İslâm’ın Altın Çağında Harezm’de Türkler ve Türk Dili
Ümran ErdoğanHarezm bölgesi bilinen tarihinden beri önemli bir yerleşim ve ticaret noktası olmuştur. Ticarî seyahatler, göçler, savaşlar gibi etkenler sonucu farklı milletler, diller ve medeniyetler burada bir araya gelmiştir. Bölge 717 yılında İslam orduları tarafından fethedilmiştir. Harezm ve civarında Türklerin varlığı ise I. Göktürk Kağanlığı döneminden itibaren Bizans, Ermeni, Çin ve İslam kaynaklarında kaydedilmiştir. Bununla beraber 10. yüzyıldan itibaren Türk nüfusun varlığı gittikçe artmıştır. Özellikle 13. ve 14. yüzyıllarda Harezm, İslam dünyasının en müreffeh bölgelerinden biri haline gelmiştir. Gerek bunun sonucu olarak gerekse bölgeye hükmeden yöneticilerin himayesi ile ilim ve kültür bakımından da büyük gelişmeler gösteren Harezm, birçok bilgin ve mütefekkire ev sahipliğinde bulunmuştur. Bu yüzyıllarda ortaya konulan eserler, keşifler ve icatlar dünya tarihine yön verecek seviyededir. Harezm’deki ilmî ve kültürel gelişim ile Türk varlığının burada günden güne artması Türk dili ve edebiyatı için de yeni bir saha açılmasını sağlamıştır. Bu sahada tercüme edilen eserlerle hem Türk edebiyatı İslâmî konular bakımından derinleşmiş, hem de Türk dili yeni kavramlar ve terimlerle zenginleşmiştir. Çalışmamızda önce Harezm bölgesinin sınırları ana hatları ile tanımlanacaktır. Ardından bu coğrafyadaki Türklerle ilgili tarihî metinlerde bulunan kayıtlara yer verilecektir. Türk nüfusunun yoğunlaşmasının bir sonucu olarak meydana getirilen eserlerin konuları ve bu konuların daha önce ne şekilde işlendiğinden kısaca bahsedilecektir. Söz konusu eserlerin Türk dili ve edebiyatına katkıları üzerinde kısaca durulacaktır.
The Turks and Turkish Language at Khwarezm During the Golden Age of Islam
Ümran ErdoğanThe Khwarezm region has been an important settlement and trade point since its known history. Different nations, languages, and civilizations gathered in this region for several reasons such as trade travels, migrations and wars. However, Islamic armies conquered the region in A.D. 717. The Byzantine, Armenian, Chinese, and Islamic literature has recorded the presence of Turks in and around Khwarezm since the period of the First Göktürk Khanate. Moreover, the presence of the Turkish population gradually increased since the 10th century such that Khwarezm became one of the most prosperous regions in the Islamic world especially during the 13th and 14th centuries. Khwarezm displayed substantial improvements in terms of science and culture, and was hosted by many scholars and thinkers as a result of the growing population, economic progress, and auspices of rulers of the region. The works, discoveries, and inventions established during these centuries have been observed at a level that will guide world history. The scientific and cultural developments in Khwarezm and gradual increase of Turkish presence in the region have served as a means for opening a field for Turkish language and literature. With translated works in this field, the Turkish literature has deepened in terms of Islamic subjects, whereas the Turkish language has been enriched with new concepts and terms. Thus, the present study aims to define the boundaries of the Khwarezm region, including historical records regarding the Turkish community in this area. It briefly cites subjects of works resulting from the concentration of the Turkish population as well as the manner in which these subjects were previously studied. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the contributions of such works to Turkish language and literature.
Khwarezm has been an important settlement area since ancient history. The Afrig dynasty has been the first dynasty in the region with rulers known as Khwarezm Shah. The emergence and spread of Islam have led to the conquering of the Khwarezm region by the Islamic army under the command of Kuteybe bin Muslim in A.D. 712, however, the region has been placed under the rule of the Afrig dynasty. The Samani State, Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Khwarezm Shah State, Mongol administration, Golden Horde, Timurids, Shaybani, Khiva Khanate, and the USSR have ruled Khwarezm throughout the history. Presently, the region has been under the rule of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Tajikistan.
Despite being ruled by several states, Khwarezm has preserved its strategic, commercial and cultural importance since its establishment. With the spread of Islam, science and scholars have received tremendous regard, whereas many discoveries and inventions that shaped world history have been made by precious scholars whose names are written in historical records. Turks living adjacent to the Khwarezm border and in close contact with the region until the 11th century gradually settled in the region after the conquests of Mahmud Ghaznavi and the Seljuks. The situation continued until the 13th century which can be considered the era in which Khwarezm became entirely Turkish.
The Oghuz, Kipchak and Kangli composed the majority of the population. The language spoken in the region developed on the axis of Eastern Turkish, altough it was highly influenced by the language of the aforementioned Turkish tribes. Over time, the Turkish language spoken under the administration of the Khwarezmian Dynasty, and the Golden Horde State became a literary dialect. In fact, this dialect was used to write the first examples of Turkish literature on several topics. Literary records reveal all aspects of Khwarezm’s contributions to the Turkish language and literature, such as Mukaddimetü’l-Edeb, which is recognized as the second Turkish dictionary after Divânü Lügati’t-Türk, Nehcü’l-Ferâdis, which is the first “40 hadith translations” in the field of the Turkish literature, the first Kısasü’l-Enbiyâ, which is known to be written in the Turkish literature, Muînü’l-Mürîd, which aims to convey religious knowledge to nomadic Turks in a simple manner, Sirâcü’l-Kulûb, which presumably bears the answers given by the Prophet Muhammad to questions asked by the “cuhuds”- and perhaps by all people, and Quran translations with new manuscripts identified in recent years. In general, scholars have assumed that these works were written in the Khwarezm region. Furthermore, extremely valuable works written in Khwarezm-Kipchak Turkish, such as Hüsrev ü Şîrîn, Mi’râcnâme, Muhabbetnâme, and Cümcümenâme have been recovered. However, these works belong to other regions, such as the Golden Horde region located north of Khwarezm.
The present study discusses the relationship of Turks with the Khwarezm region based on history. In particular, the study presents information about the region and the Turkish population in its vicinity from the perspective of Arab geographers during the 10th century. Moreover, it briefly mentions the region’s historical developments and emphasizes the role of Turkish elements in Khwarezm. After a certain century, the study uses such works to elucidate the effects of the presence of Turks, who became concentrated in population and produced literary works using their language, on Turkish literature in general. Furthermore, the study aims to view the subject from a different perspective based on the geographical area of the Khwarezm region.
