TURKIC
PEOPLE
![](640px-Map_of_Turkic_languages.svg.png)
The
countries and autonomous regions where a Turkic language has official
status or is spoken by a majority
The
Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups of Central, East,
North and West Asia as well as parts of Europe and North Africa,
who speak Turkic languages.
The
origins of the Turkic peoples has been a topic of much discussion.
Recent linguistic, genetic and archaeological evidence suggests
that the earliest Turkic peoples descended from agricultural communities
in Northeast China who moved westwards into Mongolia in the late
3rd millennium BC, where they adopted a pastoral lifestyle. By the
early 1st millennium BC, these peoples had become equestrian nomads.
In subsequent centuries, the steppe populations of Central Asia
appear to have been progressively Turkified by a heterogenous East
Asian dominant minority moving out of Mongolia. Many vastly differing
ethnic groups have throughout history become part of the Turkic
peoples through language shift, acculturation, intermixing, adoption
and religious conversion. Nevertheless, certain Turkic peoples share,
to varying degrees, non-linguistic characteristics like cultural
traits, ancestry from a common gene pool, and historical experiences.
The
most notable modern Turkic-speaking ethnic groups include Turkish
people, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Kyrgyz and Uyghur
people.
Etymology
:
![](531px-Kashgari_map.jpg)
Map
from Kashgari's Diwan, showing the distribution of Turkic tribes
The first known mention of the term Turk (Old Turkic: Türük
or Kök Türük, Chinese: Pinyin: Tujué <
Middle Chinese, Old Tibetan: drugu) applied to only one Turkic group,
namely, the Göktürks, who were also mentioned, as türüg
~ török, in the 6th-century Khüis Tolgoi inscription,
most likely not later than 587 AD. A letter by Ishbara Qaghan to
Emperor Wen of Sui in 585 described him as "the Great Turk
Khan". The Bugut (584 CE) and Orkhon inscriptions (735 CE)
use the terms Türküt, Türk and Türük.
Previous
use of similar terms are of unknown significance, although some
strongly feel that they are evidence of the historical continuity
of the term and the people as a linguistic unit since early times.
This includes the Chinese Spring and Autumn Annals, which refer
to a neighbouring people as Beidi. During the first century CE,
Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the forests north of the
Sea of Azov, and Pliny the Elder lists the Tyrcae among the people
of the same area. However, English archaeologist Ellis Minns contended
that Tyrcae is "a false correction" for Iyrcae, a people
who dwelt beyond the Thyssagetae, according to Herodotus (Histories,
iv. 22), and were likely Ugric ancestors of Magyars. There are references
to certain groups in antiquity whose names might have been foreign
transcriptions of Tür(ü)k such as Togarma, Turukha/Turuška,
Turukku and so on; but the information gap is so substantial that
any connection of these ancient people to the modern Turks is not
possible.
It
is generally accepted that the name Türk is ultimately derived
from the Old-Turkic migration-term Türük/Törük,
which means 'created, born' or 'strong', from the Old Turkic word
root *türi-/töri- 'tribal root, (mythic) ancestry; take
shape, to be born, be created, arise, spring up' and derived with
the Old Turkic, perhaps from Proto-Turkic *türi-k 'lineage,
ancestry', (compare also the Proto-Turkic word root *töre-
to be born, originate'). Scholars, including Toru Haneda, Onogawa
Hidemi, and Geng Shimin believed that Di, Dili, Dingling, Chile
and Tujue all came from the Turkic word Türk, which means 'powerful'
and 'strength', and its plural form is Türküt. Even though
Gerhard Doerfer supports the proposal that türk means 'strong'
in general, Gerard Clauson points out that "the word türk
is never used in the generalized sense of 'strong'" and that
türk was originally a noun and meant "'the culminating
point of maturity' (of a fruit, human being, etc.), but more often
used as an [adjective] meaning (of a fruit) 'just fully ripe'; (of
a human being) 'in the prime of life, young, and vigorous'".
Turkologist
Peter B. Golden agrees that the term Turk has roots in Old Turkic.
yet he does not find attempts to link Dili, Dingling, Chile, Tele,
& Tiele, which possibly transcribed *tegrek (probably meaning
'cart'), to Tujue, which transliterated Türküt, to be
convincing. The Chinese Book of Zhou (7th century) presents an etymology
of the name Turk as derived from 'helmet', explaining that this
name comes from the shape of a mountain where they worked in the
Altai Mountains. Hungarian scholar András Róna-Tas
(1991) pointed to a Khotanese-Saka word, tturakä 'lid', semantically
stretchable to 'helmet', as a possible source for this folk etymology,
yet Golden thinks this connection requires more data.
The
earliest Turkic-speaking peoples identifiable in Chinese sources
are the Dingling, Gekun, and Xinli, located in South Siberia. During
the Middle Ages, various Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe were
subsumed under the "umbrella-identity" of the "Scythians".
Between 400 CE and the 16th century, Byzantine sources use the name
Skuthai in reference to twelve different Turkic peoples.
In
the modern Turkish language as used in the Republic of Turkey, a
distinction is made between "Turks" and the "Turkic
peoples" in loosely speaking: the term Türk corresponds
specifically to the "Turkish-speaking" people (in this
context, "Turkish-speaking" is considered the same as
"Turkic-speaking"), while the term Türki refers generally
to the people of modern "Turkic Republics" (Türki
Cumhuriyetler or Türk Cumhuriyetleri). However, the proper
usage of the term is based on the linguistic classification in order
to avoid any political sense. In short, the term Türki can
be used for Türk or vice versa.
List
of ethnic groups :
List
of the modern Turkic peoples |
Ethnonym |
Population |
Turkish |
75,700,000 |
Azerbaijanis |
31,300,000 |
Uzbeks |
30,700,000 |
Kazakhs |
15,100,000 |
Uyghurs |
11,900,000 |
Turkmens |
8,000,000 |
Tatars |
6,200,000 |
Kyrgyz |
6,000,000 |
Bashkirs |
1,700,000 |
Chuvashes |
1,500,000 |
Khorasani
Turks |
1,000,000 |
Qashqai |
949,000 |
Karakalpaks |
796,000 |
Kumyks |
520,000 |
Crimean
Tatars |
from
500,000 |
Yakuts (Sakha) |
482,000 |
Karachays |
346,000 |
Tuvans |
273,000 |
Gagauz |
126,000 |
Balkars |
112,000 |
Nogais |
110,000 |
Salar |
104,000 |
Khakas |
75,000 |
Altaians |
70,000 |
Khalaj |
42,000 |
Yugurs |
13,000 |
Dolgans |
13,000 |
Khotons |
10,000 |
Shors |
8,000 |
Siberian
Tatars |
6,000 |
Crimean
Karaites |
2,000 |
Krymchaks |
1,000 |
Tofalars |
800 |
Chulyms |
355 |
Dukha |
282 |
Continued
...
List
of the modern Turkic peoples |
Ethnonym |
Religion |
Turkish |
Sunni
Islam, Alevism |
Azerbaijanis |
Shia
Islam, Sunni Islam |
Uzbeks |
Sunni
Islam |
Kazakhs |
Sunni
Islam |
Uyghurs |
Sunni
Islam |
Turkmens |
Sunni
Islam |
Tatars |
Sunni
Islam, Orthodox Christianity |
Kyrgyz |
Sunni
Islam |
Bashkirs |
Sunni
Islam |
Chuvashes |
Orthodox
Christianity, Vattisen Yaly |
Khorasani
Turks |
Shia
Islam |
Qashqai |
Shia
Islam |
Karakalpaks |
Sunni
Islam |
Kumyks |
Sunni
Islam |
Crimean
Tatars |
Sunni
Islam |
Yakuts (Sakha) |
Orthodox
Christianity, Tengrism |
Karachays |
Sunni
Islam |
Tuvans |
Tibetan
Buddhism, Tengrism |
Gagauz |
Orthodox
Christianity |
Balkars |
Sunni
Islam |
Nogais |
Sunni
Islam |
Salar |
Sunni
Islam, Tibetan Buddhism |
Khakas |
Orthodox
Christianity, Tengrism |
Altaians |
Burkhanism, Tengrism, Orthodox
Christianity |
Khalaj |
Shia
Islam |
Yugurs |
Tibetan
Buddhism, Tengrism |
Dolgans |
Tengrism, Orthodox
Christianity |
Khotons |
Sunni
Islam |
Shors |
Orthodox
Christianity, Tengrism |
Siberian
Tatars |
Sunni
Islam |
Crimean
Karaites |
Karaite
Judaism |
Krymchaks |
Orthodox
Judaism |
Tofalars |
Tengrism, Orthodox
Christianity |
Chulyms |
Orthodox
Christianity |
Dukha |
Tengrism |
Continued
...
List
of the modern Turkic peoples |
Ethnonym |
National-state
formation |
Turkish |
Turkey, Northern
Cyprus |
Azerbaijanis |
Azerbaijan, Dagestan (Russian
Federation) |
Uzbeks |
Uzbekistan |
Kazakhs |
Kazakhstan, Ili
Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Barkol Kazakh Autonomous
County, Mori Kazakh Autonomous County, Altai Republic |
Uyghurs |
Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region (PRC) |
Turkmens |
Turkmenistan |
Tatars |
Tatarstan (Russian
Federation) |
Kyrgyz |
Kyrgyzstan, Kizilsu
Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture |
Bashkirs |
Bashkortostan (Russian
Federation) |
Chuvashes |
Chuvashia (Russian
Federation) |
Khorasani
Turks |
No |
Qashqai |
No |
Karakalpaks |
Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan) |
Kumyks |
Dagestan (Russian
Federation) |
Crimean
Tatars |
Republic
of Crimea Autonomous Republic of Crimea (same
area claimed by both Ukraine and Russia) |
Yakuts (Sakha) |
Sakha
Republic or Yakutia (Russian Federation) |
Karachays |
Karachay-Cherkessia (Russian
Federation) |
Tuvans |
Tuva (Russian
Federation) |
Gagauz |
Gagauzia (Moldova) |
Balkars |
Kabardino-Balkaria (Russian
Federation) |
Nogais |
Dagestan Karachay-Cherkessia |
Salar |
Xunhua
Salar Autonomous County, Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang
and Salar Autonomous County |
Khakas |
Khakassia (Russian
Federation) |
Altaians |
Altai
Republic (Russian Federation) |
Khalaj |
No |
Yugurs |
Sunan
Yugur Autonomous County |
Dolgans |
Taymyrsky
Dolgano-Nenetsky District (Russian Federation) |
Khotons |
No |
Shors |
No |
Siberian
Tatars |
No |
Crimean
Karaites |
No |
Krymchaks |
No |
Tofalars |
No |
Chulyms |
No |
Dukha |
No |
Historical
Turkic groups :
• Az
• Dingling
• Bulgars
• Alat
• Basmyl
• Onogurs
• Saragurs
• Sabirs
• Shatuo
• Yueban
• Göktürks
• Oghuz
Turks
• Kankalis
• Khazars
• Kipchaks
• Kumans
• Karluks
• Tiele
• Turgesh
• Yenisei
Kirghiz
• Chigils
• Toquz
Oghuz
• Yagma
• Nushibi
• Kutrigurs
• Duolu
• Yabaku
• Bulaqs
• Xueyantuo
• Chorni
Klobuky
• Berendei
• Naimans
(partly)
• Keraites
(partly)
• Merkits
(partly)
Possible Proto-Turkic ancestry, at least partial, has been posited
for Xiongnu, Huns and Pannonian Avars, as well as Tuoba and Rouran
(later Tatars), who were of Proto-Mongolic Donghu ancestry.
Notes
:
Even though Chinese historians routinely ascribed Xiongnu origin
to various nomadic peoples, such ascriptions do not necessarily
indicate the subjects' exact origins; for examples, Xiongnu ancestry
was ascribed to Turkic-speaking Göktürks and Tiele as
well as Para-Mongolic-speaking Kumo Xi and Khitan.
Language :
![](422px-Codex_Cumanicus_58.jpg)
A
page from "Codex Kumanicus". The Codex was designed in
order to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Kumans
Distribution :
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some 30 languages,
spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean,
to Siberia and Western China, and through to the Middle East. Some
170 million people have a Turkic language as their native language;
an additional 20 million people speak a Turkic language as a second
language. The Turkic language with the greatest number of speakers
is Turkish proper, or Anatolian Turkish, the speakers of which account
for about 40% of all Turkic speakers. More than one third of these
are ethnic Turks of Turkey, dwelling predominantly in Turkey proper
and formerly Ottoman-dominated areas of Southern and Eastern Europe
and West Asia; as well as in Western Europe, Australia and the Americas
as a result of immigration. The remainder of the Turkic people are
concentrated in Central Asia, Russia, the Caucasus, China, and northern
Iraq.
Alphabet
:
The Turkic alphabets are sets of related alphabets with letters
(formerly known as runes), used for writing mostly Turkic languages.
Inscriptions in Turkic alphabets were found in Mongolia. Most of
the preserved inscriptions were dated to between 8th and 10th centuries
CE.
The
earliest positively dated and read Turkic inscriptions date from
c. 150, and the alphabets were generally replaced by the Old Uyghur
alphabet in the Central Asia, Arabic script in the Middle and Western
Asia, Cyrillic in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans, and Latin alphabet
in Central Europe. The latest recorded use of Turkic alphabet was
recorded in Central Europe's Hungary in 1699 CE.
The
Turkic runiform scripts, unlike other typologically close scripts
of the world, do not have a uniform palaeography as, for example,
have the Gothic runes, noted for the exceptional uniformity of its
language and paleography. The Turkic alphabets are divided into
four groups, the best known of them is the Orkhon version of the
Enisei group. The Orkhon script is the alphabet used by the Göktürks
from the 8th century to record the Old Turkic language. It was later
used by the Uyghur Empire; a Yenisei variant is known from 9th-century
Kyrgyz inscriptions, and it has likely cousins in the Talas Valley
of Turkestan and the Old Hungarian script of the 10th century. Irk
Bitig is the only known complete manuscript text written in the
Old Turkic script.
The
Turkic language family is traditionally considered to be part of
the proposed Altaic language family.
The
various Turkic languages are usually considered in geographical
groupings: the Oghuz (or Southwestern) languages, the Kypchak (or
Northwestern) languages, the Eastern languages (like Uygur), the
Northern languages (like Altay and Yakut), and one existing Oghur
language: Chuvash (the other Oghur languages, like Volga Bulgarian,
are now extinct). The high mobility and intermixing of Turkic peoples
in history makes an exact classification extremely difficult.
The
Turkish language belongs to the Oghuz subfamily of Turkic. It is
for the most part mutually intelligible with the other Oghuz languages,
which include Azerbaijani, Gagauz, Turkmen and Urum, and to a varying
extent with the other Turkic languages.
Geographical
distribution :
This
section needs additional citations for verification.
![](640px-Carte_peuples_turcs.png)
Descriptive
map of Turkic peoples
![](640px-Map_of_Turkic_languages.svg.png)
Countries
and autonomous subdivisions where a Turkic language has official
status or is spoken by a majority
While the Turkic language and people may have originated in Mongolia,
today most of the Turkic peoples today have their homelands in Central
Asia, [citation needed] but can be found as far west as present-day
Turkey. While the term "Turk" may refer to a member of
any Turkic people, the term Turkish usually refers specifically
to the people and language of the modern country of Turkey.
At
present, there are six independent Turkic countries: Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan. The Turks
in Turkey are over 60 million to 70 million worldwide, while the
second largest Turkic people are the Azerbaijanis, numbering 22
to 38 million worldwide; most of them live in Azerbaijan and Iran.
In
the Russian Federation there are several Turkic national subdivisions,
including Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Khakassia, Tuva,
Yakutia, the Altai Republic, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Cherkessiya.
Each of these subdivisions has its own flag, parliament, laws, and
official state language (in addition to Russian).
The
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China and the autonomous
region of Gagauzia, located within eastern Moldova and bordering
Ukraine to the north, are two major autonomous Turkic regions. The
Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine is a home of Crimean
Tatars. In addition, there are several communities found in Iraq,
Georgia, Bulgaria, the Republic of North Macedonia, Tajikistan,
Afghanistan, and western Mongolia.
Turks
in India are very small in number. There are barely 150 Turkish
people from Turkey in India. These are recent immigrants. Descendants
of Turkish rulers also exist in Northern India. Mughals who are
part Turkic people also live in India in significant numbers. They
are descendants of the Mughal rulers of India. Karlugh Turks are
also found in the Haraza region and in smaller number in Azad Kashmir
region of Pakistan. Small amount of Uyghurs are also present in
India. Turks also exist in Pakistan in similar proportions. One
of the tribe in Hazara region of Pakistan is Karlugh Turks which
is direct descendant of Turks of Central Asia. Turkish influence
in Pakistan can be seen through the national language, Urdu, which
comes from a Turkish word meaning "horde" or "army".[citation
needed]
The
Western Yugur at Gansu in China, Salar at Qinghai in China, the
Dolgan at Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia, and the Nogai at Dagestan
in Russia are the Turk minorities in the respective regions.
History
:
Origins
:
![](East-Hem_500bc.jpg)
Eastern
Hemisphere in 500 BCE
History
of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century :
![](Hunting_Party_with_the_Sultan_Jean_Baptiste_Vanmour_18th_century.jpg)
Tiele
people
History
of the Turkic peoples pre-14th century |
Gokturks |
•
First
Turkic Khaganate 552 - 581
•
Western
Turkic Khaganate 581 - 657
•
Eastern
Turkic Khaganate 581 - 650
•
Second
Turkic Khaganate 682 - 744
|
Khazar
Khaganate 618 - 1048 |
Xueyantuo 628
- 646 |
Kangar
union 659 - 750 |
Turk
Shahi 665-850 |
Turgesh
Khaganate 699 - 766 |
Kimek
confederation 743 - 1035 |
Uyghur
Khaganate 744 - 840 |
Oghuz
Yabgu State 750 - 1055 |
Karluk
Yabgu State 756 - 940 |
Kara-Khanid
Khanate 840 - 1212 |
•
Western
Kara-Khanid
•
Eastern
Kara-Khanid
|
Ganzhou
Uyghur Kingdom 848 - 1036 |
Qocho 856
- 1335 |
Pecheneg
Khanates 860 - 1091 |
Ghaznavid
Empire 963 - 1186 |
Seljuk
Empire 1037 - 1194 |
|
Cumania 1067
- 1239 |
Khwarazmian
Empire 1077 - 1231 |
Kerait
Khanate 11th century - 13th century |
Delhi
Sultanate 1206 - 1526 |
•
Mamluk
dynasty
•
Khalji
dynasty
•
Tughlaq
dynasty
|
Qarlughid
Kingdom 1224 - 1266 |
Golden
Horde 1240s - 1502 |
Mamluk
Sultanate (Cairo) 1250 - 1517 |
•
Bahri
dynasty |
The origins
of the Turkic peoples has historically been disputed, with many
theories having been proposed. Martine Robbeets suggests that
the Turkic peoples were descended from a Transeurasian agricultural
community based in northeast China, which is to be associated
with the Xinglongwa culture and the succeeding Hongshan culture.
The East Asian agricultural origin of the Turkic peoples has been
corroborated in multiple recent studies. Around 2,200 BC, due
to the desertification of northeast China, the agricultural ancestors
of the Turkic peoples probably migrated westwards into Mongolia,
where they adopted a pastoral lifestyle.
Linguistic
and genetic evidence strongly suggest an early presence of Turkic
peoples in Mongolia. Genetic studies have shown that the early Turkic
peoples were of diverse origins, and that Turkic culture was spread
westwards through language diffusion rather than migrations of a
homogenous population. The genetic evidence suggests that the Turkification
of Central Asia was carried out by East Asian dominant minorities
migrating out of Mongolia.
Early
historical attestation :
![](640px-East-Hem_300ad.jpg)
Xiongnu,
Mongolic, and proto-Turkic tribes (ca. 300 CE)
Early Turkic speakers, such as the Tiele (also known as Gaoche,
lit. "High Carts"), may be related to Xiongnu and Dingling.
According to the Book of Wei, the Tiele people were the remnants
of the Chidi, the red Di people competing with the Jin in the Spring
and Autumn period. Historically they were established after the
6th century BCE.
Historical
Arab and Persian descriptions of Turks state that they looked strange
from their perspective and were extremely physically different from
Arabs. Turks were described as "broad faced people with small
eyes". Medieval Muslim writers noted that Tibetans and Turks
resembled each other, and that they often were not able to tell
the difference between Turks and Tibetans. Moreover, on Western
Turkic coins "the faces of the governor and governess are clearly
mongoloid (a roundish face, narrow eyes), and the portrait have
definite old Türk features (long hair, absence of headdress
of the governor, a tricorn headdress of the governess)".
Xiongnu
(3rd c. BCE – 1st c. CE) :
![](640px-GoldenHorde1300.png)
Territory
of the Xiongnu, which included Mongolia, Western Manchuria, Xinjiang,
East Kazakhstan, East Kyrgyzstan, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu
The earliest separate Turkic peoples, such as the Gekun and Xinli,
appeared on the peripheries of the late Xiongnu confederation about
200 BCE (contemporaneous with the Chinese Han Dynasty) and later
among the Turkic-speaking Tiele as Hegu and Xue. It has even been
suggested that the Xiongnu themselves, who were mentioned in Han
Dynasty records, were Proto-Turkic speakers. Although little is
known for certain about the Xiongnu language(s), it seems likely
that at least a considerable part of Xiongnu tribes spoke a Turkic
language. Some scholars believe they were probably a confederation
of various ethnic and linguistic groups. A genetic research in 2003,
on skeletons from a 2000 year old Xiongnu necropolis in Mongolia,
found individuals with similar DNA sequences as modern Turkic groups,
supporting the view that at least parts of the Xiongu were of Turkic
origin.
Xiongnu
writing, older than Turkic, is agreed to have the earliest known
Turkic alphabet, the Orkhon script. This has been argued recently
using the only extant possibly Xiongu writings, the rock art of
the Yinshan and Helan Mountains. Petroglyphs of this region dates
from the 9th millennium BCE to the 19th century, and consists mainly
of engraved signs (petroglyphs) and few painted images. Excavations
done during 1924–1925 in Noin-Ula kurgans located in the Selenga
River in the northern Mongolian hills north of Ulaanbaatar produced
objects with over 20 carved characters, which were either identical
or very similar to the runic letters of the Turkic Orkhon script
discovered in the Orkhon Valley.
Huns
(4th – 6th c. CE) :
![](Huns450.png)
Huns
(c.450 CE)
The Hun hordes ruled by Attila, who invaded and conquered much of
Europe in the 5th century, might have been, at least partially,
Turkic and descendants of the Xiongnu. In the 18th century, the
French scholar Joseph de Guignes became the first to propose a link
between the Huns and the Xiongnu people, who were northern neighbours
of China in the 3rd century BC. Since Guignes' time, considerable
scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection.
The issue remains controversial. Their relationships to other peoples
known collectively as the Iranian Huns are also disputed.
Some
scholars regard the Huns as one of the earlier Turkic tribes, while
others view them as Proto-Mongolian or Yeniseian in origin. Linguistic
studies by Otto Maenchen-Helfen and others have suggested that the
language used by the Huns in Europe was too little documented to
be classified. Nevertheless, many of the proper names used by Huns
appear to be Turkic in origin.
Turkic
peoples originally used their own alphabets, like Orkhon and Yenisey
runiforms, and later the Uyghur alphabet. Traditional national and
cultural symbols of the Turkic peoples include wolves in Turkic
mythology and tradition; as well as the color blue, iron, and fire.
Turquoise blue (the word turquoise comes from the French word meaning
"Turkish") is the color of the stone turquoise still used
in jewelry and as a protection against the evil eye.
Steppe
expansions :
Göktürks – Turkic Khaganate (5th – 8th c.)
:
![](First_Turk_Khaganate(600).png)
First
Turk Khaganate (600 CE)
![](640px-Asia_600ad.jpg)
The
Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates (600 CE)
The first mention of Turks was in a Chinese text that mentioned
trade between Turk tribes and the Sogdians along the Silk Road.
The Ashina clan migrated from Li-jien (modern Zhelai Zhai) to the
Rourans seeking inclusion in their confederacy and protection from
the prevalent dynasty. The Ashina tribe were famed metalsmiths and
were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet,
from which they were said to have gotten their name tujué,
the first recorded use of "Turk" as a political name.
In the 6th-century, Ashina's power had increased such that they
conquered the Tiele on their Rouran overlords' behalf and even overthrew
Rourans and established the First Turkic Khaganate.
In
the 6th century, 400 years after the collapse of northern Xiongnu
power in Inner Asia, the Göktürks assumed leadership of
the Turkic peoples. Formerly in the Xiongnu nomadic confederation,
the Göktürks inherited their traditions and administrative
experience. From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership united
the nomadic Turkic tribes into the Göktürk Empire on Mongolia
and Central Asia. The name derives from gok, "blue" or
"celestial". Unlike its Xiongnu predecessor, the Göktürk
Khaganate had its temporary Khagans from the Ashina clan, who were
subordinate to a sovereign authority controlled by a council of
tribal chiefs. The Khaganate retained elements of its original animistic-shamanistic
religion, that later evolved into Tengriism, although it received
missionaries of Buddhist monks and practiced a syncretic religion.
The Göktürks were the first Turkic people to write Old
Turkic in a runic script, the Orkhon script. The Khaganate was also
the first state known as "Turk". It eventually collapsed
due to a series of dynastic conflicts, but many states and peoples
later used the name "Turk".
The
Göktürks (First Turkic Kaganate) quickly spread west to
the Caspian Sea. Between 581 and 603 the Western Turkic Khaganate
in Kazakhstan separated from the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in Mongolia
and Manchuria during a civil war. The Han-Chinese successfully overthrew
the Eastern Turks in 630 and created a military Protectorate until
682. After that time the Second Turkic Khaganate ruled large parts
of the former Göktürk area. After several wars between
Turks, Chinese and Tibetans, the weakened Second Turkic Khaganate
was replaced by the Uyghur Khaganate in the year 744.
Bulgars,
Golden Horde and the Siberian Khanate :
![](640px-Bulgarians_and_Slavs_VI-VII_century.png)
The
migration of the Bulgars after the fall of Old Great Bulgaria in
the 7th century
The Bulgars established themselves in between the Caspian and Black
Seas in the 5th and 6th centuries, followed by their conquerors,
the Khazars who converted to Judaism in the 8th or 9th century.
After them came the Pechenegs who created a large confederacy, which
was subsequently taken over by the Cumans and the Kipchaks. One
group of Bulgars settled in the Volga region and mixed with local
Volga Finns to become the Volga Bulgars in what is today Tatarstan.
These Bulgars were conquered by the Mongols following their westward
sweep under Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Other Bulgars settled
in Southeastern Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries, and mixed with
the Slavic population, adopting what eventually became the Slavic
Bulgarian language. Everywhere, Turkic groups mixed with the local
populations to varying degrees.
![](640px-GoldenHorde1300.png)
Golden Horde
The Volga Bulgaria became an Islamic state in 922 and influenced
the region as it controlled many trade routes. In the 13th century,
Mongols invaded Europe and established the Golden Horde in Eastern
Europe, western & northern Central Asia, and even western Siberia.
The Cuman-Kipchak Confederation and Islamic Volga Bulgaria were
absorbed by the Golden Horde in the 13th century; in the 14th century,
Islam became the official religion under Uzbeg Khan where the general
population (Turks) as well as the aristocracy (Mongols) came to
speak the Kipchak language and were collectively known as "Tatars"
by Russians and Westerners. This country was also known as the Kipchak
Khanate and covered most of what is today Ukraine, as well as the
entirety of modern-day southern and eastern Russia (the European
section). The Golden Horde disintegrated into several khanates and
hordes in the 15th and 16th century including the Crimean Khanate,
Khanate of Kazan, and Kazakh Khanate (among others), which were
one by one conquered and annexed by the Russian Empire in the 16th
through 19th centuries.
In
Siberia, the Siberian Khanate was established in the 1490s by fleeing
Tatar aristocrats of the disintegrating Golden Horde who established
Islam as the official religion in western Siberia over the partly
Islamized native Siberian Tatars and indigenous Uralic peoples.
It was the northernmost Islamic state in recorded history and it
survived up until 1598 when it was conquered by Russia.
Uyghur
Khaganate (8th – 9th c.) :
![](640px-Uyghur_Khaganate.png)
Uyghur
Khaganate
![](585px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_063.jpg)
Uyghur
royals
The Uyghur empire ruled large parts of Mongolia, Northern and Western
China and parts of northern Manchuria. They followed largely Buddhism
and animistic traditions. During the same time, the Shatuo Turks
emerged as power factor in Northern and Central China and were recognized
by the Tang Empire as allied power. The Uyghur empire fell after
several wars in the year 840.
![](latertang.png)
The
Turkic Later Tang Dynasty
The Shatuo Turks had founded several short-lived sinicized dynasties
in northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
The official language of these dynasties was Chinese and they used
Chinese titles and names. Some Shaotuo Turks emperors also claimed
patrilineal Han Chinese ancestry.
After
the fall of the Tang-Dynasty in 907, the Shatuo Turks replaced them
and created the Later Tang Dynasty in 923. The Shatuo Turks ruled
over a large part of northern China, including Beijing. They adopted
Chinese names and united Turkic and Chinese traditions. Later Tang
fall in 937 but the Shatuo rose to become one of the most powerful
clans of China. They created several other dynasies, including the
Later Jin and Later Han. The Shatuo Turks were later assimilated
into the Han Chinese ethnic group after they were conquered by the
Song dynasty.
The
Yenisei Kyrgyz allied with China to destroy the Uyghur Khaganate
in 840. The Kyrgyz people ultimately settled in the region now referred
to as Kyrgyzstan.
Central
Asia :
Kangar union (659 – 750) :
![](AD_659KangarUnion.gif)
Kangar
Union after the fall of Western Turkic Khaganate, 659 – 750
The Kangar Union (Qanghar Odaghu) was a Turkic state in the former
territory of the Western Turkic Khaganate (the entire present-day
state of Kazakhstan, without Zhetysu). The ethnic name Kangar is
a medieval name for the Kangly people, who are now part of the Kazakh,
Uzbek, and Karakalpak nations. The capital of the Kangar union was
located in the Ulytau mountains. The Pechenegs, three of whose tribes
were known as Kangar, after being defeated by the Oghuzes, Karluks,
and Kimek-Kypchaks, attacked the Bulgars and established the Pecheneg
state in Eastern Europe (840–990 CE).
Oghuz
Yabgu State (766 – 1055) :
![](AD_750OguzYabgu.jpg)
Oghuz
Yabgu State (c.750 CE)
The Oguz Yabgu State (Oguz il, meaning "Oguz Land,", "Oguz
Country") (750–1055) was a Turkic state, founded by Oghuz
Turks in 766, located geographically in an area between the coasts
of the Caspian and Aral Seas. Oguz tribes occupied a vast territory
in Kazakhstan along the Irgiz, Yaik, Emba, and Uil rivers, the Aral
Sea area, the Syr Darya valley, the foothills of the Karatau Mountains
in Tien-Shan, and the Chui River valley. The Oguz political association
developed in the 9th and 10th centuries in the basin of the middle
and lower course of the Syr Darya and adjoining the modern western
Kazakhstan steppes.
Iranian,
Indian, Arabic, and Anatolian expansion :
Turkic peoples and related groups migrated west from Northeastern
China, present-day Mongolia, Siberia and the Turkestan-region towards
the Iranian plateau, South Asia, and Anatolia (modern Turkey) in
many waves. The date of the initial expansion remains unknown.
Persia
:
Ghaznavid dynasty (977 – 1186) :
![](Ghaznavid_Empire_975_-_1187_(AD).png)
Ghaznavid
Empire at its greatest extent in 1030 CE
The Ghaznavid dynasty (Persian: gaznaviyan) was a Persianate Muslim
dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin, at their greatest extent ruling
large parts of Iran, Afghanistan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest
Indian subcontinent (part of Pakistan) from 977 to 1186. The dynasty
was founded by Sabuktigin upon his succession to rule of the region
of Ghazna after the death of his father-in-law, Alp Tigin, who was
a breakaway ex-general of the Samanid Empire from Balkh, north of
the Hindu Kush in Greater Khorasan.
Although
the dynasty was of Central Asian Turkic origin, it was thoroughly
Persianised in terms of language, culture, literature and habits
and hence is regarded by some as a "Persian dynasty".
Seljuk
Empire (1037 – 1194) :
This section needs expansion.
![](640px-Seljuk_Empire_locator_map.svg.png)
A
map showing the Seljuk Empire at its height, upon the death of Malik
Shah I in 1092
![](Male_royal_figure,_12-13th_century,_from_Iran.jpg)
Head
of Seljuq male royal figure, 12 – 13th century, from Iran
The Seljuk Empire (Romanized: Al-e Saljuq, lit. 'House of Saljuq')
or the Great Seljuq Empire was a high medieval Turko-Persian Sunni
Muslim empire, originating from the Qiniq branch of Oghuz Turks.
At its greatest extent, the Seljuk Empire controlled a vast area
stretching from western Anatolia and the Levant to the Hindu Kush
in the east, and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf in the south.
The
Seljuk empire was founded by Tughril Beg (1016–1063) and his
brother Chaghri Beg (989–1060) in 1037. From their homelands
near the Aral Sea, the Seljuks advanced first into Khorasan and
then into mainland Persia, before eventually conquering eastern
Anatolia.
Here
the Seljuks won the battle of Manzikert in 1071 and conquered most
of Anatolia from the Byzantine Empire, which became one of the reasons
for the first crusade (1095–1099). From c. 1150–1250,
the Seljuk empire declined, and was invaded by the Mongols around
1260. The Mongols divided Anatolia into emirates. Eventually one
of these, the Ottoman, would conquer the rest.
Timurid
Empire (1370 – 1507) :
![](640px-Timur_Empire.jpg)
Map
of the Timurid Empire at its greatest extent under Timur
The Timurid Empire were a Turko-Mongol empire founded in the late
14th century by Timurlane, a descendant of Genghis Khan. Timur,
although a self-proclaimed devout Muslim, brought great slaughter
in his conquest of fellow Muslims in neighboring Islamic territory
and contributed to the ultimate demise of many Muslim states, including
the Golden Horde.
Safavid
dynasty (1501 – 1736) :
The Safavid dynasty of Persia (1501–1736) were of mixed ancestry
(Kurdish and Azerbaijani, which included intermarriages with Georgian,
Circassian, and Pontic Greek dignitaries). Through intermarriage
and other political considerations, the Safavids spoke Persian and
Turkish, and some of the Shahs composed poems in their native Turkish
language. Concurrently, the Shahs themselves also supported Persian
literature, poetry and art projects including the grand Shahnama
of Shah Tahmasp. The Safavid dynasty ruled parts of Greater Iran
for more than two centuries and established the Twelver school of
Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one
of the most important turning points in Muslim history.
Afsharid
dynasty (1736 - 1796) :
The Afsharid dynasty was named after the Turkic Afshar tribe to
which they belonged. The Afshars had migrated from Turkestan to
Azerbaijan in the 13th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736
by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member
of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. Nader
belonged to the Qereqlu branch of the Afshars. During Nader's reign,
Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sassanid Empire.
South
Asia :
![](Babur_and_Humayun.jpg)
Babur,
founder of the Mughal Empire and Mughal emperor Humayun
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi-based
kingdoms three of which were of Turkic origin in medieval India.
These Turkic dynasties were the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90);
the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320); and the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414).
Southern India also saw many Turkic origin dynasties like the Bahmani
Sultanate, the Adil Shahi dynasty, the Bidar Sultanate, and the
Qutb Shahi dynasty, collectively known as the Deccan sultanates.
The
Mughal Empire was a Turkic-founded Indian empire that, at its greatest
territorial extent, ruled most of South Asia, including Afghanistan,
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and parts of Uzbekistan from the early
16th to the early 18th centuries. The Mughal dynasty was founded
by a Chagatai Turkic prince named Babur (reigned 1526–30),
who was descended from the Turkic conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) on
his father's side and from Chagatai, second son of the Mongol ruler
Genghis Khan, on his mother's side. A further distinction was the
attempt of the Mughals to integrate Hindus and Muslims into a united
Indian state.
Arabian
world :
![](Dirham_of_al-Muttaqi.jpg)
Silver
dirham of AH 329 (940/941 CE), with the names of Caliph al-Muttaqi
and Amir al-umara Bajkam (de facto ruler of the country)
![](Transoxiana_8th_century.svg.jpg)
Transoxiana
The Arab Muslim Umayyads and Abbasids fought against the pagan
Turks in the Turgesh Khaganate in the Muslim conquest of
Transoxiana. The Medieval Arabs recorded that Medieval Turks looked
strange from their perspective and were extremely physically different
from the Arabs, calling them "broad faced people with small
eyes". Medieval Muslim writers noted that Tibetans and Turks
resembled each other, and that they often were not able to tell
the difference between Turks and Tibetans.
Turkic
soldiers in the army of the Abbasid caliphs emerged as the de facto
rulers of most of the Muslim Middle East (apart from Syria and Egypt),
particularly after the 10th century.
The
Oghuz and other tribes captured and dominated various countries
under the leadership of the Seljuk dynasty and eventually captured
the territories of the Abbasid dynasty and the Byzantine Empire.
Anatolia
– Ottomans :
![](638px-OttomanEmpireIn1683.png)
Ottoman
empire in 1683
After
many battles, the western Oghuz Turks established their own state
and later constructed the Ottoman Empire. The main migration of
the Oghuz Turks occurred in medieval times, when they spread across
most of Asia and into Europe and the Middle East. They also took
part in the military encounters of the Crusades. In 1090–91,
the Turkic Pechenegs reached the walls of Constantinople, where
Emperor Alexius I with the aid of the Kipchaks annihilated their
army.
As
the Seljuk Empire declined following the Mongol invasion, the Ottoman
Empire emerged as the new important Turkic state, that came to dominate
not only the Middle East, but even southeastern Europe, parts of
southwestern Russia, and northern Africa.
Islamization
:
Turkic peoples like the Karluks (mainly 8th century), Uyghurs, Kyrgyz,
Kazakhs, and Turkmens later came into contact with Muslims, and
most of them gradually adopted Islam. Some groups of Turkic people
practice other religions, including their original animistic-shamanistic
religion, Christianity, Burkhanism, Jews (Khazars, Krymchaks, Crimean
Karaites), Buddhism and a small number of Zoroastrians.
Modern
history :
Independent Turkic states shown in red
The Ottoman Empire gradually grew weaker in the face of poor administration,
repeated wars with Russia, Austria and Hungary, and the emergence
of nationalist movements in the Balkans, and it finally gave way
after World War I to the present-day Republic of Turkey. Ethnic
nationalism also developed in Ottoman Empire during the 19th century,
taking the form of Pan-Turkism or Turanism.
The
Turkic peoples of Central Asia were not organized in nation-states
during most of the 20th century, after the collapse of the Russian
Empire living either in the Soviet Union or (after a short-lived
First East Turkestan Republic) in the Chinese Republic.
In
1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, five Turkic
states gained their independence. These were Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Other Turkic regions such
as Tatarstan, Tuva, and Yakutia remained in the Russian Federation.
Chinese Turkestan remained part of the People's Republic of China.
Immediately
after the independence of the Turkic states, Turkey began seeking
diplomatic relations with them. Over time political meetings between
the Turkic countries increased and led to the establishment of TÜRKSOY
in 1993 and later the Turkic Council in 2009.
International
organizations :
![](Map-TurksoyMembers.png)
Map
of TÜRKSOY members
There are several international organizations created with the purpose
of furthering cooperation between countries with Turkic-speaking
populations, such as the Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and
Culture (TÜRKSOY) and the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking
Countries (TÜRKPA) and the Turkic Council.
![](640px-Conseilturcique.svg.png)
The TAKM – Organization of the Eurasian Law Enforcement Agencies
with Military Status, was established on 25 January 2013. It is
an intergovernmental military law enforcement (gendarmerie) organization
of currently three Turkic countries (Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and
Turkey) and Kazakhstan as observer.
TÜRKSOY
:
Türksoy carries out activities to strengthen cultural ties
between Turkic peoples. One of the main goals to transmit their
common cultural heritage to future generations and promote it around
the world.
Every
year, one city in the Turkic world is selected as the "Cultural
Capital of the Turkic World". Within the framework of events
to celebrate the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World, numerous
cultural events are held, gathering artists, scholars and intellectuals,
giving them the opportunity to exchange their experiences, as well
as promoting the city in question internationally.
Turkic
Council :
The newly established Turkic Council, founded on November 3, 2009
by the Nakhchivan Agreement confederation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Turkey, aims to integrate these organizations into a tighter
geopolitical framework.
The
member countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.
Uzbekistan formally applied for membership on September 12, 2019.
The idea of setting up this cooperative council was first put forward
by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev back in 2006. Turkmenistan
is currently not an official member of the council, however, it
is a possible future member of the council. Hungary has announced
to be interested in joining the Turkic council. Since August 2018,
Hungary has official observer status in the Turkic Council.
Demographics
:
![](446px-Bashkir_in_Paris.jpg)
Bashkirs,
painting from 1812, Paris
The distribution of people of Turkic cultural background ranges
from Siberia, across Central Asia, to Southern Europe. As of 2011
the largest groups of Turkic people live throughout Central Asia—Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, in addition
to Turkey and Iran. Additionally, Turkic people are found within
Crimea, Altishahr region of western China, northern Iraq, Israel,
Russia, Afghanistan, and the Balkans: Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania,
and former Yugoslavia.
A small number of Turkic people also live in Vilnius, the capital
of Lithuania. Small numbers inhabit eastern Poland and the south-eastern
part of Finland. There are also considerable populations of Turkic
people (originating mostly from Turkey) in Germany, United States,
and Australia, largely because of migrations during the 20th century.
Sometimes
ethnographers group Turkic people into six branches: the Oghuz Turks,
Kipchak, Karluk, Siberian, Chuvash, and Sakha/Yakut branches. The
Oghuz have been termed Western Turks, while the remaining five,
in such a classificatory scheme, are called Eastern Turks.
The
genetic distances between the different populations of Uzbeks scattered
across Uzbekistan is no greater than the distance between many of
them and the Karakalpaks. This suggests that Karakalpaks and Uzbeks
have very similar origins. The Karakalpaks have a somewhat greater
bias towards the eastern markers than the Uzbeks.
Historical
population :
Year |
Population |
1
AD |
2
- 2.5 million |
2013 |
150
- 200 million |
The following incomplete list of Turkic people shows the
respective groups' core areas of settlement and their estimated
sizes (in millions) :
People |
Primary
homeland |
Turks |
Turkey |
Azerbaijanis |
Iranian
Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan |
Uzbeks |
Uzbekistan |
Kazakhs |
Kazakhstan |
Uyghurs |
Altishahr (China) |
Turkmens |
Turkmenistan |
Tatars |
Tatarstan (Russia) |
Kyrgyzs |
Kyrgyzstan |
Bashkirs |
Bashkortostan (Russia) |
Crimean
Tatars |
Crimea (Russia/Ukraine) |
Qashqai |
Southern
Iran (Iran) |
Chuvashes |
Chuvashia (Russia) |
Karakalpaks |
Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan) |
Yakuts |
Yakutia (Russia) |
Kumyks |
Dagestan (Russia) |
|
Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia) |
Tuvans |
Tuva (Russia) |
Gagauzs |
Gagauzia (Moldova) |
Turkic
Karaites
and Krymchaks
|
Ukraine |
Continued
...
People |
Modern
language |
Turks |
Turkish |
Azerbaijanis |
Azerbaijani |
Uzbeks |
Uzbek |
Kazakhs |
Kazakh |
Uyghurs |
Uyghur |
Turkmens |
Turkmen |
Tatars |
Tatar |
Kyrgyzs |
Kyrgyz |
Bashkirs |
Bashkir |
Crimean
Tatars |
Crimean
Tatar |
Qashqai |
Qashqai |
Chuvashes |
Chuvash |
Karakalpaks |
Karakalpak |
Yakuts |
Sakha |
Kumyks |
Kumyk |
|
Karachay-Balkar |
Tuvans |
Tuvan |
Gagauzs |
Gagauz |
Turkic
Karaites
and Krymchaks
|
Karaim and Krymchak |
Continued
...
People |
Predominant
religion and sect |
Turks |
Sunni
Islam |
Azerbaijanis |
Shia
Islam (65%), Sunni Islam (35%) (Hanafi). |
Uzbeks |
Sunni
Islam |
Kazakhs |
Sunni
Islam |
Uyghurs |
Sunni
Islam |
Turkmens |
Sunni
Islam |
Tatars |
Sunni
Islam |
Kyrgyzs |
Sunni
Islam |
Bashkirs |
Sunni
Islam |
Crimean
Tatars |
Sunni
Islam |
Qashqai |
Shia
Islam |
Chuvashes |
Orthodox
Christianity |
Karakalpaks |
Sunni
Islam |
Yakuts |
Orthodox
Christianity |
Kumyks |
Sunni
Islam |
|
Sunni
Islam |
Tuvans |
Tibetan
Buddhism |
Gagauzs |
Orthodox
Christianity |
Turkic
Karaites
and Krymchaks
|
Judaism |
Cuisine
:
Markets in the steppe region had a limited range of foodstuffs available—mostly
grains, dried fruits, spices, and tea. Turks mostly herded sheep,
goats and horses. Dairy was a staple of the nomadic diet and there
are many Turkic words for various dairy products such as süt
(milk), yagh (butter), ayran, qaymaq (similar to clotted cream),
qi¯mi¯z (fermented mare's milk) and qurut (dried yoghurt).
During the Middle Ages Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tatars, who were historically
part of the Turkic nomadic group known as the Golden Horde, continued
to develop new variations of dairy products.
Nomadic
Turks cooked their meals in a qazan, a pot similar to a cauldron;
a wooden rack called a qasqan can be used to prepare certain steamed
foods, like the traditional meat dumplings called manti. They also
used a saj, a griddle that was traditionally placed on stones over
a fire, and shish. In later times, the Persian tava was borrowed
from the Persians for frying, but traditionally nomadic Turks did
most of their cooking using the qazan, saj and shish. Meals were
served in a bowl, called a chanaq, and eaten with a knife (bïchaq)
and spoon (qashi¯q). Both bowl and spoon were historically
made from wood. Other traditional utensils used in food preparation
included a thin rolling pin called oqlaghu, a colander called süzgu¯çh,
and a grinding stone called tagirman.
Medieval
grain dishes included preparations of whole grains, soups, porridges,
breads and pastries. Fried or toasted whole grains were called qawïrmach,
while köchä was crushed grain that was cooked with dairy
products. Salma were broad noodles that could be served with boiled
or roasted meat; cut noodles were called tutmaj in the Middle Ages
and are called kesme today.
There
are many types of bread doughs in Turkic cuisine. Yupqa is the thinnest
type of dough, bawi¯rsaq is a type of fried bread dough, and
chälpäk is a deep fried flat bread. Qatlama is a fried
bread that may be sprinkled with dried fruit or meat, rolled, and
sliced like pinwheel sandwiches. Toqach and chöräk are
varieties of bread, and böräk is a type of filled pie
pastry.
Herd
animals were usually slaughtered during the winter months and various
types of sausages were prepared to preserve the meats, including
a type of sausage called sujuk. Though prohibited by Islamic dietary
restrictions, historically Turkic nomads also had a variety of blood
sausage. One type of sausage, called qazi¯, was made from horsemeat
and another variety was filled with a mixture of ground meat, offal
and rice. Chopped meat was called qïyma and spit-roasted meat
was söklünch—from the root sök- meaning "to
tear off", the latter dish is known as kebab in modern times.
Qawirma is a typical fried meat dish, and kullama is a soup of noodles
and lamb.
Religion
:
Early Turkic mythology and Tengrism :
![](Kyzyl_Shaman.jpg)
A
shaman doctor of Kyzyl
Pre-Islamic Turkic mythology was dominated by Shamanism, Animism
and Tengrism. The Turkic animistic traditions were mostly focused
on ancestor worship, polytheistic-animism and shamanism. Later this
animistic tradition would form the more organized Tengrism. The
chief deity was Tengri, a sky god, worshipped by the upper classes
of early Turkic society until Manichaeism was introduced as the
official religion of the Uyghur Empire in 763.
The
wolf symbolizes honour and is also considered the mother of most
Turkic peoples. Asena (Ashina Tuwu) is the wolf mother of Tumen
Il-Qagan, the first Khan of the Göktürks. The horse and
predatory birds, such as the eagle or falcon, are also main figures
of Turkic mythology.[citation needed]
Religious
conversions :
Buddhism :
Tengri Bögü Khan made the now extinct Manichaeism the
state religion of Uyghur Khaganate in 763 and it was also popular
in Karluks. It was gradually replaced by the Mahayana Buddhism.
[citation needed] It existed in the Buddhist Uyghur Gaochang up
to the 12th century.
Tibetan
Buddhism, or Vajrayan was the main religion after Manichaeism. They
worshipped Tänri Tänrisi Burxan, Quanšï Im Pusar
and Maitri Burxan. Turkic Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
and west Xinjiang attributed with a rapid and almost total disappearance
of it and other religions in North India and Central Asia. The Sari
Uygurs "Yellow Yughurs" of Western China, as well as the
Tuvans and Altai of Russia are the only remaining Buddhist Turkic
peoples.
Islam
:
![](640px-Pavlodar-Moschea.jpg)
A
Mosque in Kazakhstan
Most Turkic people today are Sunni Muslims, although a significant
number in Turkey are Alevis. Alevi Turks, who were once primarily
dwelling in eastern Anatolia, are today concentrated in major urban
centers in western Turkey with the increased urbanism. Azeris are
traditionally Shiite Muslims. Religious observance is less stricter
in the Republic of Azerbaijan compared to Iranian Azerbaijan.
The
major Christian-Turkic peoples are the Chuvash of Chuvashia and
the Gagauz (Gökoguz) of Moldova. The traditional religion of
the Chuvash of Russia, while containing many ancient Turkic concepts,
also shares some elements with Zoroastrianism, Khazar Judaism, and
Islam. The Chuvash converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity for
the most part in the second half of the 19th century. As a result,
festivals and rites were made to coincide with Orthodox feasts,
and Christian rites replaced their traditional counterparts. A minority
of the Chuvash still profess their traditional faith. Church of
the East was popular among Turks such as the Naimans. It even revived
in Gaochang and expanded in Xinjiang in the Yuan dynasty period.
It disappeared after its collapse.
Today
there are several groups that support a revival of the ancient traditions.
Especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many in Central
Asia converted or openly practice animistic and shamanistic rituals.
It is estimated that about 60% of Kyrgyz people practice a form
of animistic rituals. In Kazakhstan there are about 54.000 followers
of the ancient traditions.
Muslim
Turks and non-Muslim Turks :
![](Dunhuang_Uighur_king.jpg)
Uyghur
king from Turpan region attended by servants
Kara-Khanids performed a mass conversion campaign against the Buddhist
Uyghur Turks during the Islamization and Turkification of Xinjiang.[citation
needed]
The
non-Muslim Turks worship of Tengri and other gods was mocked and
insulted by the Muslim Turk Mahmud al-Kashgari, who wrote a verse
referring to them – The Infidels – May God destroy them!
The
Basmil, Yabaku and Uyghur states were among the Turkic peoples who
fought against the Kara-Khanids spread of Islam. The Islamic Kara-Khanids
were made out of Tukhai, Yaghma, Çigil and Karluk.
Kashgari
claimed that the Prophet assisted in a miraculous event where 700,000
Yabaqu infidels were defeated by 40,000 Muslims led by Arslan Tegin
claiming that fires shot sparks from gates located on a green mountain
towards the Yabaqu. The Yabaqu were a Turkic people.
Mahmud
al-Kashgari insulted the Uyghur Buddhists as "Uighur dogs"
and called them "Tats", which referred to the "Uighur
infidels" according to the Tuxsi and Taghma, while other Turks
called Persians "tat". While Kashgari displayed a different
attitude towards the Turks diviners beliefs and "national customs",
he expressed towards Buddhism a hatred in his Diwan where he wrote
the verse cycle on the war against Uighur Buddhists. Buddhist origin
words like toyin (a cleric or priest) and Burxan or Furxan (meaning
Buddh, acquiring the generic meaning of "idol" in the
Turkic language of Kashgari) had negative connotations to Muslim
Turks.
![](Tyurki.jpg)
Göktürk petroglyphs from Mongolia (6th to 8th
century)
![](Uighur_Prince.jpg)
An
Uyghur Khagan
Old sports :
Kyz
kuu
Kyz
kuu :
Kyz kuu (chase the girl) has been played by Turkic people at festivals
since time immemorial.
Jereed
:
Horses have been essential and even sacred animals for Turks living
as nomadic tribes in the Central Asian steppes. Turks were born,
grew up, lived, fought and died on horseback. Jereed became the
most important sporting and ceremonial game of Turkish people.
Kokpar
:
The kokpar began with the nomadic Turkic peoples who have come from
farther north and east spreading westward from China and Mongolia
between the 10th and 15th centuries.
Jigit
:
"jigit" is used in the Caucasus and Central Asia to describe
a skillful and brave equestrian, or a brave person in general.
Gallery
:
Bezeklik caves and Mogao grottoes :
Images of Buddhist and Manichean Turkic Uyghurs from the Bezeklik
caves and Mogao grottoes.
![](Dunhuang_Uighur_king.jpg)
Uyghur king from Turfan, from the murals at the Dunhuang
Mogao Caves
![](Uighur_prince_from_Bezeklik_murals.jpg)
Uyghur
prince from the Bezeklik murals
![](359px-Uighur_woman_from_Bezeklik_murals.jpg)
Uyghur
woman from the Bezeklik murals
![](UighurPrincess.png)
Uyghur
Princess
![](550px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_064.jpg)
Uyghur
Princesses from the Bezeklik murals
![](585px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_063.jpg)
Uyghur
Princes from the Bezeklik murals
![](Uigure-bezeklik-19.jpg)
Uyghur
noble from the Bezeklik murals
![](246px-Manichaean_Temple_Banner_(MIK_III_6283).jpg)
Uyghur
Manichaean Elect depicted on a temple banner from Qocho
![](340px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_067.jpg)
Uyghur
donor from the Bezeklik murals
![](457px-ManichaeanElectaeKocho10thCentury.jpg)
Uyghur
Manichaean Electae from Qocho
![](634px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_066.jpg)
Uyghur
Manichaean clergymen from Qocho
![](531px-Museum_f%FCr_Indische_Kunst_Dahlem_Berlin_Mai_2006_061.jpg)
Fresco
of Palm Sunday from Qocho
![](Manicheans.jpg)
Manicheans
from Qocho
Medieval
times :
![](Omurtag1.jpg)
Khan
Omurtag of Bulgaria, from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes
Modern
times :
![](SB_-_Altai_man_in_national_suit_on_horse.jpg)
Altai
man in national suit on horseback
![](azerigirls.jpg)
Azerbaijani
girls in traditional dress
![](Young_bashqorts.jpg)
Bashkir
boys in national dress
![](image1.jpg)
A
Chuvash woman in traditional dress
![](450px-Russian_Winter_Festival_London_2007_115.jpg)
A
female Chuvash dancer in traditional dress
![](Gagauz-children.jpg)
Young
and old Gagauz people
![](Karachay_patriarchs_in_the_19th_century.jpg)
Karachay
patriarchs in the 19th century
![](SB_-_Inside_a_Kazakh_yurt.jpg)
Kazakh
family inside a Yurt
![](image2.jpg)
Khakas
people with traditional instruments
![](640px-At_the_On-Archa_village_in_Naryn_district._Kyrgyzstan._04.10.2012.jpg)
Kyrgyz
elders in On-Archa, Kyrgyzstan
![](image4.jpg)
Kazakh
singer and songwriter Dimash Kudaibergen
![](image3.jpg)
Nogai
man in national costume
![](640px-RIAN_archive_477235_U.S._Secretary_of_State_Hillary_Clinton_visits_Tatarstan.jpg)
U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Tatarstan
![](image5.jpg)
Turkish
girls in their traditional clothes, Dursunbey, Balikesir Province
![](Turkman_girl_in_national_dress.jpg)
Turkmen
girl in national dress
![](image6.jpg)
Tuvan
men and women in Kyzyl, Tuva
![](Uyghur_girl_in_Turpan,_Xinjiang,_China_-_20050712.jpg)
An
Uyghur girl - a natural blond with epicanthic fold in Xinjiang,
China
![](Uzbek_Kids.jpg)
Uzbek
children in Samarkand
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Turkic_peoples