Uzes were a group of medieval Turkic people in East Europe. They were known as Tork in Russian chronicles.[1] Like most medieval Turkic people, they were Tengrists.

Early years

The roots of Uzes can be traced back to Oghuz Yabgu State (750-1055) located to the east of Caspian Sea. Oghuz State was the neighbour of the Khazar Khaganate in the west and north of the Caspian Sea. Oghuz-Khazar relations were not stable. Oghuz State was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy of the powerful Khazar Khaganate. In the 10th century a group of Oghuz people fought in the Khazar army.[2](Dukak, the father of Seljuk was one of them.) They fought mainly against Pechenegs, a rival Turkic people. After the Khazar Khaganate disintegrated, they had to move west because of Kypchaks raids from the east.[3]

Later years

In 1054 they settled around Dnieper river. However five years later they were defeated by the Kievan Rus. They further moved west to Danube river where they were repelled by their old enemy the Pechenegs in 1065. After 1065 they paid homage to Byzantine Empire and the Russian princes. Most of them converted to Christianity. They served as soldiers in the Byzantine Empire. During the battle of Manzikert between the Byzantines and the Seljuks in 1071 they served in the right flank of the Byzantine army. However, according to some accounts they switched sides and contributed to the Seljuks victory.[1]

Uzes settled in Marmara, Western Black Sea, Central Black Sea, Central Anatolia and Thrace, most of them hybrid with Turkmens and assimilated to Muslim Oghuz Turks.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][excessive citations]

Aftermath

Some Turkologists including Vasily Radlov proposed that Gagauz people and some of the Manav People are descendant of Uzes. [19][20][21][22][23] According to that view the origin of the name Gagauz is Gök Oguz ("Sky Oghuz"). However this view is not universally accepted by other scholars.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sümer, Faruk (2007). "Oğuzlar". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 33 (Nesi̇h – Osmanlilar) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Centre for Islamic Studies. pp. 325–330. ISBN 978-975-389-455-5.
  2. ^ Essay by Osman Karatay Turkish history page
  3. ^ Turkish history research page (in Turkish)
  4. ^ “Paid Turkic Soldiers in the Byzantine Army (XI.-XII. Centuries)”, Selçuk University Journal of Turkic Studies, P. 25, 2009, p. 53-69.
  5. ^ “The Byzantine Empire's Transfer of Cuman-Area Communities from the Balkans to Anatolia Against the Turkish Expansion in Western Anatolia”
  6. ^ “IV. Two Rivals Struggling in Western Anatolia After the Crusade: The Latin Kingdom of Istanbul and the Empire of Nicaea”, Cihannüma Journal of History and Geography Studies, p.1, July, 2015, p. 9-25.
  7. ^ The Late Byzantine Army Arms and Society 1204-1453, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1992
  8. ^ BASKICI, M. Murat, Anatolian Economic and Social Structure in the Byzantine Era (900-1261), 2nd Edition, Phoenix Publishing House, Ankara, 2009.
  9. ^ BELDICEANU-STEINHERR, Irene, “Non-Muslim Population in Bithynia (second half of 14th century - first half of 15th century)” , Ottoman Principality 1300-1389, ed. Elizabeth A. Zacharadou, trans. Gul Cagali Guven, Ismail Yergun, Tülin Altinova, 2nd Edition, History Foundation Yurt Publishing, Istanbul, 1997, p. 8-22.
  10. ^ GOLUBOVSKİY, P.V., Peçenegi, Torki i Polovtsı Rus i Step Do Nashestviya Tatar, Veche, Moskva, 2011.
  11. ^ The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261-1453, trans. . Bilge Umar, Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, İstanbul, 2016.
  12. ^ ÖZTÜRK, Meriç T., The Provincial Aristocracy In Byzantine Asia Minor (1081-1261), Boğaziçi University, Unpublished Master Thesis, İstanbul, 2013 .
  13. ^ VASARY, Istvan, Cumans and Tatars Eastern Soldiers in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans (1185-1365), 2nd Edition, trans. Ali Cevat Akkoyunlu, Yapı Kredi Publications, Istanbul, 2015
  14. ^ WOLF, Robert Lee, “The Latin Empire Of Constantinople 1204-1261”, A History Of The Crusaders, Volume II Later Crusades (1189-1311), General ed. Kenneth M. Setton, ed. by. Robert Lee Wolf and Harry W. Hazard, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Milwaukee and London, 1969, p. 187-233.
  15. ^ “A Broken Mirror: The Kipchak World In The Thirteenth Century”, The Other Europe in the Middle Ages, Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans, ed. by. Florin Curta, Roman Kovalev, Brill, Leiden-Boston, 2008, p. 379-412.
  16. ^ KEÇİŞ, Murat, “XIII.-XIV. Northwest Anatolian Road Networks According to Century Byzantine and Islamic Sources”, Belleten, C. LXXVII, P. 280, 2013, Ankara, p. 849-874.
  17. ^ Özdemİr, Mustafa (2017). "14-17. Yüzyillar Arasinda Anadolu'ya Gelen Türk Göçlerİ Ve Anadolu'nun Doğusunda Meydana Gelen Demografİk Değİşmeler" [Between The 14th And 18th Centuries, Turkish Migration In Anatolia And Changes In The Demographic Structure Of The Eastern Anatolia]. Akra International Journal of Culture Art Literature and Educational Sciences (in Turkish). 5 (12): 51–76.
  18. ^ Yalvar, C. (2021). "ANADOLU'DA SON TÜRK İSKÂNI: İZNİK İMPARATORLUĞU'NDA KUMAN-KIPÇAKLAR VE YALOVA KAZIMİYE (YORTAN) İLE ELMALIK (SARUHANLI) KÖYLERİNDEKİ VARLIKLARI" [LAST TURKISH SETTLEMENT IN ANATOLIA: KUMAN-KIPÇAKS IN THE İZNİK EMPIRE AND ITS ASSETS IN THE VILLAGES OF YALOVA KAZIMİYE (YORTAN) AND ELMALIK (SARUHANLI) VILLAGES]. Turkish World Studies (in Turkish). 127: 11–36. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Anadolu'ya yerleştirilen Kumanlar (Manavlar)".
  20. ^ Yilmaz, Adil (2018). "Bızans'in Anadolu'ya Yerleştırdığı Son Türkler" [The Last Turks Settled in Anatolia by Byzantium]. Eski̇çağ Araştirmalari Dergi̇si̇ [Journal of Ancient Researches] (in Turkish) (3): 29–32.
  21. ^ "Acar, Kenan (2010). Kuzeybatı Anadolu Manav Türkmen Ağızları Üzerine Birkaç Not" (PDF).
  22. ^ "Muharrem ÖÇALAN SAKARYA- İZMİT YÖRESİ YERLEŞİK TÜRKMENLERİ MANAV AĞIZLARINDA ÖTÜMSÜZ PATLAYICI ÜNSÜZ DEĞİŞMELERİ" (PDF).
  23. ^ Acar, Kenan. "GAGAVUZ TÜRKÇESİ İLE KOCAELİ YERLİ (MANAV) AĞIZLARI ARASINDAKİ PARALELLİKLER, 2022, VI. Uluslararası Türklerin Dünyası Sosyal Bilimler Sempozyumu, PARALLELS BETWEEN GAGAVUZ TURKISH AND KOCAELİ NATİVE TURK (MANAV) DİALECTS, Kenan Acar, 2022, VI. International Turkish World Social Sciences Symposium".
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