Since Civilization I (first released version) there has never been Turks included in the game, much to my disappointment. Yes, I know every person from every nation in the world wants their included, but I am going to bat on this by saying that to not include the Turks is to ignore a huge part of human history. There are some Civilizations included in the game, and no disrespect to them but I do not understand how you could include them but not others such as the Turks. Taj Mahal was built by the Turkish Mogul Ruler, Great Wall of China was built to keep us out, Crusades were fought against us, yet we have no presence in the game.
Here is a quick history of the Turkic Peoples that I hope will convince the programmers if they have not included the Turks to put them in there:
The Turks are a nomadic, warrior people whose roots are in Central Asia but who in several ways of migration moved west conquering lands in India, China, the Middle East, Russia, Anatolia, Eastern Europe & Africa. The old Turkish society of the steppe was one that was dominated by a tribal structure, in which women were treated with equal regard and respect as the menfolk. Culturally, honor, strength, and courage were the most respected virtues, and being a good fighter (warrior or soldier) was an essential part of becoming an effective and respected tribal member. Both men and women engaged in combat, and were skilled in both archery and swordsmanship. This inate fighting skill developed by Turks established them as empire-builders, and gave birth to such famous conquerers as Tamerlane, and Attilla the Hun, Akbar the Great and Suleiman the Magnificent.
Although Turkish people are commonly associated with Islam, the old Turkish tribes were not Muslim and in fact practiced a religion known as "shamanism": the warship of nature (particularly fire, water and air) though divinely inspired holy men known as shamans. As the Turks migrated west, however, they came into closer association with the Muslim peoples of the Middle East. Turks were first introduced to Islam by mystics who travelled through the frontiers of Islam. Turks were not forced into Islam, but accepted it freely. Because of their warrior nature and roots in the frontier, however, the Islam practiced by Turks came to be spiritual and militant, responding well to the cries of war in the name of God. Turks came to become the majority in the Arab Empires of the Middle East before finally overtaking the Arabs themselves, forming Empires such as the Mamluks in Egypt, the Seljuks of Persia and Anatolia, and finally, the greatest of them all, the Ottoman Empire which at its height spanned from Eastern Europe to North Africa, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
However, not all of the Turks migrated southwest and became Muslims. Many also migrated towards the North deeper into Russia, and even as far as Finland, where they instead adopted Christianity. Peoples such as the Georgians, the Chuvash, and the Gagauz are all Christians with Turkic origins. However, because of the dominance of the Islamic Empires established by Turkish ruling families, and their subsequent wars with the West which had religious overtones, such as the Crusades, the Europeans came to equate "Muslim" with "Turk." In fact, in European vernacular, a Christian who became Muslim was typically said to have turned "Turk.' Nevertheless, the term "Turk" is an ethnic term, not a religious one, and connotes people of all religious who have Turkic origin.
When the Turks became Muslim, Islam became the dominant cultural force. Much of the old Turkish customs were replaced by Islamic ones with Arabic and Persian influences. Evidence of this can be found in the ever increasing domination of men in society as well as the adoption of the Arabic alphabet to express the spoken Turkish. The Ottoman Empire was ruled with the Islamic Seriat Law and conquests were made in the name of Islam.
GREED
