Anatolian knotted carpets are seen from only the 5th or 6th century AD although they may have been known earlier. Anatolia is singled out primarily, as the Turkish people in that region were the first rank of contributors to the true development of style in carpets. The Seljukes, ejected from their ancestral homes in Turkestan, achieved sovereignty over the entire Near East in the 11th Century and brought carpets into vogue. Marco Polo who visited the realm of the Seljukes at the end of the 13th century makes mention of the fact that there is where the finest and most beautiful carpets were produced.

In Anatolia the loom called the "istar" evolved into its optimum form in pre-historic times and has required very little refinement since. The warp-weighted loom was the established loom technology by the 4th millennium BC & possibly the fifth. However, the horizontal ground loom and its vertical variation displaced the warp weighted loom in Anatolia through being adapted from regions to the South and East. These looms along with their shed and heddle bar mechanism seem to have existed in the Middle East and Egypt from at least the 4th millennium BC. Exactly when the horizontal ground loom displaced the warp-weighted loom is unknown.

A rug weaver either has to rely on her memory of the motifs, designs, and colors she has used, or use an older rug as a weaving aid. This aspect of weaving often causes inconsistency between designs and colors from one end of the rug to the other. Although it is constraining in terms of design creation, Anatolian weavers still prefer upright looms, because they are more comfortable to use. It is easier to dress the loom, and an upright loom takes up very little horizontal space in homes or tents. Nowadays, weavers are attracted to metal looms instead of wooden ones, since metal looms do not warp like wooden ones, they last longer, and they are less expensive. Some rugs are woven as two separate panels and are combined. Differences in both design and color between these two panels are very common. Before weaving begins, all the yarns must be spun and dyed, and made ready to be used. Otherwise more yarns need to be prepared quickly and there will be a difference between the previously prepared batch and the new batch of yarns. The thicknesses of the yarns differs depending on the spinner. The yarns dyed at separate times in separate vats will also have a different color tone. All these differences will be evident on the rugs.