TURKOMANS BETWEEN TWO EMPIRES: THE ... - Bilkent University

historians employ the term ‘Türkmen’ for those nomadic Turkish tribes who did not
recognize Ottoman suzerainty, and for those Turkish states in the form of tribal
confederacy such as Akkoyunlu, Dulkadir etc. For their own ‘tamed’ nomads, which
were transformed into a special type of subject with certain duties against the state
especially in Balkans and Western Anatolia (in the areas west of the river Kızılırmak),
the Ottomans rather used the term ‘Yörük’, literally meaning the men who walk. 355
There is strong evidence showing that a clear-cut differentiation between these
two social groups, i. e. ‘Türk’ and ‘Türkmen’, was already established towards the mid-
fifteenth century. A guide-book for students, Tarîku’l-Edeb 356 , which was completed in
1453, for example, evidently reveals that Turks and Turkomans were perceived as
different socio-‘ethnic’ groups. The author Ali bin Hüseyin el-Amasī 357 , a middle-rank
ulemā of the era of Murad II and Mehmed II, divides the people (tavā’īf) of the Ottoman
Empire into seven groups, giving a short description of most prominent dispositions of
each group. He says,
Evvelā Arab tā’ifesinün tabī’atı bārid olur. Bunlardan ülfet ve muhāletat
mülāhaza etme.
Acem tā’ifesi sāhib-i ‘akrab tabī’at ve tīz nefes olur. Bunlardan şefkāt ve
merhamet ve muvāfakat umma.
Ve Kürd tā’ifesi deve gibi kindār ve hod-pesend tā’ife olur. Bunlardan ihtirāz
eyle. Bunlarunla adāvet bağlayub muhāsemet ve mu’ānedet kılma.
defining the main word “Türk”. “Kök” means sky in Turkish. Yet it also has connotations noble, grand,
and universal. On this subject also see Halil Đnalcık, “The Yürüks: Their Origins, Expansions and
Economic Role”, in his The Middle East and the Balkans under the Ottoman Empire. Essays on Economy
and Society, Bloomington: Indiana University Turkish Studies and Turkish Ministry of Culture Joint
Series Volume 9, 1993, pp. 97-103; Louis Basin, “Notes sur les mots ‘Oğuz’ et ‘Türk’”, Oriens, vol. 6, no.
2, 1953, 315-22.
355 See Halil Đnalcık, “The Yürüks”, p. 102. For further reading on the word ‘Yörük’ or ‘Yürük’, see Faruk
Sümer, “XI. Asırda Anadolu, Suriye ve Irak’da Yaşayan Türk Aşiretlerine Umumī Bir Bakış”, Đktisat
Fakültesi Mecmuası, 11, Istanbul, 1949-50, pp. 518-22.
356 The book was obviously written in the aim of explaining how to behave on several occasions, mostly
pertaining to educational circles, for students and teachers.
357 He is said to be the tutor of Hızır Beg, who was the son of famous Yörgüç Pasha and was the
sancakbey of Amasya. See Đsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşilı, Osmanlı Tarihi, I, 1972, p. 450.
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