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Turks, or Turkic peoples, are the descendants of large groups of tribespeople, who were originally living in the Altai Mountains (for this reason they are also referred to as the Altaic people). There is ongoing controversy about the initial date these people appeared in present-day northern Mongolia and on Central Asian steppes. Some scholars regard Huns as the first Turkic tribe, while others start the list by Kokturks. Interestingly, as Kokturks were the same Turkic state bearing the name Turk, present-day Turkey is the second one (although Turkmenistan was existing as a former Soviet Union republic, it gained its independence only very recently).

Mongols and Turks were representing the same ethnic identity until around 2nd century AD. However, as a group of these people migrated towards Middle East and Mediterranean Sea region and the remaining people were grossly influenced from the Chinese Empire, Turks and Mongols emerged as two different groups of people. In other words, Turks are practically Mongols, who have migrated west and mixed with conquered native people.

Some of the Turkic people other than Huns and Kokturks are Karluks (mainly 8th century), Uighurs, Kirghiz, Oghuz (or Ghuz) Turks and Turkmens. As these tribes were founding states and dominating the area between Mongolia and Transoxiania, they began to get in contact with Muslim merchants and soldiers and slowly adopted this religion. However, there were also (and still are) Turkic people belonging to different religions (Christians, Jews (see Khazars), Budhists, Zoroastrians).

Initially serving as soldiers in the army of the Abbasid caliphs, they soon emerged as rulers of almost the entire Muslim Middle East (except Syria and Egypt) particularly after the 10th century. Especially Oghuz tribes captured and dominated various countries under the leadership of Seljuk dynasty and eventually captured the territories of Abbasid dynasty and Byzantine Empire.

Meanwhile, Kirghiz and Uighurs were struggling with eachother and with the mighty Chinese Empire. Kirghiz people finally settled in the region which is now referred to as Kyrgyzstan. Mongols united under the strong leadership of Genghis Khan and conquered China, Central Asia and Middle East by the 13th century. Although Mongol onslaught was a big disaster for both Abbasids and Seljuk Turks, it also helped to establish the trade routes between Middle East and China, which would also be later used by European merchants. Middle East largely remained under Mongol influence during the reigns of Hulagu (son of Genghis Khan and founder of Ilkhans state), the Golden Horde and Timur. As the Seljuks declined after Mongol invasion, Ottoman Empire, which was powered by Oghuz tribes emerged as a new important Turkic state in the region and dominated not only the Middle East, but also Eastern Europe, southwestern Russia and northern Africa. Meanwhile, other Turkic tribes founded dynasties in Iran (Safavids) and northern India (Mughal Empire).

Ottoman Empire lost its power due to continous military campaigns with Russia and Austria and nationalistic movements emerging in Balkans and finally broke down following World War I after a long decline. Republic of Turkey was founded on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

Presently the biggest group of Turkic people are living in Turkey. Other major Turkic groups are living in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Additionally there are other Turkic people living in the Xinjiang region of China (Uighurs), Iran, Afghanistan (Uzbeks, Turkmens), Russia (Tatars, Yakuts), Moldova (Gagauz) and Turkic people living in Cyprus and Balkans.

The Oghuz tribes gained dominance in the region not by their high populations but their superiority in warfare. So, initially Turkic people lived as a minority in many regions that they first captured. Anatolia, which was formerly a part of the Roman Empire, was (and still is) especially an ethnically very mixed region. It is, therefore, impossible to speak about a pure Turkish race in the tangled ethnic mix of Anatolia. Moreover, many tribes has accepted the Turkish race as their ethnical identity and Turkish language as their native language in the past centuries. In Turkey, it is not surprising to notice blond and blue-eyed individuals within the dominant black-haired, Mediterranean-looking mass. For this reason, it is not only difficult but also scientifically inappropriate to classify people in Turkey as those coming from Turkic origin and others. In this context, the genuinely Turkic people are individuals named as Central Asian Turks (including Tatars), most of whom have possibly come to the region by Mongol invasion long after the initial Oghuz tribes conquered and mixed with the local population. Proving this difficulty, there are as many classifications as the number of scientific attempts to make these classifications. Turkey is not a unique examle for that and many European countries (e.g. France, Germany) bear a great ethnic diversity. However, this ethnic diversity does not prevent in the long run a person living in France or Germany to accept his/her ethnic identity as French or German, just as it does not in Turkey. It can be concluded that it is the very ethnic identity an individual feels to belong to that really counts rather than the language he/she is speaking or the ethnic root he/she has descended from. So, the immense diversity observed in the published figures for the percentages of Turkish people living in Turkey (ranging from 80 to 97%) totally depends on the method used to classify the ethnicities. Complicating the matter even more is the fact that the final official and country-wide classification of ethnical identities of Turkey has been performed on 1965 and many of the numbers published after that time are gross estimations (but surprisingly demonstrated as sheer facts). Some classifications based on the spoken language is also invaluable, because in the mixed society of Turkey many Kurdish people are speaking Turkish as their first language and many Turkish and Arabic citizens are speaking Kurdish as fluently as Turkish or Arabic.

It is mandatory to take into account all these difficulties and be cautious while evaluating the ethnic groups. A possible list of ethnic groups living in Turkey could be as follows (based on the classification of P.A.Andrews (1), however this book is more like a review and depends on other people's publications):

A)Turks: Kirghiz, Karapapaks, Turkmens, Kazakhs, Kumuks, Yoruks, Uzbeks, Tatars, Azerians, Balkars, Uighurs, Karachays.

B)Kurds

C)Zazas

D)Arabs

E)Georgians

F)Laz

G)Balkan origined groups (Bulgarians, Serbians, Croatians, Rumenians and Bosnians): These people have migrated to Anatolia during the Ottoman Era and have accepted Turkish-Muslim identity.

H)Minorities: Greeks, Jews, Armenians.

I)Others: It is well known that very small groups of people from Germany, Poland, Estonia, Sudan and Somali are also living within the territories of Turkey.

1.Andrews, Peter A. 1989. Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey. Wiesbaden: Reichert Publications.

see:

Turkic languages

Turkish language

Turkic Peoples:

Huns - still actively debated

Kokturks

Khazars

Uighurs

Seljuk Turks

Ottoman Empire

Turkey

/Talk