Turkmens
Turkmens (Turkmen: Türkmenler, Түркменлер, توركمنلر, [tʏɾkmønˈløɾ])[13] are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the North Caucasus (Stavropol Krai). They speak the Turkmen language,[10] which is classified as a part of the Eastern Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages.[14] In the early Middle Ages, Turkmens called themselves Oghuz[citation needed]; in the Middle Ages, they took the ethnonym Turkmen.[15] These early Oghuz Turkmens moved westward from the Altai Mountains through the Siberian steppes, and settled in the region now known as Turkmenistan. Further westward migration of the Turkmen tribes from the territory of modern Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia started from the 11th century and continued until the 18th century. These Turkmen tribes played a significant role in the ethnic formation of such peoples as Anatolian Turks, Turkmens of Iraq, and Syria, as well as the Turkic population of Iran and Azerbaijan.[16][17][18] To preserve their independence, those tribes that remained in Turkmenistan were united in military alliances, although remnants of tribal relations remained until the 20th century. Their traditional occupations were farming, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Ancient samples of applied art (primarily carpets and jewelry) indicate a high level of folk art culture. The Seljuks, Khwarazmians, Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu, Ottomans, and Afsharids are also believed to descend from the Turkmen tribes of Qiniq, Begdili, Yiwa, Bayandur, Kayi, and Afshar respectively.[19] Etymology The term Turkmen is generally applied to the Turkic tribes that have been distributed across the Near and Middle East, as well as Central Asia, from the 11th century to modern times.[20] Originally, all Turkic tribes who belonged to the Turkic dynastic mythological system and/or converted to Islam (e.g. Karluks, Oghuz Turks, Khalajs, Kanglys, Kipchaks, etc.) were designated "Turkmens".[21][22] Only later did this word come to refer to a specific ethnonym. The generally accepted view for the etymology of the name is that it comes from Türk and the Turkic emphasizing suffix -men, meaning "'most Turkish of the Turks' or 'pure-blooded Turks.'"[23] A folk etymology, dating back to the Middle Ages and found in the works of al-Biruni and Mahmud al-Kashghari, instead derives the suffix -men from the Persian suffix -mānand, with the resulting word meaning "like a Turk". While formerly the dominant etymology in modern scholarship, this mixed Turkic-Persian derivation is now typically viewed as incorrect.[24] An alternative etymology was proposed by 16th-century Ottoman historian Mehmed Neşri, who derived it from the Persian phrase Turk-i iman (ترک ایمان), meaning "Turk of the faith" (i.e. Islam).[25] This theory was rejected as incorrect by turkologist Ármin Vámbéry, who argued that it relied upon an incorrect understanding of Persian grammar:[26]
Despite various criticisms, it remains a theory advocated by some today, such as linguist and ethnographer Dávid Somfai.[25] Former president of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Niyazov was also among the advocates of this etymology, although he altered the meaning of the words, writing in his Ruhnama that, rather than "Muslim Turk", it meant "made of light":[27]
Today, the terms Turkmen and Turkoman are usually restricted to two Turkic groups: the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan and adjacent parts of Central Asia and Iran, and the Turkomans of Iraq and Syria. Origins Türkmens were mentioned near the end of the 10th century A.D in Islamic literature by the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi in Ahsan Al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat Al-Aqalim.[28] In his work, which was completed in 987 A.D, al-Muqaddasi writes about Turkmens twice while depicting the region as the frontier of the Muslim possessions in Central Asia.[29] Earlier references to Türkmen might be trwkkmˀn (if not trkwmˀn "translator"), mentioned in an 8th-century Sogdian letter and 特拘夢 Tejumeng (< MC ZS *dək̚-kɨo-mɨuŋH), another name of Sogdia, besides Suyi 粟弋 and Sute 粟特, according to the Chinese encyclopedia Tongdian.[30][31] However, even if 特拘夢 might have transcribed Türkmen, these "Türkmens" might be Karluks instead of modern Türkmens' Oghuz-speaking ancestors;[32] as Türkmen might be the Karluks' equivalent of the Göktürks' political term Kök Türk.[32] Zuev (1960) links the tribal name 餘沒渾 Yumeihun (< MC *iʷо-muət-хuən) in Tang Huiyao to the name Yomut of a modern Turkmen clan.[33][34] Towards the end of the 11th century, in Divânü Lügat'it-Türk (Compendium of the Turkic Dialects), Mahmud Kashgari uses "Türkmen" synonymously with "Oğuz".[35] He describes Oghuz as a Turkic tribe and says that Oghuz and Karluks were both known as Turkmens.[36][37] The origins of the Turkic peoples has been a topic of much discussion, but evidence points either to a homeland in South Central Siberia, close to the Altai Mountains and Lake Baikal or farther East in Mongolia. Archaeogenetic, historical and linguistic evidence suggests that the earliest Turkic peoples were "within or close to the Northeast Asian genepool" but made up of multiple heterogeneous groups, with their exact location of their homeland remaining disputed.[38][39] The genetic and historical evidence suggests that the early Turkic peoples, including the ancestors of the Turkmen people - Oghuz Turks,[40][41] harbored both West-Eurasian and Northeast Asian ancestry and were located in and around the Altai region and western Mongolia. Later medieval Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both West-Eurasian and East Asian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring Iranian and Mongolic peoples.[42][43][44] Before the formation of the Turkmen ethnicity, the Oghuz Turks inhabited parts of Transoxiana, the western portion of Turkestan, a region that largely corresponds to much of Central Asia as far east as Xinjiang. Famous historian and ruler of Khwarazm of the XVII century Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur links the origin of all Turkmens to 24 Oghuz tribes in his literary work "Genealogy of the Turkmens".[45] In Byzantine, then in the European sources and later in the American tradition, Turkmens were called Turkomans,[46][47][48][49] in the countries of the Near and Middle East - Turkmens, as well as Torkaman, Terekeme; in Kievan Rus - Torkmens;[50] in the Duchy of Moscow - Taurmen;[51] and in the Tsarist Russia - Turkoman and Trukhmen.[52] In the 7th century AD, Oghuz tribes had moved westward from the Altai Mountains through the Siberian steppes, and settled in this region. They also penetrated as far west as the Volga basin and the Balkans. These early Turkmens are believed to have mixed with native Sogdian peoples and lived as pastoral nomads until being conquered by the Russians in the 19th century.[53]  Migration of the Turkmen tribes from the territory of Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia in the south-west direction began mainly from the 11th century and continued until the 18th century. These Turkmen tribes played a significant role in the ethnic formation of such peoples as Anatolian Turks, Turkmens of Iraq and Syria, as well as the Turkic population of Iran and Azerbaijan.[16][17][18] To preserve their independence, those tribes that remained in Turkmenistan were united in military alliances, although remnants of tribal relations remained until the 20th century. Their traditional occupations were farming, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Ancient samples of applied art (primarily carpets and jewelry) indicate a high level of folk art culture. GeneticsHaplogroup Q-M242 is commonly found in Siberia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia. This haplogroup forms a large percentage of the paternal lineages of Turkmens. Grugni et al. (2012) found Q-M242 in 42.6% (29/68) of a sample of Turkmens from Golestan, Iran.[54] Di Cristofaro et al. (2013) found Q-M25 in 31.1% (23/74) and Q-M346 in 2.7% (2/74) for a total of 33.8% (25/74) Q-M242 in a sample of Turkmens from Jawzjan.[55] Karafet et al. (2018) found Q-M25 in 50.0% (22/44) of another sample of Turkmens from Turkmenistan.[56] Haplogroup Q has seen its highest frequencies in the Turkmens from Karakalpakstan (mainly Yomut) at 73%.[57] Haplogroup Q is very rare among Turkmens of Stavropol Krai (tribes Choudor, Igdyr, Suyunadjy), where it reaches only 2%.[58] A genetic study on maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups of a Turkmen sample describes a mixture of mostly West Eurasian maternal lineages and a minority of East Eurasian lineages. Turkmens also have two unusual mtDNA markers with polymorphic characteristics, only found in Turkmens and southern Siberians.[59] History
 Turkmens belong to the Oghuz tribes, who originated on the periphery of Central Asia and founded gigantic empires beginning from the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently, Turkmen tribes founded lasting dynasties in Central Asia, Middle East, Persia and Anatolia that had a profound influence on the course of history of those regions.[60] The most prominent of those dynasties were the Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Ottomans, Afsharids and Qajars. Representatives of the Turkmen tribes of Ive and Bayandur were also the founders of the short-lived, but formidable states of Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu Turkmens respectively.[61][62] Turkmens that stayed in Central Asia largely survived unaffected by the Mongol period due to their semi-nomadic lifestyle and became traders along the Caspian, which led to contacts with Eastern Europe. Following the decline of the Mongols, Tamerlane conquered the area and his Timurid Empire would rule, until it too fractured, as the Safavids, Khanate of Bukhara, and Khanate of Khiva all contested the area. The expanding Russian Empire took notice of Turkmenistan's extensive cotton industry, during the reign of Peter the Great, and invaded the area. Following the decisive Battle of Geok Tepe in January 1881, the bulk of Turkmen tribes found themselves under the rule of the Russian Emperor, which was formalized in the Akhal Treaty between Russia and Persia. After the Russian Revolution, Soviet control was established by 1921, and in 1924 Turkmenistan became the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. Turkmenistan gained independence in 1991. Culture and society
Religion The Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iran are predominantly Muslims. According the U.S. Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2019,
The Turkmen adopted Islam between the 12th and 14th centuries. Sufi orders like the Yasawiya and Kubrawiya greatly contributed to the conversion of the Turkmens to Islam.[64] The great majority of Turkmen readily identify themselves as Muslims and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their cultural heritage.[65] The country of Turkmenistan encourages the conceptualization of "Turkmen Islam", or worship that is often mixed with veneration of elders and saints, life-cycle rituals, and Sufi practices.[65] Since Turkmenistan's independence saw an increase in religious practices and the development of institutions like the Muftiate and the building of mosques, today it is often regulated.[65] The government leadership of Turkmenistan often uses Islam to legitimize its role in society by sponsoring holiday celebrations such as iftar dinners during Ramadan and presidential pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This sponsorship has validated the country's two presidents (Nyýazow and Berdimuhamedow) as pious Turkmen, giving them an aura of cultural authority.[65] The Russian Academy of Sciences has identified many instances of syncretic influence of pre-Islamic Turkic belief systems on practice of Islam among Turkmen, including placing offerings before trees.[66] The Turkmen word taňry, meaning "God", derives from the Turkic Tengri, the name of the supreme god in the pre-Islamic Turkic pantheon.[67] The Turkmen language features a multitude of euphemisms for "wolf", because of a belief that speaking the actual word while tending a flock of sheep will invoke a wolf's appearance.[68] In other examples of syncretism, some infertile Turkmen women, rather than praying, step or jump over a live wolf in order to assist them in getting pregnant, and children born subsequently are typically given names associated with wolves; alternatively the mother may visit shrines of Muslim saints.[69] The future is divined by reading of dried camel dung by special fortune tellers.[70] Language Turkmen (Turkmen: Türkmençe, Түркменче, تۆرکمنچه) is a Turkic language spoken by the Turkmens of Central Asia, mainly of Turkmenistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. It has an estimated five million native speakers in Turkmenistan, a further 719,000 speakers in Northeastern Iran[71] and 1.5 million people in Northwestern Afghanistan.[72] The Turkmen language is closely related to Azerbaijani, Turkish, Gagauz, Qashqai, and Crimean Tatar, sharing common linguistic features with each of those languages. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between these languages.[73][74] However, the closest language of Turkmen is considered Khorasani Turkic, spoken in northeastern regions of Iran and with which it shares the eastern subbranch of Oghuz languages, as well as Khorezm, the Oghuz dialect of Uzbek language spoken mainly along the Turkmenistan border.[75] The standardized form of Turkmen (spoken in Turkmenistan) is based on the Teke dialect, while Iranian Turkmen uses mostly the Yomud dialect, and Afghan Turkmen use the Ersary dialect.[10] In Iran, the Turkmen language comes second after the Azerbaijani language in terms of the number of speakers of Turkic languages of Iran.[76] Literature Turkmen literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in old Oghuz Turkic and Turkmen languages. Turkmens have joint claims to a great number of literary works written in Old Oghuz Turkic and Persian (by Seljuks in 11-12th centuries) languages with other people of the Oghuz Turkic origin, mainly of Azerbaijan and Turkey. This works include, but are not limited to the Book of Dede Korkut, Gorogly and others.[77] The medieval Turkmen literature was heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian, and used mostly Arabic alphabet.[78] There is general consensus, however, that distinctively Turkmen literature originated in 18th century with the poetry of Magtymguly Pyragy, who is considered the father of the Turkmen literature.[79][80] Other prominent Turkmen poets of that era are Döwletmämmet Azady (Magtymguly's father), Nurmuhammet Andalyp, Abdylla Şabende, Şeýdaýy, Mahmyt Gaýyby and Gurbanally Magrupy.[81] In the 20th century, Turkmenistan's most prominent Turkmen-language writer was Berdi Kerbabayev, whose novel Decisive Step, later made into a motion picture directed by Alty Garlyyev, is considered the apotheosis of modern Turkmen fiction. It earned him the USSR State Prize for Literature in 1948.[82] MusicThe musical art of the Turkmens is an integral part of the musical art of the Turkic peoples. The music of the Turkmen people is closely related to the Kyrgyz and Kazakh folk forms. Important musical traditions include traveling singers called bakshy, who sing with instruments such as the two-stringed lute called dutar. Other important musical instruments are gopuz, tüydük, dombura, and gyjak. The most famous Turkmen bakshys are those who lived in the 19th century: Amangeldi Gönübek, Gulgeldi ussa, Garadali Gokleng, Yegen Oraz bakshy, Hajygolak, Nobatnyyaz bakshy, Oglan bakshy, Durdy bakshy, Shukur bakshy, Chowdur bakshy and others. Usually they narrated the woeful and gloomy events of the Turkmen history through their music. The names and music of these bakshys have become legendary among the Turkmen people, and passed orally from generation to generation.[83] The Central Asian classical music tradition muqam is also present in Turkmenistan.[84] In the 20th century, Danatar Ovezov began composing classical music using Turkmen themes, and that classical expression of Turkmen motifs and melodies reached its apotheosis in the compositions of Nury Halmammedov. Folk crafts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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