Oghuz branch
Turks of Türkiye
The Turk people of Anatolia and Thrace, heirs to the Seljuk and Ottoman worlds and the founders of the Republic of Türkiye.
Türkler / Türkiye Türkleri
Turkish settlement of Anatolia began in earnest after the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine army at Manzikert in 1071, which opened Asia Minor to Turkmen (Oghuz) groups. Anatolian principalities followed, among them that of Osman, whose dynasty built the Ottoman Empire and took Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453.
On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly proclaimed the Republic of Türkiye, with Ankara as its capital and Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) as its first president. Wide reforms followed, including the replacement of the Arabic script by the Latin alphabet in November 1928.
From 1961, when West Germany and Türkiye signed a labour recruitment agreement, large Turkish communities formed in Germany and other European countries; they are today part of a diaspora that reaches across Europe, North America and Australia.
- Language
- Turkish, an Oghuz Turk language written in the Latin alphabet since 1928
- Branch
- Oghuz
- Homeland
- Anatolia and Eastern Thrace (Türkiye)
- Also living in
- Germany and elsewhere in Europe, the Balkans, North America, Australia and wider diaspora
Key dates
1071
The Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan defeats the Byzantine army at Manzikert, opening Anatolia to Turkmen settlement.
c. 1300
The Ottoman state emerges in north-western Anatolia under Osman I.
1453
The Ottomans under Mehmed II take Constantinople, which becomes their capital.
29 October 1923
The Republic of Türkiye is proclaimed.
1928
The Latin-based Turkish alphabet replaces the Arabic script.
Heritage
- Âşıklık (minstrelsy) tradition and the mystical poetry of Yunus Emre (died c. 1320)
- Mevlevi Sema ceremony, Karagöz shadow theatre and Ebru, Turkish art of marbling, all on UNESCO’s Representative List
- Turkish coffee culture and tradition and the Kırkpınar oil wrestling festival (UNESCO)
Sources
- E. J. Zürcher, Turkey: A Modern History, 4th ed. (I.B. Tauris, 2017)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Battle of Manzikert”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Turkish literature”