Ancient Turks and origins.

The ancient Turkish were called Gok Turks or Kok Turks. They were nomadic tribes and 1 st
in Mongolia to identify them as “Turk”. The 1st reference to Turks were in Chinese Records
of about 2000 BC. About 4000 years ago. The records refer to Husiung-nu, an early form of
Western Hun.’ They lived in area bounded by Altai Mountains, Lake Baikal and northern
edge of the Gobi Desert.

Early Turks:

The Huns were considered as somehow related to ancestors of the Turks. Interestingly the
Hungarians were considered as Turks by the Byzantine Empire.

The Huns:

They were nomadic tribe who were very skilled in archery and as horsemen. The Huns
burst into Europe suddenly in 370 CE somewhat. The other barbarians were fleeing the
Huns! The Huns went through the “Gateway of the Nations”. The huns were a mystery, they
came from nowhere’ and they vanished suddenly. This reminds me of Dhul Qarnian and
Yajuj and Magug(Gog and Magog) of the Quran or two horned one. Dhul Qarnian was a
might powerful king who was requested by a certain people, having no refuge from the
sun. A place bounded by two mountains and a lake. A wall was constructed made of
molten copper between the mountains. Probably some where in Kyrgyzstan or Caucaus.
We will not discuss in this post. But while writing similarities could be found between Huns
and Islamic view of Yajuj and Majuj.

The verse in the Quran is as follows:

They said, “O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed (Ya’juj) Gog and Magog (Ma’juj) are [great]
corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might
make between us and them a barrier?”

Language:
The earliest form of Turkish writings was found in Mongolia. Approximately some 2500-
3000 years ago Turkish language is thought to have evolved. It is thought to be part of
Altaic Language family, which is common ancestor of following languages:

 Turkish
 Korean
 Japanese

The earliest written record is in early 8th century by the Gok Turks. They are called Orkhon
inscriptions written in Old Turkic language. The two memorials were erected in the honor
of two Turkic princes:

 Kul Tigin
 Bilge Khagan- lived from 683 CE to 734 CE.

Origins from Prophet Nuh(Noah in Bible, and maybe Manu of Hindu Scriptures).

According to Abul Ghazi Khan (who was the Khan of Kiva, located in Uzbekistan), Prophet
Yafith(Japeth) settled “between the yaqiq and itil rivers(Ural and Volga). He had 8 sons and
eldest being Turk. The Turks descended from Turk.

Religion:

The Turks before Islam believed in Shamanism but believed also that there was a God and
He was in the sky. These Turks were called Gok Turks. (Sky turks). Then there were other
turks called as Ay Turks who believed the moon is supported by the God.

We talk about the Gok Turks for now since we have an idea of the origins. Also we have an
understanding on why Turkey has a Crescent like in Kurulus Osman. But one thing is clear
like Mongols, they have a strong sense of Asabiyyah’ which is an Arabic word. This means
Social Cohesion or group feeling in regards to tribalism.

Ibn Khaldun, the great Muslim Arab historian said about the Mongols:

None of the kings on erath is equal in their asabiya,nor chroses ,nor Caesar,not
Aleander ,nor Nebuchadnezzar

“ “
The Gok Khanate

Khanate was a political entity ruled by a Khan, Khagan, Khatun or Khanam. At first, I
thought Khan, Khagan meant same thing. The Turkish Soldiers took the latter two to the
Indian continent that is how in India and Pakistan you get Muslim women having Khatun as
surname. Even some Muslim in India and non-Muslims look down upon the surname being
‘Khatun’. I even did, thought illiterate Muslim girls had ‘khatun’ as their surname.

Khagan translates to emperor. Literally translated means “Khan of Khans”. This has
similarity with the Persians who use “Shah” Shahen Shah meaning king of kings. No wonder
Persians and Turks were competitor in lot of things.

The Rouran Khaganate(350 CE -555 CE) was the first to sue these titles.

Origins of Gok Turks

The Gok Turks originated from the Ashina clan, who lived in area of China called Xinjiang.
The Ashina clan or the wolf clan. No wonder the wolf is said to ne popular with historical
Turkish series like Kurulus Osman by Mehmet Bozdag.

Legend of the Wolf and Ashina Clan.

The legend goes to explain the origins of the Ashina. Clan. There was a boy who had
survived a battle. A wolf finds the boy, saves and nurses him back to health. The boy
impregnates (according to the legend) the wolf and gives birth to 10 half wolf and half
humans This is where you get a legend about werewolves. A branch of Ashina clan was
said to come to Japan in 6th century.

The Gok Turk Khanate

The GokTurk (also known as Celestial Turks or Blue turks) founded the empire in 552 CE
after defeating the Roururan Overlords. The two brothers Bumain and Istemi founded the
empire. Bumin declared himself as Khagan but later died after a year. His brother Istemi
was made viceroy or yagbu of the western division. Rome was founded by two brothers,
too.
. Reign :551 CE-603 CE.

TV and Movies

To get a visual idea Of Gok Turk through television, one can watch Mehmet Bozadac ‘s
series Destan. Mehmet Bozdag became famous after his historical Resurrection Ertugru
made success. It was made famous through Netflix. But thanks, should be made to
President Erodgan and PM Imran Khan.

Otherwise, I would not have watched it. Since Turkish language seems so anti English and
the Turkish people are just concerned with themselves. But you have to realize due to the
Ottoman Empire which was in existence for 600 years was a strong opponent to the British
and they shadowed them. That’s because Ottoman Empire (Turkey) was not colonized by
the British or European powers. So, you might not hear much about Muslim Turkish
heroes. It looks like a planned motive of separating Turkish Muslims with rest of Muslim
world was made.

Some of the Turkish serials to watch for:

 Ertugrul -Muslim Turkish Warrior during the time of Mongols.

 Kurulus Osman -son of Ertugrul who founded the Ottoman empire or Caliphate
Osmaniya.
 Barbossa-Sea fare wars. The Great Ottoman Admiral Barbossa shown as the good
guy. He aws shown as the villain in Pirates of the Caribbean.
 Uyanis-Seljuks, Ahmed Sanjar and Malik Shah. The duynasty which employed Imam
Ghazali or Avicenna.
 Alp Arslan- The Muslim Seljuk Sultan who brought both Islam and Seljuks to its
glory, specially to mention: the Battle of Manzikert. I had to hear of this battle after
so many decades, I wonder why?
 Destan- A fictional Tv series about a warrior princess of the Gothic Empire.

Where to watch?

 https://osmanonlinebangla.com/dirilis-ertugrul-bangla-season-01-episode-01/

The Famous Turgut who was played by Cenkiz Coksun was not present in Osman.
Internationally actors of Ertugrul only became famous because of their acting (maybe,my
opinion) in Ertugrul. Cenkiz Coskun should have been Osman TV Serial. They should have
expressed some gratitude. In the 1st historical Turkish Muslim TV series their acting was
superb and did not look like they were just doing for the money.

Engin Altan who starred in Resurrection Ertugrul also did well in non-historical Turkish film:
My Father’s Violin. It can be watched in Netflix.

Area: 6,000,000 km square

Religion: Tengrism

They were the first Turkish Empire and were to first use the word Turk’ politically.

The princes were called Tigin . Or heirs to khans.

Gokturk marriage:
References

Koşay, D. H. Z. (n.d.). The homeland of the Old Turks. Turkish Cuisine. Retrieved from
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121/the-homeland-of-the-old-turks-173.html

About the Author: Karen Carr Dr. Karen Carr is Associate Professor Emerita, & Dr. Karen Carr
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Ron Sela, Ron Sela, 28, T. U. R. K. İ. S. H. G. İ. R. L. on S., & 13, desrinda on N. (2013, April
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