Turkic history𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜

From the Huns to today — Turkic states in chronological order, in short, readable articles.

209 BC
The Great Hun (Xiongnu) Empire (209 BC – AD 216)The first great steppe empire, founded by Mete (Modu) — regarded in Turkish historiography as the beginning of Turkic statehood.Read more →
374
The European Hun Empire (374–469)The empire that began when Balamber crossed the Volga, stretched from the Rhine to the Caucasus under Attila and redrew the map of Europe.Read more →
552
The Göktürk Khaganate (552–744)The first state to bear the name "Türk": the steppe empire founded by Bumin Khagan in 552, stretching from Manchuria to the Black Sea.Read more →
650
The Khazar Khaganate (650–969)The trading state that gave the Caspian Sea its Turkic name and ruled between the Volga and the Caucasus for three centuries.Read more →
744
The Uyghur Khaganate (744–840)Heir to the Göktürks: a khaganate that built cities, developed its own script and carried Turkic culture from nomadic to settled life.Read more →
840
Kara-Khanid KhanateA Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the 13th century, with Balasagun in the Chüy Valley as one of its capitals.Read more →
963
The Ghaznavid State (963–1186)A Turkic state stretching from Afghanistan to India, which under Sultan Mahmud became a centre of learning and poetry.Read more →
1037
Great Seljuk EmpireAn empire founded by Turkmen Oghuz in 1037, stretching from Central Asia to Anatolia, which won its first great victory near Merv.Read more →
1077
The Khwarazmian State (1077–1231)A Turkic state stretching from the Amu Darya delta to Iraq that fought Genghis Khan's armies to the end.Read more →
1242
The Golden Horde (1242–1502)A great steppe state founded by a Mongol dynasty but Kipchak Turkic in language and people — forerunner of the Kazan, Crimean and Kazakh khanates.Read more →
1299
Ottoman Empire (1299–1922)A Turkish state that grew from a small frontier principality into an empire on three continents and lasted more than six centuries.Read more →
1370
Timurid Empire (1370–1507)The empire founded by Amir Timur that made Samarkand a world centre of culture, known for the Timurid Renaissance.Read more →
1375
The Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu States (1375–1508)Two Oghuz Turkmen states with Tabriz as capital — the 15th-century rulers of Azerbaijan, eastern Anatolia and Iraq.Read more →
1465
Kazakh Khanate (1465–1847)The state founded by Kerey and Janibek in 1465, the historical basis of modern Kazakhstan.Read more →
1501
The Safavid State (1501–1736)The great state founded in Tabriz by Shah Ismail Khatai, whose court and army spoke Azerbaijani Turkic.Read more →
1526
The Mughal (Babur) Empire (1526–1857)The Timurid Turkic empire founded in India by Babur of Andijan, which gave the world the Taj Mahal.Read more →
1918
The age of independence: modern Turkic states (1918 – today)From the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to the Organization of Turkic States — the Turkic world's road to independence in the 20th and 21st centuries.Read more →

Did you know?

3 October, the founding day of the Organization of Turkic States, is marked every year as Turkic World Cooperation Day.
The age of independence: modern Turkic states (1918 – today) →
"Göktürk" means "Sky (Blue) Turks": among the ancient Turks blue stood for the east and the sacred sky.
The Göktürk Khaganate (552–744) →
Shah Ismail Khatai's poem "Dahnameh" is one of the finest works written in Azerbaijani Turkic.
The Safavid State (1501–1736) →