14 Facts About Turkmens

1.

Turkmens, sometimes referred to as "Turkmen Turks", are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan.

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2.

Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the North Caucasus .

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3.

Turkmens were mentioned near the end of the 10th century A D in Islamic literature by the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi in Ahsan Al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat Al-Aqalim.

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4.

However, even if ??? might have transcribed Turkmen, these "Turkmens" might be Karluks instead of modern Turkmens' Oghuz-speaking ancestors; as Turkmen might be the Karluks' equivalent of the Gokturks' political term Kok Turk.

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5.

Turkmens describes Oghuz as a Turkic tribe and says that Oghuz and Karluks were both known as Turkmens.

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6.

Early Turks, including the ancestors of modern Turkmens, descended ultimately from agricultural communities in Northeast Asia and Northeastern China, who moved westwards into Mongolia in the late 3rd millennium BC, where they adopted a pastoral lifestyle.

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7.

In Byzantine, then in the European sources and later in the American tradition, Turkmens were called Turkomans, in the countries of the Near and Middle East - Turkmens, as well as Torkaman, Terekeme; in Kievan Rus - Torkmens; in the Duchy of Moscow - Taurmen; and in the Tsarist Russia - Turkoman and Trukhmen.

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8.

Turkmens have two unusual mtDNA markers with polymorphic characteristics, only found in Turkmens and southern Siberians.

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9.

Turkmens belong to the Oghuz tribes, who originated on the periphery of Central Asia and founded gigantic empires beginning from the 3rd millennium BC.

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10.

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, which led to contacts with Eastern Europe.

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11.

Musical art of the Turkmens is an integral part of the musical art of the Turkic peoples.

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12.

The largest group of Turkmens is in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and China .

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13.

Iranian Turkmens are a branch of Turkmen people who live mainly in northern and northeastern regions of Iran.

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14.

Turkmens are said to have migrated into the Caucasus in the 17th century, in particular in the Mangyshlak region.

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