INTRODUCTION
TURKISTAN, "Land of the Turks", is a Newsletter and a Discussion List intended to disseminate information (T-N) and promote discussion (T-L) about topics relating to the culture(s), history, and language(s) of the people(s) known by the name "Turk". (Please see below.)
TURKISTAN has meant different things at various times. In earlier periods the term "Turkistan" usually referred to a region in Central Asia, as used for example by the 17th century historian and ruler of Xiva (Khiva), Abulghazi Bahadur Xan (Khan). Later, in the 19th century, "Turkistan" conveyed a specific administrative-territorial division of Russian colonial rule in Central Asia. Beginning in the late 19th century, there also arose the idea of the broader shared identity of those peoples who are Turks, and it is in this broader, inclusive sense that this term is used in this Newsletter and Discussion List.
Why is there a need for such a list? TURKISTAN can now link members of many far-flung communities and the scholars who study them without regard for vast distances and political boundaries. Another important need that TURKISTAN can fulfill is as a forum for helping many people to understand what the "Turk" in TURKISTAN might mean for them personally.
TURKISTAN is not intended as a vehicle to advocate any political point of view, ideology, movement, secessionist movement, or violence of any sort, nor is TURKISTAN intended as a forum for negative, derogatory, or inflammatory comments about any ethnic or national group, political point of view, ideology, movement, religion, or state. On the other hand, one may argue dispassionately that some groups of Turks have been demonized in order to justify imperial expansion, or denigrated to justify colonial rule, or have become the "significant other" in the construction of national ideologies by other modern nations. It is important to recognize and understand that these are universal aspects of human history and the human condition, as demonstrated by social scientists. It is also important to recognize that each of the modern nations of the Turks has its own cherished national myths that only serve to obscure a better understanding of the past and the world that many groups of Turks have shared with many other peoples for over fourteen centuries. Thus, the goal of TURKISTAN is a better understanding of the world around us through a better understanding of ourselves.
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<<><<><<><<><<> B. BACKGROUND <<><<><<><<><<><<><<>
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Different groups of Turks--or peoples closely related by culture, history, and/or language to peoples calling themselves "Turk"-- consider various lands in Anatolia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, China, the Middle East, Siberia, the Volga region, and elsewhere as their traditional home, depending on which group they belong to. By the end of the twentieth century there are also significant emigre communities living permanently in Europe, North America, and elsewhere.
Peoples who call themselves "Turk"--or who are closely related by culture, history, and/or language to peoples calling themselves "Turk"--have a state tradition known from history going back to the middle of the first millenium C.E. The first state associated with the name "Turk" was established along the Orxon River in present-day Mongolia in 552 C.E. The earliest indigenous historical source concerning the Turks (the "Bugut" inscription in Soghdian from the second half of the 6th century) is connected with this state, which is known as the "First Turk Empire". Many consider the people of this state as the origin of all the Turks. The earliest indigenous sources written in the language of the Turks (the so-called "Orxon inscriptions" written in a runic alphabet, probably dating from the end 7th-early 8th centuries) are connected with its successor, the "Second Turk Empire". It is likely, however, that there were other groups speaking closely-related languages or dialects at the same time living in other parts of Eurasia. Accordingly, some people feel that the origin of the Turks is to be sought among even earlier peoples and states of Eurasia, though this subject remains controversial because of the difficulty in proving any single theory or hypothesis.
Over the next fourteen and a half centuries (from the mid-6th century to the end of the 20th century), the Turks and their linguistic kin participated in extensive migrations and numerous state formations too numerous to list in detail here. Suffice it to say that various groups of Turks participated in major states stretching west from Mongolia, the Tarim basin, and Central Asia as far west as the Balkans, the Black Sea, Anatolia, and the Middle East. Briefly, this included states such as the Khazars and Volga Bulgaria, the Uyghurs, the so-called "Qaraxanids" and the Xwarezmshahs, and the Pechenegs and the Kipchaks. Some groups participated in major world religions such as Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, while others remained shamanistic. Some maintained a nomadic lifestyle, while others sedentarized and participated in urban high cultures and canonical and secular literary traditions. In short, there was already tremendous variety in their daily life, culture, and even language. Indeed, on the eve of the Mongol invasions we can already discern the broad brushstrokes of the same linguistic-cultural distribution that is valid in our own day.
The Mongol World Empire established by Chingis Xan in the early 13th century united the Eurasian steppe and its affiliated sedentary centers much in the same way as earlier steppe empires such as the Scythians, the Huns, and the Turk Empire. For the Turks of Eurasia it meant a new ruling dynasty and system of tribal organization, as well as the Turkification of many new ethnic groups. The states of the Mongol World Empire such as the so-called Golden Orda (Horde) and the Chaghatay Xanate, whose dominant languages and cultures were mostly Turkicized and Islamized by the 14th century, gave rise to numerous smaller states after the 14th century and the formation of new confederations such as the Uzbeks and the Kazaks. The xanates of Kazan, Astraxan, and Siberia, and only much later the Crimea and the Kazaks were conquered by an expanding Russian Empire. Only in the 19th century were Xiva, Buxara, and Qoqand and later the Turkmen subjugated during the period of colonial expansion by Russia (not to mention England and China). Although the one can discern the preponderant influence of the Turks in the population of the Mongol World Empire, the cultural differences between the Turks of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks of the Russian Empire became greater as a result of the Turko-Mongol cultural synthesis and later the influence of Russian culture.
One of the significant contributions of the 19th century was the strong influence upon various groups of Turks of the idea of the nation state. In the Middle Volga Shihabaddin Marjani/Mercani forcefully argued for a Kazan Tatar territorial nation, while in the Crimea the educational reformer and publicist Ismail Bey Gaspirali (Gasprinksiy) argued for a broader shared identity for all Turks (outside of the Russian Empire he also argued for a shared identity for all Muslims). Both ideas had a lasting influence, but in our own day we see that in the Russian Empire the rise of smaller territorial nations (such as movements among the Crimean Tatars) is really the legacy of Marjani/Mercani, who completely undermined Gaspirali's idea by the time of the latter's death. As is well known, following World War I and the establishment of the USSR, Turkey set upon its own course to invent a territorial nation whose identity was to be known as "Turk", based firmly upon the notion of a territorial nation in Anatolia. As though in a different universe, in the USSR following the national delimitation of 1924 (and subsequent changes in status) many groups of Turks (including the Uzbeks, Kazaks, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and others) were given the status of territorial nation based upon names that were known in the past, but which now had new and distinctive meanings representing discontinuity with the past. The most profound result of these policies is that over the course of the 20th century the Turks of the Republic of Turkey have viewed themselves in isolation from the Turks in the USSR, while each of the over 100 new territorial nations in the USSR created new national histories in which each had a separate and distinct past going back to the most remote era based upon its new territorial delimitation.
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<<><<><<><<> C. CURRENT SITUATION <<><<><<><<><<><<><<>
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At present, there are six sovereign republics recognized by the international community whose titular population consists of Turks or closely-related peoples: Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. A number of states have significant populations of Turks living in national-territorial units claiming various degrees of autonomy or even sovereignty such as the Xinjiang Uighur AR (East Turkistan) in the People's Republic of China ; Bashqortostan, Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Tuva, Yakutia (Saxa), and many others in the Russian Federation; Northern Cyprus; and others. (Perhaps Karakalpakistan in Uzbekistan belongs on this list, too.) Other states have significant populations of Turks without official recognition as national-territorial units such as the Crimea in Ukraine; the Uzbeks in Afghanistan or Tajikistan; the Gagauz in Moldova; the Azeris in Iran; and others.
As a result of exciting intellectual debates in the 19th century and as a result of conscious policies over the course of the 20th century in more than one state, various groups who might be called "Turk" have created distinct literary traditions (even though a unified literary language for most of the Turks was possible until the early Soviet period), distinctive historical traditions, separate national myths, and a culture of mutual suspicion and distrust. The competing ideas of Marjani and Gaspirali (local territorial nation versus common shared identity as [Muslim] Turks) find their resonance today in the attempts by many newly-independent states to revise or (re)create their national myths, while at the same time other groups reexamine the shared linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage that is readily apparent to most Turks. This, however, often comes into conflict with the cherished old and new national myths of the different modern nation-states such as Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It must be said that while the newly-independent states tend to focus on (re)building their new nations, they are sometimes resentful of the message that there is no difference between the Turks of Turkey and the Turks of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other regions, or that the Turks of Turkey should place a role of leadership among all the Turks. For this reason communication between members of all the various groups of Turks is all the more important.
_________________________A FINAL TECHNICAL NOTE__________________________
Until now one issue has been studiously avoided, namely how to render the word "Turk" in various languages. It follows from the discussion above the use of the word "Turk" can be a sensitive issue for an Uzbek or a Kazak or a Tatar. To make matters worse, in Turkish there has been no tradition distinction between different groups in the usage of the word "Turk", in other words there used to be only one word "Turk" and it was for the Turkish government "Turk hukumeti" as well as for the Turkic world "Turk dunyasi", Kazan Tatars "Kazan turkleri", Kazaks "Kazak turkleri", etc. (More recent adjectives such as "turki" have come to be used as well, but the problem persists.) As a result, many well-intentioned individuals reject the distinction in English usage between Turkish and Turkic, Russian "turetskii" and "tiurkskii" (a distinction also maintained by probably all Turkic groups that formed a part of the USSR), while others defend the distinction with equal passion. Given the surprising level of sentimental attachment to one view or another by members of T-N and T-L, some members have instituted the term "Turk*" as a neutral term to sidestep the English debate over Turkish versus Turkic (a debate which is still difficult for many of our friends from Turkey to fully understand). It is a small step that some have taken in the interest of better understanding among the various groups.
Uli Schamiloglu [8/23/97] <<>><<>><<>><<>>________________________________________<<>><<>><<>><<>>
<<>><<>><<>>_____TURKISTAN NEWSLETTER...ISSN:--1386-6265____<<>><<>><<>>
<<>><<>><<>><<>>______Volume:97-1:30--3-August-1997____<<>><<>><<>><<>>
<<>><<>><<>>________Editor/Manager: Mehmet Tutuncu______<<>><<>><<>><<>>
<<>><<>><<>>______Co Editors: I. Noyan-Izmirli, Y. Pursun, M.B. Altan_____<<>><<>><<>><<
<<>><<>><<>>______Business:S.Bogut,H.Savas______________<<>><<>><<>><<>>
<<>><<>>______Associate Editors: A.Baguirov, A. Eren, Z.Kadir___<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>____Editorial Board: Dr.Robert M.Cutler, Dr.M.Gammer____<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>____Prof.dr.P.B.Golden, Dr.Baymirza Hayit,Dr.H.M.Hubey___<>><<>>
<<>><<>>______Dr.H.Kirimli, Dr.T.Kocaoglu, Dr.H.B.Paksoy_________<>><<>>
<<>><<>>______Prof.dr. H. Komatsu, Dr.Nesrin Sariahmetoglu______<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>______Dr. Uli Schamiloglu______<<>><<>>
Uze Tengri basmasar asra yer telinmeser, Turk bodun ilining torugin
kem artati, udaci erti. (from 7th. century Orkhon runic inscriptions)
<<>><<>>________________________________________________________<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>_______Homepage of the Turkistan.Org is at:_____<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>___<http://www.euronet.nl/users/sota/turkistan.htm>_____<<>><<>>
<<>><<>>____________________________________________________<<>><<>><<>>
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TURKISTAN-N is an electronic newsletter whose purpose is to report on the "Land of the Turks". With Turkistan we mean in general lands where Turkic peoples live without any geographical restriction and without specific reference to Central Asia or political boundaries. If you want to have information about all the the Turkic peoples from Kirgiz, Kazaks, Uzbek and Uighurs to name a few well known but also about less known Turkish/Turkic peoples like the Gagauz, Tuvinians or Shors Turkistan-N is a medium for this. Turkistan-N was established on 9 May 1997 as an inititiative of SOTA. Beside news book reviews, commentaries, articles, and letters from the readers can also be published in TN. Turkistan-N has at this moment more than 1200 subscribers. Book reviews, commentaries, articles, and letters from the readers can also be published by TN. You may submit such articles to TN, simply by replying to this newsletter or by mailing them to <turkistan-N@turkistan.org.
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The official languages of Turkistan-N are primarily English and Turk* (where * is the Unix *). Famous quotes and expressions in other languages are also allowed (Russian, French, etc.), but must be kept to the minimum in order to make the postings understandable to the other members. Remember, the primary interest of Turkistan-N is to allow for the dissemination of information about "Turks" to each other and to the rest of the world. All effort will be made to keep English as the major language, however knowing that some people who might want to receive Turkistan-N might be in the Turkic states and that they might not know English, the usage of the Turk* languages will be allowed.
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About SOTA (Research Centre for Turkestan and Azerbaijan)SOTA is an acronym of the first letters of dutch abreviation of "Foundation for the research of Turkestan, Azerbaijan, Crimea, Caucasus and Siberia". This Centre was established in 1991 in Holland by mr. Mehmet Tütüncü. The Centre is dedicated to research and analysis of the Turkic Peoples of former Soviet Union and the promotion of human rights, democratic governments and just peace in the Turkic World. Another goal is providing information to public opinion inWestern Europe, US and other countries in the West. SOTA's ActivitiesPublications:SOTA has its quarterly journal called BITIG. This Journal firts number was issued in 1991. So far it has issued 12 times BITIG. Some of this Journal's articles are also republished on line in this pages. It has subscribers and readers in more than 54 countries. Conferences:SOTA organizes conferences and symposia where actual issues of the Turkic peoples are discussed. SOTA gives support and helps delegations and democratic movements representatives from the Turkish World who are visiting Holland and Western European countries. Archive and Library:SOTA has an extensive Archive and Library. This Library consists of more than 4.000 books and journals and more than 10.000 pamphlets, articles, newspapers, and electronic materials and original manuscripts on all facets of Turkic Peoples from the beginning of the history to contemporary situation. The core of this Material consists of Mehmet Tutuncu's private Library, who have gathered this material from his travels to the Turkic regions, during his ongoing research. A list-catalogue of the collection can be obtained by request. This Library and material can be consulted for research purposes after previously made appointment. SOTA on Internet:SOTA has launched until now 3 Web pages: One is the page where you are now are the the Archives of electronic publication Turkistan-Newsletter. Other Web Pages of SOTAWe are preparing other on-line pages of the less known Turkic peoples.
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