The Rise And Fall Of The Oghuz Yabgu State

• published: 02 May 2015
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The Oguz Yabgu State (Oguz il, meaning Oguz Land, Oguz Country, 750–1055) was a Turkic state, founded by Oguz Turks in 766, located geographically in an area between the coasts of the Caspian and Aral Seas. Oguz tribes occupied a vast territory in Kazakhstan along the Irgiz, Yaik, Emba, and Uil rivers, the Aral Sea area, the Syr Darya valley, the foothills of the Karatau Mountains in Tien-Shan, and the Chui River valley. The Oguz political association developed in the 9th and 10th centuries in the basin of the middle and lower course of the Syr Darya and adjoining the modern western Kazakhstan steppes. The etymology of the name "Oguz" is unclear. It was discussed many times in historical and philological literature. The term probably means "tribes", or the "tribal union", and then could turn into a collective ethnic name. The original Oguz areas were the south-eastern regions of Central Asia. The beginning of the early Oguz group formation is linked to the Western Zhetysu (often known, in Russian and other European languages, as Semirechye). History Early history The first reference of the Oguz State is by the Arab geographer Yaqubi, who called Oguzes "kings". In Zhetysu the old Oguz capital was Guziya. The Chinese sources that ascend to the 7th and 8th centuries state that the Oguz confederation Tokuz Oguz (Chinese Gu-su, Кut for Oguz) is consistently shown in the vicinity of Issyk Kul - Talas,[4] from the Issyk Kul area the center of the Oguz confederation shifted to the lower course of the Syr Darya under pressure of the refugees of the Sary Turgesh tribe. In 766, after Karluks overran the Turgesh Kaganate in Zhetysu (southeastern modern Kazakhstan), Karluk tribes formed a Khanate centered there under the rule of a Yabgu, and they occupied and transferred their capital to Suyab. By that time the bulk of the Uch-Karluk (Three Karluks) confederation had left the Altai, and the supremacy in Zhetysu passed to the Karluk tribes. After the Oguz confederation lost a struggle with the Karluks for leadership in the Turgesh Kaganate, a significant part of Zhetysu Oguzes migrated to the Karatau Mountains foothills and the valley of the Chu River in the Issyk Kul basin. At the beginning of the 9th century the Oguz confederation, in alliance with Karluks and Kimaks destroyed the Kangar Union and captured the lower course of the Syr Darya river and the Aral steppes, displacing the Kangars and Pechenegs. The nomadic tribes of the Syr Darya Kangars were forced to join the Oguzes, and a part of them migrated to the west to the northern Black Sea region. The Oguzes moved their capital to Yangikent and became known as Oguz Yabgu State. The state was founded in Eni-Kent which was an Oguz yayla (summer village). Oguz il extended from "Issyk Kul and Almalyk, in the south, to Sairam, in the west, to the city of Yangikent, which stands at the mouth of the river Syr (Syr-darya), and to the Kara-Kum (desert)". The capital of the Oguz il was variously spelled Eni-Kent, Yangikent, Djanikand, Yenikent, Yanikand, all meaning New City, and also in Arabic literature al-Kariya al-Hadisa and in Persian literature Deh-i Hay; presently it is a Central Asian ghost town Jankent. The state was ruled by the leader of the Oguz Turks with the title Yabgu, which is similar to other Turkic ruling titles such as Khan and Kagan/Hakan, but initially with a status below Kagan/Hakan. The army was commanded by Subaşı. "Sü" (su) means "Army" in Turkish and "başı" (bashi) means "the head of" or "the ruler of". Political history The Oguz State played an important role in the military and political history of Eurasia. In 965 the Oguz State allied with Kievan Rus in a war against the Khazar Kaganate. In 985 the alliance with Kievan Rus defeated Volga Bulgaria, which increased the political power of the Oguz State. At the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, popular uprisings broke out against excessive taxation in the state. The revolts became especially strong in the second half of the 10th century, during the rule of Ali Yabgu. The split between the ruling Oguzes and Seljuk branch of Oguzes turned out to be detrimental to the state. The upheaval was used by the Seljuk branch, who led an uprising and took Jend, but soon they were forced to leave the Jend area.