Post by H. İhsan Erkoç on Aug 25, 2006 20:42:10 GMT 3
There are five main theories on the origins of the Oghuz:
- The Hegu People: The Oghuz were the descendents of a people from the Xiongnu period called Hegu in Chinese (I do not know the modern tones, characters and ancient pronounciations, sorry). Ýbrahim Kafesoðlu mentions this theory in his famous book Türk Millî Kültürü.
- The Toquz Oghuz: According to this theory, the Oghuz people of the Qazaq Steppes were the descendents of Toquz Oghuz (Nine Tribes of Tiĕlè 鐵勒) migrating to Western Turkistân after the fall of the Uyghur Qaghanate in Mongolia. The key points of this theory are the facts that in the Blue Turk inscriptions, the Toquz Oghuz were sometimes mentioned as simply Oghuz; besides, the Islamic sources refer to the Oghuz in the mid-9th century for the first time. Erkin Ekrem is one of the supporters of this theory.
- The On Oq: Some Turkologists think the Toquz Oghuz Theory is weak and they think the Oghuz of the Qazaq Steppe were the direct descendents of the On Oq (Ten Tribes of Western Turks). Their evidences include the similarities between the tribal organisations of both peoples (both the On Oq and the Oghuz were divided into two main categories of tribes), the similarity of the regions both peoples lived (the On Oq lived in Semirechie, the Oghuz lived a bit westwards) and the fact that Salur Qazghan (or Salur Qazan) mentioned in the Dede Qorqut legends of the Oghuz might be the Sūlù 蘇祿 Qaghan of the Türgish. Faruk Sümer, Ahmet Bican Ercilasun and Salim Koca are examples of Turkologists who have supported or support this theory.
- The Toquz Oghuz and On Oq Theory: This theory is a combination of the two theories mentioned above. According to this view, the Oghuz people were formed from the mixture of Toquz Oghuz migrators and On Oq natives of Semirechie. Saadettin Gömeç seems to be supporting this view.
- The Blue Turk (Tūjué 突厥) Theory: This theory was brought up by Ýbrahim Kafesoðlu and strangely, the supporters of this theory also support the On Oq theory. According to this view, the Oghuz people was nothing different from the Blue Turk (Türük/Tūjué 突厥) people of Mongolia. However, we know that the Türük/Tūjué 突厥 people stayed in Mongolia even after the fall of the Uyghur Qaghanate because their name was mentioned in that region in the Chinese sources until the year 943.
- The Hegu People: The Oghuz were the descendents of a people from the Xiongnu period called Hegu in Chinese (I do not know the modern tones, characters and ancient pronounciations, sorry). Ýbrahim Kafesoðlu mentions this theory in his famous book Türk Millî Kültürü.
- The Toquz Oghuz: According to this theory, the Oghuz people of the Qazaq Steppes were the descendents of Toquz Oghuz (Nine Tribes of Tiĕlè 鐵勒) migrating to Western Turkistân after the fall of the Uyghur Qaghanate in Mongolia. The key points of this theory are the facts that in the Blue Turk inscriptions, the Toquz Oghuz were sometimes mentioned as simply Oghuz; besides, the Islamic sources refer to the Oghuz in the mid-9th century for the first time. Erkin Ekrem is one of the supporters of this theory.
- The On Oq: Some Turkologists think the Toquz Oghuz Theory is weak and they think the Oghuz of the Qazaq Steppe were the direct descendents of the On Oq (Ten Tribes of Western Turks). Their evidences include the similarities between the tribal organisations of both peoples (both the On Oq and the Oghuz were divided into two main categories of tribes), the similarity of the regions both peoples lived (the On Oq lived in Semirechie, the Oghuz lived a bit westwards) and the fact that Salur Qazghan (or Salur Qazan) mentioned in the Dede Qorqut legends of the Oghuz might be the Sūlù 蘇祿 Qaghan of the Türgish. Faruk Sümer, Ahmet Bican Ercilasun and Salim Koca are examples of Turkologists who have supported or support this theory.
- The Toquz Oghuz and On Oq Theory: This theory is a combination of the two theories mentioned above. According to this view, the Oghuz people were formed from the mixture of Toquz Oghuz migrators and On Oq natives of Semirechie. Saadettin Gömeç seems to be supporting this view.
- The Blue Turk (Tūjué 突厥) Theory: This theory was brought up by Ýbrahim Kafesoðlu and strangely, the supporters of this theory also support the On Oq theory. According to this view, the Oghuz people was nothing different from the Blue Turk (Türük/Tūjué 突厥) people of Mongolia. However, we know that the Türük/Tūjué 突厥 people stayed in Mongolia even after the fall of the Uyghur Qaghanate because their name was mentioned in that region in the Chinese sources until the year 943.
