Turkmens

Turkmens (Turkmen: Türkmenler, Түркменлер, توركمنلر‎, [tʏɾkmønˈløɾ]) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the North Caucasus (Stavropol Krai). They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Eastern Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages.

In the early Middle Ages, Turkmens called themselves Oghuz^{[citation needed]}; in the Middle Ages, they took the ethnonym Turkmen. These early Oghuz Turkmens moved westward from the Altai Mountains through the Siberian steppes, and settled in the region now known as Turkmenistan. Further westward migration of the Turkmen tribes from the territory of modern Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia started from the 11th century and continued until the 18th century. These Turkmen tribes played a significant role in the ethnic formation of such peoples as Anatolian Turks, Turkmens of Iraq, and Syria, as well as the Turkic population of Iran and Azerbaijan. To preserve their independence, those tribes that remained in Turkmenistan were united in military alliances, although remnants of tribal relations remained until the 20th century. Their traditional occupations were farming, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Ancient samples of applied art (primarily carpets and jewelry) indicate a high level of folk art culture.

The Seljuks, Khwarazmians, Qara Qoyunlu, Aq Qoyunlu, Ottomans, and Afsharids are also believed to descend from the Turkmen tribes of Qiniq, Begdili, Yiwa, Bayandur, Kayi, and Afshar respectively.

The term Turkmen is generally applied to the Turkic tribes that have been distributed across the Near and Middle East, as well as Central Asia, from the 11th century to modern times. Originally, all Turkic tribes who belonged to the Turkic dynastic mythological system and/or converted to Islam (e.g. Karluks, Oghuz Turks, Khalajs, Kanglys, Kipchaks, etc.) were designated "Turkmens". Only later did this word come to refer to a specific ethnonym. The generally accepted view for the etymology of the name is that it comes from Türk and the Turkic emphasizing suffix -men, meaning "'most Turkish of the Turks' or 'pure-blooded Turks.'" A folk etymology, dating back to the Middle Ages and found in the works of al-Biruni and Mahmud al-Kashghari, instead derives the suffix -men from the Persian suffix -mānand, with the resulting word meaning "like a Turk". While formerly the dominant etymology in modern scholarship, this mixed Turkic-Persian derivation is now typically viewed as incorrect. An alternative etymology was proposed by 16th-century Ottoman historian Mehmed Neşri, who derived it from the Persian phrase Turk-i iman (ترک ایمان), meaning "Turk of the faith" (i.e. Islam). This theory was rejected as incorrect by turkologist Ármin Vámbéry, who argued that it relied upon an incorrect understanding of Persian grammar:

[It] does not do [one] well to accept the pious Muhammadan etymology of Neshri, who, in spite of being one of the earliest Ottoman writers, has but very little notion of the true spirit of the Turkish language. For, even in his day, the word Turk was analogous to raw, uncultured, just as the word Oguz, from which came oguzane (boorish, thick-headed), and oguzluk (coarseness). Neshri's etymology is entirely based upon Muhammadan devotional feeling, and is quite a linguistic impossibility. Turk [and] iman are two separate nouns, which cannot be composed by an ezafet. We can say, for example, din-i-ingiliz or iman-i-turk (the faith of the English, or the faith of the Turks), but not ingiliz-i-din or turk-i-iman. Finally, it must not be forgotten that the name the Nomads themselves adopt is Turkmen, and Turkman is applied to them only by the Persians.

Despite various criticisms, it remains a theory advocated by some today, such as linguist and ethnographer Dávid Somfai. Former president of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Niyazov was also among the advocates of this etymology, although he altered the meaning of the words, writing in his Ruhnama that, rather than "Muslim Turk", it meant "made of light":

[The Turkmen people were given] the following general name: Turk Iman. turk means core, iman means light. Therefore, Turk Iman, namely Turkmen, means "made from light, whose essence is light."

Today, the terms Turkmen and Turkoman are usually restricted to two Turkic groups: the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan and adjacent parts of Central Asia and Iran, and the Turkomans of Iraq and Syria.