 The presence of Turkic peoples in what is today Iraq first began in the 7th century when approximately 2,000–5,000 Oghuz Turks were recruited in the Muslim armies of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad.They arrived in 674 with the Umayyud conquest of Basra.More Turkic troops settled during the 8th century, from Bukhara to Basra and also Baghdad.