In the eighth century A.D., [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]] tribes moved from [[Mongolia]] into t-day Central Asia. Part of a powerful confederation of tribes, these Oghuz formed the ethnic basis of the modern Turkmen population.<ref name=cs>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Turkmenistan.pdf "Country Profile: Turkmenistan"] (PDF). [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (February 2007). {{PD-notice}}</ref> In the tenth century, the name "Turkmen" was first applied to Oghuz groups that accepted [[Islam]] and began to occupy present-day Turkmenistan.<ref name=cs/> There they were under the dominion of the [[Seljuk Empire]], which was composed of Oghuz groups living in present-day [[Iran]] and Turkmenistan.<ref name=cs/> Turkmen soldiers in the service of the empire played an important role in the spreading of Turkic culture when they migrated westward into present-day [[Azerbaijan]] and eastern [[Turkey]].<ref name=cs/>
