Editing Turkmens (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Turban helmet Met 04.3.211.jpg|thumb|upright|Helmet of [[Yaqub Aq Qoyunlu|Ya'qub Beg]], ruler of the Turkoman [[Aq Qoyunlu]] state (15th century)]]
The term ''Turkmen'' is generally applied to the Turkic tribes that have been distributed across the [[Near East|Near]] and [[Middle East]], as well as Central Asia, from the 11th century to modern times.<ref>Barbara Kellner-Heinkele, "Türkmen", The Encyclopaedia of Islam, eds. P.J. Bearman, T.H.
Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs, vol. X (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2000),
pp. 682-685</ref> Originally, all Turkic tribes who belonged to the Turkic dynastic mythological system and/or converted to [[Islam]] (e.g. [[Karluks]], [[Oghuz Turks]], [[Khalaj people|Khalajs]], [[Kankalis|Kanglys]], [[Kipchaks]], etc.) were designated ''"Turkmens"''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hamadani|first=Rashid-al-Din|year=1952|title=Джами ат-Таварих (Jami' al-tawarikh)|url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus16/Rasidaddin_2/kniga1/framepred2.html|publisher=USSR Academy of Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Golden |first=Peter |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples : ethnogenesis and state-formation in the medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=1992 |pages=211–213}}</ref> 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.'"<ref>{{cite book|last=Clark |first=Larry|title=Turkmen Reference Grammar|publisher=Harrassowitz  |year=1996|page=4|isbn=9783447040198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMe7KpwS3KsC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA4}}, {{cite book|last=Annanepesov |first=M. |chapter=The Turkmens |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1999 |editor-last=Dani |editor-first1=Ahmad Hasan |page=127|isbn=9789231038761 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA127}}, {{cite book|last=Golden |first=Peter |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples : ethnogenesis and state-formation in the medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=1992 |pages=213–214}}.</ref> A [[folk etymology]], dating back to the Middle Ages and found in the works of [[al-Biruni]] and [[Mahmud al-Kashgari|Mahmud al-Kashghari]], instead derives the suffix ''-men'' from the [[Persian language|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clark |first=Larry|title=Turkmen Reference Grammar|publisher=Harrassowitz  |year=1996|page=4|isbn=9783447040198|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMe7KpwS3KsC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA4}},{{cite book|last=Annanepesov |first=M. |chapter=The Turkmens |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1999 |editor-last=Dani |editor-first1=Ahmad Hasan |page=127|isbn=9789231038761 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&dq=Turkmen+etymology&pg=PA127}},{{cite book|last=Golden |first=Peter |title=An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples : ethnogenesis and state-formation in the medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=1992 |pages=213–214}}.</ref> An alternative etymology was proposed by 16th-century Ottoman historian [[Neşri|Mehmed Neşri]], who derived it from the Persian phrase ''Turk-i [[iman (Islam)|iman]]'' ({{Langx|fa|ترک ایمان|label=none}}), meaning "Turk of the faith" (i.e. [[Islam]]).<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Kara |first=Dávid Somfai |author-link=Somfai Kara David |date=2018 |title=The Formation of Modern Turkic 'Ethnic' Groups in Central and Inner Asia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26571579 |journal=The Hungarian Historical Review |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=98–110 |issn=2063-8647 |jstor=26571579 |quote=The name türkmen probably referred to the Oghuz-Turks, who were in contact with the Persian-speaking population of Iran, Azerbaijan, Khorasan, and Khwārazm (Persian tork-e īmān means “Muslim Turk”).}}</ref> This theory was rejected as incorrect by turkologist [[Ármin Vámbéry]], who argued that it relied upon an incorrect understanding of Persian grammar:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vámbéry |first=Ármin |author-link=Ármin Vámbéry |date=15 April 1875 |title=The Etymology of "Turkman" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oR1oAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA151 |journal=[[The Geographical Magazine]] |volume=2 |page=151 |access-date=4 January 2024 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=[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 ''[[wiktionary:اوغوزانه|oguzane]]'' (''boorish'', ''thick-headed''), and ''[[wiktionary:اوغوزلق|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 [[izafat|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 [[Somfai Kara David|Dávid Somfai]].<ref name=":1" /> Former president of Turkmenistan [[Saparmurat Niyazov|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":<ref>{{Cite book |last=Safarmurad |first=Niyazov |url=https://inteltrends.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ruh_1.pdf |title=Ruhnama: Reflections on the Spiritual Values of the Turkmen |date=2003 |location=Ashgabat |pages=10 |chapter=Turkmen |author-link=Saparmurat Niyazov}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=[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 [[Syrian Turkmen|Syria]].