Turkic peoples

Turkic peoples are Northern and Central Eurasian peoples who speak languages belonging to the Turkic family of languages and which share in varying degrees, ethnic, cultural and historical traits. Even though many consider this term to be distinct from the term Turkish, growing use of term Turkish opposed to Turkic has been noted in the Turkish/Turkic world. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic language group and is one of the most geographically widespread in the world, spoken in a geography spanning from Europe to Siberia.

Nomenclature

In modern Turkey a distinction is made between Turks and the Turkic peoples: the term Türk corresponds to Turkish people and culture, while the term Türki refers to modern Turkic peoples and cultures.

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Some claim that this distinction is an artificial one, and one not made by the speakers of Turkic languages themselves. 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-Turkism -- pointing 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.

Related Topics:
Stalinism - Soviet Union - Pan-Turkism

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The first mention of the term "Turk" applied to a known Turkic group, was in reference to the Gokturks in the 6th century. A letter by the Chinese Emperor written to a Göktürk Khan named Isbara in 585 described him as "the Great Turk Khan". The Orhun inscriptions (735 AD) use the term "Turuk".

Related Topics:
Gokturks - 6th century - Chinese Emperor - Isbara - 585 - Orhun inscriptions

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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. These include: a tablet from 2000 BC found in the ancient city of Mari situated at Tell Hariri in Syria, mentioning that a people named "Turukku" are coming to the lands of Tiguranim and Hirbazanim; and a Chinese record of 1328 BC referring to a neighbouring people as "Tu-Kiu".

Related Topics:
2000 BC - Mari - Syria - 1328 BC

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In the ancient Zoroastrian text, the Zend-Avesta, one of the grandsons of Yima (comparable to Noah as the sole survivor of a catastrophe that depopulated the Earth) is named "Tur" or "Tura" -- the supposed ancestor of so-called "Turanian" peoples, including Turks. Furthermore, this traditional Persian geneaology has been confused by some with the late 16th century Mughal (Indian) 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.

Related Topics:
Zend-Avesta - Yima - Noah - Turan - Abul-Fazel - Japheth - Togarmah - Genesis

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According to Mahmud of Kashgar, an 11th century Turkic scholar and various other traditional Islamic scholars and historians, the name "Turk" stems from "Tur" who can be identified with the Biblical "Tiras" one of the sons of Japhet, who also comes from the same lineage of Gomer (Cimmerians) and Ashkenaz (Scythians, Ishkuz) who were some of the earliest Turks. Japhet was the son of the Biblical Noah, whos descendants settled in the land corresponding to Central Asia and Euroasia, the region between the Ural and Altai mountains, a land described as Turkistan or Turan. In the Zend Avesta (Yasna 46.12) the "Tur" people are mentioned.

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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 dates from the time of the Scythians (Ishkuz) and 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, just as Alp Er Tunga had. He appears with the name "Frangasyan" in the Zend Avesta, and according to the "Book of Kings" written by the Farsi author Ferdowsi, Afrasiyab was hunted down and killed in Azerbaijan. The name "Turk" was initially pronounced "Turuk, Tur-uk" is a plural of "Tur." Thus one meaning of the word Turk is "The Turs." The second meaning of Turk is "strong" or "powerful." Some have stated that the name Turk is a name of a helmet-shaped hill in present-day Xinjiang yet the lineage of Turks to Japhet and the early Tur people and the designation of strong/powerful are the definition and root of the word.

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