User:BerkBerk68/Turkic history

Turkic history is the history of Turkic peoples. The Göktürks were the first state established under the name of Turk.

Origins
Turks were an important political identity of Eurasia. They first appeared at Inner Eurasian steppes and migrated to many various regions (such as Central Asia, West Asia, Siberia, and Eastern Europe.) and participated in many local civilizations there. It is not yet known when, where, and how the Turks formed as a population identity. However, its predicted that Proto-Turkic populations have inhabited regions that they could have the lifestyle of Eurasian equestrian pastoral nomadic culture.

Türk was first used as a political identity in history during the Göktürk Khaganate period. The old Turkic script was invented by Göktürks as well. The ruling Ashina clan origins are disputed.

Although there are debates about its inception, the history of the Turks is an important part of world history. The history of all people that emerged in Eurasia and North Africa has been affected by the movements of the Turks to some degree. Turks also played an important role in bringing Eastern cultures to the West and Western cultures to the East. Their own religion became the pioneer and defender of the foreign religions they adopted after Tengrism, and they helped their spread and development (Mani religion, Judaism, Buddhism, Orthodox, Nestorian Christianity and Islam).

Xiongnu affiliation
It was even claimed in Chinese Han records that Xiongnu spoke a Proto-Turkic language. It is likely that a significant amount of Xiongnu tribes spoke Turkic. It is also a popular thought among scholars that Xiongnu is most likely to be a confederation of different ethnic and linguistic groups. Genetic researches also have discoveries about genetic affiliation of Xiongnu to Turkic nations. According to a genetic research conducted in 2003, DNA sequences similar to many modern Turkic groups (particularly Turkish samples) were found from 62 samples from the Xiongnu necropolis at Egyin Gol between the 3rd century and the 2nd century AD, suggesting that at least some of the Xiongnu were from Turkic origin.

Hun affiliation
Hunnic armies led by Attila, who had conquered most of Europe, may have been at least partially of Turkic and Xiongnu origin. Huns were also considered as Proto-Mongolic and/or Yeniseian by some scholars.

First Turkic Khaganate
Turkic Khaganate (𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰/Türük) or the Göktürk Khaganate (𐰜𐰇𐰛 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰/Kök Türük) was founded in the Altai Region in the year 552 AD after the Tiele rebellion against the Rourans in 546 AD. It was founded as a Turkic state and turned into a steppe hegemon a little while after its foundation. Ashina clan, the nomadic tribe that pioneered the foundation of the Khaganate and also became the most dominant tribe within it, identifies itself as “Türk”, “Türük” or “Kök Türük”. Göktürks were the first state to officially use the name "Türk" politically. The term “Kök Türük” has passed into the literature as “Kök-Türk” or “Göktürk”.

Bumin Qaghan, who created a confederacy of nomadic tribes, led to a rebellion against the Rouran state. This resulted in the establishment of a new empire that used dual administration in the Orkhon region. In the dual administrative system used by the Göktürks, the leader who had the title of “emperor” used the title “Khagan” to rule the eastern half of the empire whereas the western part of the empire was ruled by “Yabghu” underneath the east. Istämi, who held the title Yabgu, ruled the Khaganate with his brother Bumin. Bumin Qaghan died in the same year the empire was founded and was replaced by Issik Qaghan. After a year of reign, İssik was replaced by Mukan, Bumin’s second son.

During his reign, Mukan conquered vast chunks of land as the empire stretched between Afghanistan in the south and the Ural Mountains in the north. The Khaganate held a huge proportion of the Eurasian plate as well as the strategic Silk Road Routes that are significant for the Eurasian trade. Turks expanded their territory till the Byzantine held Crimea. Turks allied with the Iranian Sassanids to conquer Hephalites. After their conquest was successful, Sassanids broke their alliance with Turks and Turks formed a military alliance with the Byzantine Empire against the Sassanids in 568 AD. As a result of their consecutive conquests and expansion, Turks met the Sogdians, a settled nation, who later they would form a positive relationship with. Sogds were noteworthy actors in the Silk Road trade under the Turkic hegemony. Turks protected the trading activity of Sogds in the Silk Road and Sogds carried out diplomatic actions for Turks in exchange. First Turkic Khaganate was divided into east and west in 582 AD. The east, the core part of the Khaganate, was conquered by the Tang dynasty of China in 630 AD. Turkic tribes in Eastern Europe on the other hand had been under the Western Gokturk Khaganate for a while and then set free.

Kangar Union
The Kangar Union (Qanghar Odaghu) was a pre-Göktürk Turkic state in the former territory of the Western Turkic Khaganate (today belonging to Kazakhstan). The capital of the Kangar union was located in the Ulytau mountains.

Second Turkic Khaganate
Second Turkic Khaganate was a Göktürk khaganate established by Ashina clan. The khaganate was centered at the Ötüken region just like its predecessors. First Turkic Khaganate and then later the Eastern Turkic Khaganate preceeded the Second Khaganate.

In 679, Turks of the collapsed Eastern Khaganate under Tang rule attempted to regain their independence by the revolt under Ashina Nishufu's leadership, being defeated against Pei Xingjian. Following Nishufu's failure, another member of the Ashina clan, Ashina Funian organized Turks to revolt against the Chinese rule. The early revolt was showing successful results, however, the revolt ended with failure just like Nishufu's attempt.

Following the several failed attempts to regaining independence in 679–681, Ilterish Qaghan together with Tonyukuk and his brother Qapghan managed to earn the support of the Turks and once again revolted against the Chinese rule in 682. Turks managed to have significant victories against imperial forces in Shanxi between 682 and 687. Later, Ilterish Qaghan and his armies left the region and marched into the Göktürk heartlands and defeated Toquz Oghuz and Uyghurs there. The Second Khaganate moved its center to the Ötüken right after taking its control.

Ilterish Khagan died at 691 and his brother Qapghan Khagan became the next ruler of the state. Qapghan Khagan allied Tatabï (Kumo Xi) subjugated Khitans. Turks defeated Bayirku tribe in 706–707, which resulted in expansion of the Khaganate to the Kherlen River and Lake Baikal. Turks crossed the Sayan Mountains by subjugating regional tribes and had a decisive victory against Yenisei Kyrgyzes. The Kyrgyz ruler Bars beg was killed on the battle and Kyrgyzes remained as a Göktürk subject for decades.

Uyghur Khaganate
Uyghur Khaganate or Toquz-Oghuz Khaganate was a Turkic khaganate centered at Ötüken and later Ordu-Baliq. The khaganate was established by Kutlug I Bilge Khagan in 744 right after the Uyghur, Karluk and Basmyl revolt in 742.

Oghuz Yabgu State
Oghuz Yabgu was a Turkic state established by Oghuz Turkic tribes at 766, centered in Yangikent. Religion of Oghuz Yabgu was Tengrism.

Volga-Bulgars
The Volga-Bulgars were people of Turkic origin who lived in the northern regions of the Black Sea.

After the Great Bulgarian Khanate, which they founded following their wars with the Khazars collapsed, a notable part of the Bulgars had to migrate to the West and settle the region of the Danube basin known as Bulgaria today. The rest migrated North to the Volga – Kama basin and established a Bulgar state there. That Bulgar state declared its allegiance to the Khazars and paid them tribute. Nevertheless, they were also negotiating with other states independently of the Khazars. After the collapse of the Khazars, they refused to pay tribute and became independent completely. They converted to Islam in 922 AD.

Khazars
The Khazars are considered the continuation of the Western Göktürk tribes. Before the disbanding of the Göktürk Khaganate, they formed the western branch of the state. After the collapse of the Göktürks, they settled in the region between the River Kuban and the Azov Sea.

The Khazars who controlled a notable area in the Caucasus and the Black Sea interfered in the regional political events as well. They made a series of raids on Armenia and allied with the Sassanids to fight the Byzantines in the meanwhile. But due to the Sassanids getting overpowered, the Khazars allied with the Byzantines to preserve the balance of power in the region. Following this, the Sassanids provoked several tribes against the Khazars in the regions thus starting the Khazar – Sassanid Wars. The Arabs invaded the Sassanids with great force in 632 and immediately declared war on the Khazars. The Arab armies under the command of Caliph Omar advanced to Belencer, the capital of the Khazars, but the Khazars stopped this advance. The First and Second Muslim Civil Wars prevented Arab attacks on the Khazars and even led to a series of attacks by the Khazars. The Khazar-Arab Wars ended inconclusively.

A powerful Khazar presence in the region posed a threat to both the other Turkic tribes, the Byzantines, and the Russians. The Khazars started declining following the rise of the Russians and dissolved after a while.

It is known that the Khazars are Turkic and Judaist people.

Great Seljuk Empire
The Seljuk Empire was a Turkic Sunni Muslim empire that dominated much of the Middle East and Central Asia –in particular modern Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkmenistan, and northern Afghanistan– in the 11th and 12th centuries.

State known after their ancestor Seljuk, the dynasty was ethnically Turkic and had been brought to power by invasions of Oghuz Turkomans from Central Asia who had recently converted to Islam, Seljuks later Iranified in terms of culture and language. Seljuks were main rival in the first and second Crusades. From the second half of the 11th century, the Seljuk Empire began to fragment into constituent parts ruled by branches of the dynasty in Anatolia, Syria, and southeastern Iran (Kirman). The rump empire in Iran, Iraq, and Central Asia is known as the Great Seljuk Empire to distinguish it from these smaller states to which it gave birth, but from the early 12th century the great Seljuk lands were themselves further divided between the Great Seljuk sultan based in Central Asia and eastern Iran, and his vassal the Seljuk sultan of Iraq.

The Great Seljuk Empire collapsed in the mid-12th century, and its successor, the Seljuk sultanate of Iraq, finally disappeared in 1194.

Khwarazmian Empire
Khwarazmian Empire was a Sunni Muslim state located in present-day Iran and some parts of Central Asia, ruled by the Khwarazm-Shah dynasty of Turkic origin. Khwarazmian state was established as a vassal of the Seljuk Empire in 1077 and gained its independence in the following years. It is one of the largest land empires in history as it held an area between 2.3 – 3.6 million square kilometres.

Anushtegin Gharachai, a Turkic commander in Seljuks, was the namesake of the dynasty as he was the first person to rule Khwarazm in his family thus making Khwarazm-Shahs a Turkic dynasty. As a result of its Turkic structure, the Khwarazmian army was composed of cavalrymen of Kipchak origin like other Turkic states.

Khwarazms attempted multiple times for their independence under the rule of Ala al-Din Atsiz but failed each time. His successor II Arslan was the one to break from the Seljuk suzerainty due to chaos and domestic instability following Seljuk Sultan Ahmed Sanjar’s death in 1156. He started expanding towards Central Asia after Qarluk Turks sought II Arslan’s help against the Karakhanids who oppressed them.

Ala al-Din Tekish succeeded II Arslan and continued his father’s expansionist policies. Caliph Al-Nasir accepted Tekish as the sultan of Iran, Khorasan, and Turkestan in 1198.

The state got weakened as the Mongols strengthened and started reaching the Khwarazmian lands. Mongols conquered the entire Khwarazm territory within less than two years as they exploited the domestic instability within the empire.

Timurid Empire
Timurids were Persianate Turkic empire established by Timur, a Chagatai Turkic warlord with Turco-Mongol heritage.

Timur started expanding his state by conquering various remnants of the Ilkhanate. He captured Isfahan at 1387 and made his first step on the Iran. He conquered Kartids at 1389, expanding his dominion over Iran and southern Central Asia. He later destroyed Muzaffarids at 1393, therefore took over the control of Shiraz, and conquered Baghdad from Jalayirids.

Timur had rivalry with Tokhtamysh, Khan of Golden Horde. He had multiple assaults operated against Tokhtamysh and finally having a decisive victory at 1395 on the Tokhtamysh-Timur war. Timur supported Jochi for dethroning Tokhtamysh and Jochi became the next Khan of the Golden Horde.

Timur later turned his face on the west and invaded Ottoman Anatolia by victory of the Battle of Ankara at 1402 together with the support of Turkish beyliks. This extended the Anatolian Beyliks period and Karamanids managed to re-collect its losen strength against Ottomans.

Timurids lost its capital Samarkand at 1505, and its second capital Herat at 1507. The empire collapsed around a century later Timur's death. However, Babur, descendant of Timur and therefore member of Timurid dynasty, established Mughal Empire at 1526.

Timurids played an important role on history not only in terms of conquering, but also science, education and art aswell. Timur cared about science and arts, so he collected many scientists from various places that he conquered and united all these at the capital, resulting with a renaissance. Timurid Renaissance played a significant role on regional development. The renaissance of Timurids covered its consequences up to late Mughal era. it effected many empires including Ottomans.

Timurid sultan, astronomer and mathematician Ulugh Beg was a significant figure of the Timurid Renaissance.

Afsharid Empire
Afsharid Empire, also referred as Afsharid Iran was an Iranian empire established in 1736 by Nader Shah and his Afshar Turkoman dynasty. The dynasty was named after the Afshar clan located in Khorasan that Nader shah belonged. He belonged to the Qereqlu branch of the Afshars. Nader took over Iran after the short living rule of Shah Mahmud Hotaki.

Nader Shah, unlike his Iranian predecessors of Turkoman origin, was interested in common Turkic identity, describing it with the identity of "Turkmen". His Turkmen identity included not only Oghuz Turkomans, Karluk Uzbeks and descendants of Timur was under that classification aswell. Nader's concept of common Turkmen descendancy had the purpose of establishing a common political entity and was mainly directed at Ottomans and Mughals.

Despite Nader Shah's Turkmen policy, Afsharids fought many battles against Mughals and Ottomans. Nader took advantage at most of these battles. As a Safavid commander before establishing his own state, Nader expelled Ottomans from Hamadan, Kirmanshah, and Tebriz and took over the control of Caucasus. Nader also occupied Northern India, mainly parts of Mughal Empire, Afshars sacked and looted Delhi.

After death of Nader Shah, empire lost most of his territories on Iran and later collapsed at 1796.

Qajar Empire
The Qajars were a Persianate Turkic royal dynasty, Qajar Tribe to be specific, who ruled Qajar Iran from 1789 to 1925. Qajars came into power by reunifying the divided Persian lands following the death of the Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty in 1779. Their accession to the Persian throne was like every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, Qajars came to power with together with the support of Turkic clans while having Persians in their bureaucracy". They took full control by deposing Lotf’ Ali Khan in 1794 who belonged to the Zand dynasty. Qajars reconquered Georgia and the rest of the Caucasus as new de facto states emerged in the area during the domestic instability in Iran. However, despite the fact that this region constituted an integral part of Iran, it was lost to the Russian Empire. Qajars were able to maintain political independence to a certain extent for a while but they faced major sovereignty issues due to increasing Russian and British influence. These two even partitioned Iran into two influence zones in the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Qajar Iran transformed into a constitutional monarchy after the Persian Constitutional Revolution but some reforms were cancelled and reversed by the Russian involvement in Iran. Qajar Iran was further weakened during World War I and Qajars were eventually replaced by the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925, four years after the 1921 Persian coup d’état.

Ghaznavid Dynasty
The Ghaznavid dynasty was a Persianate Muslim Turkic dynasty of 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. It was also first Turkic rule in India.

Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire was an early-modern Persianate empire with Turkic origins that had significant amount of control over South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire was a Chagatai Turkic warrior chieftain from what today is Uzbekistan. He formed an huge army for defeat the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi and to sweep down the plains of Upper India. After death of Lodhi and a decisive victory at the First Battle of Panipat, Babur successfuly occupied all Northern India and initiated a new phase of his establishment of the long-lasting Mughal Empire in the heart of the Indian subcontinent.

Although the Mughal empire was created and sustained by military warfare, it did not vigorously suppress the cultures and peoples it came to rule; rather it equalized and placated them through new administrative practices and diverse ruling elites, leading to more efficient, centralised, and standardized rule. The base of the empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third Mughal emperor, Akbar Shah. These taxes, which amounted to well over half the output of a peasant cultivator, were paid in the well-regulated silver currency and caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum
Seljuk Sultanate of Rum was a Turkish state founded by Oghuz Turks following Turks’ entrance to Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, founded by Suleyman ibn Qutalmish Shah as a vassal state to Seljuk Empire in 1077, six years after the Battle of Manzikert.

Suleyman Shah benefitted from the domestic instability in the Byzantine Empire to conquer Nicaea, which later became the capital city. The capital was moved to Konya by Kilij Arslan I after the loss of Nicaea during the First Crusade. Although the capital was, Kilij Arslan’s defeat did not lead to any significant damage to the state structure itself. After a period of reorganisation, the armies of the Sultanate of Rum defeated the crusaders in Merzifon annihilating the crusader army. Mesud I defeated crusader armies in Dorylaeum and Laodicea during the second Crusade. The conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Sultanate of Rum continued after the Crusades. The Battle of Myriokephalon (1176) was the last attempt of the Byzantines to regain the lost Anatolian lands. Such hopes of the Byzantine Empire were abandoned after the decisive victory of the Turks.

Babai revolt following the internal strife for power between the religious sects and the government weakened the state structure at significant levels. Sultanate was then occupied by the Mongols after the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243 and later the Sultanate was divided into Beyliks as a result of the pressure of the Ilkhanate starting the Beyliks Era.

Beyliks era
The beyliks era, also known as the second beyliks era, is the period when the Turkish beys, dukes, broke away from the weakened Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and established their own Beyliks, duchies. One of these Beyliks is the Osmanoğlu Beylik, which later evolved into the Ottoman Empire that became a regional and even a global power for a while seizing Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Seljuk Sultanate of Rum which was established as a result of the Seljuk victory in Manzikiert appointed "Beys" (that is equavelant to the title of margrave) to the border regions to protect them from hostile neighbours. These beys consisted of Turkmen tribes who migrated to these regions and fought against the Byzantines to perform their duty.

The central authority in the Sultanate of Rum got weakened by the Babai Revolt and the Mongol invasion which led to the formation of these Beyliks. Although sharing the Turkish heritage, each Beylik had its own agenda and set of policies. For instance, Karamanids claimed the legacy and inheritance of the Sultanate of Rum whereas Ottomans meddled with the domestic conflicts and intrigues within the Byzantine Empire.

The Ottoman state spread to the west and seized many of the Beyliks as time passed but after the Ottoman defeat in Ankara in 1402, Timurids encouraged Beys leading to the re-establishment of many of the Beyliks.

Karamanids were the biggest obstacle to Ottoman expansion. The Beyliks era came to an official end with the annexation of the Ramazanids in 1608.

Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire, also referred as Turkish Empire  officially Sublime Ottoman State was an empire that controlled significant parts of Eastern Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa.

The empire was established by Osman I and his Turcoman Kayı clan at the end of the 18th century, being centered at Söğüt. Orhan I took over the control of Bursa at 1327 and moved the Beylik's center to there.

Modern history
The Ottoman Empire gradually grew weaker in the face of poor administration, repeated wars with Russian Empire and Austria, and the emergence of nationalist movements in the Balkans, and it finally gave way after the Great War to the present-day Republic of Turkey.

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 the 20th century, Turkey was the only independent Turkic country most of the time. 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 Sakha remained in the Russian Federation. Chinese Turkestan remained part of the People's Republic of China.

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 the Turkic Council in 2009, which later was renamed Organization of Turkic States in 2021.