For nearly a thousand years, Iran has generally been ruled by non-Persian dynasties, usually Turkish, but sometimes Mongol or Kurdish. The first alien rulers were the Saljuq Turks, who appeared in the Iranian world in the first half of the 5th/11th century. This domination at the highest level has had less effect on Iranian national psychology and literary consciousness than might be expected, for all of the alien ruling dynasties have come from races of low cultural development, and thus they have lacked the administrative expertise necessary for ruling a land of ancient settlement and civilization. The collapse of the native Iranian dynasties of the north-east was followed within a few decades by a major migration of Turkish peoples, the Oghuz, from the outer steppes. When the Saljuqs first appeared in Transoxiana and Khurasan in the 5th/11th century, they came as marauders and plunderers. The Saljuqs belonged to the Oghuz Turks, who appear in history as the Toquz Oghuz.