An Outline of Turkish History from its Inception to 1350

Throughout history the Turks have established numerous states in different geographical areas on the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. Therefore, they encountered different cultures, they influenced these cultures and were influenced by them.

The Chinese records reported that the first appearance of the Turks in history was in the Kömen Mountains, where the most ancient remains were found. The culture referred to as Tagar, featuring remains found on the Tagar Island at the Yenisei River on the northern foot of the Köğmen Mountains and dating back to the seventh century B.C., is attributed to the ancient Turks. The Tagar Culture, however, originated from another ancient culture called the Karasuk which flourished on the same shores, which dates back to two thousand B.C.

It is accepted that Turkish political history in Asia starts with the Huns. The Hun State , which first appeared in the third century B.C., became a significant and powerful state during the reign of its founder, Mete Khan, and passed through fundamental changes, economically and socially, due to her relations with China. Having a defined and certain strategy, Mete first of all defeated the Mongolians and then the Yuechis, and thereafter, having taken the western gates and trade routes of China under his control, he gained significant economic power. This systematic expansion policy resulted in the seizure of Eastern Turkestan, the wheat and provisions granary, by the Huns.
After the collapse of the Asian Hun State, a new state called the Göktürk was founded by the Turkish tribes who adopted the traditions and administrative experiences of the Huns. The Göktürk State (552-740) is the second great state established by the Turks. Unlike the Huns, the Göktürks attached particular importance to urbanization, realized agricultural reforms and seed improvement and "sagacity" was the foremost concept.

Bilge Khan and Kultegin took their place in history as the wisest and most heroic figures among Turkish statesmen. They asserted that the state could not be ruled only by fighting and bravery and the Khanate should also require wisdom. It was because of this that both the Khans and Tonyukuk, another Göktürk Khan, immortalized their accomplishments with inscriptions. These inscriptions are the first written texts of the Turkish language.

The Göktürk State collapsed after struggles with the Chinese, on the one hand, and with the Turkish tribes within the state, such as the Dokuz O¤uzlar, Karluks and Basm›ls, on the other hand. The Uigur Turks, who were the native tribes of the Orhun and Selenge valleys, founded the third great Turkish state. The Uigur State (741-840) attached importance to trade and continued the traditions and customs of the Göktürks. The trade developed and the Manichean temples were turned into bazaar temples in time due to the influence of Manicheism, the official religion.

The warlike aspects of the Uigurs gradually grew weaker in time as they developed culturally and commercially. The Kyrgyz Turks living to the northwest, took advantage of this situation and planned a surprise attack on the Uigur capital city, which resulted in a war and at the end the Uigur state collapsed.

The Western Turks. A group of Huns who migrated towards the West first settled in a region to the north of the Black Sea extending to the Danube River. First the Huns made raids on Iran and Anatolia via the Caucasia, and then they attacked the territories of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They fought with the Franks in 428, and two years later, reached the areas which are presently the Netherlands and Denmark. The Western Huns, who were known as the first Turkish state founded in Europe, became a great state with territories extending from the banks of the Rhine to the Volga River, under the leadership of Attila the Hun. This state played an important role in transmitting Eastern civilization to the West, and organized campaigns to Italy, the Balkans and Gaul in the reign of Attila. The Western Hun State collapsed a short time after Attila passed away (470).

During the collapse of the Hun Empire in Europe, a new wave of tribal migrations started in Central Asia. The north of the Black Sea was confronted with a new wave of Turkish migration. The first tribes to arrive were the Sabirs, Sarogurs and Onogurs. These Ogur tribes, who settled to the north of the Caucasus, raided the Byzantine territories from Macedonia to Thessaly. It is known that the Bulgarian Turks also came to this region along side the Ogur Turks. Byzantine sources refer to the name "Bulgarian" for the first time in 482. In fact, the Avars, with the Bulgarian Turks under their sovereignty, sieged the Byzantine capital at the beginning of the seventh century. The Avars , who left their homeland in Central Asia and who escaped towards the West when the Göktürk State was founded in 552, had an important place in the history of Europe. They first came to Caucasia and the north of the Black Sea, made an agreement with the Byzantines and fought against, and defeated, Turkish tribes such as the Sabirs and Onogurs on behalf of the Byzantines. They expanded to the banks of the Danube River, over the lands of the Ants, a Slavic tribe. From time to time, they made raids throughout the Balkans and even as far as the Peloponnese in Greece. They sieged Istanbul in 626 together with the Bulgarian Turks. The borders of the Avar Empire extended from the Dnieper to the Elbe River and from the North Sea to the Adriatic Sea during the reign of their famous ruler Bayan Khan. The Avar Empire collapsed between 776-803 due to the concurrent attacks of Kurum Khan, the leader of the Bulgarian Turks and Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Present excavations and research in Hungary and Central Europe reveal that the Avars had an exemplary organization within the state and the army and attained a high level of civilization.

During the period of disintegration of the Sabir State in the east of Europe, a new Turkish state called the Khazars came into existence. The Khazars, who were considered to be the continuation of the Western Göktürks, took over their military and civilian organizations. This state, which ruled for over 300 years bears the name of "Turk" in Arabian, Syrian and Byzantine sources. The Khazars acted as an allied force of the Byzantines in the war between Byzantium and Iran. It is observed that the Arabs who occupied Azerbaijan around the beginning of the eighth century, also raided Khazar territories and occupied their capital city Belencer (in Dagestan).

The war between the Khazars and the Caliphate continued for almost 25 years. The Khazar armies once again went to the south of the Caucasus from 762 AD and occupied all of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Ras Tarhan, the Khazar commander advanced up to Georgia. The Khazars were threatened afterwards by other Turkish tribes, and especially by the Russians. Their state collapsed towards the end of the tenth century due to their long lasting wars against the Pechenegs.

Another Turkish tribe living in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Balkans was the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs, an Oghuz tribe, whose initial settlement around Balkhash Lake moved on to the nearby Aral Sea during the fight between the Göktürks and Uigurs. Then they moved further towards the West and fought against the Khazars. They occupied the Cuman plains and expelled the Hungarians ruling the lands between the Don and Dnieper Rivers towards the West. Giving assistance to the Russians in their fights with the Khazars, they played a role in the founding of this state. The Pechenegs, who ruled a territory extending from the Don River to the Danube River in the tenth century, made raids on Byzantine territories from the middle of the eleventh century. However, they were decisively defeated by the joint forces of the Cumans and Byzantines beside the Lower Maritsa River in 1091. Some of the separate Pecheneg groups who could not represent a political existence after this defeat were settled in the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Those who stayed in the Balkans and Hungary settled there and were assimilated. Turkish History in the Islamic Period. After the decline of the Uigur State, the Karahanid State was founded in 840 by the Turkish tribes such as the Karluks, Çigils and Arguls. The reign of the Karahanids is considered to be a turning point in Turkish history, because Islam was accepted as the official religion during the reign of Satuk Buğra Khan, the Karahanid leader. Being the first Muslim Turkish state established in Central Asia, they laid the foundations of an historical development called Turkish-Islamic culture and civilization.

The Karahanids, whose first city of governance was Kashgar and second was Balasagun to the north, was divided between two brothers in 1042: the Eastern Karahanids and the Western Karahanids. The Eastern Karahanid State survived until 1211 and then accepted the sovereignty of the Great Seljuk State. Islamic-Turkish literature was developed during the rule of the Karahanid State which was customarily governed by just, religious, and culture loving Khans and Kashgar and Balasagun became important cultural centers.

At the time of the rule of the Karahanids, there was another Turkish state of which the capital city was Ghazna in Afghanistan. The most powerful period of the Ghaznavid State (936-1187) was the reign of Mahmud of Ghazna who used the title of "Sultan" for the first time. Sultan Mahmud, who organized many campaigns to India, took these places under Turkish rule, Islamized them and laid the foundation for today's State of Pakistan. The rulers succeeding Sultan Mahmud could not maintain this brilliant period. The Ghaznavids had to retreat to India after the Dandanakan War with the Seljuks in 1040 and finally came under the sovereignty of the Seljuks.

Another great Turkish state was the Seljuk State (1040-1157) founded by the Seljuk Bey who was a member of the Kinik tribe of the Oghuz Turks. The borders of the state covered an area from the Marmara Sea to the Balkhash Lake in Central Asia and from the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea to the borders of India and Yemen. Therefore, it was named the Great Seljuk State. At the time of Seljuk rule, there were also two other great and strong Turkish states, namely the Karahanids and Ghaznavids. The Seljuks entered into a struggle of hegemony with these two Turkish states and were successful in establishing Turkish unity. Togrul Bey, the Sultan of the Seljuks, entered Baghdad, the Abbasid Caliphate capital and ended the domination of the Buwayhids, a Persian Shiite dynasty, in 1055. Therefore, the Caliph bestowed on Togrul Bey the title of "Ruler of the World". During the reign of Sultan Alp Arslan, the successor of Togrul Bey, the territories of the country expanded significantly.

The most significant events of this period were the clashes with the Byzantine Empire. Sultan Alp Arslan inflicted a crushing defeat on the Byzantine army under the leadership of Romanus Diogenes at Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071. This victory firmly established Turkish rule in Anatolia.

During the reign of Sultan Malik Shah, one of the most powerful rulers of the Seljuks, the Seljuk State experienced her most successful period in the fields of military, science, politics and literature. Madrasahs (theological schools) were opened all over the country. The most important of these was the Nizamiye Madrasah constructed by the Vizier Nizam al-Mülk which was the foundation for the architecture of the Western universities.

After Sultan Malik Shah died, the country was divided into small states. The Syrian Seljuks (1092-1117), Iraq and Khorasan Seljuks (1092-1194), Kirman Seljuks (1092-1187) and the Anatolian Seljuks (1092-1194) were among the small states. During the disintegration period of the Great Seljuk State many small beylics and atabeylics were also established on the Anatolian territories of the state. These beylics played an important role in making Anatolia Turkish through the Turkish population they brought and also the architectural works they made. These beylics had a significant affect in the strengthening of the Anatolian Seljuk State which was established later in Anatolia.

Moreover, the Khorezm Shah State (1097-1231) was established by Mohammed Khorezm Shah, the son of Anushtegin, the palace servant of Sultan Malik Shah, on the territories of the Great Seljuk State. The Khorezm Shah State made significant progress in science and politics.
The most important state established in the place of the Great Seljuk State is definitely the Anatolian Seljuk State. Suleiman ibn Qutulmish who established himself at Nicaea (Iznik) in 1078 tried to expand Turkish rule in Anatolia and he managed to spread his rule all over Anatolia in a short period of time. During the reign of his son, Kiliç Arslan I, the First Crusade began, Iznik was seized by the Crusaders and given to the Byzantines. Kiliç Arslan I then established himself in the city of Konya and started a war of attrition against the invaders. However, he could not stop the Crusaders who were heading towards Syria. The efforts to unify Anatolia under Turkish rule were also continued during the reign of his successor, Sultan Mesud I. He repelled the Byzantine army headed for Konya and defeated the Crusaders near the Ceyhan River. Sultan Kiliç Arslan II, the successor of Mesud I, made the Byzantine intrigues against the Turks ineffective and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Byzantine army under the leadership of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus I, at Myriokephalon near Denizli (1176). Following this victory, the influence of the Byzantine Empire over Anatolia was completely lost. Thereafter, trade flourished and construction activities accelerated. Caravanserais were built on the roads and shipyards were constructed in Sinop and the Mediterranean, the madrasahs were opened and important developments were made in science. The most brilliant period of Turkish history was experienced during the reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. However, the death of the Sultan by poisoning created chaos in the country. The religio-political rebellion of the Babais was followed by the Mongolian invasion and Anatolia was occupied by the Mongolians after the Kösedag War between the Seljuks and Mongolians in 1243. Along with the weakening of the Mongolian rule towards the end of the thirteenth century, the Turkoman groups who were settled at the frontiers during the Seljuk period, founded many beylics (principalities) of varying sizes in Anatolia. The Karaman, Germiyan, Esref, Hamid, Mentese, Candar, Pervane, Sahib Ata, Karesi, Saruhan, Aydin, Inanç and Osmanogullari were among the Turkoman beylics founded in Anatolia in this period. In this period, which is called the Beylics Period, all of Anatolia came under Turkish rule and a new period of welfare began in the country which had been previously exposed to a great extent to Mongolian destruction. As a matter of fact, the Ottoman state was founded on these solid foundations.

In Egypt, the army commander Izzeddin Aybeg was declared the Sultan, after the death of es-Salih Necmeddin, the last Ayyubid ruler and thus the Turkish Kölemen (Mameluke) State (1250-1382) was founded. The Mameluke State has an important place in Turkish history, because during the reign of Sultan Aybeg, the Mansure Victory was won which made the Seventh Crusade ineffective. During the reign of Seyfeddin Kotuz, the Mongolian-Armenian-Crusaders alliance which tried to invade Egypt suffered a heavy defeat and the Mongolians were not able to enter Syria. During the period of the later Sultans, the Christian hegemony in Syria would end and the territories extending to Kayseri in Anatolia would be taken under the rule of the Mameluke Sultanate. In addition, trade between the east and the west developed during this period. The Mameluke Sultans were bestowed the title of "Hadimü'l-Harameyn" (the Servant of Mecca and Medina), due to their services to Islam, and acquired a justified fame in the Islamic World. The Mameluke State was wiped out by the Ottoman State.

One of the most important states of the fourteenth century was the Tamerlane State (1370-1507). It was founded by Tamerlane, who was a provincial governor in one of the Çagatay khanates. The borders of the state extended from the Volga River to the Ganges River in India, and from the Tanri Mountains to Izmir and Damascus. Tamerlane, who had a violent character, caused great damage during his military expeditions. The state became an empire in a period of 35 years. It disintegrated just as rapidly as it was established after the death of Tamerlane. Muhammed, his grandson, founded a state in Samarkand. Pir Muhammed and Iskender, his other grandsons, founded a state in Iran. Miranshah, his son, founded states in Baghdad and Azerbaijan. Shahruh, his younger son, founded a state in Khorasan. During the period of Shahruh, who tried to establish unity by enlarging the borders of his state, a brilliant cultural life was started. His son Ulug Bey ascended the throne as a well-known astronomer. Only Hüseyin Baykara from the Tamerlane dynasty could manage to hold out in Khorasan. Herat, the capital city, became one of the most significant cultural centers of Turkish history. Ali ½ir Nevai, the Turkish poet and statesman, was educated here. Herat was seized by the Uzbeks after the reign of Baykara and the Tamerlane dynasty disappeared. When the Tamerlane State was established, the Turkoman group of the Karakoyunlu, which settled between Irbil and Nakhichevan, founded a state, the center of which was Tabriz. This state formed by the Yiva, Yazir, Döger and Avsar tribes of the Oghuz Turks was called the Karakoyunlu State (1380-1469). The Karakoyunlu State fought with Tamerlane. Kara Yusuf, the ruler of the Karakoyunlu State, had to take refuge in the Ottoman state during the reign of Yildirim Beyazid as a result of pressure by Tamerlane. This strained relations between the Ottomans and the Tamerlanes and was considered to be a reason for the Ankara War of 1402. Kara Yusuf, who managed to recover after this war, reestablished his state after 1406 and captured Mardin, Erzincan, Baghdad, Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Kazvin, and Sultaniye. After his death, the country was dragged into chaos. Although Cihan-shah managed to reunify the state, he was defeated by Akkoyunlu Uzun Hasan at Mardin and the country entered under the hegemony of the Akkoyunlu State.