00:00The Turkish Roots
00:04Extracts from the book The History of Turks by Jean-Paul Roux,
00:11Director of Research of the National Science Research Centre,
00:15lecturer in the School of Louvre,
00:16and member of the Institute of Turkish Studies of Paris University.
00:23The roots of the first Turks are hidden in the depths of ages
00:26inside the woods of Siberia,
00:27from where they migrated to Central Asia highlands.
00:33Their presence among the barbarians of the North
00:36who were surrounding China for centuries,
00:39the second and third millennium,
00:41cannot be identified or registered
00:43before the foundation of the first large confederation of nomadic tribes,
00:48which was made known as the Confederation of Hyeong-no around 200 BC.
00:53The tribes that constituted the confederation
00:55belonged to various nationalities and language groups.
00:59Among these groups,
01:00there was a large number of proto-Turk tribes.
01:06The centre of the Empire of Hyeong-no
01:09was in the north of Mongolia,
01:11the land of Otalken,
01:12a very important location of strategic value.
01:15This area remained a highly sensitive part
01:17of the empires of high lands,
01:19as various groupings of confederations of Turkish
01:21or Turkish-speaking tribes were often called.
01:27The Hyeong-no intermixed the peoples,
01:30establishing the foundation of a nomadic civilisation.
01:33They contributed greatly to the dominance of Altaic tribes
01:36throughout higher Asia.
01:37Around 170 BC,
01:40the Hyeong-no were expanding their territories
01:42both westward and southward.
01:48During this period,
01:49we observe a lot of migrations and confrontations
01:52with other peoples,
01:53some of whom were proto-Turks,
01:54as well as other ancient peoples
01:56like the Yuezze and Vuzoan,
01:58who were also proto-Turks.
02:00It was these confrontations
02:02that led to the destruction of Bactria,
02:04the famous Hellenistic kingdom founded by Alexander the Great
02:08during his last expedition.
02:12The distraction of Vakteriani
02:14is characteristic of what followed
02:16the confrontations of the nomadic tribes
02:19among themselves,
02:20as well as with other, more stable peoples
02:23that had developed ancient civilisations.
02:25Of course, the conflict with the Hellenistic Vakteriani
02:28was minimal compared with the conflict with larger China.
02:34In order to destabilise their enemy,
02:37the Hyeong-no,
02:38China managed to create internal fights
02:40as a result of which the empire
02:42was split into two new kingdoms,
02:44the Kingdom of North in North Mongolia
02:46and the Kingdom of South
02:47in today's interior Mongolia.
02:50This split was the pre-announcement
02:51of their destruction.
02:53Nevertheless,
02:53the Hyeong-no maintained instability in China.
02:56Before the end of the 3rd century,
03:01the barbarians following the Hyeong-no
03:03were spreading all over North China.
03:06These were Turkish-speaking tribes of the Tabgats
03:09who descended from the lake of Vayali.
03:11During 422,
03:13they occupied the capital Lo-yang
03:15and under the name Dynasty of Bi,
03:17they claimed all China,
03:20including the oasis of Central Asia.
03:22During 534,
03:24the Dynasty of Bi was split,
03:26dispersed,
03:27and thus disappeared
03:28or more precisely,
03:29was absorbed by China.
03:34Of course,
03:35150 years of their domination in China
03:37was not without political
03:38and military consequences.
03:40In the moorings of Central Asia,
03:42which had been abandoned meanwhile,
03:44a new nomadic empire
03:45was established
03:46from the remaining Hyeong-no,
03:48which included many proto-Mongols
03:49called Avars.
03:54This new empire was formed
03:55with the participation of Tamgats,
03:57who were still acquainted
03:58with life in the moorings.
04:00Having still considerable horsepower,
04:02they became independent
04:03and attacked the Avars
04:04in the heart of their empire,
04:06the land of Otuken.
04:08Thus, the Turkish tribes rose again
04:10and prepared for their future domination.
04:14The first historic Turks,
04:16the Mongolic and Siberian Altai mountains
04:19were the place from which
04:20the Turkish people originated.
04:22Among these people
04:23were the Tukwe,
04:24a special branch of Hyeong-no,
04:26and among others,
04:27the Toles.
04:31The Avars,
04:33already weakened by the attacks
04:34launched by the Tamgats,
04:36are expecting one more assault
04:37from the Toles,
04:39who are seeking their independence.
04:41The story says that Buman,
04:42the chief of the Tukwe tribe,
04:45is warning the Avars
04:46about the plan of the Toles
04:48and their uprising fails.
04:53Buman requests,
04:54as a prize for his services,
04:56the hand of a princess,
04:57but he is refused
04:58and receives a most offending reply.
05:01The Avars chief says,
05:02aren't you the slaves
05:03who make our weapons in Altai?
05:05Hence, the Tukwe joined the Tamgats,
05:11also known as the Bi,
05:12against the Avars.
05:13In the word Tukwe is hidden
05:15the word Turk or Turok,
05:16which means strong.
05:18The Turoks are the first historic Turks.
05:23It is said that the parental origin
05:25of Turoks starts from the family Buman,
05:27who were descendants of the tribe of Hyeong-no.
05:30This tribe was eliminated,
05:32except for a 10-year-old boy
05:33who was mutilated but saved by a female wolf.
05:36This wolf later united with him
05:38and brought into the world 10 children.
05:41One of these 10 children was named Asina.
05:46The name Asina is the original name
05:49of the Turok dynasty.
05:51The Turoks are the successors of Avars
05:53and secure the supremacy
05:54over all Turkish-speaking races
05:56who were tired of the Mongolian dominance.
05:59The Turoks extend their rule in Mongolia
06:05to Russian Turkestan,
06:06a part of Chinese Turkestan-Afghanistan,
06:08to India.
06:09The empire is getting huge.
06:11This first Turkish empire
06:12was established among major military
06:14and cultural powers,
06:15such as China, Iran,
06:16and the Greek Byzantines at this time.
06:19The constant conflicts
06:20introduced the Turks
06:22into the great historical civilizations.
06:24The Turoks, after their successes,
06:30develop similar ambitions to the Greeks.
06:32The Greeks have been in conflict
06:34with the Persians for centuries.
06:36Therefore, they temporarily
06:37become Turok allies.
06:43But the Chinese are alert,
06:45at first panicked
06:45because of this new barbarian power
06:47and invested in the rivalry
06:49between the northern and southern Turoks,
06:51thereby managing to create a conflict
06:53that later helps them
06:54regain their advantage
06:55in Central Asia.
07:00Thus, the second Turkish empire
07:02was formed in the region of Otuken,
07:04which achieved amazing results
07:06until 734 AD.
07:08The most important achievement
07:10was the reunification
07:11of all Turkic tribes
07:12and overthrew the Chinese occupation.
07:14of the French
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