laws regulating the freshness of food . Since the fall of the empire in World War I ( 1914 – 1918 ) and the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 , foreign food such as French hollandaise sauce and western fast food have made their way into the modern Turkish diet . 
