The Selçuk Empire began in 1071 when Selçuk Emperor Alparslan defeated the Byzantine emperor and allowed Turks to settle in Anatolia, spreading Turkish culture and building historical monuments like mausoleums and mosques. The Selçuk principality also constructed buildings along trade routes for people to stay, functioning like early hotels, and ruled a large swath of green areas on the map during the 1100s under the Selçuk Sultanate.