Iraqi Turkmens
The Iraqi Turkmens, also referred to as Iraqi Turks, are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq. They make up to 10%–13% of the Iraqi population. Iraqi Turkmens are descendants of Turkish settlers from the time of Ottoman Iraq, and are closely related to Syrian Turkmens. Iraqi Turkmens in Iraq do not identify with the traditionally-nomadic Turkmens of Central Asia.
Ethnonyms
According to Iraqi Turkmen scholar Professor Suphi Saatçi, prior to the mid-20th century the Turkmens in Iraq were known simply as "Turks". It was not until after the military coup of 14 July 1958, that the ruling military junta officially introduced the name "Turkman/Turkmen":The state-imposed terms on the Turks of Iraq were not resisted, for the word "Turkmen" had historically been designated to the Oghuz Turks who had accepted Islam and migrated westwards from Central Asia to the Middle East, and had continued to be used in the region. Thus, Iraqi Turkmens do not identify themselves with the Turkmen people of Turkmenistan. Rather, the term "Turkmen" in the Middle East is often used to designate Turkic-speakers, particularly in the Arab areas, or where Sunni Turks live in Shiite dominated areas.
Despite the modern usage of the term "Turkmen", Professor David Kushner has pointed out that the term "Turks" continues to be used in referring to the "Outside Turks" of the former Ottoman Empire, including the Turks in Iraq, which is in contrast to the terms used for other Turkic peoples who did not share this Ottoman history:
They are also referred to as Turkish-Iraqis, the Turkish minority in Iraq, and the Iraqi-Turkish minority.
In literature
Professor Orit Bashkin has observed that within Iraqi Turkmen literature, poets have managed to "remain loyal to Iraq as a state" whilst they have also "concurrently upheld their Turkish distinctiveness":History
Origin
The exact origin of Iraqi Turkmens is uncertain, but several possible explanations and theories of settlement in the region indicate that they likely originally emerged in Iraq as garrisons established by multiple rulers in various time periods.Iraqi Turkmens are believed to be the descendants of various waves of Turkic settlement in Mesopotamia beginning from the 7th century until the end of Ottoman rule. The first wave of migration dates back to the 7th century, followed by migrations during the Seljuk Empire, the fleeing Oghuz during the Mongol destruction of the Khwarazmian dynasty, and the largest migration, during the Ottoman Empire. With the conquest of Iraq by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1534, followed by Sultan Murad IV's capture of Baghdad in 1638, a large influx of Turks—predominantly from Anatolia—settled down in Iraq. It is believed that many of today's Iraqi Turkmens are the descendants of the Ottoman soldiers, traders and civil servants who were brought into Iraq during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Migration under Arab rule
The presence of Turkic peoples in what is today Iraq first began in the 7th century when approximately 2,000–5,000 Oghuz Turks were recruited in the Muslim armies of Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad. They arrived in 674 with the Umayyud conquest of Basra. More Turkic troops settled during the 8th century, from Bukhara to Basra and also Baghdad. During the subsequent Abbasid era, thousands more of Turkmen warriors were brought into Iraq; however, the number of Turkmens who had settled in Iraq were not significant, as a result, the first wave of Turkmens became assimilated into the local Arab population.Seljuk migration
The second wave of Turkmens to descend on Iraq were the Turks of the Great Seljuq Empire. Large scale migration of Turkmens in Iraq occurred in 1055 with the invasion of Sultan Tuğrul Bey, the second ruler of the Seljuk dynasty, who intended to repair the holy road to Mecca. For the next 150 years, the Seljuk Turks placed large Turkmen communities along the most valuable routes of northern Iraq, especially Tal Afar, Erbil, Kirkuk, and Mandali, which is now identified by the modern community as Turkmeneli. Many of these settlers assumed positions of military and administrative responsibilities in the Seljuk Empire.Ottoman migration
The third, and largest, wave of Turkmen migration to Iraq arose during the four centuries of Ottoman rule. By the first half of the sixteenth century the Ottomans had begun their expansion into Iraq, waging wars against their arch rival, the Persian Safavids. In 1534, under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, Mosul was sufficiently secure within the Ottoman Empire and became the chief province responsible for all other administrative districts in the region. The Ottomans encouraged migration from Anatolia and the settlement of immigrant Turkmens along northern Iraq, religious scholars were also brought in to preach Hanafi Islam. With loyal Turkmens inhabiting the area, the Ottomans were able to maintain a safe route through to the southern provinces of Mesopotamia. Following the conquest, Kirkuk came firmly under Turkish control and was referred to as "Gökyurt", it is this period in history whereby modern Iraqi Turkmens claim association with Anatolia and the Turkish state.With the conquest of Iraq by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1534, followed by Sultan Murad IV's capture of Baghdad in 1638, a large influx of Turks settled down in the region. After defeating the Safavids on 31 December 1534, Suleiman entered Baghdad and set about reconstructing the physical infrastructure in the province and ordered the construction of a dam in Karbala and major water projects in and around the city's countryside. Once the new governor was appointed, the town was to be composed of 1,000 foot soldiers and another 1,000 cavalry. However, war broke out after 89 years of peace and the city was besieged and finally conquered by Abbas the Great in 1624. The Persians ruled the city until 1638 when a massive Ottoman force, led by Sultan Murad IV, recaptured the city. In 1639, the Treaty of Zuhab was signed that gave the Ottomans control over Iraq and ended the military conflict between the two empires. Thus, more Turks arrived with the army of Sultan Murad IV in 1638 following the capture of Baghdad whilst others came even later with other notable Ottoman figures.
Post-Ottoman era
Following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Iraqi Turkmens wanted Turkey to annex the Mosul vilayet and for them to become part of an expanded state; this is because, under the Ottoman monarchy, Iraqi Turkmens enjoyed a relatively trouble-free existence as the administrative and business classes. However, due to the demise of the Ottoman monarchy, Iraqi Turkmens participated in elections for the Constituent Assembly; the purpose of these elections was to formalise the 1922 treaty with the British government and obtain support for the drafting of a constitution and the passing of the 1923 Electoral law. Iraqi Turkmens made their participation in the electoral process conditional on the preservation of the Turkish character of Kirkuk's administration and the recognition of Turkish as the official language of the liwa. Although they were recognized as a constitutive entity of Iraq, alongside the Arabs and Kurds, in the constitution of 1925, Iraqi Turkmens were later denied this status.Since the demise of the Ottoman Empire, Iraqi Turkmens have found themselves increasingly mistreated under successive regimes, such as in the massacres of 1923, 1946, and 1959, and from 1980, when the Ba'ath Party targeted the community.
Culture
Iraqi Turkmens are mostly Muslim and have close cultural and linguistic ties with the Anatolian region of Turkey.Language
Iraqi Turkmen dialects fall under the Western Oghuz branch of Turkic languages, and are often referred to as "Iraqi Turkmen Turkish" "Iraqi Turkish", and "Iraqi Turkic". The dialects possess their own unique characteristics, but have also been influenced by the historical standards of Ottoman Turkish and neighboring Azerbaijani Turkic. In particular, standard Turkish as a prestige language has exerted a profound influence on their dialects; thus, the syntax in Iraqi Turkmen differs sharply from neighboring Irano-Turkic varieties. Collectively, Iraqi Turkmen dialects also show similarities with Cypriot Turkish and Balkan Turkish regarding modality. The written language of the Iraqi Turkmens is based on Istanbul Turkish using the modern Turkish alphabet.| and the name of the language between the iraqi turkmens are usually pronounced turkman or turkmany, not the usual pronunciation in the other Turkmen speaking countries.The Turkish language was recognized as a minority language in Kirkuk and Kifri in 1930, until the revolutionary government introduced the names "Turkman" and "Turkmanja" in 1959 with the aim of politically distancing the Turks of Iraq from Turkey. Then, in 1972, the Iraqi government banned the Turkish language and schools and media using Turkish were prohibited. Further bans on the Turkish language were made in the 1980s when the Ba'ath regime prohibited Iraqi Turkmens from speaking Turkish in public. It was not until 2005 that the Turkmen dialects were recognized under the Iraqi constitution; since then, Iraqi Turkmens have opened numerous Turkish schools and media exposure from Turkey has led to the standardisation of their dialects towards Standard Turkish and the preferable language for adolescents associating with the Turkish culture.
Some Iraqi Turkmens claimed that their language had Sumerian influence, which was present in many of the names of villages, cities, and foods. By 2021, researchers had discovered over 350 Turkmen words which traced back to Sumerian. There was also speculation that traditional Turkmen clothes strongly resembled Sumerian clothes.
Indeed, Iraqi Turkmens themselves, as well as a range of linguistic sources, tend to view their language as a Turkish dialect, which they call Irak Türkmen Türkçesi, Irak Türkçesi, or Irak Türkmencesi. Studies have long noted the similarities between Iraqi Turkmens and certain Southeastern Anatolian dialects around the region of Urfa and Diyarbakır, or have described it as an "Anatolian" or an "Eastern Anatolian dialect". There are also linguists who have said that Iraqi Turkmen is closer to Azerbaijani, placing the Kirkuk dialect as "more or less" an "Azerbaijani Turkish" dialect. Yet, the Kirkuk dialect also shows comparable features with Urfa, and there are other regions in the Kirkuk Governorate, such as Altun Kupri, Taza Khurmatu, and Bashir, which are said to show unity with the Eastern Anatolian dialect of Urfa. Indeed, the dialects spoken in Turkmen-dominated regions in other parts of the country – including Amirli, Kifri, Tal Afar and Tuz Khurmatu – are all said to be similar to the Turkish dialect of Urfa. Hence, there are linguists who acknowledge similarities with Azerbaijani spoken in Iran but say that Iraqi Turkmens has "greater proximity to Turkish of Turkey". According to Christiane Bulut, Iraqi Turkman is neither Azeri nor Anatolian Turkish but "a transitional dialect group, displaying linguistic features similar to both".
Besides their traditional dialects, the [|Iraqi Turkmen diaspora] also communicate in standard Turkish, whilst the younger generations in Iraq speak Istanbul Turkish with ease. In addition, diglossia in Iraq Turkmen dialects and Istanbul Turkish has become a widespread phenomenon. Most Iraqi Turkmens can also speak Arabic and/or Kurdish.