Editing Turkmens (section)

{{Short description|Turkic ethnic group of Central Asia}}
{{About|the Central Asian ethnic group|other ethnic groups|Turkmen (disambiguation)#Ethnic groups}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{infobox ethnic group
| group            = Turkmens
| native_name      = {{lang|tk|{{lang|tk-Latn|Türkmenler}}{{Clear}}{{lang|tk-Cyrl|Түркменлер}}{{Clear}}{{Script/Arabic|توركمنلر}}}}
| image            = [[File:Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (215).jpg|275px|frameless]]
| caption          = Turkmens in [[folk costume]] at the 20th [[Independence Day (Turkmenistan)|Independence Day]] parade, 2011
| pop              = {{circa|'''9 million'''}}
| region1          = [[Turkmenistan]]
| pop1             = 6,120,854 (2022 census)
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stat.gov.tm/en/population-census | title=State Committee of Turkmenistan on Statistics }}</ref>
| region2          = [[Iran]]
| pop2             = {{circa|1 million}}
| ref2             = <ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IR/status#People|title=Ethnologue|access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref>
| region3          = [[Afghanistan]]
| pop3             = {{circa|1 million}}
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.worlddata.info/asia/afghanistan/index.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104193327/https://www.worlddata.info/asia/afghanistan/index.php | archive-date=4 January 2024 | title=Afghanistan: Country data and statistics }}</ref>
| region4          = [[Uzbekistan]]
| pop4             = 206,189 (2021 gov. est.)
| ref4             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 | title=Permanent population by national and / Or ethnic group, urban / Rural place of residence }}</ref>
| region5          = [[Turkey]]
| pop5             = 113,762 (2024)
| ref5             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Adrese-Dayali-Nufus-Kayit-Sistemi-Sonuclari-2024-53783&dil=1 | title=TÜİK Kurumsal }}</ref>
| region6          = [[Russia]]
| pop6             = 41,328 (2021 census)
| ref6             = <ref>2021 [[Russian Census (2021)|Russian census]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx |title=Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации согласно переписи населения 2021 года |url-status=live |access-date=5 January 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230204643/https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx }}</ref>
| region7          = [[Tajikistan]]
| pop7             = 15,171 (2010 census)
| ref7             = <ref>{{Cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116004155/http://stat.tj/en/img/526b8592e834fcaaccec26a22965ea2b_1355502192.pdf | url=http://stat.tj/en/img/526b8592e834fcaaccec26a22965ea2b_1355502192.pdf | archive-date=2013-01-16 | title=Ҳайати миллӣ, донистани забонҳо ва шаҳрвандии аҳолии ҷумҳурии тоҷикистон ҷилди III | language=tg | trans-title=National composition, knowledge of language and citizenship of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan, volume III}}</ref>
| langs            = [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]]
| religions        = Predominantly [[Sunni Islam]]<ref name="celcar.indiana.edu"/>
| related          = Other [[Turkic peoples]]<br />Especially [[Azerbaijanis]],<ref name=barthold>{{harvp|Barthold|1962}}""The book of my grandfather Korkut" ("Kitab-i dedem Korkut") is an outstanding monument of the medieval Oghuz heroic epic. Three modern Turkic-speaking peoples - Turkmens, Azerbaijanis and Turks - are ethnically and linguistically related to the medieval Oghuzes. For all these peoples, the epic legends deposited in the "Book of Korkut" represent an artistic reflection of their historical past."</ref><ref>Ismail Zardabli. ''Ethnic and political history of Azerbaijan''. Rossendale Books. 2018. p.35 "... the ancestors of Azerbaijanis and Turkmens are the tribes that lived in these territories."</ref> [[Turkish people]],<ref name=barthold /> and [[Khorasani Turks]]
| footnotes        = 
}}

'''Turkmens''' ({{langx|tk|Türkmenler}}, {{lang|tk-Cyrl|Түркменлер|italic=no}}, {{Script/Arabic|توركمنلر|italic=no}}, {{IPA|tk|tʏɾkmønˈløɾ|}})<ref name=clark>{{Cite book|last=Clark|first=Larry|title=Turkmen Reference Grammar|location=Wiesbaden|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=1998|language=en|page=102}}</ref> are a [[Turkic peoples|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]],<ref name="celcar.indiana.edu">{{cite web |title=Who are the Turkmen and where do they live? |url=https://celcar.indiana.edu/materials/language-portal/turkmen/index.html |url-status=live |year=2021 |orig-year=2020 |website=Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Bloomington]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603164120/https://celcar.indiana.edu/materials/language-portal/turkmen/index.html |archive-date=3 June 2020 |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref> which is classified as a part of the [[Oghuz languages|Eastern Oghuz]] branch of the [[Turkic languages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/|title=UCLA Language Materials Project: Main|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720065425/http://www.pavelicpapers.com/documents/odpor/index.html|archive-date=20 July 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[early Middle ages]], Turkmens called themselves [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]]{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}; in the [[Middle Ages]], they took the [[ethnonym]] [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkmen]].<ref>{{Cite web|author=Hamadani|first=Rashid-al-Din|date=1939|orig-year=1858|title=Legends of Oghuz Khan. Tribal division of the Turkmens (Extracts from Jami' al-Tawarikh)|url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus16/Rasidaddin_5/text1.phtml?id=11333|publisher=USSR Academy of Sciences|quote=These tribes in the course of time divided into many branches, at each time (other) branches appeared from each branch; each got a name and nickname for some reason or on some occasion: the Oghuzes, who are now all called Turkmens and who branched out into Kipchaks, Kalachs (Khalajs), Kangly, Karluks and other branches belonging to them...}}</ref> These early Oghuz Turkmens moved westward from the [[Altai Mountains]] through the [[Siberia]]n 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 [[Turkish people|Anatolian Turks]], [[Iraqi Turkmen|Turkmens of Iraq]], and [[Syrian Turkmen|Syria]], as well as the [[Iranian Azerbaijanis|Turkic population of Iran]] and [[Azerbaijan]].<ref name="Turks in Russian">{{Cite web|url=http://gatchina3000.ru/great-soviet-encyclopedia/bse/112/959.htm|title=Turks (in Russian)|website=Big Soviet Encyclopedia|quote=Ethnically, T. consisted of two main components: the Turkic nomadic tribes (mainly Oghuzes and Turkmens), who migrated to Asia Minor from Central Asia and Iran in the 11–13 centuries (during the Mongol and Seljuk conquests (see. Seljuks)), and local population of Asia Minor.}}</ref><ref name="Ármin Vámbéry 2003">{{Cite web|url=http://kungrad.com/history/biblio/vamberi/|title=Traveling to Central Asia|author=Ármin Vámbéry|quote=Turkmens greatly contributed to the Turkification of the northern regions of Persia, especially during the Atabeg rule in Iran. Most of the Turkic population of Transcaucasia, Azerbaijan, Mazenderan and Shiraz are undoubtedly of Turkmen origin.|date=2003|publisher=Eastern Literature}}</ref><ref name="runivers.ru">{{Cite web|url=https://runivers.ru/lib/book3182/10132/|title=Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary|quote=Azerbaijan or Azerbeijan (ancient Atropatena), north. west. province of Persia, on the Russian border, on the Armenian mountain elevation, 104 t. km., about 1 mill. p. (Armenians, Turkmens, Kurds). Main products: cotton, dried fruits, salt. Chief city - Tabriz.|date=1907–1909}}</ref> 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]], [[Khorezmian Turkic|Khwarazmians]], [[Qara Qoyunlu]], [[Aq Qoyunlu]], [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]], and [[Afsharids]] are also believed to descend from the Turkmen tribes of [[Kınık (tribe)|Qiniq]], [[Begdili]], [[Yiwa (tribe)|Yiwa]], [[Bayandur (tribe)|Bayandur]], [[Kayi]], and [[Afshar (tribe)|Afshar]] respectively.<ref name="turkmens">{{cite book|title=Abu'l Ghazi Bahadur "The Genealogy of the Turkmens" (in Russian) |url=https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01003677256|year=1897|publisher=Паровая тип. К.М. Федорова }}</ref>