Post by thracian08 on Nov 20, 2009 18:33:52 GMT -5
The Western Turks
A group of Huns who migrated towards the West first settled in a region to the north of the Black Sea extending to the Danube River. First the Huns made raids on Iran and Anatolia via the Caucasia, and then they attacked the territories of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They fought with the Franks in 428, and two years later, reached the areas which are presently the Netherlands and Denmark. The Western Huns, who were known as the first Turkish state founded in Europe, became a great state with territories extending from the banks of the Rhine to the Volga River, under the leadership of Attila the Hun. This state played an important role in transmitting Eastern civilization to the West, and organized campaigns to Italy, the Balkans and Gaul in the reign of Attila. The Western Hun State collapsed a short time after Attila passed away.
During the collapse of the Hun Empire in Europe, a new wave of tribal migrations started in Central Asia. The north of the Black Sea was confronted with a new wave of Turkish migration. The first tribes to arrive were the Sabirs, Sarogurs and Onogurs. These Ogur tribes, who settled to the north of the Caucasus, raided the Byzantine territories from Macedonia to Thessaly. It is known that the Bulgarian Turks also came to this region along side the Ogur Turks. Byzantine sources refer to the name “Bulgarian” for the first time in 482. In fact, the Avars, with the Bulgarian Turks under their sovereignty, sieged the Byzantine capital at the beginning of the seventh century. The Avars , who left their homeland in Central Asia and who escaped towards the West when the Göktürk State was founded in 552, had an important place in the history of Europe. They first came to Caucasia and the north of the Black Sea, made an agreement with the Byzantines and fought against, and defeated, Turkish tribes such as the Sabirs and Onogurs on behalf of the Byzantines. They expanded to the banks of the Danube River, over the lands of the Ants, a Slavic tribe. From time to time, they made raids throughout the Balkans and even as far as the Peloponnese in Greece. They sieged Istanbul in 626 together with the Bulgarian Turks. The borders of the Avar Empire extended from the Dnieper to the Elbe River and from the North Sea to the Adriatic Sea during the reign of their famous ruler Bayan Khan. The Avar Empire collapsed between 776-803 due to the concurrent attacks of Kurum Khan, the leader of the Bulgarian Turks and Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Present excavations and research in Hungary and Central Europe reveal that the Avars had an exemplary organization within the state and the army and attained a high level of civilization.
Another Turkish tribe living in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Balkans was the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs, an Oghuz tribe, whose initial settlement around Balkhash Lake moved on to the nearby Aral Sea during the fight between the Göktürks and Uigurs. Then they moved further towards the West and fought against the Khazars. They occupied the Cuman plains and expelled the Hungarians ruling the lands between the Don and Dnieper Rivers towards the West. Giving assistance to the Russians in their fights with the Khazars, they played a role in the founding of this state. The Pechenegs, who ruled a territory extending from the Don River to the Danube River in the tenth century, made raids on Byzantine territories from the middle of the eleventh century. However, they were decisively defeated by the joint forces of the Cumans and Byzantines beside the Lower Maritsa River in 1091. Some of the separate Pecheneg groups who could not represent a political existence after this defeat were settled in the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Those who stayed in the Balkans and Hungary settled there and were assimilated. Turkish History in the Islamic Period. After the decline of the Uigur State, the Karahanid State was founded in 840 by the Turkish tribes such as the Karluks, Çigils and Arguls. The reign of the Karahanids is considered to be a turning point in Turkish history, because Islam was accepted as the official religion during the reign of Satuk Budra Khan, the Karahanid leader. Being the first Muslim Turkish state established in Central Asia, they laid the foundations of an historical development called Turkish-Islamic culture and civilization.
A group of Huns who migrated towards the West first settled in a region to the north of the Black Sea extending to the Danube River. First the Huns made raids on Iran and Anatolia via the Caucasia, and then they attacked the territories of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They fought with the Franks in 428, and two years later, reached the areas which are presently the Netherlands and Denmark. The Western Huns, who were known as the first Turkish state founded in Europe, became a great state with territories extending from the banks of the Rhine to the Volga River, under the leadership of Attila the Hun. This state played an important role in transmitting Eastern civilization to the West, and organized campaigns to Italy, the Balkans and Gaul in the reign of Attila. The Western Hun State collapsed a short time after Attila passed away.
During the collapse of the Hun Empire in Europe, a new wave of tribal migrations started in Central Asia. The north of the Black Sea was confronted with a new wave of Turkish migration. The first tribes to arrive were the Sabirs, Sarogurs and Onogurs. These Ogur tribes, who settled to the north of the Caucasus, raided the Byzantine territories from Macedonia to Thessaly. It is known that the Bulgarian Turks also came to this region along side the Ogur Turks. Byzantine sources refer to the name “Bulgarian” for the first time in 482. In fact, the Avars, with the Bulgarian Turks under their sovereignty, sieged the Byzantine capital at the beginning of the seventh century. The Avars , who left their homeland in Central Asia and who escaped towards the West when the Göktürk State was founded in 552, had an important place in the history of Europe. They first came to Caucasia and the north of the Black Sea, made an agreement with the Byzantines and fought against, and defeated, Turkish tribes such as the Sabirs and Onogurs on behalf of the Byzantines. They expanded to the banks of the Danube River, over the lands of the Ants, a Slavic tribe. From time to time, they made raids throughout the Balkans and even as far as the Peloponnese in Greece. They sieged Istanbul in 626 together with the Bulgarian Turks. The borders of the Avar Empire extended from the Dnieper to the Elbe River and from the North Sea to the Adriatic Sea during the reign of their famous ruler Bayan Khan. The Avar Empire collapsed between 776-803 due to the concurrent attacks of Kurum Khan, the leader of the Bulgarian Turks and Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Present excavations and research in Hungary and Central Europe reveal that the Avars had an exemplary organization within the state and the army and attained a high level of civilization.
Another Turkish tribe living in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Balkans was the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs, an Oghuz tribe, whose initial settlement around Balkhash Lake moved on to the nearby Aral Sea during the fight between the Göktürks and Uigurs. Then they moved further towards the West and fought against the Khazars. They occupied the Cuman plains and expelled the Hungarians ruling the lands between the Don and Dnieper Rivers towards the West. Giving assistance to the Russians in their fights with the Khazars, they played a role in the founding of this state. The Pechenegs, who ruled a territory extending from the Don River to the Danube River in the tenth century, made raids on Byzantine territories from the middle of the eleventh century. However, they were decisively defeated by the joint forces of the Cumans and Byzantines beside the Lower Maritsa River in 1091. Some of the separate Pecheneg groups who could not represent a political existence after this defeat were settled in the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Those who stayed in the Balkans and Hungary settled there and were assimilated. Turkish History in the Islamic Period. After the decline of the Uigur State, the Karahanid State was founded in 840 by the Turkish tribes such as the Karluks, Çigils and Arguls. The reign of the Karahanids is considered to be a turning point in Turkish history, because Islam was accepted as the official religion during the reign of Satuk Budra Khan, the Karahanid leader. Being the first Muslim Turkish state established in Central Asia, they laid the foundations of an historical development called Turkish-Islamic culture and civilization.