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110

HISTORY

HISTORY

111

 
 

 

An outline of Turkish History

until 1923


The Turks and the First Turkish States. The Turks are a national community merged under a language be-longing to the Ural-Altaic linguistic group. They first stepped on the stage of history in the 7th century B.C. at the foot of the Köğmen Mountains.

 

According to Chinese records, the political existence of the Turks in Asia commenced with the Huns (Xiongnu) in the 3rd century B.C. The Huns established a great empire under the reign of Mete Khan. Defeating the Mongols and the Yuechis, they established control over the western gates of China and trade routes.

 

After the collapse of the Asian Hun Empire, the Göktürk Empire was founded at the eastern foot of the Altai Mountains. The Göktürks employed the word “Türk” as an official state name for the first time. Bilge Khagan and Kül Tegin  went  down  in  history  as  the  most  sagacious  and

Orkhun Inscriptions

heroic figures of Turkish statesmanship. Both these khans and another Göktürk Khan, Tonyukuk, immortalized their accomplishments in texts, entitled the “Orkhun Inscrip-tions” which are regarded as the first written documents in Turkish history.

 

In 741, the Uigurs founded the third Turkish State in histo-ry after the Göktürks. However, they were dispersed as a result of a raid carried out by the Kyrgyz Turks in the cap-ital.

 

The West Huns, the descendants of the Asian Huns dwell-ing in the Türkistan region close to Lake Aral, left their homeland due to the pressure from the Uars and migrated to the west of the Volga River. After Başbuğ (big chief) Balamir demolished the East Goths and launched assaults on the West Goths, the Visigoths fled westward in masses, with the Hun soldiers in pursuit. This is how the “Great Migration of Peoples” which changed the ethnic outlook of Europe had commenced, extending all the way to Spain and causing turmoil in the northern provinces of the Ro-man Empire.

 

In 434, Attila took control of the West Hun Empire, known as the first Turkish state established in Europe. During Attila’s reign, which put all of the barbarian tribes in Europe and even the Byzantine and West Roman empires into submission, the borders of the West Hun Empire extended over a vast area from the banks of the Rhine River to the Volga River.

 

The West Huns paved the way to Europe for the Turks. The West Huns not only brought their culture and civilization to Europe but also protected the civilizations threatened by barbarian tribes. They put the route from Asia to Europe into the service of Turkish migrations that would last for 900 years.

 

The second Turkish tribe proving its existence and power in Europe was the Avars. The Avars, who started to flee west-wards when the Göktürk State was founded in 552, first set-tled in Caucasia and the north of the Black Sea. Advancing westwards, they dwelled along the banks of the Danube af-ter defeating the Sabirs and Onogurs, and carried out fre-quent  raids  on  the  Balkans.  They  dominated  the area