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Turkmens (, italic=no, , ) are a Turkic peoples native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the North Caucasus (Stavropol Krai). They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Oghuz languages branch of the Turkic languages.
In the early Middle Ages, Turkmens called themselves Oghuz Turks; in the Middle Ages, they took the ethnonym Turkmen. These early Oghuz Turkmens moved westward from the Altai Mountains through the steppes, and settled in the region now known as Turkmenistan. Further westward migration of the Turkmen tribes from the territory of modern Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia started from the 11th century and continued until the 18th century. These Turkmen tribes played a significant role in the ethnic formation of such peoples as Turkish people, Iraqi Turkmen, and Syrian Turkmen, as well as the Turkic population of Iran and Azerbaijan. To preserve their independence, those tribes that remained in Turkmenistan were united in military alliances, although remnants of tribal relations remained until the 20th century. Their traditional occupations were farming, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Ancient samples of applied art (primarily carpets and jewelry) indicate a high level of folk art culture.
The Seljuks, Khwarazmians, Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu, Ottoman Empire, and Afsharids are also believed to descend from the Turkmen tribes of Qiniq, Begdili, Yiwa, Bayandur, Kayi, and Afshar respectively.
Despite various criticisms, it remains a theory advocated by some today, such as linguist and ethnographer Dávid Somfai. Former president of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Niyazov was also among the advocates of this etymology, although he altered the meaning of the words, writing in his Ruhnama that, rather than "Muslim Turk", it meant "made of light":
Today, the terms Turkmen and Turkoman are usually restricted to two Turkic groups: the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan and adjacent parts of Central Asia and Iran, and the Turkomans of Iraq and Syrian Turkmen.
Earlier references to Türkmen might be trwkkmˀn (if not trkwmˀn "translator"), mentioned in an 8th-century Sogdian letter and 特拘夢 Tejumeng (< Middle Chinese ZS * dək̚-kɨo-mɨuŋH), another name of Sogdia, besides Suyi 粟弋 and Sute 粟特, according to the Chinese encyclopedia Tongdian.Golden, Peter B. (1992) An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples. p. 212-3Du You, Tongdian vol. 193 "粟弋，後魏通焉。在蔥嶺西，大國。一名粟特，一名特拘夢。" Tr. "Suyi communicated with Northern Wei. It is a large country to the west of Pamir Mountains. Another name is Sute; another name is Tejumeng" However, even if 特拘夢 might have transcribed Türkmen, these "Türkmens" might be Karluks instead of modern Türkmens' Oghuz-speaking ancestors;Kafesoğlu, İbrahim. (1958) “Türkmen Adı, Manası ve Mahiyeti,” in Jean Deny Armağanı: Mélanges Jean Deny, eds., János Eckmann, Agâh Sırrı Levend and Mecdut Mansuroğlu (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi) p. 131 as Türkmen might be the Karluks' equivalent of the Göktürks' political term Kök Türk. Yury Zuev (1960) links the tribal name 餘沒渾 Yumeihun (< MC * iʷо-muət-хuən) in Tang Huiyao to the name Yomut of a modern Turkmen clan. Tang Huiyao vol. 72 txt. "餘沒渾馬。與迴紇相類。印州。赤馬。與迴紇苾餘沒渾同類。印行。" tr. "Horses of the Yumeihun and horses of the Uyghur Khaganate are of similar stock; tamga 州. Horses of the Chiks, and of the Uyghurs, of the Qibi tribe', and of the Yumeihun, are of the same stock; tamga 行"Zuev Yu.A. (1960). "Tamgas, Horses from the Vassal Princedoms" in Works of History, Archeology, and Ethnography Institute 8, p. 112-113, 128
Towards the end of the 11th century, in Divânü Lügat'it-Türk (Compendium of the Turkic Dialects), Mahmud Kashgari uses "Türkmen" synonymously with "Oğuz".Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divânü Lügat'it-Türk, vol. I, p. 55. He describes Oghuz as a Turkic tribes and says that Oghuz and Karluks were both known as Turkmens.Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divânü Lügat'it-Türk, vol. I, pp. 55-58;A. Zeki Velidî Togan, Oğuz Destanı: Reşideddin Oğuznâmesi, Tercüme ve Tahlili (İstanbul: Enderun Kitabevi, 1982), pp. 50-52
The origins of the Turkic peoples has been a topic of much discussion, but evidence points either to a homeland in South Central Siberia, close to the Altai Mountains and Lake Baikal or farther East in Mongolia. Archaeogenetic, historical and linguistic evidence suggests that the earliest Turkic peoples were "within or close to the Northeast Asian genepool" but made up of multiple heterogeneous groups, with their exact location of their homeland remaining disputed. The genetic and historical evidence suggests that the early Turkic peoples, including the ancestors of the Turkmen people - Oghuz Turks, (2025). 9781438119137, Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438119137 harbored both West Eurasians and East Asians ancestry and were located in and around the Altai mountains and western Mongolia. Later medieval Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both West-Eurasian and East Asian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring Iranian peoples and Mongolic peoples.
Before the formation of the Turkmen ethnicity, the Oghuz Turks inhabited parts of Transoxiana, the western portion of Turkestan, a region that largely corresponds to much of Central Asia as far east as Xinjiang. Famous historian and ruler of Khwarazm of the XVII century Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur links the origin of all Turkmens to 24 Oghuz tribes in his literary work "Genealogy of the Turkmens". In Byzantine Empire, then in the European sources and later in the American tradition, Turkmens were called Turkomans,D. Yeremeyev. Ethnogenesis of the Turks. M. Nauka (Science), 1971. - “At the end of the XI century, for the first time in the Byzantine Empire chronicles, Turkmens that penetrated Anatolia are mentioned. Anna Komnene calls them Turkomans.”Arminius Vambery, "The Turcomans Between the Caspian and Merv", The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 9. (1880) in the countries of the Near East and Middle East - Turkmens, as well as Torkaman County, Terekeme people; in Kievan Rus - Torkmens; Нестор-летописец (Nestor the Chronicler). Повесть временных лет (Primary Chronicle ). - «Вышли они из пустыни Етривской между востоком и севером, вышло же их 4 колена: торкмены и печенеги, торки, половцы.» (They came out of the Etriva desert between east and north, but their 4 tribes came out: Torkmens and Pechenegs, Torkil, Polovtsians.) in the Duchy of Moscow - Taurmen; and in the Tsarist Russia - Turkoman and Trukhmen.
In the 7th century AD, Oghuz tribes had moved westward from the Altai Mountains through the steppes, and settled in this region. They also penetrated as far west as the Volga basin and the Balkans. These early Turkmens are believed to have mixed with native peoples and lived as pastoral nomads until being conquered by the Russians in the 19th century.
Migration of the Turkmen tribes from the territory of Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia in the south-west direction began mainly from the 11th century and continued until the 18th century. These Turkmen tribes played a significant role in the ethnic formation of such peoples as Turkish people, Iraqi Turkmen and Syrian Turkmen, as well as the Turkic population of Iran and Azerbaijan. To preserve their independence, those tribes that remained in Turkmenistan were united in military alliances, although remnants of tribal relations remained until the 20th century. Their traditional occupations were farming, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Ancient samples of applied art (primarily carpets and jewelry) indicate a high level of folk art culture.
Grugni et al. (2012) found Q-M242 in 42.6% (29/68) of a sample of Turkmens from Golestan, Iran. Di Cristofaro et al. (2013) found Q-M25 in 31.1% (23/74) and Q-M346 in 2.7% (2/74) for a total of 33.8% (25/74) Q-M242 in a sample of Turkmens from Jawzjan Province. Karafet et al. (2018) found Q-M25 in 50.0% (22/44) of another sample of Turkmens from Turkmenistan.Tatiana M. Karafet, Ludmila P. Osipova, Olga V. Savina, et al. (2018), "Siberian genetic diversity reveals complex origins of the Samoyedic-speaking populations." Am J Hum Biol.
DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23194. Haplogroup Q has seen its highest frequencies in the Turkmens from Karakalpakstan (mainly Yomut) at 73%.
Haplogroup Q is very rare among Turkmens of Stavropol Krai (tribes Choudor, Igdyr, Suyunadjy), where it reaches only 2%.
A genetic study on maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups of a Turkmen sample describes a mixture of mostly West Eurasian maternal lineages and a minority of East Eurasian lineages. Turkmens also have two unusual mtDNA markers with polymorphic characteristics, only found in Turkmens and southern Siberians.
Turkmens that stayed in Central Asia largely survived unaffected by the Mongol period due to their semi-nomadic lifestyle and became traders along the Caspian Sea, which led to contacts with Eastern Europe. Following the decline of the Mongols, Tamerlane conquered the area and his Timurid Empire would rule, until it too fractured, as the Safavids, Khanate of Bukhara, and Khanate of Khiva all contested the area. The expanding Russian Empire took notice of Turkmenistan's extensive cotton industry, during the reign of Peter the Great, and invaded the area. Following the decisive Battle of Geok Tepe in January 1881, the bulk of Turkmen tribes found themselves under the rule of the Russian Emperor, which was formalized in the Akhal Treaty between Russia and Persia. After the Russian Revolution, Soviet Union control was established by 1921, and in 1924 Turkmenistan became the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. Turkmenistan gained independence in 1991.
According to U.S. government estimates, the country is 89 percent Muslim (mostly Sunni), 9 percent Eastern Orthodox, and 2 percent other. There are small communities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Shia Muslims, Baha’is, Roman Catholics, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and evangelical Christians, including Baptists and Pentecostals. Most ethnic Russians and Armenians identify as Orthodox Christian and generally are members of the Russian Orthodox Church or Armenian Apostolic Church. Some ethnic Russians and Armenians are also members of smaller Protestant groups. There are small pockets of Shia Muslims, consisting largely of ethnic Iranians, Azeris, and Kurds, some located in Ashgabat, with others along the border with Iran and in the western city of Turkmenbashy. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
The Turkmen adopted Islam between the 12th and 14th centuries. Sufi orders like the Ahmad Yasawi and Kubrawiya greatly contributed to the conversion of the Turkmens to Islam.
The great majority of Turkmen people readily identify themselves as Muslims and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their cultural heritage. The country of Turkmenistan encourages the conceptualization of "Turkmen Islam", or worship that is often mixed with veneration of elders and saints, life-cycle rituals, and Sufi practices.
Since Turkmenistan's independence saw an increase in religious practices and the development of institutions like the Muftiate and the building of mosques, today it is often regulated.
The government leadership of Turkmenistan often uses Islam to legitimize its role in society by sponsoring holiday celebrations such as iftar dinners during Ramadan and presidential pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This sponsorship has validated the country's two presidents (Nyýazow and Berdimuhamedow) as pious Turkmen, giving them an aura of cultural authority.
The Russian Academy of Sciences has identified many instances of syncretic influence of pre-Islamic Turkic peoples belief systems on practice of Islam among Turkmen, including placing offerings before trees. The Turkmen word taňry, meaning "God", derives from the Turkic Tengri, the name of the supreme god in the pre-Islamic Turkic pantheon. The Turkmen language features a multitude of euphemisms for "wolf", because of a belief that speaking the actual word while tending a flock of sheep will invoke a wolf's appearance. Demidov cites the Turkmen proverb, "Gurt agzasan, gurt geler" (Mention the wolf, the wolf comes), in explaining why the original Turkic word for wolf, böri, is virtually never used. In other examples of syncretism, some infertile Turkmen women, rather than praying, step or jump over a live wolf in order to assist them in getting pregnant, and children born subsequently are typically given names associated with wolves; alternatively the mother may visit shrines of Muslim saints. The future is divined by reading of dried camel dung by special .
The Turkmen language is closely related to Azerbaijani, Turkish language, Gagauz language, Qashqai language, and Crimean Tatar, sharing common linguistic features with each of those languages. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between these languages."Language Materials Project: Turkish". UCLA International Institute, Center for World Languages. February 2007 However, the closest language of Turkmen is considered Khorasani Turkic, spoken in northeastern regions of Iran and with which it shares the eastern subbranch of Oghuz languages, as well as Khorezm, the Oghuz dialect of Uzbek language spoken mainly along the Turkmenistan border. (2025). 9780080877754, Elsevier. ISBN 9780080877754
The standardized form of Turkmen (spoken in Turkmenistan) is based on the Teke dialect, while Iranian Turkmen uses mostly the Yomud dialect, and Afghan Turkmens use the Ersary dialect.
In Iran, the Turkmen language comes second after the Azerbaijani language in terms of the number of speakers of Turkic languages of Iran.
There is general consensus, however, that distinctively Turkmen literature originated in 18th century with the poetry of Magtymguly Pyragy, who is considered the father of the Turkmen literature. (2025). 9780253017512, Indiana University press. ISBN 9780253017512 Other prominent Turkmen poets of that era are Döwletmämmet Azady (Magtymguly's father), Nurmuhammet Andalyp, Abdylla Şabende, Şeýdaýy, Mahmyt Gaýyby and Gurbanally Magrupy.
In the 20th century, Turkmenistan's most prominent Turkmen-language writer was Berdi Kerbabayev, whose novel Decisive Step, later made into a motion picture directed by Alty Karliev, is considered the apotheosis of modern Turkmen fiction. It earned him the USSR State Prize for Literature in 1948.
Other important musical instruments are gopuz, Zurna, dombura, and gyjak. The most famous Turkmen bakshys are those who lived in the 19th century: Amangeldi Gönübek, Gulgeldi ussa, Garadali Gokleng, Yegen Oraz bakshy, Hajygolak, Nobatnyyaz bakshy, Oglan bakshy, Durdy bakshy, Shukur bakshy, Chowdur bakshy and others. Usually they narrated the woeful and gloomy events of the Turkmen history through their music. The names and music of these bakshys have become legendary among the Turkmen people, and passed orally from generation to generation.
The Central Asian classical music tradition muqam is also present in Turkmenistan. In the 20th century, Danatar Ovezov began composing classical music using Turkmen themes, and that classical expression of Turkmen motifs and melodies reached its apotheosis in the compositions of Nury Halmammedov.
The main materials for Turkmen embroidery are thread and fabric. There are several types of threads: natural threads such as silk and cotton threads; synthetic and acrylic threads. As for the types of fabrics, silk and woolen fabrics are usually used for embroidery.
It is customary for the Turkmens to embroider with colored silks girls' and men's skullcaps (tahya), collars and sleeves of women's dresses (and in more distant times, men's shirts), the lower part of pants protruding from under the dress, various small bags for storing small things.
Weaving
Weaving is one of the types of home craft that has its roots in the deep past. During excavations of many ancient and early medieval settlements on the territory of Turkmenistan, archaeologists discovered fragments of cotton and woolen fabrics, the analysis of which does not exclude local production: the warp and wefts (transverse threads) have the same thickness, the yarn is single, the weave is simple.
The techniques of weaving craft of Turkmen women are similar to homespun production of other peoples. First, there were three stages of preparation of different types of threads. To obtain cotton thread: 1) cleaning cotton from seeds using a small machine, loosening the resulting fiber with rods, rolling into small bunches; 2) spinning the fiber with a spinning wheel, twisting it into a thread and winding the threads into skeins; 3) winding the threads on the hook and bobbin. For woolen thread: 1) washing and drying wool, scuttling with twigs until a fluffy mass is obtained; 2) combing, loosening, yarn and twisting into a thread with a spindle, winding into skeins; 3) dyeing skeins. For silk thread: 1) cleaning and unwinding (sarmak) cocoons (goza) with a spinning wheel (parh), steaming in a boiler with boiling water; 2) fixing the threads on the spindle using a rotating spinning wheel, twisting the threads into one thread, rewinding them from the spindle into a ball, then into skeins; 3) dyeing skeins, drying in the sun.
Home weaving was extremely widespread throughout the territory of Turkmenistan. In almost every family, weaving skills were instilled in girls from an early age. They began to learn the art of making yarn, weaving and sewing from the age of 8–10. Fabrics, depending on the purpose, were divided into various types: for sewing women's and men's clothing, thin fabric for camel wool dressing gowns, for cotton tablecloths was highly valued. Bags for storing grain and flour were made of fabric of thick twisted yarn, narrow strong strips of fabric (5–12 cm) were used to fasten the poles to the yurt lattice. Using a simple technique of weaving, the craftswomen achieved a great effect in the manufacture of peculiar national fabrics, which cannot be reproduced in mechanical production: a loom consisting of 3-4 columns dug into the ground, a transverse roller, a heald. Tools made of wood in the form of a Sabre were used to seal the weft threads.
The Royal Geographical Society reported in 1882,
The food of the Tekkes [ sic] consists of well-prepared pillaus and of game; also of fermented camels' milk, melons, and water-melons. They use their fingers in conveying food to their mouths, but guests are provided with spoons.
In sharp contrast to other Central Asian and Turkic ethnic groups, Turkmen do not eat horse meat, and in fact eating of horse meat is prohibited by law in Turkmenistan.
Conquest by the Russian Empire in the 1880s introduced new foods, including such meats as beef, pork, and chicken, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and cucumbers, though they did not find widespread use in most Turkmen households until the Soviet period. While now consumed widely, they are, strictly speaking, not considered "traditional".
Most Turkmen were nomads until the 19th century when they began to settle the area south of the Amu Darya. Many Turkmen became semi-nomadic, herding sheep and camels during spring, summer, and fall, but planting crops, wintering in oasis camps, and harvesting the crops in the summer and autumn. As a rule they did not settle in cities and towns until the advent of the Soviet government. This mobile lifestyle precluded identification with anyone outside one's kin group and led to frequent conflicts between different Turkmen tribes, particularly regarding access to water.
In collaboration with the local nationalists, the Soviet government sought to transform the Turkmen and other similar ethnic groups in the USSR into modern socialist nations that based their identity on a fixed territory and a common language. Prior to the Battle of Geok Tepe in January 1881 and subsequent conquest of Merv in 1884, the Turkmen "retained the condition of predatory, horse-riding nomads, who were greatly feared by their neighbours as 'man-stealing Turks.' Until subjugated by the Russians, the Turkmens were a warlike people, who conquered their neighbours and regularly captured ethnic Persians for sale as slaves in Khiva. It was their boast that not one Persian had crossed their frontier except with a rope round his neck."
The Soviet-led standardization of the Turkmen language, education, and projects to promote ethnic Turkmen in industry, government and higher education led growing numbers of Turkmen to identify with a larger national Turkmen culture rather than with sub-national, pre-modern forms of identity. After gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Turkmen historians went to great lengths to prove that the Turkmen had inhabited their current territory since time immemorial; some historians even tried to deny the nomadic heritage of the Turkmen.
Turkmen lifestyle was heavily invested in horsemanship and as a prominent horse culture, Turkmen horse-breeding was an ages old tradition. Before the Soviet era, a proverb stated that the Turkmen's home was where his horse happened to stand. In spite of changes prompted during the Soviet period, the Ahal Teke tribe in southern Turkmenistan has remained very well known for its horses, the Akhal-Teke desert horse – and the horse breeding tradition has returned to its previous prominence in recent years.
Many tribal customs still survive among modern Turkmen. Unique to Turkmen culture is kalim which is a Bridegroom's "dowry", that can be quite expensive and often results in the widely practiced tradition of bride kidnapping. In something of a modern parallel, in 2001, President Saparmurat Niyazov had introduced a state enforced " kalim", which required all foreigners who wanted to marry a Turkmen woman to pay a sum of no less than $50,000. The law was repealed in March 2005.
Other customs include the consultation of tribal elders, whose advice is often eagerly sought and respected. Many Turkmen still live in extended families where various generations can be found under the same roof, especially in rural areas.
The music of the nomadic and rural Turkmen people reflects rich oral traditions, where epics such as Koroglu are usually sung by itinerant bards. These itinerant singers are called bakshy and sing either a cappella or with instruments such as the dutar, a two-stringed lute.
Turkmen can be divided into various social classes including the urban intelligentsia and workers whose role in society is different from that of the rural peasantry. Secularism and atheism remain prominent for many Turkmen intellectuals who favor moderate social changes and often view extreme religiosity and cultural revival with some measure of distrust.
The five traditional carpet rosettes, or gul, called göl in Turkmen, that form motifs in the country's state emblem and flag, represent the five major Turkmen tribes.
Turkmenistan supports the country's sports movements and encourages sports on a state level. While football remains the most popular sport, such sports as Turkmen goresh, horseback riding and lately ice hockey are also very popular among Turkmens.
...there are 125,000 Turkmen living in Uzbekistan, 40,000 in Russia and 22,000 in Tajikistan. The largest group of Turkmens is in Iran (850,000), Afghanistan (700,000), Iraq (235,000), Turkey (150,000), Syria (60,000), and China (85,000). In total, the number of Turkmens living abroad is about 2.2 million.Today the Turkmen people of Central Asia and near neighbors live in:
The Turkmens are said to have migrated into the Caucasus in the 17th century, mostly from the Mangyshlak region. These migrants belonged mainly to the Chowdur (in Russian "Chaudorov" or "Chavodur"), Sonchadj and Ikdir tribes. The early settlers were nomadic but over time became sedentary. In their cultural life the Trukhmens of today differ very little from their neighbours and are now settled farmers and stockbreeders.
Although the Turkmen language belongs to the Oghuz group of Turkic languages, in Stavropol it has been strongly influenced by the Nogai language, which belongs to the Kipchak language group. The phonetic system, grammatical structure and to some extent also the vocabulary have been somewhat influenced.
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