valley (see map). The Oghuz political association developed in the 9th and 10th centuries in the basin of the middle and lower course of the Syr Darya and adjoining the modern western Kazakhstan steppes.
Etymology
The etymology of the name "
Oghuz" is unclear. It was discussed many times in historical and philological literature. The term probably means "tribes", or the "tribal union", and then could turn into a collective ethnic name. The original Oghuz areas were the southeastern regions of Central Asia. The beginning of the early Oghuz group formation is linked to the Western Zhetysu
(often known, in Russian and other European languages, as Semirechye).
History
Early history
The first reference to the Oghuz State is by the Arab geographer
Kimeks, and Karluks; another geographer, Ibn al-Faqih, reported that the Oghuzes along with the Kimeks and Toguz Oghuzes were the "kings" (malik), and were revered among the Turks.[1]
In Zhetysu the old Oghuz capital was Guziya.
The Chinese sources, dated to the 7th and 8th centuries, located the 姑蘇 Gūsū (a
al-Marwazi, who listed 12 Oghuz tribes, who were ruled by a "Toquz Khaqan" and some of whom were Toquz-Oghuz, on the border of Transoxiana and Khwarazm. At most, the Oghuz were possibly led by a core group of Toquz Oghuz clans or tribes.[12]
In 766, after
Issyk Kul
basin.
At the beginning of the 9th century the Oghuz confederation, in alliance with
Kangar Union and captured the lower course of the Syr Darya river and the Aral steppes, displacing the Kangars and Pechenegs. The nomadic tribes of the Syr Darya Kangars were forced to join the Oghuzes, and a part of them migrated to the west to the northern Black Sea region. The Oghuzes moved their capital to Yangikent
and became known as Oghuz Yabgu State.
The state was founded in
Yanikand, all meaning New City, and also in Arabic literature al-Kariya al-Hadisa and in Persian literature Deh-i Hay; presently it is a Central Asian ghost town Jankent
.
The state was ruled by the leader of the Oghuz Turks with the title
Subaşı, "sü" meaning "army" (possibly from Late Old Chinese 戍 śwò "frontier guard")[14]
The Oghuz Yabgus and contemporary Asian polities circa 1000.
The Oghuz State played an important role in the military and political history of Eurasia.
In 965 the Oghuz State allied with
Kievan Rus
in a war against the
Khazar Kaganate. In 985 the alliance with Kievan Rus defeated Volga Bulgaria, which increased the political power of the Oghuz State.
At the turn of the 10th–11th centuries, popular uprisings broke out against excessive taxation in the state. The revolts became especially strong in the second half of the 10th century, during the rule of
Jend
, but soon they were forced to leave the Jend area.
, but two years later he was captured by the Seljuk forces and executed. Shahmalik Yabgu was the last ruler of the Oghuz State.
Internal turmoil and conflict with the Seljuks weakened the Oghuz State. The weakened state fell under attacks by the
Asia Minor. Another part of the Oghuzes fell under the rule of the Karahanids and Seljuk rulers of Khorasan. The remnants of those Oghuz defeated by the Kipchaks subsequently dissolved among the Turkic-speaking tribes of Dasht-e-Kipchak. The Oghuz tribes contributed to the formation of many of today's Turkic peoples
.
In the 11th century, Oghuz migration to
Asia Minor
, Persia, and parts of the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The Oghuz il state existed for three centuries. Another Turkic group,
Great Seljuq Empire
, and a part of the state population moved eastward to the N.Pontic areas.
Oghuz Yabgu state on the Syr Darya
The above is mostly an account of the Oghuz as a whole. 'State' is misleading for a group of loosely organised tribes. Bregel has the following for one group.
Seljuks
. The yabghu converted a little later. In 1034-35 yabghu Shah Malik Barani defeated the Seljuks and Turkomans of Khwarezm which caused many Turkomans to move south to Khorasan and the Kopet Dagh. In 1041 Shah Malik conquered Khwarezm after a three-day battle. The Seljuks drove him out in 1043. He fled and was later killed, his 'state' perhaps disappearing.
Political system
The economic base of society was private ownership of livestock. Little is known about the old farming communities in the oases, river valleys, and wetlands. The cities continued to be populated by traders and artisans.
The title of the elected ruler was
Yabgu
. The power was hereditary within a ruling clan. The heir to the throne was called Inal, they were brought up by an Atabek tutor. Elections of Yabgu were conducted at the tribal assemblies. The rulers were chosen by the codex of unwritten rules of customary law – "tore", from the most powerful clans. The power of the supreme ruler was limited by the council of the largest military-tribal aristocracy. The wives of the rulers bore the title "Khatun" and played a significant role in the court life. Yabgu was assisted by regional rulers titled Kul-Eerkins. An important place was occupied by warlords. A head of the army was called Subashi, from su – army and bash – head. The Subashi was supported by a military council, and actively interfered in political events.
The Oghuz States were subdivided into uruks and aimaks. The term uruk designated tribal divisions, and aimak was an administrative district. The clans and tribes united into larger tribal alliances were known as il (country). By the end of the 10th century formed a formal administrative apparatus and a system of regular taxes.
and the remaining tribes and sedentary population of the Kangar Union that submitted to the Oghuz Yabgu.
According to the 11th-century treatise
Mahmud Kashgari (b. 1005 - d. 1102), Oghuz confederation had originally consisted of 24 tribes, though two Khalaj tribe left the union early, leaving 22, whom Kashgari named.[17]Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marwazi (fl. 1056/57–1124/25 CE), a near-contemporary of Kashgari, mentioned only 12 Oghuz tribes. Later sources like Rashid-al-Din, Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, and Selçukname omitted Charuklug from Kashgari's list, added Kizik, Karkin, and Yaparli, and divided the 24 tribes neatly into two 12-tribe group" Buzuks or Bazouk (Turkic and Turkmen: Bozoklar - Grey Arrows), and Uchuks (Turkic and Turkmen: Üçoklar - Three Arrows). The Buzuk wing had a privileged status. The discrepancy between the sources probably resulted from the Oghuz division into two exogamous parts, Buzuks and Uchuks belonging respectively to the right and the left wing of their army. Oghuz States also had the "Uruk" and "Aimags". The term "Uruk" designated tribal divisions. Clans and tribes united into larger tribal alliances, were known as "il" (the country).[citation needed
^Zuev Yu.A., Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8th–10th centuries), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I960, p. 133-134 (In Russian) quote: "In the 8th century, Oghuzes were already on Syr-Darya outside of the Ten Arrows Turkic Kaganate )"
^Bartold W.W., "Sketch of the Jeti-su history", Frunze, 1943, pp. 20–21
^Kononov A.N., Genealogy of Turkmens, Moscow-Leningrad, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1958, p. 81 (Кононов А.Н., Родословная туркмен. Сочинение Абу-л-гази, хана хивинского, Москва-Ленинград, АН СССР, 1958) (In Russian)
^Yuri Bregel, Historical Atlas of Central Asia, maps 11,13,14.
^Agajanov, S.G. "The States of the Oghuz"History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume IV: The Age of Achievement AD 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 61–76
^Maħmūd al-Kašğari. Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk. Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. Series: Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). "Part I". p. 101-102, 362-363
1These are traditional areas of settlement; the Turkic group has been living in the listed country/region for centuries and should not be confused with modern diasporas. 2State with limited international recognition.
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