Turkic peoples

Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in northern, eastern, central, and western Asia, Siberia, and eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits, common ancestry and historical backgrounds.

History

The first known mention of the term Turk (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük) applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the 6th century. A letter by the Chinese Emperor written to a Göktürk Khan named Ishbara in 585 described him as "the Great Turk Khan." The Orhun inscriptions (735 CE) use the terms Turk and Turuk.

Ethnology

Turkic peoples are predominantly Muslim and are descendants of a common ancestor, with significant populations in China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Northern Cyprus. Turkic peoples are also found in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and the Balkans, and have emigrated to various other parts of the world, including Western Europe, North America, Central Asia, East Asia, and Australia.

Language

The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some 30 languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, to Siberia and Western China, and through to the Middle East. The Turkic languages are spoken by some 170 million people. The largest groups of speakers are the Turkish speakers of Turkey and the Azerbaijani speakers of Azerbaijan. The Turkic languages are typically agglutinative and have vowel harmony.

Religion

The majority of Turkic peoples are followers of Islam. There are, however, significant populations of Turkic people who follow other religions, including Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism. There are also a number of Turkic people who practice traditional folk religions, which include elements of shamanism and animism.

Culture

Turkic cultures are diverse, as they have been influenced by the wide variety of environments in which Turkic peoples live. However, certain common elements can be identified. These include a nomadic heritage, horse culture, hospitality traditions, and a tradition of epic poetry, such as the Epic of Manas or the Epic of King Gesar.