View source for Turkmens

{{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>
| region8          = [[United States]]
| pop8             = 3,000
| ref8             = <ref>https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination</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]], [[Kayı (tribe)|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>

==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]].

==Origins==
{{Main|Oghuz Turks|Turkoman (ethnonym)}}
[[File:Woman's hat and jewelry, Turkmen - AMNH - DSC06216.JPG|thumb|upright|Turkmen women's headwear and jewelry]]

Türkmens were mentioned near the end of the 10th century A.D in [[Islamic literature]] by the Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] in ''Ahsan Al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat Al-Aqalim''.<ref>Al-Marwazī, Sharaf Al-Zämān Tāhir Marvazī on China, the Turks and India, Arabic text (circa A.D. 1120) (English translation and commentary by V. Minorsky) (London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1942), p. 94</ref> In his work, which was completed in 987 A.D, al-Muqaddasi writes about Turkmens twice while depicting the region as the frontier of the Muslim possessions in Central Asia.<ref>V. Minorsky, “Commentary,” in Sharaf Al-Zämān Tāhir Marvazī on China, the Turks and India, Arabic text (circa A.D. 1120) (English translation and commentary by V. Minorsky) (London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1942), p. 94.</ref>

Earlier references to Türkmen might be ''trwkkmˀn'' (if not ''trkwmˀn'' "translator"), mentioned in an 8th-century Sogdian letter and 特拘夢 ''Tejumeng'' (< [[Middle Chinese|MC]] [[Zhengzhang Shangfang|ZS]] *''dək̚-kɨo-mɨuŋ<sup>H</sup>''), another name of [[Sogdia]], besides ''Suyi'' 粟弋 and ''Sute'' 粟特, according to the Chinese encyclopedia [[Tongdian]].<ref>Golden, Peter B. (1992) ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples''. p. 212-3</ref><ref>[[Du You]], Tongdian [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%80%9A%E5%85%B8/%E5%8D%B7193#%E7%B2%9F%E5%BC%8B vol. 193] "粟弋，後魏通焉。在蔥嶺西，大國。一名粟特，一名特拘夢。" Tr. "Suyi communicated [with] [[Northern Wei|Latter Wei]]. It is a large country to the west of [[Pamir Mountains|Onion Ridges]]. Another name is Sute; another name is Tejumeng"</ref> However, even if 特拘夢 might have transcribed ''Türkmen'', these "Türkmens" might be [[Karluks]] instead of modern Türkmens' Oghuz-speaking ancestors;<ref>Kafesoğlu, İbrahim. (1958) “Türkmen Adı, Manası ve Mahiyeti,” in ''Jean Deny Armağanı: Mélanges Jean Deny'', eds., János Eckmann, Agâh Sırrı Levend and Mecdut Mansuroğlu (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi) p. 131</ref> as ''Türkmen'' might be the Karluks' equivalent of the [[Göktürks]]' political term ''Kök Türk''.<ref>Kafesoğlu, İbrahim. (1958) “Türkmen Adı, Manası ve Mahiyeti,” in ''Jean Deny Armağanı'' in Eckmann et al. (eds.), p. 121-133. cited in Golden, Peter B. (1992) ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples''. p 347-348</ref> [[Yury Zuev|Zuev]] (1960) links the tribal name 餘沒渾 ''Yumeihun'' (< MC *''iʷо-muət-хuən'') in [[Tang Huiyao]] to the name [[Yomut]] of a modern Turkmen clan.<ref>''Tang Huiyao'' [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%94%90%E6%9C%83%E8%A6%81/%E5%8D%B7072 vol. 72] txt. "餘沒渾馬。與迴紇相類。印州。赤馬。與迴紇苾餘沒渾同類。印行。" tr. "Horses of the Yumeihun and horses of the [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghurs]] are of similar stock; [[tamga]] 州. Horses of the Chiks, and of the Uyghurs, of the [[Qibi tribe|(Qi)bis]]', and of the Yumeihun, are of the same stock; tamga 行"</ref><ref>Zuev Yu.A. (1960). "Tamgas, Horses from the Vassal Princedoms" in ''Works of History, Archeology, and Ethnography Institute'' '''8''', p. 112-113, 128</ref>

Towards the end of the 11th century, in ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk|Divânü Lügat'it-Türk]]'' (Compendium of the Turkic Dialects), [[Mahmud Kashgari]] uses "Türkmen" synonymously with "Oğuz".<ref>Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divânü Lügat'it-Türk, vol. I, p. 55.</ref> He describes Oghuz as a [[Turkic tribes|Turkic tribe]] and says that Oghuz and Karluks were both known as Turkmens.<ref>Kaşgarlı Mahmud, Divânü Lügat'it-Türk, vol. I, pp. 55-58;</ref><ref>A. Zeki Velidî Togan, Oğuz Destanı: Reşideddin Oğuznâmesi, Tercüme ve Tahlili (İstanbul: Enderun Kitabevi, 1982), pp. 50-52</ref>

The origins of the Turkic peoples has been a topic of much discussion, but evidence points either to a homeland in [[South Central Siberia]], close to the [[Altai Mountains]] and [[Lake Baikal]] or farther East in [[Mongolia]]. Archaeogenetic, historical and linguistic evidence suggests that the earliest Turkic peoples were "within or close to the Northeast Asian genepool" but made up of multiple heterogeneous groups, with their exact location of their homeland remaining disputed.<ref name=ju>{{Cite journal |last1=Uchiyama |first1=Junzo |last2=Gillam |first2=J. Christopher |last3=Savelyev |first3=Alexander |last4=Ning |first4=Chao |date=2020 |title=Populations dynamics in Northern Eurasian forests: a long-term perspective from Northeast Asia |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |language=en |volume=2 |pages=e16 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.11 |pmid=37588381 |pmc=10427466 |issn=2513-843X|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |date=25 July 2018|title=The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0971945818775373 |journal=The Medieval History Journal |language=en |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=291–327 |doi=10.1177/0971945818775373 |s2cid=166026934 |issn=0971-9458|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The genetic and historical evidence suggests that the early Turkic peoples, including the ancestors of the Turkmen people - [[Oghuz Turks]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Irons |first1=William |title=The Yomut Turkmen: A Study of Social Organization among a Central Asian Turkic-Speaking Population |date=1975 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Barbara |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania Facts on File Library of World History |date=2010 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-438-11913-7 |page=839 |quote=... first undisputed inhabitants of Turkmenistan were Persian horse breeders and nomads, although the desert areas remained more or less uninhabited until the arrival of the Oghuz, the ancestors of the Turkmen.}}</ref> harbored both [[West Eurasians|West-Eurasian]] and [[East Asians|Northeast Asian]] ancestry and were located in and around the [[Altai mountains|Altai region]] and western Mongolia. Later [[Post-classical history|medieval]] Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both West-Eurasian and East Asian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] and [[Mongolic peoples]].<ref name="Golden2018">{{cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=Peter |date=2018 |title=The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0971945818775373?journalCode=mhja |journal= The Medieval History Journal|volume=21 |issue=2 |page=314 |doi=10.1177/0971945818775373 |s2cid=166026934|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Kuang_Lee_197">{{harvnb|Lee|Kuang|2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jeong |first1=Choongwon |last2=Wang |first2=Ke |last3=Wilkin |first3=Shevan |last4=Taylor |first4=William Timothy Treal |last5=Miller |first5=Bryan K. |last6=Bemmann |first6=Jan H. |last7=Stahl |first7=Raphaela |last8=Chiovelli |first8=Chelsea |last9=Knolle |first9=Florian |last10=Ulziibayar |first10=Sodnom |last11=Khatanbaatar |first11=Dorjpurev |last12=Erdenebaatar |first12=Diimaajav |last13=Erdenebat |first13=Ulambayar |last14=Ochir |first14=Ayudai |last15=Ankhsanaa |first15=Ganbold |date=12 November 2020 |title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe |journal=Cell |language=English |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=890–904.e29 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015 |issn=0092-8674 |pmc=7664836 |pmid=33157037}}</ref>

Before the formation of the Turkmen ethnicity, the Oghuz Turks inhabited parts of [[Transoxiana]], the western portion of [[Turkestan]], a region that largely corresponds to much of Central Asia as far east as [[Xinjiang]]. Famous historian and [[Khanate of Khiva|ruler of Khwarazm]] of the XVII century [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur]] links the origin of all Turkmens to 24 [[Oghuz (tribe)|Oghuz tribes]] in his literary work "[[Genealogy of the Turkmens]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus6/Abulgazi/framepred.htm|title=Genealogy of the Turkmens. Introduction (in Russian)|author=Kononov А. Н.|date=1958|publisher=M. AS USSR}}</ref>
In [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], then in the European sources and later in the American tradition, Turkmens were called [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkomans]],<ref>D. Yeremeyev. Ethnogenesis of the Turks. M. Nauka (Science), 1971. - “At the end of the XI century, for the first time in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] chronicles, '''Turkmens''' that penetrated [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] are mentioned. [[Anna Komnene]] calls them '''Turkomans'''.”</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llPz5x8KS2YC|title=The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia|author=Peter Hopkirk|date=1994|publisher=Kodansha USA |isbn=9781568360225}}</ref><ref>Arminius Vambery, "The Turcomans Between the Caspian and Merv", The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 9. (1880)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Turkoman|title=Turkoman|author=Merriam-Webster|date=23 September 2024 |quote=Turkoman: a member of a Turkic-speaking, traditionally nomadic people living chiefly in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Iran}}</ref> in the countries of the [[Near East|Near]] and [[Middle East]] - Turkmens, as well as [[Torkaman County|Torkaman]], [[Terekeme people|Terekeme]]; in [[Kievan Rus]] - Torkmens;<ref>''Нестор-летописец ([[Nestor the Chronicler]])''. Повесть временных лет ([[Primary Chronicle]]''). -'' «Вышли они из пустыни Етривской между востоком и севером, вышло же их 4 колена: торкмены и печенеги, торки, половцы.» (They came out of the Etriva desert between east and north, but their 4 tribes came out: Torkmens and [[Pechenegs]], [[Torkil|Torks]], [[Polovtsians]].)</ref> in the Duchy of Moscow - Taurmen;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Летописные повести о монголо-татарском нашествии|trans-title=Chronicles about Mongol-Tatar Invasion|url=http://old-ru.ru/04-20.html|language=ru|quote=In the same year, nations came, about which no one knows exactly who they are, and where they came from, and what their language is, and what kind of tribe they are, and what faith. And they call them Tatars, and some say - Taurmen, and others - Pechenegs.}}</ref> and in the [[Tsarist Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]] - Turkoman and Trukhmen.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1785|title=О торгах на Каспийском море древних, средних и новейших времен|trans-title=On Trade in the Caspian Sea in Ancient, Middle and Modern Times|url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XIX/1860-1880/Russ_turkmenII/Razdel_I/1.htm|publisher=Moscow Soymonov Journal|language=ru|location=Moscow|quote=Since ancient times, Russians and Tatars used to travel from Astrakhan in companies on small ships and there they had trade with the Trukhmens or Turkomans}}</ref>

In the 7th century AD, Oghuz tribes had moved westward from the [[Altai Mountains]] through the [[Siberia]]n steppes, and settled in this region. They also penetrated as far west as the [[Volga]] basin and the [[Balkans]]. These early Turkmens are believed to have mixed with native [[Sogdia]]n peoples and lived as pastoral nomads until being conquered by the Russians in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Amazon.com: Central Asians under Russian Rule: A Study in Culture Change (Cornell Paperbacks): Elizabeth E. Bacon, Michael M. J. Fischer: Books|isbn=9780801492112|last1=Bacon|first1=Elizabeth Emaline|year=1966|publisher=Cornell University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/centralasiansund00baco}}</ref>

[[File:Gorskii 20005u.jpg|thumb|left|Two Turkmen men standing on a [[Turkmen rug|carpet]] in front of a [[yurt]]. Photo by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky|Prokudin-Gorsky]] between 1905 and 1915]]
Migration of the [[Turkmen tribes]] from the territory of Turkmenistan and the rest of Central Asia in the south-west direction began mainly 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"/><ref name="Ármin Vámbéry 2003"/><ref name="runivers.ru"/> 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.

==Genetics==
[[Haplogroup Q-M242]] is commonly found in Siberia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia. This haplogroup forms a large percentage of the paternal lineages of Turkmens.

Grugni ''et al.'' (2012) found Q-M242 in 42.6% (29/68) of a sample of Turkmens from [[Golestan Province|Golestan]], Iran.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Grugni|first1=Viola|display-authors=etal|year=2012|title=Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=7|issue=7|pages=e41252|bibcode=2012PLoSO...741252G|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0041252|pmc=3399854|pmid=22815981|doi-access=free}}</ref> Di Cristofaro ''et al.'' (2013) found Q-M25 in 31.1% (23/74) and Q-M346 in 2.7% (2/74) for a total of 33.8% (25/74) Q-M242 in a sample of Turkmens from [[Jawzjan Province|Jawzjan]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Di Cristofaro|first1=J|last2=Pennarun|first2=E|last3=Mazières|first3=S|last4=Myres|first4=NM|last5=Lin|first5=AA|display-authors=etal|year=2013|title=Afghan Hindu Kush: Where Eurasian Sub-Continent Gene Flows Converge|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=8|issue=10|page=e76748|bibcode=2013PLoSO...876748D|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0076748|pmc=3799995|pmid=24204668|doi-access=free}}</ref> Karafet ''et al.'' (2018) found Q-M25 in 50.0% (22/44) of another sample of Turkmens from Turkmenistan.<ref>Tatiana M. Karafet, Ludmila P. Osipova, Olga V. Savina, ''et al.'' (2018), "Siberian genetic diversity reveals complex origins of the Samoyedic-speaking populations." ''Am J Hum Biol.'' 2018;e23194. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23194. DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23194.</ref> Haplogroup Q has seen its highest frequencies in the Turkmens from [[Karakalpakstan]] (mainly [[Yomut]]) at 73%.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Skhalyakho|first1=Rosa|last2=Zhabagin|first2=Maxat|last3=M. Yusupov|first3=Yu|last4=Agdzhoyan|first4=Anastasiya|year=2016|title=Gene pool of Turkmens from Karakalpakstan in their Central Asian context (Y-chromosome polymorphism)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310645015}}</ref>

A genetic study on maternal [[mitochondrial DNA]] ([[mtDNA]]) haplogroups of a Turkmen sample describes a mixture of mostly West Eurasian maternal lineages and a minority of East Eurasian lineages. Turkmens also have two unusual mtDNA markers with polymorphic characteristics, only found in Turkmens and southern Siberians.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Malyarchuk|first1=B. A.|last2=Derenko|first2=M. V.|last3=Denisova|first3=G. A.|last4=Nassiri|first4=M. R.|last5=Rogaev|first5=E. I.|date=1 April 2002|title=Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphism in Populations of the Caspian Region and Southeastern Europe|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11353941|url-status=live|journal=Russian Journal of Genetics|volume=38|pages=434–438|doi=10.1023/A:1015262522048|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606150805/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maik/ruge/2002/00000038/00000004/00375256;jsessionid=1i2j4imsmaj3n.alice|archive-date=6 June 2011|number=4|s2cid=19409969}}</ref>

==History==
{{History of Turkmenistan}}
{{Main|History of Turkmenistan}}
{{stack|[[File:Teke Family.jpg|thumb|[[Teke (tribe)|Teke]] Turkmen family in traditional clothing near Bairam-Ali. Photo taken by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]]  between 1903 and 1916]]|}}

Turkmens belong to the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz tribes]], who originated on the periphery of [[Central Asia]] and founded gigantic empires beginning from the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently, [[Turkmen tribes]] founded lasting dynasties in Central Asia, [[Middle East]], [[Persia]] and [[Anatolia]] that had a profound influence on the course of history of those regions.<ref>Stefano Carboni, Jean-François de Lapérouse, Historical overview - "Turkmen Jewelry: Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection", published by Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011</ref> The most prominent of those dynasties were [[Ghaznavids|the Ghaznavids]], [[Seljuks]], [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]], [[Afsharids]] and [[Qajars]]. Representatives of the Turkmen tribes of Ive and Bayandur were also the founders of the short-lived, but formidable states of [[Kara Koyunlu]] and [[Ak Koyunlu]] Turkmens respectively.<ref>Safa, Z. (1986). PERSIAN LITERATURE IN THE TIMURID AND TÜRKMEN PERIODS (782–907/1380–1501). In P. Jackson & L. Lockhart (Eds.), The Cambridge History of Iran (The Cambridge History of Iran, pp. 913-928). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>The Timurid and Turkmen Dynasties of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia; in David J. Roxburgh, ed., The Turks: A Journey of Thousand Years, 600-1600. London, Royal Academy of Arts, 2005, pp. 192-200</ref>

Turkmens that stayed in Central Asia largely survived unaffected by the Mongol period due to their semi-nomadic lifestyle and became traders along the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]], which led to contacts with [[Eastern Europe]]. Following the decline of the Mongols, [[Tamerlane]] conquered the area and his [[Timurid Empire]] would rule, until it too fractured, as the [[Safavids]], [[Khanate of Bukhara]], and [[Khanate of Khiva]] all contested the area. The expanding [[Russian Empire]] took notice of [[Economy of Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan's extensive cotton industry]], during the reign of [[Peter the Great]], and invaded the area. Following the decisive [[Battle of Geok Tepe]] in January 1881, the bulk of Turkmen tribes found themselves under the rule of the [[Russian Emperor]], which was formalized in the [[Akhal Treaty]] between Russia and Persia. After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] control was established by 1921, and in 1924 Turkmenistan became the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic]]. [[Turkmenistan]] gained independence in 1991.

==Culture and society==
{{Culture of Turkmenistan}}

===Religion===
{{main|Religion in Turkmenistan|Islam in Turkmenistan}}
[[File:TurkmenistanMaryMosque.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Mosque in the city of [[Mary, Turkmenistan|Mary]]]]
The Turkmen of [[Turkmenistan]], like their kin in [[Uzbekistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Iran]] are predominantly [[Muslim]]s. According the U.S. Department of State's ''International Religious Freedom Report'' for 2019,<blockquote>According to U.S. government estimates, the country is 89 percent Muslim (mostly Sunni), 9 percent Eastern Orthodox, and 2 percent other. There are small communities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Shia Muslims, Baha’is, Roman Catholics, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and evangelical Christians, including Baptists and Pentecostals. Most ethnic Russians and Armenians identify as Orthodox Christian and generally are members of the Russian Orthodox Church or Armenian Apostolic Church. Some ethnic Russians and Armenians are also members of smaller Protestant groups. There are small pockets of Shia Muslims, consisting largely of ethnic Iranians, Azeris, and Kurds, some located in Ashgabat, with others along the border with Iran and in the western city of Turkmenbashy.<ref name="relfreedom">{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TURKMENISTAN-2019-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|title=TURKMENISTAN 2019 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT|date=2019|publisher=[[United States Department of State]]}} ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref></blockquote>

The Turkmen adopted Islam between the 12th and 14th centuries. Sufi orders like the [[Ahmad Yasawi|Yasawiya]] and [[Kubrawiya]] greatly contributed to the conversion of the Turkmens to Islam.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bennigsen|first1=Alexandre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nO0NAQAAMAAJ|title=Muslims of the Soviet Empire: A Guide|last2=Wimbush|first2=S. Enders|date=1986|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-33958-4|pages=100–101|language=en}}</ref>

The great majority of [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]] readily identify themselves as [[Muslims]] and acknowledge [[Islam]] as an integral part of their cultural heritage.<ref name="Silk Road Paper">{{Cite web|title=Religion and the Secular State in Turkmenistan - Silk Road Paper|url=https://isdp.eu/publication/religion-and-the-secular-state-in-turkmenistan/|access-date=5 April 2021|website=Institute for Security and Development Policy|language=en}}</ref>  The country of Turkmenistan encourages the conceptualization of "Turkmen Islam", or worship that is often mixed with veneration of elders and saints, life-cycle rituals, and Sufi practices.<ref name="Silk Road Paper"/>

Since Turkmenistan's independence saw an increase in religious practices and the development of institutions like the Muftiate and the building of mosques, today it is often regulated.<ref name="Silk Road Paper"/>

The government leadership of Turkmenistan often uses Islam to legitimize its role in society by sponsoring holiday celebrations such as iftar dinners during Ramadan and presidential pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This sponsorship has validated the country's two presidents ({{lang|tk-Latn|Nyýazow}} and {{lang|tk-Latn|Berdimuhamedow}}) as pious Turkmen, giving them an aura of cultural authority.<ref name="Silk Road Paper"/>

The Russian Academy of Sciences has identified many instances of [[Syncretism#Religious syncretism|syncretic]] influence of pre-Islamic [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] belief systems on practice of Islam among Turkmen, including placing offerings before trees.<ref name="ras">{{cite book|url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf|title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен|pages=22–23|first=Sergey Mikhaylovich|last=Demidov|publisher=Staryy sad|place=Moscow|date=2020}}</ref>  The Turkmen word ''taňry'', meaning "God", derives from the Turkic ''Tengri'', the name of the supreme god in the pre-Islamic Turkic pantheon.<ref name="ras2">{{cite book|url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf|title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен|pages=143–144|first=Sergey Mikhaylovich|last=Demidov|publisher=Staryy sad|place=Moscow|date=2020}}</ref> The Turkmen language features a multitude of euphemisms for "wolf", because of a belief that speaking the actual word while tending a flock of sheep will invoke a wolf's appearance.<ref name="ras3">{{cite book|url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf|title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен|pages=151–152|first=Sergey Mikhaylovich|last=Demidov|publisher=Staryy sad|place=Moscow|date=2020}} Demidov cites the Turkmen proverb, "Gurt agzasan, gurt geler" (Mention the wolf, the wolf comes), in explaining why the original Turkic word for wolf, ''böri'', is virtually never used.</ref> In other examples of syncretism, some infertile Turkmen women, rather than praying, step or jump over a live wolf in order to assist them in getting pregnant, and children born subsequently are typically given names associated with wolves; alternatively the mother may visit shrines of Muslim saints.<ref name="ras4">{{cite book|url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf|title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен|pages=155–156|first=Sergey Mikhaylovich|last=Demidov|publisher=Staryy sad|place=Moscow|date=2020}}</ref> The future is divined by reading of dried camel dung by special [[fortune teller]]s.<ref name="ras5">{{cite book|url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf|title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен|page=356|first=Sergey Mikhaylovich|last=Demidov|publisher=Staryy sad|place=Moscow|date=2020}}</ref>

===Language===
[[File:Child's tunic, Yomud Turkmen people, Northern Afghanistan , early to mid 20th century, wool, cotton, metal, cowrie shells, glass beads - Textile Museum of Canada - DSC00915.JPG|thumb|upright|Turkmen child's tunic, early to mid 20th century, Textile Museum of Canada]]
{{Main|Turkmen language}}

Turkmen ([[Turkmen language|Turkmen]]: {{lang|tk-Latn|Türkmençe}}, {{lang|tk-Cyrl|Түркменче}}, {{lang|tk-Arab|{{Script/Arabic|تۆرکمنچه}}}}) is a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]] spoken by the Turkmens of [[Central Asia]], mainly of [[Turkmenistan]], [[Iran]], and [[Afghanistan]]. It has an estimated five million native speakers in Turkmenistan, a further 719,000 speakers in Northeastern [[Iran]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IR/status|title=Iran|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> and 1.5 million people in Northwestern [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="e18">{{Ethnologue18|tuk}}</ref>

The Turkmen language is closely related to [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Gagauz language|Gagauz]], [[Qashqai language|Qashqai]], and [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]], sharing common linguistic features with each of those languages. There is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between these languages.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vn-xZ3O1G-cC&pg=PA71|title=Aspects of Altaic Civilization III: Proceedings of the Thirtieth Meeting of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, June 19-25, 1987|date=13 December 1996|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780700703807}}</ref><ref>"Language Materials Project: Turkish". UCLA International Institute, Center for World Languages. February 2007</ref> However, the closest language of Turkmen is considered [[Khorasani Turkic]], spoken in northeastern regions of Iran and with which it shares the eastern subbranch of Oghuz languages, as well as Khorezm, the Oghuz dialect of Uzbek language spoken mainly along the Turkmenistan border.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World |date=2010 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-080-87775-4 |page=1117}}</ref>

The [[standard language|standardized form]] of Turkmen (spoken in Turkmenistan) is based on the [[Teke (Turkmen tribe)|Teke]] dialect, while Iranian Turkmen uses mostly the [[Yomud]] dialect, and [[Afghan Turkmens|Afghan Turkmen]] use the [[Ersary]] dialect.<ref name="celcar.indiana.edu"/>

In Iran, the Turkmen language comes second after the Azerbaijani language in terms of the number of speakers of Turkic languages of Iran.<ref>{{cite web |title=TURKMENS OF PERSIA ii. LANGUAGE |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/turkmens-language |website=Encyclopedia Iranica}}</ref>

===Literature===
{{Main|Turkmen literature}}

[[File:RR3009-0046R USSR-1991-1ruble-CuNi-Magtymguly-b.jpg|thumb|right|175px|[[Magtymguly Pyragy]] on a [[Soviet rouble]], 1991]]
Turkmen literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in old [[Oghuz Turkic]] and [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] languages. Turkmens have joint claims to a great number of literary works written in Old Oghuz Turkic and [[Persian language|Persian]] (by [[Seljuks]] in 11-12th centuries) languages with other people of the Oghuz Turkic origin, mainly of [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Turkey]]. This works include, but are not limited to the [[Book of Dede Korkut]], [[Epic of Koroghlu|Gorogly]] and others.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akatov |first1=Bayram |title=Ancient Turkmen Literature, the Middle Ages (X-XVII centuries) (in Turkmen) |date=2010 |publisher=Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan |location=Turkmenabat |pages=29, 39, 198, 231}}</ref> The medieval Turkmen literature was heavily influenced by [[Arabic Language|Arabic]] and Persian, and used mostly [[Arabic alphabet]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Babyr |title=Diwan |date=2004 |publisher=Miras |location=Ashgabat |page=7}}</ref>

There is general consensus, however, that distinctively Turkmen literature originated in 18th century with the poetry of [[Magtymguly Pyragy]], who is considered the father of the Turkmen literature.<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkmenistan Culture |url=https://asian-recipe.com/turkmenistan-culture-3481 |website=Asian recipe|date=17 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Theodore |last2=Daukeyeva |first2=Saida |last3=Kochumkulova |first3=Elmira |title=Music of Central Asia |date=2016 |publisher=Indiana University press |isbn=978-0-253-01751-2 |page=128}}</ref> Other prominent Turkmen poets of that era are [[Döwletmämmet Azady]] (Magtymguly's father), Nurmuhammet Andalyp, Abdylla Şabende, Şeýdaýy, Mahmyt Gaýyby and Gurbanally Magrupy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nurmuhammet Andalyp |url=http://www.turkmenkultur.com/menu/ml/t8/andalyp.html |website=Dunya Turkmenleri}}</ref>

In the 20th century, Turkmenistan's most prominent Turkmen-language writer was [[Berdi Kerbabayev]], whose novel ''Decisive Step'', later made into a motion picture directed by [[Alty Karliev|Alty Garlyyev]], is considered the apotheosis of modern Turkmen fiction. It earned him the USSR State Prize for Literature in 1948.<ref name="berdi">{{cite book|url=http://feb-web.ru/feb/kle/kle-abc/ke3/ke3-4953.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108175800/http://feb-web.ru/feb/kle/kle-abc/ke3/ke3-4953.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 January 2015|title=Краткая литературная энциклопедия|volume=3|first=Клыч Мурад|last=Каррыев|date=1966|article=КЕРБАБА́ЕВ, Берды|publisher=«Советская энциклопедия»|editor-first=Алексей|editor-last=Сурков|place=Moscow}}</ref>

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of Turkmenistan}}

The musical art of the Turkmens is an integral part of the musical art of the [[Turkic peoples]]. The music of the Turkmen people is closely related to the [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] and [[Kazakh people|Kazakh]] [[folk music|folk forms]]. Important musical traditions include traveling singers called ''[[bakshy]]'', who sing with instruments such as the two-stringed [[lute]] called [[dutar]].

Other important musical instruments are [[gopuz]], [[Zurna|tüydük]], [[dombura]], and gyjak. The most famous Turkmen bakshys are those who lived in the 19th century: Amangeldi Gönübek, Gulgeldi ussa, Garadali Gokleng, Yegen Oraz bakshy, Hajygolak, Nobatnyyaz bakshy, Oglan bakshy, Durdy bakshy, Shukur bakshy, Chowdur bakshy and others. Usually they narrated the woeful and gloomy events of the Turkmen history through their music. The names and music of these bakshys have become legendary among the Turkmen people, and passed orally from generation to generation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weyisova |first1=Ayjemal |title=Sungatyň sarpasy (Respect to the Art) |url=https://zamanturkmenistan.com.tm/?p=19153 |website=Zaman Turkmenistan|date=December 2018 }}</ref>

The Central Asian classical music tradition [[muqam]] is also present in Turkmenistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hauntedink.com/almaty/photos8.html |title=Almaty or Bust |website=www.hauntedink.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050413193832/http://www.hauntedink.com/almaty/photos8.html |archive-date=13 April 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>  In the 20th century, [[Danatar Ovezov]] began composing classical music using Turkmen themes, and that classical expression of Turkmen motifs and melodies reached its apotheosis in the compositions of [[Nury Halmammedov]].

===Folk crafts===
[[File:Fountain "Friendship of Peoples" fragment Фонтан «Дружба народов» фрагмент.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of a girl in traditional Turkmen dress in [[All-Russia Exhibition Centre]] in Moscow, Russia]]
{{More citations needed|section|date=April 2021}}
'''Embroidery'''
[[File:Traditional turkmen embroidery for women's dress.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Traditional Turkmen embroidery for women's dress]]
[[File:Traditional dressed turkmen bride.jpg|thumb|upright|Turkmen woman in traditional bride's dress. Bride's face is covered during a certain ceremony]]
Turkmen pictorial [[embroidery]] became widespread in the [[Scythians|Scythian]] period and reached great perfection in other periods. It is known that for a long time the Turkmens were engaged in the production of [[silk]] as the main material for embroidery, and Turkmen women and girls embroidered their dresses with colored silks. All these deeds are clearly expressed in the songs of [[Women in Turkmenistan|Turkmen women]] and in the oral [[Turkmen literature]].

The main materials for Turkmen embroidery are thread and fabric. There are several types of threads: natural threads such as silk and [[cotton]] threads; synthetic and acrylic threads. As for the types of fabrics, silk and [[woolen]] fabrics are usually used for embroidery.

It is customary for the Turkmens to embroider with colored silks girls' and men's skullcaps ([[Taqiyah (cap)|tahya]]), collars and sleeves of women's dresses (and in more distant times, men's shirts), the lower part of pants protruding from under the dress, various small bags for storing small things.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|year=2000|editor-last=Gundogdyev|editor-first=Ovez|title=Историко-культурное наследие Туркменистана: энциклопедический словарь (History-and-Cultural Heritage of Turkmenistan: Encyclopedic Dictionary)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7mhPgAACAAJ|publisher=UNDP|location=Istanbul|isbn=9789759725600}}</ref>

'''Weaving'''

Weaving is one of the types of home craft that has its roots in the deep past. During excavations of many ancient and early medieval settlements on the territory of Turkmenistan, archaeologists discovered fragments of cotton and woolen fabrics, the analysis of which does not exclude local production: the warp and wefts (transverse threads) have the same thickness, the yarn is single, the weave is simple.

The techniques of weaving craft of Turkmen women are similar to homespun production of other peoples. First, there were three stages of preparation of different types of threads. To obtain cotton thread: 1) cleaning cotton from seeds using a small machine, loosening the resulting fiber with rods, rolling into small bunches; 2) spinning the fiber with a spinning wheel, twisting it into a thread and winding the threads into skeins; 3) winding the threads on the hook and bobbin. For woolen thread: 1) washing and drying wool, scuttling with twigs until a fluffy mass is obtained; 2) combing, loosening, yarn and twisting into a thread with a spindle, winding into skeins; 3) dyeing skeins. For silk thread: 1) cleaning and unwinding (sarmak) cocoons (goza) with a spinning wheel (parh), steaming in a boiler with boiling water; 2) fixing the threads on the spindle using a rotating spinning wheel, twisting the threads into one thread, rewinding them from the spindle into a ball, then into skeins; 3) dyeing skeins, drying in the sun.

Home weaving was extremely widespread throughout the territory of Turkmenistan. In almost every family, weaving skills were instilled in girls from an early age. They began to learn the art of making yarn, weaving and sewing from the age of 8–10. Fabrics, depending on the purpose, were divided into various types: for sewing women's and men's clothing, thin fabric for camel wool dressing gowns, for cotton tablecloths was highly valued. Bags for storing grain and flour were made of fabric of thick twisted yarn, narrow strong strips of fabric (5–12&nbsp;cm) were used to fasten the poles to the yurt lattice. Using a simple technique of weaving, the craftswomen achieved a great effect in the manufacture of peculiar national fabrics, which cannot be reproduced in mechanical production: a loom consisting of 3-4 columns dug into the ground, a transverse roller, a heald. Tools made of wood in the form of a [[Sabre|saber]] were used to seal the weft threads.<ref name=":0" />

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Turkmen cuisine}}

[[File:Turkmenistan bread baking.jpg|thumb|Baking {{lang|tk-Latn|çörek}} and {{lang|tk-Latn|somsa}} in the Turkmen [[Tandoor|tamdyr]]]]

Characteristics of traditional Turkmen cuisine are rooted in the largely nomadic nature of day-to-day life prior to the Soviet period coupled with a long local tradition, dating back millennia before the arrival of the Turkmen in the region, of white wheat production.  Baked goods, especially flat bread ({{langx|tk|çörek}}) typically baked in a [[tandoor]], make up a large proportion of the daily diet, along with cracked wheat porridge ({{langx|tk|ýarma}}), wheat puffs ({{langx|tk|pişme}}), and dumplings ({{langx|tk|börek}}).  Since sheep-, goat-, and camel husbandry are traditional mainstays of nomadic Turkmen, mutton, goat meat, and camel meat were most commonly eaten, variously ground and stuffed in dumplings, boiled in soup, or grilled on spits in chunks ({{langx|tk|şaşlyk}}) or as fingers of ground, spiced meat ({{langx|tk|kebap}}).  Rice for [[Pilaf|plov]] was reserved for festive occasions.  Due to lack of refrigeration in nomad camps, dairy products from sheep-, goat-, and camel milk were fermented to keep them from spoiling quickly.  Fish consumption was largely limited to tribes inhabiting the Caspian Sea shoreline.  Fruits and vegetables were scarce, and in nomad camps limited mainly to carrots, squash, pumpkin, and onions.  Inhabitants of oases enjoyed more varied diets, with access to pomegranate-, fig-, and stone fruit orchards; vineyards; and of course melons. Areas with cotton production could use cottonseed oil and sheep herders used fat from the fat-tailed sheep.  The major traditional imported product was tea.<ref name="cookbook">{{cite book|title=Туркменская кулинария|last1=Багдасаров|first1=A.|last2=Ванукевич|first2=A.|last3=Худайшукуров|first3=T.|publisher=Издательство "Туркменистан"|date=1981|place=Ашхабад|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="cookbook2">{{cite book|title=Turkmen dastarkhan|publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service|date=2014|place=Ashgabat|volume=1|language=en|url=https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/en/reading?src=books%2F7c8f0405-bbe9-4cf4-a498-16731b917bd4}}</ref><ref name="cookbook3">{{cite book|title=Turkmen dastarkhan|publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service|date=2014|place=Ashgabat|volume=2|language=en|url=https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/en/reading?src=books%2F24e993bc-52c5-4fa6-aa5a-682c4c6e11e3}}</ref>

The [[Royal Geographical Society]] reported in 1882,<blockquote>The food of the Tekkes <nowiki>[</nowiki>''sic''<nowiki>]</nowiki> consists of well-prepared pillaus and of game; also of fermented camels' milk, melons, and water-melons.  They use their fingers in conveying food to their mouths, but guests are provided with spoons.<ref name="newfrontier">{{cite book|title=Country of the Turkomans|editor-first=Sir Duncan|editor-last=Cumming|place=London|publisher=Oguz Press and the Royal Geographical Society|year=1977|chapter=Chapter 13 ''The new Russian-Persian Frontier East of the Caspian Sea''|page=184}}</ref></blockquote>

In sharp contrast to other Central Asian and Turkic ethnic groups, Turkmen do not eat horse meat, and in fact eating of horse meat is prohibited by law in Turkmenistan.<ref name="horsemeat">{{cite web|url=http://www.flayrah.com/4650/profile-turkmenistan-land-horse-heaven|title=Profile: Turkmenistan - The Land of Horse Heaven|first=Fred|last=Patten|date=19 April 2013}}</ref><ref name="rferl">{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-horses-akhal-teke-berdymukhammedov/24955104.html|title=Turkmenistan: A Land Of Health And Happiness...And Horses|date=11 April 2013|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|first=Deana|last=Kjuka}}</ref>

Conquest by the Russian Empire in the 1880s introduced new foods, including such meats as beef, pork, and chicken, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and cucumbers, though they did not find widespread use in most Turkmen households until the Soviet period. While now consumed widely, they are, strictly speaking, not considered "traditional".<ref name="cookbook2" /><ref name="darra">{{cite web |url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200601/turkmenistan.on.a.plate.htm|title=Turkmenistan on a Plate|publisher=Saudi Aramco World|date=2006|volume= 57|number=1|first=Darra|last=Goldstein}}</ref>

===Nomadic heritage===
{{See also|Turkmen tribes}}
[[File:19. Базар в Мерве.jpg|thumb|Turkmens in [[Merv]] in 1890]]
[[File:Turkmen man with camel.jpg|thumb|A Turkmen man of Central Asia in traditional clothes. Photo by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky|Prokudin-Gorsky]] between 1905 and 1915]]
[[File:Tolkuchka Bazaar4.jpg|thumb|Turkmen carpets at the local bazaar, Ashgabat]]

Before the establishment of [[Soviet power]] in [[Central Asia]], it was difficult to identify distinct ethnic groups in the region. Sub-ethnic and [[supra-ethnic]] loyalties were more important to people than ethnicity. When asked to identify themselves, most Central Asians would name their kin group, neighborhood, village, religion or the state in which they lived; the idea that a state should exist to serve an ethnic group was unknown. That said, most Turkmen could identify the tribe to which they belonged, though they might not identify themselves as Turkmen.<ref name="Adrienne Lynn Edgar 2007 18">{{cite book|author= Adrienne Lynn Edgar|title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q11AQAAQBAJ |year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=18|isbn=9781400844296}}</ref>

Most Turkmen were nomads until the 19th century when they began to settle the area south of the [[Amu Darya]]. Many Turkmen became semi-nomadic, herding sheep and camels during spring, summer, and fall, but planting crops, wintering in oasis camps, and harvesting the crops in the summer and autumn.  As a rule they did not settle in cities and towns until the advent of the Soviet government. This mobile lifestyle precluded identification with anyone outside one's kin group and led to frequent conflicts between different [[Turkmen tribes]], particularly regarding access to water.

In collaboration with the local nationalists, the Soviet government sought to transform the Turkmen and other similar ethnic groups in the USSR into modern socialist nations that based their identity on a fixed territory and a common language.  Prior to the [[Battle of Geok Tepe]] in January 1881 and subsequent conquest of Merv in 1884, the Turkmen "retained the condition of predatory, horse-riding nomads, who were greatly feared by their neighbours as 'man-stealing Turks.'  Until subjugated by the Russians, the Turkmens were a warlike people, who conquered their neighbours and regularly captured ethnic Persians for sale as slaves in Khiva.  It was their boast that not one Persian had crossed their frontier except with a rope round his neck."<ref name="turanians" />

The Soviet-led standardization of the Turkmen language, education, and projects to promote ethnic Turkmen in industry, government and higher education led growing numbers of Turkmen to identify with a larger national Turkmen culture rather than with sub-national, pre-modern forms of identity.<ref name="Adrienne Lynn Edgar 2007 261">{{cite book|first= Adrienne Lynn|last=Edgar|title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q11AQAAQBAJ |year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=261|isbn=9781400844296}}</ref> After gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Turkmen historians went to great lengths to prove that the Turkmen had inhabited their current territory since time immemorial; some historians even tried to deny the nomadic heritage of the Turkmen.<ref name="Adrienne Lynn Edgar 2007 264">{{cite book|first= Adrienne Lynn|last=Edgar|title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q11AQAAQBAJ |year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=264|isbn=9781400844296}}</ref>

Turkmen lifestyle was heavily invested in horsemanship and as a prominent horse culture, Turkmen horse-breeding was an ages old tradition. Before the Soviet era, a proverb stated that the Turkmen's home was where his horse happened to stand. In spite of changes prompted during the Soviet period, the Ahal Teke tribe in southern Turkmenistan has remained very well known for its horses, the [[Akhal-Teke]] ''desert horse'' – and the horse breeding tradition has returned to its previous prominence in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.turkmenistanembassy.org/turkmen/history/horses.html|title=Turkmenistan Embassy Washington|website=www.turkmenistanembassy.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115153811/http://www.turkmenistanembassy.org/turkmen/history/horses.html|archive-date=15 November 2010|access-date=17 May 2006}}</ref>

Many tribal customs still survive among modern Turkmen. Unique to Turkmen culture is ''kalim'' which is a [[Bridegroom|groom]]'s "[[dowry]]", that can be quite expensive and often results in the widely practiced{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} tradition of [[bride kidnapping|bridal kidnapping]].<ref name="Turkmen Society">{{cite web|url=http://www.iatp.edu.tm/baskurt/SocStructure.html|title=Turkmen Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318221209/http://www.iatp.edu.tm/baskurt/SocStructure.html|archive-date=18 March 2007}}</ref> In something of a modern parallel, in 2001, President Saparmurat Niyazov had introduced a state enforced "''kalim''", which required all foreigners who wanted to marry a Turkmen woman to pay a sum of no less than $50,000.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite web|first=Philip|last=Sherwell|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/turkmenistan/1334919/Price-of-loving-a-Turkmen-girl-is-now-50000.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/turkmenistan/1334919/Price-of-loving-a-Turkmen-girl-is-now-50000.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Price of loving a Turkmen girl is now $50,000|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=22 July 2001}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The law was repealed in March 2005.<ref name="rferl.org">{{cite web|first=Gulnoza|last=Saidazimova|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1059210.html|title=Turkmenistan: Marriage Gets Cheaper As Turkmenbashi Drops $50,000 Dollar Foreigners' Fee|publisher=Radio Free Europe|date=10 June 2005}}</ref>

Other customs include the consultation of tribal elders, whose advice is often eagerly sought and respected. Many Turkmen still live in extended families where various generations can be found under the same roof, especially in rural areas.<ref name="Turkmen Society" />

The music of the nomadic and rural Turkmen people reflects rich oral traditions, where epics such as Koroglu are usually sung by itinerant bards. These itinerant singers are called ''[[bakshy]]'' and sing either a cappella or with instruments such as the [[dutar]], a two-stringed [[lute]].

===Society today===
[[File:Tolkuchka Bazaar - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (32).jpg|thumb|Turkmens in [[Ashgabat, Turkmenistan]]]]
Since Turkmenistan's independence in 1991, a cultural revival has taken place with the return of a moderate form of [[Islam]] and celebration of [[Novruz]], the Persian New Year marking the onset of spring.

Turkmen can be divided into various social classes including the urban intelligentsia and workers whose role in society is different from that of the rural peasantry. Secularism and [[atheism]] remain prominent for many Turkmen intellectuals who favor moderate social changes and often view extreme religiosity and cultural revival with some measure of distrust.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+tm0026)|title=US Library of Congress Country Studies-Turkmenistan: Social Structure|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref>

The five traditional carpet rosettes, or [[Gul (design)|gul]], called ''göl'' in Turkmen, that form motifs in the country's [[Coat of arms of Turkmenistan|state emblem]] and [[Flag of Turkmenistan|flag]], represent the five major [[Turkmen tribes]].

===Sport===

Sports have historically been an important part of Turkmen life. Such sports as [[horseback riding]] and [[Kurash|Goresh]] have been praised in Turkmen literature. During the [[Soviet Turkmenistan|Soviet era]], Turkmen athletes competed in numerous competitions, including [[Olympic Games]] as part of the [[Soviet Union at the Olympics|Soviet Union team]] and, in 1992, as part of the [[Unified Team at the Olympics|Unified Team]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Turkmenistan |date=28 April 2021 |publisher=International Olympic Committee |url=http://www.olympic.org/turkmenistan }}</ref> After Turkmenistan gained her independence, new ways of establishing physical and sports movements in the country began to emerge. To implement a new sports policy, new multi-purpose stadiums, physical education and health complexes, sports schools and facilities were built in all regions of the country. Turkmenistan also has a modern Olympic village which hosted [[2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games]], and is unparalleled in Central Asia.

Turkmenistan supports the country's sports movements and encourages sports on a state level. While [[association football|football]] remains the most popular sport, such sports as Turkmen goresh, horseback riding and lately [[ice hockey]] are also very popular among Turkmens.<ref>{{cite web |title=The national ice hockey team of Turkmenistan finished the 2019 World Cup in Sofia in third place |url=https://turkmenportal.com/blog/18744/sbornaya-turkmenistana-po-hokkeyu-zavershila-chm2019-v-sofii-na-tretem-meste |website=Turkmenportal|date=30 June 2023 }}</ref>

==Demographics and population distribution==
In 1911, the population of Turkmens in the Russian Empire was estimated to be 290,170, and it was "conjectured that their total number <nowiki>[in all countries]</nowiki> does not exceed 350,000".<ref name="turanians">{{cite book|title=Turanians and Pan-Turanianism|date=November 1918|publisher=Naval Staff Intelligence Department|place=London|url=https://issuu.com/zabergan/docs/turanians}}</ref>  In 1995, Turkmen academics estimated <blockquote>...there are 125,000 Turkmen living in Uzbekistan, 40,000 in Russia and 22,000 in Tajikistan. The largest group of Turkmens is in Iran (850,000), Afghanistan (700,000), Iraq (235,000), Turkey (150,000), Syria (60,000), and China (85,000). In total, the number of Turkmens living abroad is about 2.2 million.<ref name="geotext">{{cite book|url=https://docplayer.biz.tr/181461559-Turkmenistanyn-bilim-ministrligi-tarapyndan-hodurlenildi.html#show_full_text|title=Türkmenistanyň Geografiýasy|language=Turkmen|date=2010|place=Ashgabat|publisher=Bilim Ministrligi|last1=Çaryýew|first1=B.|last2=Ilamanow|first2=Ýa.}}</ref></blockquote> Today the Turkmen people of Central Asia and near neighbors live in:
* '''[[Turkmenistan]]''', where some 85% of the population of 5,042,920 people (July 2006 est.) are ethnic Turkmen. In addition, an estimated 1,200 Turkmen [[Afghan refugees|refugees]] from northern Afghanistan currently reside in Turkmenistan due to the ravages of the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] and factional fighting in Afghanistan which saw the rise and fall of the [[Taliban]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newscentralasia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=952|title=UNHCR Begins Compiling Database of Refugees in Turkmenistan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051208094450/http://www.newscentralasia.com/modules.php?name=News|archive-date=8 December 2005}}</ref>  
* '''[[Afghanistan]]''', where as of 2006, 200,000 ethnic Turkmen are concentrated primarily along the [[Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border|Turkmen-Afghan border]] in the provinces of [[Faryab Province|Faryab]], [[Jowzjan Province|Jowzjan]], Samangan and [[Baghlan Province|Baghlan]]. There are also communities in [[Balkh Province|Balkh]] and [[Kunduz Province]]s.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
* '''[[Iran]]''', where about 719,000 Turkmen are primarily concentrated in the [[Provinces of Iran|provinces]] of [[Golestān Province|Golestān]] and [[North Khorasan Province|North Khorasan]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Turkmens in Iran===
[[File:Ramadan Quran Reading, Bandar Torkaman (1395032016331673).jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|A Turkmen girl from Iran]]
{{Main|Iranian Turkmen}}
[[Iranian Turkmen]]s are a branch of Turkmen people who live mainly in northern and northeastern regions of Iran. Their region is called [[Turkmen Sahra]] and includes substantial parts of [[Golestan Province|Golestan]] province. Representatives of such contemporary [[Turkmen tribes]] as [[Yomut Turkmen|Yomut]], Goklen, Īgdīr, [[Saryk]], [[Salur (tribe)|Salar]] and [[Teke (Turkmen tribe)|Teke]] have lived in Iran since the 16th century,<ref>Logashova B.R. ''Turkmens of Iran (historical and ethnographic study)'', published by "Nauka" (Science); 1976. p.14</ref> though ethnic history of Turkmens in Iran starts with the [[Seljuk conquest]] of the region in the 11th century.<ref>P. Golden. ''The Turkic peoples and Caucasia, Transcaucasia, Nationalism and Social Change: Essays in the History of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia'', ed. by Ronald G. Suny; Michigan, 1996. pp. 45-67</ref>

===Turkmens in Afghanistan===
[[File:Turkmen girl and baby.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|Turkmen girl and baby from Afghanistan]]
{{Main|Afghan Turkmens}}

The [[Afghan Turkmens|Afghan Turkmen]] population in the 1990s was estimated at 200,000. The original Turkmen groups came from east of the [[Caspian Sea]] into northwestern Afghanistan at various periods, particularly after the end of the 19th century when the Russians moved into their territory. They established settlements from [[Balkh Province]] to [[Herat Province]], where they are now concentrated; smaller groups settled in [[Kunduz Province]]. Others came in considerable numbers as a result of the failure of the [[Basmachi movement|Basmachi revolts]] against the [[Bolsheviks]] in the 1920s.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov">{{cite web|title=US Library of Congress Country Studies-Afghanistan: Turkmen|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0041)}}</ref> [[Turkmen tribes]], of which there are twelve major groups in Afghanistan, base their structure on genealogies traced through the male line. Senior members wield considerable authority. Formerly a nomadic and warlike people feared for their lightning raids on caravans, Turkmen in Afghanistan are farmer-herdsmen and important contributors to the economy. They brought [[karakul sheep]] to Afghanistan and are also renowned makers of carpets, which, with karakul pelts, are major hard currency export commodities. [[Turkmen jewelry]] is also highly prized.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov" />

===Turkmens of Stavropol Krai of Russia===
[[File:Senior Citizen in Ashgabat.jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|A Turkmen elder or {{lang|tk-Latn|[[aksakal]]}}]]
A long established Turkmen colony resides in [[Stavropol Krai]] of southern [[Russia]]. The local ethnic [[Russian people|Russian]] population often refers to them as '''Trukhmen''', and these Turkmen sometimes use the self-designation '''Turkpen'''.<ref name="eki.ee">[http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/trukhmens.shtml The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire]. Eki.ee. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref> According to the [[Russian Census (2010)|2010 Census of Russia]], they numbered 15,048, and accounted for 0.5% of the total population of Stavropol Krai.

The Turkmens are said to have migrated into the [[Caucasus]] in the 17th century, mostly from the [[Mangyshlak]] region. These migrants belonged mainly to the Chowdur (in Russian "Chaudorov" or "Chavodur"), Sonchadj and Ikdir tribes. The early settlers were nomadic but over time became sedentary. In their cultural life the Trukhmens of today differ very little from their neighbours and are now settled farmers and stockbreeders.<ref name="eki.ee" />

Although the Turkmen language belongs to the Oghuz group of Turkic languages, in Stavropol it has been strongly influenced by the [[Nogai language]], which belongs to the [[Kipchak language|Kipchak]] group. The phonetic system, grammatical structure and to some extent also the vocabulary have been somewhat influenced.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Linguistic areas - Convergence in Historical and Typological Perspective | url=http://www2.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/Johanson2006Cauc.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610043333/http://www.lingfil.uu.se/afro/turkiskasprak/IP2007/Johanson2006Cauc.pdf | archive-date=10 June 2007 | access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref>

==Notable people of Turkmen descent==

===Cinema===
*[[Alty Karliev]]
*[[Jackie Shroff]]
*[[Tiger Shroff]]

===Literature===
*[[Berdi Kerbabayev]]
*[[Döwletmämmet Azady]]
*[[Magtymguly Pyragy]]
*[[Mämmetweli Kemine]]
*[[Solton Achilova]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Najibullah |first=Farangis |date=21 November 2023 |title=Turkmen Journalist Defiant After Being Strip-Searched, Stopped From Flying To Europe |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/turkmenistan-achilova-stopped-flying-europe/32692666.html |access-date=22 April 2024 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref>

===Military figures===
*[[Ahmad Sanjar]]
*[[Begench Gundogdyev]]
*[[Tughril]]
*[[Yaylym Berdiyev]]

===Rulers===
*[[Quli Qutb Shah]] and his descendants
*[[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali|Bharama Mulki]]
*[[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]]

===Music===
*[[Annagul Annakuliyeva]]
*[[Eypio]]
*[[Mähri Pirgulyýewa]]
*[[Maya Kuliyeva]]
*[[Medeniyet Shahberdiyeva]]
*[[Nury Halmammedov]]

===Politicians===
*[[Akja Nurberdiýewa]]
*[[Akmyrat Rejepow]]
*[[Çarymyrat Amanow]]
*[[Güýçmyrat Annagulyýew]]
*[[Gülşat Mämmedowa]]
*[[Gurbangeldi Batyrow]]
*[[Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow]]
*[[Han Ahmedow]]
*[[Kaikhaziz Atabayev]]
*[[Muhammetnazar Gapurov]]
*[[Öwezgeldi Ataýew]]
*[[Ramin Nourqolipour]]
*[[Raşit Meredow]]
*[[Rejepbay Arazov]]
*[[Saparmurat Niyazov]]
*[[Serdar Berdimuhamedow]]
*[[Zafar Babajanow]]

===Science===
*[[Omid Kokabee]]

===Sports===
*[[Ahmet Ataýew]]
*[[Altymyrat Annadurdyýew]]
*[[Amangylyç Koçumow]]
*[[Arslanmyrat Amanow]]
*[[Bahtiýar Hojaahmedow]]
*[[Batyr Babaýew]]
*[[Baýram Durdyýew]]
*[[Begençmuhammet Kulyýew]]
*[[Begençmyrat Myradow]]
*[[Berdi Şamyradow]]
*[[Berdimyrat Nurmyradow]]
*[[Çaryýar Muhadow]]
*[[Didargylyç Urazow]]
*[[Ezzatollah Pourghaz]]
*[[Farhad Ghaemi]]
*[[Furkat Tursunow]]
*[[Gurbangeldi Durdyýew]]
*[[Guwançmuhammet Öwekow]]
*[[Kamil Mingazow]]
*[[Kurban Berdyev]]
*[[Mayya Gurbanberdieva]]
*[[Mämmedaly Garadanow]]
*[[Mekan Saparow]]
*[[Myrat Annaýew]]
*[[Omar Berdiýew]]
*[[Rahman Myratberdiýew]]
*[[Rahym Kurbanmämmedow]]
*[[Rasul Çaryýew]]
*[[Rejepmyrat Agabaýew]]
*[[Röwşen Muhadow]]
*[[Ruslan Mingazow]]
*[[Saber Kazemi]]
*[[Said Seýidow]]
*[[Sardar Azmoun]]
*[[Serdar Annaorazow]]
*[[Şöhrat Söýünow]]
*[[Täçmyrat Agamyradow]]
*[[Ýazguly Hojageldyýew]]

==See also==
* [[Iranian Turkmens]]
* [[Afghan Turkmens]]
* [[Turkmens in Pakistan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |editor-last=Barthold |editor-first=V. |year=1962 |title=The book of my grandfather Korkut |location=Moscow and Leningrad |publisher=USSR Academy of Sciences |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus9/Korkut/pred1.phtml?id=743 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Damgaard |first1=P. B. |last2=Marchi |first2=N. |display-authors=1 |date=9 May 2018 |title=137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2 |access-date=11 April 2020 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=557 |issue=7705 |pages=369–373 |bibcode= 2018Natur.557..369D|doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0094-2 |pmid=29743675 |hdl=1887/3202709 |s2cid=13670282 |ref={{harvid|Damgaard et al.|2018}}|hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Joo-Yup |last2=Kuang |first2=Shuntu |date=18 October 2017 |title=A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples |journal=Inner Asia |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=197–239 |doi=10.1163/22105018-12340089 |issn=2210-5018 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Tao |last2=Ning |first2=Chao |display-authors=1 |date=June 2020 |title=Millet agriculture dispersed from Northeast China to the Russian Far East: Integrating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics |journal=Archaeological Research in Asia |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=22 |issue=100177 |page= 100177|doi=10.1016/j.ara.2020.100177 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Li et al.|2020}}|hdl=21.11116/0000-0005-D82B-8 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nelson |first1=Sarah |author-link1=Sarah Milledge Nelson |last2=Zhushchikhovskaya |first2=Irina |display-authors=1 |date=14 February 2020 |title=Tracing population movements in ancient East Asia through the linguistics and archaeology of textile production |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=2 |issue=e5 |pages=e5 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.4 |pmid=37588355 |pmc=10427276 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Nelson et al.|2020}}}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |date=1 January 2017 |title=Austronesian influence and Transeurasian ancestry in Japanese |journal=Language Dynamics and Change |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=210–251 |doi=10.1163/22105832-00702005 |doi-access=free |issn=2210-5832 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002E-8635-7 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |year=2020 |chapter=The Transeurasian homeland: where, what and when? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43039094 |editor-last1=Robbeets |editor-first1=Martine |editor-link1=Martine Robbeets |editor-last2=Savelyev |editor-first2=Alexander |title=The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-guide-to-the-transeurasian-languages-9780198804628 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Uchiyama|first1=Junzo|last2=Gillam|first2=J. Christopher|last3=Savelyev|first3=Alexander|last4=Ning|first4=Chao|display-authors=1|date=21 May 2020 |title=Populations dynamics in Northern Eurasian forests: a long-term perspective from Northeast Asia |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume= 2|pages=e16 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.11 |pmid=37588381 |pmc=10427466 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Uchiyama et al.|2020}} }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]]  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
* Bacon, Elizabeth E.  ''Central Asians Under Russian Rule: A Study in Culture Change'',  [[Cornell University Press]] (1980). {{ISBN|0-8014-9211-4}}.
* [http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/28be5/7e7/ Turkmenistan Pages by Ekahau]
* [http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00089/s89t5.htm Did the ''engsi'' hang inside or outside the yurt?]

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Tradition and Society in Turkmenistan: Gender, Oral Culture and Song|first=Carole|last=Blackwell|publisher=Curzon|date=2001|isbn=0-7007-1354-9|url=https://www.routledge.com/Tradition-and-Society-in-Turkmenistan-Gender-Oral-Culture-and-Song/Blackwell/p/book/9781138862487}}
* {{cite book|title=Learning to Become Turkmen|first=Victoria|last=Clement|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/learning-to-become-turkmen-literacy-language-and-power-1914-2014|isbn=978-0822964636|date=2018|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press}}
* {{cite book|title=Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet Turkmenistan|first=Adrienne Lynn|last=Edgar|date=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-12799-6|url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691127996/tribal-nation}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Turkmens}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Turkoman |volume=27|page=468|short=x}}

{{Ethnic groups in Turkmenistan}}
{{Ethnic groups in Afghanistan}}
{{Ethnic groups in Iran}}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Peoples of the Caucasus}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkmen}}
[[Category:Ethnic Turkmen people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Turkmenistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Iran]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of Russia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Peoples of the Caucasus]]
[[Category:Modern nomads]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Oghuz Turkic ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of the Caucasus]]