Oghuz Khagan
Oghuz Khan | |
|---|---|
 Modern-day representation of Oghuz Khan as Zulqarnayn, with two horns, on a 100 Turkmenistan manat banknote | |
| Born | |
| Known for | being an eponymous ancestor of Oghuz Turks |
| Title | Khagan |
| Predecessor | Qara Khan |
| Successor | Division of Empire between his sons |
| Children | Gun, Ay, Yildiz, Kok, Tagh, Tengiz |
| Parents |
|
Oghuz Khagan or Oghuz Khan (Turkmen: Oguz Han or Oguz Kagan; Turkish: Oğuz Kağan or Oğuz Han; Azerbaijani: Oğuz Xan or Oğuz Xaqan) is a legendary khan of the Turkic people and an eponymous ancestor of Oghuz Turks.[1] Some Turkic cultures use the legend of Oghuz Khan to describe their ethnic and tribal origins. The various versions of the narrative preserved in many different manuscripts has been published in numerous languages as listed below in the references. The narratives about him are often entitled Oghuzname, of which there are several traditions, describing his many feats and conquests, some of these tend to overlap with other Turkic epic traditions such as Seljukname and The Book of Dede Korkut.
The name of Oghuz Khan has been associated with Maodun, also known as Mete Khan; the reason being that there is a remarkable similarity between the biography of Oghuz Khagan in the Turkic mythology and the biography of Maodun found in the Chinese historiography, which was first noticed by the Russo-Chuvash sinologist Hyacinth.[2][3]
Legend
According to a Turkic legend, Oghuz was born in Central Asia as the son of Qara Khan, leader of the Turkic people. He started talking as soon as he was born. He stopped drinking his mother's milk after the first time and asked for kymyz (an alcoholic beverage made with fermented horse milk) and meat. After that, he grew up supernaturally fast and in only forty days he became a young adult. At the time of his birth, the lands of the Turkic people were preyed upon by a dragon named Kiyant. Oghuz armed himself and went to kill the dragon. He set a trap for the dragon by hanging a freshly killed deer in a tree, then killed the great dragon with a bronze lance and cut off its head with a steel sword.
After Oghuz killed Kiyant, he became a people's hero. He formed a special warrior band from the forty sons of forty Turkic begs (lords, chiefs), thus gathering the clans together. But his Chinese stepmother and half-brother, who was the heir to the throne, became intimidated by his power and convinced Qara Khan that Oghuz was planning to dethrone him. Qara Khan decided to assassinate Oghuz at a hunting party. Oghuz learned about this plan and instead killed his father and became the khan. His stepmother and half-brother fled to Chinese lands.
After Oghuz became the khan, he went to the steppes by himself to praise and pray to Tengri. While praying, he saw a circle of light coming from the sky with a supernaturally beautiful girl standing in the light. Oghuz fell in love with the girl and married her. He had three sons whom he named Gün (Sun), Ay (Moon), and Yıldız (Star) (all in Turkish). Later, Oghuz went hunting and saw another mesmerizing girl inside a tree. He married her as well and had three more sons whom he named Gök (Sky), Dağ (Mountain), and Deniz (Sea) (in Turkish).
After his sons were born, Oghuz Khan gave a great toy (feast) and invited all of his begs (lords). At the feast, he gave this order to his lords:
I have become your Khan;
Let's all take swords and shields;
Kut (divine power) will be our sign;
Gray wolf will be our uran (battle cry);
Our iron lances will be a forest;
Khulan will walk on the hunting ground;
More seas and more rivers;
Sun is our flag and sky is our tent.
Then, he sent letters to the Kings of the Four Directions, saying: "I am the Khan of the Turks. And I will be Khan of the Four Corners of the Earth. I want your obedience."
Altun Khan (Golden Khan), on the right corner of the earth, submitted his obedience, but Urum (Roman), Khan of the left corner, did not. Oghuz declared war on Urum Khan and marched his army to the west. One night, a large male wolf with grey fur (which is an avatar of Tengri) came to his tent in an aura of light. He said, "Oghuz, you want to march against Urum, I want to march before your army." So, the grey sky-wolf marched before the Turkic army and guided them. The two armies fought near the river İtil (Volga). Oghuz Khan won the battle. Then, Oghuz and his six sons carried out campaigns in Turkistan, India, Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Syria, with the grey wolf as their guide. He became the Khan of the Four Corners of the Earth.
In his old age, Oghuz saw a dream. He called his six sons and sent them to the east and the west. His elder sons found a golden bow in the east. His younger sons found three silver arrows in the west. Oghuz Khan broke the golden bow into three pieces and gave each to his three older sons Gün, Ay, and Yıldız. He said, "My older sons, take this bow and shoot your arrows to the sky like this bow." He gave the three silver arrows to his three younger sons Gök, Dağ and Deniz and said, "My younger sons, take these silver arrows. A bow shoots arrows and you are to be like the arrow." Then, he passed his lands on to his sons, Bozoks (Gray Arrows - elder sons) and Üçoks (Three Arrows - younger sons) at a final banquet. (Abū’l-Ghāzī identifies the lineage symbols, tamga seals and ongon spirit guiding birds, as well as specifying the political hierarchy and seating order at banquets for these sons and their 24 sons) Then he said:
My sons, I walked a lot;
I saw many battles;
I threw so many arrows and lances;
I rode many horses;
I made my enemies cry;
I made my friends smile;
I paid my debt to Tengri;
Now I am giving my land to you.
Historical precursor and legacy
Oğuz and Oğuzhan are a common masculine Turkish and Turkic given names, which come from Oghuz Khan.
Mary Province's district Oguzhan, in Turkmenistan, is named after him.[4]
The International airport in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan is named after Oghuz Khan.[5]
Footnotes
- ^ Bonnefoy, Yves (1993). Asian Mythologies. University of Chicago Press. p. 337.
Oghuz Khan , the eponymous ancestor of the Oghuz from whom the Seljukids and the Ottomans descended , probably owes his reputation to the importance...
- ^ Bichurin N.Ya., "Compilation of reports on peoples inhabiting Central Asia in ancient times", vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, pp. 56–57
- ^ Taskin V.S., "Materials on history of Sünnu", transl., 1968, Vol. 1, p. 129
- ^ Abasov, Rafis (2005). Historical Dictionary of Turkmenistan. Oxford, UK: The Scarecrow Press. p. 199.
- ^ "The President of Turkmenistan took part in the opening of new Ashgabat International Airport". Turkmenistan. The Golden Age. 17 September 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
See also
References
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2012) |
- Abū’l Ghāzī. 1958. Rodoslovnaia Turkmen. Andrei N. Kononov, ed. Moscow: Nauka.
- İlker Evrim Binbaş, Encyclopædia Iranica, "Oguz Khan Narratives" Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica, accessed 7 July 2012.
- Golden, Peter B. 1992. An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples. Ethnogenesis and state formation in medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
- Light, Nathan. Genealogy, history, nation
- Nationalities Papers: The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity. Volume 39, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 33 – 53.
- Pelliot, Paul. 1930. Sur la légende d'Uγuz-khan en écriture ouigoure. T'oung Pao. Second Series. 27: 4–5. pp. 247–358.
- Rašīd ad-Dīn. Die Geschichte der Oġuzen des Rašīd ad-Dīn. Karl Jahn, trans. Vienna: 1969
- Shcherbak, Aleksandr Mikhaǐlovich. Oguz-name. Muhabbatname. Moscow, 1959.
- Woods, John E. 1976. The Aqquyunlu Clan, Confederation, Empire: a study in 15th/16th Century Turco-Iranian Politics. Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica.