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- This article is about the various peoples speaking one of the Turkic languages. For the ethnic group commonly known as the Turks of Turkey, see Turkish people. For information on residents or nationals of Turkey, see Demographics of Turkey.
Turkic peoples are Northern and Central
Eurasian peoples who speak languages belonging to the
Turkic family, and who, in varying degrees, share certain
cultural and historical traits. The term "Turkic" is generally considered to represent a broad linguistic characterization, and not necessarily an ethnic one. The term "Turk" refers to a nation/ethnicity. "
Turkish" on the other hand, is considered to represent more specifically the citizens of the nation of
Turkey, as well as the
Turkish ethnicity. The Turkic languages are a subdivision of the Altaic language group, and are one of the most geographically widespread in the world, being spoken in a vast region spanning from
Europe to
Siberia.
Geographical distribution
The Turkic peoples have many different branches, and their total population is around 150 million, when all of the populations in Turkic nations and Turkic-speaking minorities in other countries are taken into account. Roughly half of these belong to
Turks of Turkey, dwelling predominantly in Turkey proper and formerly Ottoman-dominated areas of Eastern Europe and West Asia; as well as in Western Europe, Australia and the Americas as a result of immigration. The other half of the Turkic peoples are concentrated in
Central Asia,
Russia, the
Caucasus, China and Northern and North Western
Iran.
At present, there are six independent Turkic countries:
Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan,
Turkey, and
Uzbekistan, as well as the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the island of Cyprus . There are also several Turkic national subdivisions in the
Russian Federation:
Bashkortostan,
Tatarstan,
Tuva and
Yakutia. Each of these subdivisions has its own flag, parliament, laws and official state language .
There are also two other major autonomous Turkic regions: The
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China, and the autonomous state of
Gagauzia, located within eastern
Moldova, and bordering Ukraine to the north. Crimean Republic within Ukraine is a home of
Crimean Tatars. In addition, there are several Turkic regions in
Iran, and parts of
Iraq,
Georgia,
Bulgaria,
Greece,
Macedonia,
Tajikistan,
Afghanistan and western Mongolia. The Turks of Turkey number over 70 million, including expatriates and minorities in Europe, while the second largest Turkic people are the Azerbaijanis, who number around 19-33 million worldwide, with most of these living in northwestern Iran.
Turkic roots
The
Xiongnu of
Han Dynasty records may have been proto-Turkic speakers.
Another viewpoint is that the Xiongnu language was
Samoyedic rather than Turkic.
The first recorded use of "Turk" as a political name is a Sixth century reference to the word now pronounced in Modern Chinese as
Tujue. Turkic peoples probably lived as nomads for many years before establishing a political state . Turkic nationalists have claimed that the expansion of proto-Turkic peoples across Eurasia involved the
Scythians ,
Xiongnu,
Huns,
Sarmatians,
Khazars,
Pechenegs,
Alans,
Cimmerians, Massagetae and other
steppe populations. While some of these peoples may have represented, to some extent, a proto-Turkic or Turkic tribe or confederation, many of them are considered non-Turkic by mainstream historians. Certainly in later times the Khazars and the Pechenegs were Turkic, but the Cimmerians, Massagetae, Sarmatians and Scythians are thought to have been earlier
Indo-European speakers.
Turkic peoples originally used their own alphabets, like
runiform Orkhon script and the Uyghur alphabet. The traditional, national and cultural symbols of the Turkic peoples include the
star and crescentused as a symbol of Turks since pre-Islamic times when they aspired to
Shamanismwolves, a part of Turkic mythology and tradition; as well as the color blue, iron and fire.
In the age of nationalism, Turkic speakers were among the first
Muslim peoples to take up Western ideas of
liberalism and secular ideologies.
Pan-Turkism first sprang up at the end of 19th century in the
Russian Empire and was advanced by leading Turkic intellectuals like
Crimean Tatar Ismail Gaspirali and
Tatar Yusuf Akçura, as a reaction to
Panslavist and Russification policies of the Russian Empire. The first fully democratic and secular republics in the Islamic world were Turkic: the ill-fated
Idel-Ural State established in 1917, the
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 and in 1923,
Republic of Turkey.
Nomenclature
In modern Turkey, a distinction is made between "Turks" and the "Turkic peoples": the term
Türk corresponds specifically to
Turkish people and
culture, while the term
Türki refers generally to modern Turkic peoples and cultures.
Some claim that this distinction is an artificial one, and one not made by speakers of Turkic languages elsewhere. It is sometimes claimed further that much of the separation is the result of
Stalinism, and that prior to the founding of the
Soviet Union, the term "Turkish" had been used to describe all Turkic peoples as part of a greater family. Others counter that this argument is without basis, and only used to support the racial theories of
Pan-Turkismpointing out that the differences among the separate governmental administrations, as well as cultural, religious, historical, and even racial differences, are too great to speak of any political unity.
The first known mention of the term "
Turk" applied to a Turkic group, was in reference to the
Gokturks in the
6th century. A letter by the
Chinese Emperor written to a Göktürk Khan named Ishbara in 585 described him as "the Great Turk Khan". The
Orhun inscriptions use the terms
Turk and
Turuk".
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 a Chinese record of 1328 BC referring to a neighbouring people as "
Tu-Kiu".
Traditions about nomenclature
In the ancient Zoroastrian texts of the
Avesta, one of the grandsons of Yima is named "Tur" or "Tura"the supposed ancestor of so-called "Turanian" peoples, a term used in Ancient Iran for all the inhabitants of Central Asia. The term "Turanian" is derived from the Iranian word "tur" or "tar," meaning "dark," , however claims that there is any etymological connection to the word "Turk" are hotly disputed among various historians.
This traditional Persian genealogy has been confused by some with the late 16th century Mughal work Akbarnama by Abul-Fazel, where he recounts certain Islamic traditions making "Turk" the oldest son of Japheth and grandson of Noah; also, in the 19th century, it was common in Christian circles to equate the ancestor of the Turks with Togarmah, grandson of Japheth in Genesis 10.
According to Mahmud of Kashgar, an 11th century Turkic scholar, and various other traditional Islamic scholars and historians, the name "Turk" stems from "Tur", one of the sons of Japheth, and comes from the same lineage as Gomer and Ashkenaz who, according to tradition, were some of the earliest Turks . A similar name, "Dur", also appears in Mediaeval Hungarian legend, as a legendary chieftain of the Caucasian Alans whose daughters supposedly bred with the Magyar ancestors, "Magor" and "Hunor".
In the earliest Turkic dictionary extant, the eponymous hero of the Turks, Alp Er Tunga, is identified with the character Afrasiyab in Persian literature. Alp Er Tunga is a symbolic figure in Turkic tradition; the Gokturks of the sixth century carried on the tradition of Alp Er Tunga and they too believed to be descendants of a wolf. According to the "Book of Kings" written by the Persian author Ferdowsi, Afrasiyab was hunted down and killed in Azerbaijan.
History
It is generally believed that the first Turkic people were native to a region spanning from
Central Asia across throughout
Siberia. Some scholars contend that the
Huns were one of the earlier Turkic tribes, while others support either a Mongolic or Finno-Ugric origin for the Huns. The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the
fifth and
tenth centuries AD, when they spread across most of
Central Asia and into
Europe and the
Middle East.
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 peoples afterwards, was that of the
Gokturks in the
6th century AD. The head of the
Asena clan led his people from Li-jien to the Juan Juan seeking inclusion in their confederacy and protection from China. His tribe were famed metal smiths and were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet from which they got their name ??. A century later their power had increased such that they conquered the Juan Juan and set about establishing their
Gok Empire.
Later Turkic peoples include the Karluks ,
Uyghurs,
Kirghiz, Oghuz Turks, and
Turkmens. As these peoples were founding states in the area between
Mongolia and
Transoxiana, they came into contact with Muslims, and most gradually adopted
Islam. However, there were also small groups of Turkic people belonging to other religions, including
Christians,
Jews ,
Buddhists, and
Zoroastrians.
Turkic soldiers in the army of the
Abbasid caliphs emerged as the
de facto rulers of most of the Muslim Middle East , 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.
Meanwhile, the Kirghiz and Uyghurs were struggling with one another and with the Chinese Empire. The Kirghiz people ultimately settled in the region now referred to as
Kyrgyzstan. The
Tatar peoples conquered the
Volga Bulgars in what is today
Tatarstan, following the westward sweep of the Mongols under
Genghis Khan in the 13th century. The Bulgars were thus mistakenly called
Tatars by the Russians. Native Tatars live only in Asia; European "Tatars" are in fact Bulgars. Other Bulgars settled in Europe in the 7-8th centuries, exchanging their original Turkic tongue for what eventually became the Slavic
Bulgarian language. Everywhere, Turkic groups mixed with the local populations to varying degrees.
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.
The Ottoman Empire gradually grew weaker in the face of maladministration, repeated wars with
Russia and
Austro-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.
The Mughals were the Muslim rulers of India whose Ruling family claimed to be descended from Genghiz Khan and the Mongolians . However the Mughal Ruling family were
Timurids, that is descended from
Timur and so, along with many of their followers, were Turkic by patrilineal descent . However, the later monarchs were of mixed descent, mainly of Persian, Indian, and Turkic backgrounds on the maternal side.
Ref: Carter V. Findley, The Turks in World History, ISBN 0-19-517726-6
Language
The Turkic language branch belong to Altaic language groups. The various Turkic languages are usually considered in geographical groupings, since high mobility and intermixing of Turkic peoples in history makes an exact classification extremely difficult:
Oghuz languages,
Kypchak languages, Eastern languages and Northern languages and divergent languages like Chuvash.
Religion
Various pre-Islamic Turkic civilizations of the 6th century were
Shamanist and
Tengriist. The Shamanist religion is based on spiritual and natural elements of earth.
Tengriism in turn involved belief in the god
Tengri as the god who ruled over the skies. They were also bearers of the Zoroastrian religion, especially in Azerbaijan, as well as Buddhism and Judaism.
Today, most Turks are Sunni Muslims. They include the majority of Balkan Turks, Balkars, Bashkorts, Crimean Tatars, Karachay, Kazaks, Kumuk, Kyrgyz, Nogay, Tatars Turkmens, Turks of Turkey, Uygurs, Yellow Uygurs and Uzbeks. The Azerbaijanis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and South Azerbaijan are the only major Turkic people that adhere to the
Shia sect of Islam, while there have been many conversions to Sunni Islam as of late. The
Qashqay nomads and Khorasani Turks as well as various Turkic tribes spread across Iran are also Shia Muslims. The
Alevis of Turkey are the largest religious minority in the country. Even though it´s claimed that they believe in a doctrine of Islam that is closely related to that of the Shia school of thought, Shia's, however, regard Alevis as heretics.
The major Christian-Turkic peoples are the Chuvash of
Chuvashia and the
Gagauz of
Moldova. Many Karaim Turks of eastern Europe are
Jewish, and there are Turks of Jewish backgrounds who live in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Baku. In the Siberian region, the Altay, some Tuvan and Hakas are
Tengrist, having kept the original religion of Turkic peoples. The Yakuts of Yakutia in northeastern Siberia are traditionally Shamanists, yet many have converted to Christianity. The Sari Uygurs of western China, as well as the Tuvans of Russia are the only remaining Buddhist Turkic peoples. In addition, there are small scattered populations of Turks belonging to other religions such as the
Bahá'í Faith and Zoroastrianism.
Even though many Turkic peoples became
Muslims under the influence of
Sufis, often of Shi'a persuasion, most Turkic people today are Sunni Muslimsalthough 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.
The Chuvash of Russia, in their traditional religion, manifest a unique amalgam, that derives in part from ancient Turkic concepts, and in part from other aspects that may be compared to
Zoroastrianism,
Khazar Judaism, and Islam. The Chuvash religious calendar cycle was based on an agrarian cult, closely combining the cults of earth, water and vegetation, with that of ancestor worship. The conversion of the Chuvash to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, mostly effected in later 19th century, had a noticeable effect on their festivals and rites, that were adapted to coincide with Orthodox feastswith Christian rites substituted for their traditional counterparts. Though contemporary Chuvash are counted among Orthodox believers, a minority continue to profess their traditional faith .
The
Gagauz people of
Moldova are largely Christians.
The are Turkic -speaking groups of Jews, such as
Crimean Karaites.
Some Turkic peoples are largely
shamanists.
Tengriism was the predominant religion of the different Turkic branches prior to the
8th century, when the majority accepted Islam.
There are also a few Buddhist , Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Bahá'í Turkic peoples today.
Remark:
Tengri has long changed to "
Tanri" in modern Turkish , the same as in
Azeri, literally meaning "God" in English. However, traditionally, god is referred to as "Allah" in most daily usage, where "Allah" is one of many names of "God" as mentioned in Quran. The word "
tengri / tanri" is still in use by citizens of
Azerbaijan and
Turkey, where Islam at present is the dominant religion.
Geographical distribution and ethnic division
The distribution of peoples of Turkic cultural background ranges from
Siberia where the Yakut reside, across Central Asia, to Eastern Europe. Presently, the largest groups of Turkic people live throughout Central Asia
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and
Azerbaijan, in addition to
Turkey. Additionally, Turkic peoples are found within
Crimea, the
Xinjiang region of western
China, northern
Iraq,
Iran,
Israel,
Russia,
Afghanistan,
Cyprus, and the
Balkans:
Moldova,
Greece,
Bulgaria,
Romania and former
Yugoslavia. A small number of Turkic people also live in
Vilnius, the capital of
Lithuania. There are also considerable populations of Turkic people in
Germany,
United States, and
Australia, largely because of the migrations during the
20th century.
An exact line between the different Turkic peoples cannot easily be drawn. The following is a non-comprehensive list of the major groups:
