| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
The first mention of the term "Turk" which remains to this day, was by the Gokturks in the 6th century. A letter by the Chinese Emperor written to the Gokturk khan named Isbara in 585 describes him as "the Great Turk khan". The Orhun inscriptions from the same time use the term "Turuk".
Previous use of similar terms, like those in a tablet from 2000 BCE found in the ancient city of Mari near Tell Hariri in northern Iraq (which mentions that a people named "Turukku" are coming to the lands of Tiguranim and Hirbazanim), the Chinese in 1328 BCE (referring to a neighbouring people as "Tu-Kiu"), or that in the Zend-Avesta one of the grandsons of Noah is named "Turk", are of unknown significance, although some feel strongly that this is early evidence of the historical continuency of the term and the people as an ethnic (and possibly linguistic) unit.
The most common popular explanation in present-day Turkey regarding the root of the word "Turk" is that it means "strong" or "powerful". Also in the 16. century the Ottoman Turks believed that "Turk" also meant: "He who has reached the most mature stage/stage of perfection" ('kemâle ermis')
The English term "Turkic" is nowadays mainly used to describe the languages and peoples of the whole area while the term "Turkish" is commonly seen as referring to the peoples and language of modern Turkey and some of the ethnically and culturally particularly close peoples and ethnic minorities in surrounding countries. Some feel that this is an artificial distinction and claim that the Turkic languages do not make themselves this distinction. They also claim that much of the separation is the product of Stalinism, and that prior to the founding of the Soviet Union the term TurkishThe term Turkish can mean: of or relating to the country of Turkey Turkish language Turkish Airlines Turkish cuisine Turkish music Turkish literature See also Turkic peoples Turkic languages the Turk, the first chess-playing automaton. was used to describe all Turkic people which by similarity in language and culture are seen as united and part of a greater family of peoples. Others are worried that much of this debate is used as a support to the racial theories of Pan-TurkismPan-Turkism is a political movement aimed at uniting the various Turkic peoples into modern political states. While the various Turkic peoples often share historical, cultural and linguistic roots, the rising of a pan-Turkic political movement is a phenom, pointing out that the cultural, religious, historical, political, and even racial differences are too big for speaking of a unity.
It is believed that the Turkic people are natives of Central Asia. Some historians claim that the Turks originated in Western Asia, and migrated in prehistoric times to Central Asia, while others believe that migration to Western Asia and interactions in various parts of the world by Turkic peoples in ancient times (before the advent of the HunsMany historians consider the Huns (meaning "person" in mongolian language) the first Turkic people mentioned in European history. References in Chinese sources to peoples called the Xiong-Nu (Hsiung-nu) go back to 1200 BC. Their Xiong rulers, first mentio) occurred via Central Asia.
Comparisons to the ancient Sumerian languageThe Sumerian language of ancient Sumer was spoken in Southern Mesopotamia from at least the 4th millennium BC. Sumerian was replaced by Akkadian as a spoken language around 2000 BC, but continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial and scientific language (which they label as Ural-AltaicSome linguists propose the Ural-Altaic grouping, consisting of the Altaic languages ( Turkish, Mongolian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar, Manchu, etc. plus perhaps Korean and Japanese) and the Uralic languages ( Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, etc. This theory is deb) to modern Turkic languages show common vocabulary. Based on these comparisons it is claimed that the Sumerians were the most ancient documented Turkic people, that they originated from east of the Caspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is a landlocked sea in Asia. It is bordered by Russia ( Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan Oblast), Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran ( Guilan, Mazandaran and Golestan provinces), Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, with the central Asian steppes to the n but established a civilization in MesopotamiaThis is an article about the ancient middle eastern region. For the region in modern times, see Iraq, Syria. See also Mesopotamia, Ohio. Mesopotamia ( Greek: , translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan "the Land between the Rivers" or the Aramaic name Beth-N. Others dismiss this as an expression of pan-Turkist ideology, pointing out that most linguists consider Sumerian a language isolateA language isolate is a natural language with no demonstrable genetic relationship with other living languages ie, one that has not been proved to descend from a common ancestor to any other language. Commonly cited examples include Basque, Ainu, Burushas, while a few others connect it to the Dravidian languages. Further, the classification of languages into an Ural-Altaic group is often criticised, due to perceived lack of evidence and perceived lack of obvious similarties between languages classified as such.
Some scholars will also consider the Huns, whose origins go back to 1200 BCE, as one of the earlier Turkic tribes.
Leaving these controversies aside, the precise date of the initial expansion from the early homeland remains unknown. The first state known as "Turk" giving its name to the many states and people afterwards, was that of the Gokturks (gog = 'blue' or 'celestial') in the 6th century AD.
Later Turkic peoples include the Karluks (mainly 8th century), Uighurs, Kirghiz, Oghuz (or Ğuz) Turks, and Turkmens. As these peoples were founding states in the area between Mongolia and Transoxiana, they came into contact with the Muslim people and gradually adopted Islam. However, there were also (and still are) Turkic people belonging to different religions, including Christians, Jews (see Khazars), Buddhists, and Zoroastrians.
Turkic soldiers in the army of the Abbasid caliphs emerged as de facto rulers of most of the Muslim Middle East (except Syria and Egypt), particularly after the 10th century. 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.
Meanwhile, Kirghiz and Uighurs were struggling with each other and with the mighty Chinese Empire. Kirghiz people finally settled in the region that is now referred to as Kyrgyzstan. Tatar peoples conquered Volga Bulgars in what is today Tatarstan following the westward sweep of the Mongols under Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Bulgars was named tatars by Russians mistakenly. Native Tatars lives only in Asia, European tatars are in fact Bulgars. (Bulgars came to Europe in 7-8th century). Everywhere, Turkic groups mixed to some extent with other local populations.
As the Seljuks declined after the Mongol invasion, the Ottoman Empire emerged as a new important Turkic state which came to dominate not only the Middle East, but also southeastern Europe and parts of southwestern Russia and northern Africa. Meanwhile, other Turkic groups founded dynasties in Iran (like the Aqqoyunlu ) and northern India (the Mughal Empire).
The Ottoman Empire grew weaker in the face of repeated wars with Russia and Austria and the emergence of nationalist movements in the Balkans, and finally gave way after World War I to the present-day republic of Turkey.