Oghuz Turks#Turcoman .26 Turkmen

File:Ughūz Khān receives a messenger from Damascus with a load of bows W676, Majma' al-tawarikh (circa 1425) Miniature (Oghuz Khan detail).jpg in the Majma' al-tawarikh (circa 1425)]]

The name Oghuz is a Common Turkic word for "tribe". By the 10th century, Islamic sources were calling them Muslim Turkmens, as opposed to those of Tengrist or Buddhist religion; and by the 12th century this term was adopted into Byzantine usage, as the Oghuzes were overwhelmingly Muslim.Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, "Turkomans", in Alexander P. Kazhdan, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Oxford University Press, 1991). The name "Oghuz" fell out of use by 13th century.

Linguistically, the Oghuz belong to the Common Turkic speaking group, characterized by sound correspondences such as Common Turkic {{IPA|/-ʃ/}} versus Oghuric {{IPA|/-l/}} and Common Turkic {{IPA|/-z/}} versus Oghuric {{IPA|/-r/}}. Within the Common Turkic group, the Oghuz languages share these innovations: loss of Proto-Turkic gutturals in suffix anlaut, loss of {{IPA|/ɣ/}} except after {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}} becoming either {{IPA|/j/}} or lost, voicing of {{IPA|/t/}} to {{IPA|/d/}} and of {{IPA|/k/}} to {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, and {{IPA|*/ð/}} becomes {{IPA|/j/}}.Golden, Peter B. An Introduction to the History of Turkic Peoples (1992). p. 21-22

Their language belongs to the Oghuz group of the Turkic languages family. Kara-Khanid scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari wrote that of all the Turkic languages, that of the Oghuz was the simplest. He also observed that long separation had led to clear differences between the western Oghuz and Kipchak language and that of the eastern Turks.D. T. Potts, (2014), Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era, p. 177 Byzantine sources call Oghuz Turks Uzes ({{lang|grc|Οὖζοι}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|Ouzoi}}).Omeljan Pritsak, "Uzes", in Alexander P. Kazhdan, ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Oxford University Press, 1991).

{{Main|Origin of the Turks}}

File:Genealogical Tree of the Oghuz with Tamghas.png

According to historians and linguists, the Proto-Turkic language originated in Central-East Asia,{{harvnb|Uchiyama et al.|2020}}: "Most linguists and historians agree that Proto-Turkic, the common ancestor of all ancient and contemporary Turkic languages, must have been spoken somewhere in Central-East Asia (e.g. Róna-Tas, Reference Róna-Tas1991, p. 35; Golden, Reference Golden1992, pp. 124–127; Menges, Reference Menges1995, pp. 16–19)." potentially in Altai-Sayan region, Mongolia or Tuva.{{cite book | last=Golden | first=Peter B. | title=Studies on the Peoples and Cultures of the Eurasian Steppes | date=2011 | isbn=978-973-27-2152-0 | pages=37–38| publisher=Editura Academiei Române }}{{harvnb|Uchiyama et al.|2020}}: "The ultimate Proto-Turkic homeland may have been located in a more compact area, most likely in Eastern Mongolia"{{harvnb|Lee|Kuang|2017}}: "The best candidate for the Turkic Urheimat would then be northern and western Mongolia and Tuva, where all these haplogroups could have intermingled, rather than eastern and southern Mongolia..." Initially, Proto-Turkic speakers were potentially both hunter-gatherers and farmers, but later became nomadic pastoralists.{{harvnb|Uchiyama et al.|2020}}:"To sum up, the palaeolinguistic reconstruction points to a mixed subsistence strategy and complex economy of the Proto-Turkic-speaking community. It is likely that the subsistence of the Early Proto-Turkic speakers was based on a combination of hunting–gathering and agriculture, with a later shift to nomadic pastoralism as an economy basis, partly owing to the interaction of the Late Proto-Turkic groups with the Iranian-speaking herders of the Eastern Steppe." Early and medieval Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both East Asian and West-Eurasian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring peoples such as Iranian, Mongolic, Tocharian, Uralic and Yeniseian peoples, and others.{{harvnb|Findley|2005|p=18}}: "Moreover, Turks do not all physically look alike. They never did. The Turks of Turkey are famous for their range of physical types. Given the Turks’ ancient Inner Asian origins, it is easy to imagine that they once presented a uniform Mongoloid appearance. Such traits seem to be more characteristic in the eastern Turkic world; however, uniformity of type can never have prevailed there either. Archeological evidence indicates that Indo-Europeans, or certainly Europoid physical types, inhabited the oases of the Tarim basin and even parts of Mongolia in ancient times. In the Tarim basin, persistence of these former inhabitants’ genes among the modern Uyghurs is both observable and scientifically demonstrable.32 Early Chinese sources describe the Kirghiz as blue-eyed and blond or red-haired. The genesis of Turkic ethnic groups from earliest times occurred in confederations of diverse peoples. As if to prove the point, the earliest surviving texts in Turkic languages are studded with terms from other languages."{{Cite journal |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |date=2018-07-25|title=The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0971945818775373 |journal=The Medieval History Journal |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=291–327 |doi=10.1177/0971945818775373 |s2cid=166026934 |issn=0971-9458|url-access=subscription }}"Some DNA tests point to the Iranian connections of the Ashina and Ashide,133 highlighting further that the Turks as a whole ‘were made up of heterogeneous and somatically dissimilar populations’.134 Geographically, the accounts cover the regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, the Yenisei zone and the Altay, regions with Turkic, Indo-European (Iranian [Saka] and Tokharian), Yeniseic, Uralic and other populations. Wusun elements, like most steppe polities of an ethno-linguistic mix, may have also played a substratal role."{{harvnb|Lee|Kuang|2017}}: "Both Chinese histories and modern dna studies indicate that the early and medieval Turkic peoples were made up of heterogeneous populations"

In early times, they practiced a Tengrist religion, erecting many carved wooden funerary statues surrounded by simple stone balbal monoliths and holding elaborate hunting and banqueting rituals.{{Cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Attila and the nomad hordes |last2=McBride |first2=Angus |date=2007 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=978-0-85045-996-8 |series=Osprey military Elite series |location=London}}

File:Traditional for the Eurasian nomadic states.png

During the 2nd century BC, according to ancient Chinese sources, a steppe tribal confederation known as the Xiongnu and their allies, the Wusun (probably an Indo-European people) defeated the neighboring Indo-European-speaking Yuezhi and drove them out of western China and into Central Asia. Various scholarly theories link the Xiongnu to Turkic peoples and/or the Huns. Bichurin claimed that the first usage of the word Oghuz appears to have been the title of Oğuz Kağan, whose biography shares similarities with the account, recorded by Han Chinese, of Xiongnu leader Modu Shanyu (or Mau-Tun),Bichurin, N. Ya., "Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, pp. 56–57Taskin V. S., transl., "Materials on history of Sünnu", 1968, vol. 1, p. 129 who founded the Xiongnu Empire. However, Oghuz Khan narratives were actually collected in Compendium of Chronicles by Ilkhanid scholar Rashid-al-Din in the early 14th century.{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/oguz-khan-narratives |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Oguz Khan Narratives|first=İlker Evrım |last=Bınbaş |year=2010}}

Sima Qian recorded the name Wūjiē 烏揭 (LHC: *ʔɔ-gɨat) or Hūjiē 呼揭 (LHC: *xɔ-gɨat), of a people hostile to the Xiongnu and living immediately west of them, in the area of the Irtysh River, near Lake Zaysan.Shiji, c. 90 BC: 110. Golden suggests that these might be Chinese renditions of *Ogur ~ *Oguz, yet uncertainty remains.Golden, Peter B., “Oq and Oğur ~ Oğuz”, Turkic Languages, 16/2 (2012), pp. 155–199 According to one theory, Hūjiē is just another transliteration of Yuezhi and may refer to the Turkic Uyghurs; however, this is controversial and has few scholarly adherents.Torday, L., Mounted Archers: The Beginnings of Central Asian History. The Durham Academic Press, 1997, pp. 220–221.

Yury Zuev (1960) links the Oghuz to the Western Turkic tribe 姑蘇 Gūsū < (MC *kuo-suo) in the 8th-century encyclopaedia TongdianDu You et al. Tongdian, [https://ctext.org/tongdian/199#n565366 vol. 199] (or erroneously Shǐsū 始蘇 in the 11th century Zizhi TongjianSima Guang et al. Zizhi Tongjian, [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%B3%87%E6%B2%BB%E9%80%9A%E9%91%91/%E5%8D%B7199 vol. 199]). Zuev also notes two parallel passages:

• one from the 8th-century Taibo Yinjing (太白陰經) "Venus's Secret Classic" by Li Quan (李筌) which mentioned the 三窟 ~ 三屈 "Three Qu" (< MC *k^(h)ɨut̚) after the 十箭 Shí Jiàn "Ten Arrows" (OTrk 𐰆𐰣:𐰸 On Oq) and Jĭu Xìng "Nine Surnames" (OTrk 𐱃𐰸𐰆𐰔:𐰆𐰍𐰔 Toquz Oğuz);Li Quan, Taibo Yinjing "Vol. 1-3", Zhejiang University Library Copy. [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=54492&page=99#%E4%B9%9D%E5%A7%93%E5%8D%81%E7%AE%AD%E4%B8%89%E7%AA%9F p. 99 of 102] or [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Poetry/shoushangecongshu.html Shoushange congshu 守山閣叢書 version] [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=86880&page=51#%E4%B9%9D%E5%A7%93%E5%8D%81%E7%AE%AD%E4%B8%89%E5%B1%88 p. 51 of 222] and
• another from al-Maṣudi's Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems, which mentioned the three hordes of the Turkic Ġuz.Al-Masudi [https://archive.org/details/historicalencycl00masrich Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems] vol. 1 p. 238-239. translated by Aloys Spreger

Based on those sources, Zuev proposes that in the 8th century the Oghuzes were located outsides of the Ten Arrows' jurisdiction, west of the Altai Mountains, near lake Issyk-Kul, Talas river's basin and seemingly around the Syr Darya basin, and near the Chumul, Karluks, Qays, Quns, Śari, etc. who were mentioned by al-Maṣudi and Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marwazi.Zuev, Yu. "Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms" (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuiyao" of 8–10th centuries), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 126, 133–134 (in Russian)

File:Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan. AH 597-637 (AD 1200-1239) Probably Mardin Dated AH 611 (AD 1214-5). Bareheaded and draped male bust (Obverse).jpg, an Oghuz Döğer ruler of the Artuqid dynasty, Mardin, dated AH 611 (1214-5 CE)]]

According to Ahmad ibn Fadlan, the Oghuz were nomads, but also had cultivated crops, and the economy was based on a semi-pastoralist lifestyle.{{Cite book |last=Curta |first=Florin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1111434007 |title=Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 Vols) |page=152|date=2019 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-39519-0 |location=Boston |oclc=1111434007}}

Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos mentioned the Uzi and Mazari (Hungarians) as neighbours of the Pechenegs.{{cite book |quote=... iisque conterminos fuisse populos illos qui Mazari atque Uzi cognominantur ... |author=Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos |author-link=Constantine VII |title=De Administrando Imperio |at=Chapter 37}}

By the time of the Orkhon inscriptions (8th century AD) "Oghuz" was being applied generically to all inhabitants of the Göktürk Khaganate.{{cite book |author=Faruk Sümer, Oğuzlar |title=TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi |year=2007 |volume=33 |pages=325–330 |language=tr |url=http://www.islamansiklopedisi.info/dia/pdf/c33/c330224.pdf}} Within the khaganate, the Oghuz community gradually expanded, incorporating other tribes.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9056846/Oguz |entry=Oguz |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|date=23 April 2024 }} A number of subsequent tribal confederations bore the name Oghuz, often affixed to a numeral indicating the number of united tribes. These include references to the simple Oguz, Üch-Oghuz ("three Oghuz"), Altï Oghuz ("six Oghuz"), possibly the Otuz Oghuz ("thirty Oghuz"), Sekiz-Oghuz ("eight Oghuz"), and the Tokuz-Oghuz ("nine Oghuz"),Golden, Peter B. (1972) [https://www.academia.edu/763468/The_Migrations_of_the_Oghuz "The Migrations of the Oğuz"] "The Migrations of the Oğuz"] in Archivum Ottomanicum 4, p. 48 who originally occupied different areas in the vicinity of the Altai Mountains. Golden (2011) states Transoxanian Oghuz Turks who founded the Oghuz Yabgu State were not the same tribal confederation as the Toquz Oghuz from whom emerged the founders of Uyghur Khaganate. Istakhri and Muhammad ibn Muhmad al-Tusi kept the Toquz Oghuz and Oghuz distinctGolden, Peter B. [https://www.academia.edu/12226908/The_Turkic_World_in_Mahmud_Kashghari The Turkic Word of Mahmud al-Kashgari], p. 507-511 and Ibn al-Faqih mentioned: "the infidel Turk-Oghuz, the Toquz-Oghuz, and the Qarluq"Golden, Peter B. (1992). An Introduction to the History of the Turkic People. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. p. 198 Even so, Golden notes the confusion in Latter Göktürks' and Uyghurs' inscriptions, where Oghuz apparently referred to Toquz Oghuz or another tribal grouping, who were also named Oghuz without a prefixed numeral; this confusion is also reflected in Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marwazi, who listed 12 Oghuz tribes, who were ruled by a "Toquz Khaqan" and some of whom were Toquz-Oghuz, on the border of Transoxiana and Khwarazm. At most, the Oghuz were possibly led by a core group of Toquz Oghuz clans or tribes.Golden (1992) p. 206-207

Noting that the mid-8th-century Tariat inscriptions, in Uyghur khagan Bayanchur's honor, mentioned the rebellious Igdir tribe who had revolted against him, Klyashtorny considers this as one piece of "direct evidence in favour of the existence of kindred relations between the Tokuz Oguzs of Mongolia, The Guzs of the Aral region, and modern Turkmens", besides the facts that Kashgari mentioned the Igdir as the 14th of 22 Oghuz tribes;Maħmūd al-Kašğari. "Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk". Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. In Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). Part I p. 101-102 and that Igdirs constitute part of the Turkmen tribe Chowdur.Klyashtorny, S.G. (1997) [http://www.iacd.or.kr/pdf/journal/02/2-01.pdf "The Oguzs of the Central Asia and The Guzs of the Aral Region"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206070439/http://www.iacd.or.kr/pdf/journal/02/2-01.pdf |date=6 February 2022 }} in International Journal of Eurasian Studies 2 The Shine Usu inscription, also in Bayanchur's honor, mentioned the Nine-Oghuzes as "[his] people" and that he defeated the Eight-Oghuzes and their allies, the Nine Tatars, three times in 749.;"Moghon Shine Usu Inscription" [https://bitig.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=23&m=1 text] at Türik Bitig according to KlyashtornyKlyashtorny, S.G. (1997) and Czeglédy,cited in Kamalov, A. (2003) "The Moghon Shine Usu Insription as the Earliest Uighur Historical Annals", Central Asiatic Journal. 47 (1). p. 83 of p. 77-90 eight tribes of the Nine-Oghuzes revolted against the leading Uyghur tribe and renamed themselves Eight-Oghuzes.

Ibn al-Athir, an Arab historian, claimed that the Oghuz Turks were settled mainly in Transoxiana, between the Caspian and Aral Seas, during the period of the caliph Al-Mahdi (after 775 AD). By 780, the eastern parts of the Syr Darya were ruled by the Karluk Turks and to their west were the Oghuz. Transoxiana, their main homeland in subsequent centuries became known as the "Oghuz Steppe".

During the period of the Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun (813–833), the name Oghuz starts to appear in the works of Islamic writers. The Book of Dede Korkut, a historical epic of the Oghuz, contains historical echoes of the 9th and 10th centuries but was likely written several centuries later.Alstadt, Audrey. The Azerbaijani Turks, p. 11. Hoover Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-8179-9182-4}}

File:Male royal figure, 12-13th century, from Iran.jpg

Al-Masudi described Yangikent's Oghuz Turks as "distinguished from other Turks by their valour, their slanted eyes, and the smallness of their stature". Stone heads of Seljuq elites kept at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art displayed East Asian features.Lee & Kuang (2017) [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320552611_A_Comparative_Analysis_of_Chinese_Historical_Sources_and_Y-DNA_Studies_with_Regard_to_the_Early_and_Medieval_Turkic_Peoples "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples"], Inner Asia 19. p. 207-208 of 197–239 Over time, Oghuz Turks' physical appearance changed. Rashid al-Din Hamadani stated that "because of the climate their features gradually changed into those of Tajiks. Since they were not Tajiks, the Tajik peoples called them turkmān, i.e. Turk-like (Turk-mānand)"{{efn|This folk-etymology had been attested in Al-Biruni and Mahmud al-Kashgari, the latter a native Middle Turkic speaker.Maħmūd al-Kašğari. "Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk". Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. In Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). Part II. p. 363 However, this mixed Turkic-Persian etymology is now considered incorrect; instead, Türkmen is now etymologized as from ethnonym Türk plus strengthening suffix -men, meaning {{"'}}most Turkish of the Turks' or 'pure-blooded Turks.{{'"}}.{{cite book|last=Clark |first=Larry|title=Turkmen Reference Grammar|publisher=Harrassowitz |year=1996|page=4|isbn=9783447040198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMe7KpwS3KsC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA4}},{{cite book|last=Annanepesov |first=M. |chapter=The Turkmens |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1999 |editor-last=Dani |editor-first1=Ahmad Hasan |page=127|isbn=9789231038761 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA127}},{{cite book|last=Golden |first=Peter |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=1992 |pages=212–213}}}}. Ḥāfiẓ Tanīsh Mīr Muḥammad Bukhārī also related that the "Oghuz Turkic face did not remain as it was after their migration into Transoxiana and Iran". Khiva khan, Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, in his Chagatai-language treatise Genealogy of the Turkmens, wrote that "their (Oghuz Turks) chin started to become narrow, their eyes started to become large, their faces started to become small, and their noses started to become big after five or six generations". Ottoman historian Mustafa Âlî commented in Künhüʾl-aḫbār that Anatolian Turks and Ottoman elites are ethnically mixed: "Most of the inhabitants of Rûm are of confused ethnic origin. Among its notables there are few whose lineage does not go back to a convert to Islam."Lee & Kuang (2017) "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples", Inner Asia 19. p. 208 of 197–239

File:Gorskii 04412u.jpg woman at the entrance to a yurt in Turkestan; 1911 color photograph by Prokudin-Gorskii]]

File:Dursunbey yerelkıyafeti.JPG, Balikesir Province]]

The militarism that the Oghuz empires were very well known for was rooted in their centuries-long nomadic lifestyle. In general, they were a herding society which possessed certain military advantages that sedentary societies did not have, particularly mobility. Alliances by marriage and kinship, and systems of "social distance" based on family relationships were the connective tissues of their society.

In Oghuz traditions, "society was simply the result of the growth of individual families". But such a society also grew by alliances and the expansion of different groups, normally through marriages. The shelter of the Oghuz tribes was a tent-like dwelling, erected on wooden poles and covered with skin, felt, or hand-woven textiles, which is called a yurt.

Their cuisine included yahni (stew), kebabs, Toyga soup (meaning "wedding soup"), Kımız (a traditional drink of the Turks, made from fermented horse milk), Pekmez (a syrup made of boiled grape juice) and helva made with wheat starch or rice flour, tutmac (noodle soup), yufka (flattened bread), katmer (layered pastry), chorek (ring-shaped buns), bread, clotted cream, cheese, yogurt, milk and ayran (diluted yogurt beverage), as well as wine.

Social order was maintained by emphasizing "correctness in conduct as well as ritual and ceremony". Ceremonies brought together the scattered members of the society to celebrate birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Such ceremonies had the effect of minimizing social dangers and also of adjusting persons to each other under controlled emotional conditions.

Patrilineally related men and their families were regarded as a group with rights over a particular territory and were distinguished from neighbours on a territorial basis. Marriages were often arranged among territorial groups so that neighbouring groups could become related, but this was the only organizing principle that extended territorial unity. Each community of the Oghuz Turks was thought of as part of a larger society composed of distant as well as close relatives. This signified "tribal allegiance". Wealth and materialistic objects were not commonly emphasized in Oghuz society and most remained herders, and when settled they would be active in agriculture.

Status within the family was based on age, gender, relationships by blood, or marriageability. Males, as well as females, were active in society, yet men were the backbones of leadership and organization. According to the Book of Dede Korkut, which demonstrates the culture of the Oghuz Turks, women were "expert horse riders, archers, and athletes". The elders were respected as repositories of both "secular and spiritual wisdom".

File:Central Asia Physical.jpg of Central Asia from the Caucasus in the northwest, to Mongolia in the northeast.]]

In the 700s, the Oghuz Turks made a new home and domain for themselves in the area between the Caspian and Aral seas and the northwest part of Transoxania, along the Syr Darya river. They had moved westward from the Altay mountains passing through the Siberian steppes and settled in this region, and also penetrated into southern Russia and the Volga from their bases in west China. In the 11th century, the Oghuz Turks adopted Arabic script, replacing the Old Turkic alphabet.C. E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids:994–1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 216.

In his accredited 11th-century treatise titled Diwan Lughat al-Turk, Karakhanid scholar Mahmud of Kashgar mentioned five Oghuz cities named Sabran, Sitkün, Qarnaq, Suğnaq, and Qaraçuq (the last of which was also known to Kashgari as Farab,Maħmūd al-Kašğari. Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk. Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. Series: Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). "Part I", p. 270, 329, 333, 352, 353, 362 now Otrar; situated near the Karachuk mountains to its east). The extension from the Karachuk Mountains towards the Caspian Sea was called the "Oghuz Steppe Lands" from where the Oghuz Turks established trading, religious and cultural contacts with the Abbasid Arab caliphate who ruled to the south. This is around the same time that they first converted to Islam and renounced their Tengriism belief system. The Arab historians mentioned that the Oghuz Turks were ruled by a number of kings and chieftains.

It was in this area that they later founded the Seljuk Empire, and it was from this area that they spread west into western Asia and eastern Europe during Turkic migrations from the 9th until the 12th century. The founders of the Ottoman Empire were also Oghuz Turks.

{{See also|Oghuz languages#Literary works|Dadaloğlu|Fuzûlî|Pir Sultan Abdal}}

File:Oghusenbuchmuseum.jpeg in Dresden, Germany.]]{{See also|Book of Dede Korkut}}

The Book of Dede Korkut is a seminal collection of epic tales originating from the Oghuz Turks. Comprising twelve stories, the narratives encapsulate themes of heroism, morality, and social norms prevalent among the nomadic Oghuz. The tales were transmitted orally before being compiled into manuscripts in the 15th century. The character Dede Korkut serves as a sage and bard, linking the stories together and offering wisdom to the protagonists. The epics provide insights into the Oghuz way of life, including their customs, conflicts, and the transition from pre-Islamic beliefs to Islamic faith.

{{See also|Epic of Koroghlu|Azerbaijani folklore|Turkish literature}}

The Epic of Koroghlu narrates the adventures of the hero Koroghlu, who seeks to avenge his father's blinding by a corrupt ruler. This tale emphasizes themes of justice, resistance against tyranny, and the valorization of the common folk. The epic has been preserved in various Turkic cultures, including Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Turkmen traditions, often performed by bards known as ashiks or bagshys.

{{See also|Imadaddin Nasimi}}

Imadaddin Nasimi (1369–1417) is recognized as a pivotal figure in Turkic literature, particularly for his contributions to Azerbaijani classical poetry. Writing in Oghuz Turkic, Persian, and Arabic, Nasimi's works delve into themes of mysticism, humanism, and the nature of existence. His poetry significantly influenced subsequent generations and helped shape the literary traditions of the region.

{{See also|Magtymguly Pyragy}}

Magtymguly Pyragy (c. 1733–c. 1790) is esteemed as the father of Turkmen literature. His poetry, composed in the Turkmen language, addresses topics such as patriotism, social justice, and moral integrity. Employing the qoshuk form, his verses played a crucial role in fostering a sense of national identity among the Turkmen people.

File:DAVIS(1879) p010 YOUROUK ENCAMPMENT IN THE TAURUS.jpg camp in Taurus mountains, 19th century]]

File:AlaDaglarYoruk.jpg.]]

{{Main|Yörüks}}

Yörüks are Turkish subgroup of Oghuz origin, some of whom are still semi-nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia and partly Balkan peninsula.N. K. Singh, A. M. Khan, [http://ktp.isam.org.tr/pdfdkm/22/dkm220322.pdf Encyclopaedia of the world Muslims: Tribes, Castes and Communities, Vol.4], Delhi 2001, p.1542Grolier Incorporated, Academic American Encyclopedia, vol.20, 1989, p.34

In the medieval era, to distinguish their own loyal Sunni Turkomans from the Shah-loyal Shiite Kızılbaş Turkomans of eastern Anatolia and Azerbaijan, Ottoman governors coined the blanket term Yörük (or Yürük), meaning "nomad" or "wanderer."Sir Gerard Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth Century Turkish, Oxford 1972, p.972Turkish Language Association – TDK Online Dictionary. [http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/SozBul.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4376734BED947CDE&Kelime=y%c3%b6r%c3%bck Yorouk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404021912/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/SozBul.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4376734BED947CDE&Kelime=y%c3%b6r%c3%bck|date=April 4, 2009}}, [http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/SozBul.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4376734BED947CDE&Kelime=y%c3%bcr%c3%bck yorouk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404021912/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/SozBul.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4376734BED947CDE&Kelime=y%c3%bcr%c3%bck|date=April 4, 2009}} {{in lang|tr}}[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yuruk "yuruk".] Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster. 2002. This served as a political demarcation between western (Ottoman Turkic) and eastern (Persian-influenced) Turkoman groups.{{Cite book |last=Inalcik |first=Halil |title=Rumors and Truths of Otttoman Empire |pages=38 |quote=During Ottomans, collective term used for Turkoman tribes was "Yörük." Ottoman bureaucrats, concerned with distinguishing their own Turkmens from the Shah-loyal Kızılbaş Turkmens, adopted the blanket term "Yörük" for their Turkomans.}}

Despite being politically divided between the Ottoman Turks and the Persian-influenced eastern realms, Eastern and Western Turkomans were ethnically and linguistically the same, differing only in minor dialectal or cultural aspects.

The Yörük to this day appear as a distinct segment of the population of Macedonia and Thrace where they settled as early as the 14th century.{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Macedonia#Races |display=Macedonia § Races |volume=17 |page=217}} While today the Yörük are increasingly settled, many of them still maintain their nomadic lifestyle, breeding goats and sheep in the Taurus Mountains and further eastern parts of mediterranean regions (in southern Anatolia), in the Pindus (Epirus, Greece), the Šar Mountains (North Macedonia), the Pirin and Rhodope Mountains (Bulgaria) and Dobrudja.{{Cite journal |last=YENİ |first=HARUN |title=THE YÖRÜKS OF OTTOMAN WESTERN THRACE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY |url=https://acikbilim.yok.gov.tr/bitstream/handle/20.500.12812/38128/yokAcikBilim_460133.pdf?sequence=-1&isAllowed=y |journal=Department of History İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Ankara |pages=155, 166 |quote=Specificially, he mentions the yörüks of the Dobruca and Deliorman regions and their close relationship with the frontier culture: “Yürüks in Dobruja and Deli-Orman served at the same time as ghazis or raiders (akinci) under famous frontier begs such as Mihal Oglu Ali Beg.}}

An earlier offshoot of the Yörüks, the Kailars or Kayılar Turks were amongst the first Turkish colonists in Europe, (Kailar or Kayılar being the Turkish name for the Greek town of Ptolemaida which took its current name in 1928)Ptolemaida.net – History of Ptolemaida [http://www.ptolemaida.net/p-istoria.html web page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709202119/http://www.ptolemaida.net/p-istoria.html |date=2011-07-09 }} formerly inhabiting parts of the Greek regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Settled Yörüks could be found until 1923, especially near and in the town of Kozani.

{{Div col}}

• Oghuz Yabgu State
• Pechenegs
• Seljuks
• Zengid dynasty
• Anatolian beyliks
• Khwarazmian dynasty
• Rasulid dynasty
• Ottomans
• Aq Qoyunlu
• Kara Koyunlu
• Safavid
• Afsharids
• Qajars
• Azerbaijani khanates

{{Div col end}}

File:Seljuk Empire locator map.svg in 1092, upon the death of Malik Shah I]]

Mahmud al-Kashgari listed 22 Oghuz tribes in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk. Kashgari further wrote that "In origin they are 24 tribes, but the two Khalajiyya tribes are distinguished from them [the twenty-two] in certain respects{{efn|Ar.: infaradatā ˤanhā bi-baˤḍ- al-aśyāˀ; alternative translation "separated from them with some of the belongings"}} and so are not counted among them. This is the origin".Maħmūd al-Kašğari. Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk. Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. Series: Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). "Part I". p. 101-102, 362–363Minorsky, V. "Commentary on Hudud al-'Alam's "§24. Khorasian Marches" pp. 347–348

Later, Charuklug from Kashgari's list would be omitted. Rashid-al-Din and Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur added three more: Kïzïk, Karkïn, and Yaparlï, to the list in Jami' al-tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) and Shajare-i Türk (Genealogy of the Turks), respectively.Golden, Peter B. (2015). "The Turkic World in Mahmûd al-Kâshgharî" in Bonn Contributions to Asian Archaeology. 7. p. 513-516 According to Selçukname, Oghuz Khagan had 6 children (Sun – Gün, Moon – Ay, Star – Yıldız, Sky – Gök, Mountain – Dağ, Sea – Diŋiz), and all six would become Khans themselves, each leading four tribes.{{cite web|url=http://www.kizilagil.de/kizilagil.pdf|title=YEREL BILGILER|website=Kizilagil.de|access-date=5 March 2022}}

{{Div col}}

;Gün Han

• Kayı (Ottomans,"Some Ottoman genealogies claim, perhaps fancifully, descent from Kayı.", Carter Vaughn Findley, The Turks in World History, pp. 50, 2005, Oxford University Press Jandarids and Chobanids)
• Bayat (Qajars, Dulkadirids, Fuzûlî)
• Alkaevli
• Karaevli

;Ay Han

• Yazır (disambiguation)
• Döger (Artuqids)
• Dodurga
• Yaparlı

;Yıldız Han

• Afshar (Afsharids and Zengids)
• Qiziq
• Begdili (Khwarazmian dynasty)
• Kargın

{{Div col end}}

{{Div col}}

;Gök Han

• Bayandur (founders of the Ak Koyunlu)
• Pecheneg
• Çavuldur{{Cite web |url=http://www.yeniansiklopedi.com/oguzlar/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 September 2012 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018172432/http://www.yeniansiklopedi.com/oguzlar/ |url-status=dead }} (Tzachas)
• Chepni (refer to Küresünni)

;Dağ Han

• Salur (Kadi Burhan al-Din, Salghurids and Karamanids; see also: Salars)
• Eymür
• Alayuntlu
• Yüreğir (Ramadanids)

;Diŋiz Han

• Iğdır
• Büğdüz
• Yıva (Qara Qoyunlu and Oghuz Yabgu State)
• Kınık (founders of the Seljuk Empire)Kafesoğlu, İbrahim. Türk Milli Kültürü. Türk Kültürünü Araştırma

Enstitüsü, 1977. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FDkBAAAAMAAJ&q=%22yabgu+devleti+zaman%C4%B1nda+O%C4%9Fuzlar%22 page 134]

{{Div col end}}

• Azerbaijani people
• Qashqai people
• Gagauz people
• Turkish people
• Turkmen people
• Salar people

{{Div col}}

;Anatolia

• Abdal of Turkey
• Yörüks
• Tahtacı
• Varsak
• Barak
• Karakeçili (Black Goat Turkomans)
• Manav (While Manavs originally belonged to the Kipchaks-Cumans, today they have become Oghuz under the influence of the Oghuz.) {{Cite web |title=YALAKOVA'DAN YALOVA'YA Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık Anısına Yalova Tarihi Araştırmaları |page=224 |url=http://www.yalovaozelidare.gov.tr/kurumlar/yalovaozelidare.gov.tr/Tasarim/yayinlarimiz/6_Yalakova_dan-Yalova_ya-Kitap-Metni.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=Acar, Kenan (2010). Kuzeybatı Anadolu Manav Türkmen Ağızları Üzerine Birkaç Not |url=http://www.fed.sakarya.edu.tr/arsiv/yayinlenmis_dergiler/2010_2/makale_1.pdf}}{{Cite web |title=Muharrem ÖÇALAN SAKARYA- İZMİT YÖRESİ YERLEŞİK TÜRKMENLERİ MANAV AĞIZLARINDA ÖTÜMSÜZ PATLAYICI ÜNSÜZ DEĞİŞMELERİ |url=https://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/YENI%20TURK%20DILI/muharrem_ocalan_sakarya.pdf}}{{Cite journal |title=CİHAN YALVAR, ANADOLU'DA SON TÜRK İSKÂNI: İZNİK İMPARATORLUĞU'NDA KUMAN-KIPÇAKLAR VE YALOVA KAZIMİYE (YORTAN) İLE ELMALIK (SARUHANLI) KÖYLERİNDEKİ VARLIKLARI |journal=Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları |date=19 February 2021 |volume=127 |issue=250 |pages=11–36 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tda/issue/60394/798906 |last1=Yalvar |first1=Cihan }}{{Cite web |title=BİZANS'IN ANADOLU'YA YERLEŞTİRDİĞİ SON TÜRKLER |work=ESKİÇAĞ ARAŞTIRMALARI DERGİSİ |date=January 2018 |url=https://www.academia.edu/36801899 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601194500/https://www.academia.edu/36801899/B%C4%B0ZANSIN_ANADOLUYA_YERLE%C5%9ET%C4%B0RD%C4%B0%C4%9E%C4%B0_SON_T%C3%9CRKLER |archive-date=1 June 2022 |last1=Yılmaz |first1=Adil }}{{Cite web |title=Geyikdere Köyü Mezarlığında Bulunan Orta Asya Tipindeki bir Taş Heykel |last1=Yılmaz |first1=Adil|work=YALAKOVA'DAN YALOVA'YA Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık Anısına Yalova Tarihi Araştırmaları Sempozyumu Bildiri Kitabı Editör: Doç. Dr. Hacer Karabağ |date=January 2022 |url=https://academia.edu/resource/work/90182180}}{{Cite web |date=7 December 2023 |title=Manav Türkleri/Kırımın Gazetesi |url=https://kiriminsesigazetesi.com/manav-turkleri/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609063619/https://kiriminsesigazetesi.com/manav-turkleri/ |archive-date=9 June 2023}}
• Atçeken
• Küresünni
• Chepni

;Caucasus

• Azerbaijanis in Armenia
• Azerbaijanis in Turkey
• Azerbaijanis in Georgia
• Terekeme people
• Qarapapaq
• Karadaghis
• Javanshir clan
• Trukhmen
• Turks in Abkhazia
• Meskhetian Turks

;Cyprus

• Cypriot Turks

{{Main|Turks in the Balkans}}

• Turks in Bosnia
• Bulgarian Turks
• Turks in Croatia
• Dodecanese Turks
• Kosovan Turks
• Macedonian Turks
• Turks in Serbia
• Turks in Montenegro
• Romanian Turks
• Turks of Western Thrace
• Cretan Turks
• Karamanlides
• Gajal
• Amuca tribe

{{Main|Turks in Iran}}

• Iranian Azerbaijanis
• Shahsevan
• Qizilbash
• Padar tribe
• Khorasani Turks
• Iranian Turkmens
• Afghan Turkmens
• Qajars (tribe)
• Bichaghchi
• Turks in Afghanistan

{{Main|Turks in the Arab world|Kouloughlis}}

• Turks in Libya
• Turks in Egypt
• Turks in Algeria
• Syrian Turkmen
• Iraqi Turkmen
• Turks in Lebanon
• Turks in Palestine
• Turks in Jordan
• Turks in Tunisia
• Turks in Saudi Arabia
• Turks in Yemen

{{Div col end}}

• Algoz
• Turkic migration
• History of Turkic peoples
• Timeline of Turks (500-1300)
• Turkomans

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Tao |last2=Ning |first2=Chao |display-authors=1 |date=June 2020 |title=Millet agriculture dispersed from Northeast China to the Russian Far East: Integrating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics |journal=Archaeological Research in Asia |publisher=Elsevier |volume=22 |issue=100177 |page= 100177|doi=10.1016/j.ara.2020.100177 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Li et al.|2020}}|hdl=21.11116/0000-0005-D82B-8 |hdl-access=free }}
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• {{cite journal |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |date=1 January 2017 |title=Austronesian influence and Transeurasian ancestry in Japanese |journal=Language Dynamics and Change |publisher=Brill |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=210–251 |doi=10.1163/22105832-00702005 |doi-access=free |issn=2210-5832 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002E-8635-7 |hdl-access=free }}
• {{cite book |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |year=2020 |chapter=The Transeurasian homeland: where, what and when? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43039094 |editor-last1=Robbeets |editor-first1=Martine |editor-link1=Martine Robbeets |editor-last2=Savelyev |editor-first2=Alexander |title=The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-guide-to-the-transeurasian-languages-9780198804628 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Uchiyama|first1=Junzo|last2=Gillam|first2=J. Christopher|last3=Savelyev|first3=Alexander|last4=Ning|first4=Chao|display-authors=1|date=21 May 2020 |title=Populations dynamics in Northern Eurasian forests: a long-term perspective from Northeast Asia |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume= 2|pages=e16 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.11 |pmid=37588381 |pmc=10427466 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Uchiyama et al.|2020}} |hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-7733-A|hdl-access=free}} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].

• Grousset, R., The Empire of the Steppes, 1991, Rutgers University Press
• Nicole, D., Attila and the Huns, 1990, Osprey Publishing
• Lewis, G., The Book of Dede Korkut, "Introduction", 1974, Penguin Books
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• Aydın, Mehmet. Bayat-Bayat boyu ve Oğuzların tarihi. Hatiboğlu Yayınevi, 1984. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NtULAAAAIAAJ&q=oguz+bayat+dodurga web page]

{{Commons category|Oghuz Turks}}

• {{cite encyclopedia | title = ḠOZZ | last1 = Golden | first1 = Peter | last2 = Bosworth | first2 = C. Edmund | author-link1 = Peter B. Golden | author-link2 = Clifford Edmund Bosworth | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gozz | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. XI, Fasc. 2 | pages = 184–187 | year = 2002 }}
• {{EI3|last=Golden|first=Peter B.|authorlink=Peter Benjamin Golden|year=2020|title=Oghuz|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/oghuz-COM_27565}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120105194245/http://aton.ttu.edu/turkishlist.asp The Book of Dede Korkut] (pdf format) at the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative
• [http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-1/ Similarities between the epics of Dede Korkut and Alpamysh]
• [http://www.taointernational.com/hapkido/dedication.htm A page dedicated to Oguz Khan]
• [http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1 The Old Turkic Inscriptions.]

{{Turkic peoples}}

{{Oghuz tribes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oghuz}}

Category:History of the Turkish people

Category:Turkic peoples of Asia

Category:Turkic peoples