#Gok-Turk Empire

[dejahisashmom]

The Ancient Practice of Tengriism, Shamanism and Ancient Worship of the Sky Gods | Ancient Origins

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/ancient-practice-tengriism-shamanism-and-ancient-worship-sky-gods-002387

[liberty1776]

This article was also presented by the author as a class, as part of the RTF Lecture Series “The Renaissance Principle Across the Ages“. With the fires of potential global war once again erupting across the Middle East, and with obvious anti-jewish rage amplifying to an extreme degree, I would like to take a moment to follow up on a previous essay titled ‘The Peace of Westphalia as a Lesson in Solving Religious Wars Past Present or Future’. The purpose of this investigation into the deep structure historical dynamics shaping our present world is not to simply romanticize bygone ages but … Continue reading →

[turulbird]

Assassin’s Creed: Resurrection

Chapter 1 - Blue of Skies, Blue of Domes

"Oh the one who pleases my heart, how we used to travel around the Mediterranean Sea, around the Arab lands and Rome and France. I have recorded all of the places that stand, whether they be lowlands or high up, so that I may transmit this knowledge."

...Blue…

:::A relevant memory block, later by approximately 4 centuries is found. Skipping to initially requested timeframe.::: ...Blue...

:::Gravitational simulation loading… Please wait…:::

...It was all blue…

:::Sensory nerveous system inputs loading… Please wait…:::

...Why was it all blue?...

:::Accessing memories… Ashina Sungur. Memory date estimated: late 1st quarter of 11th century.:::

...BLUE..

“Y DNA Genetic trace suggests an individual of Central Asian origins…”

“Blue Sky** be with you, Sungur! May your path never end!” Sungur heard the voice, nodded and smiled to his older brother’s goodwish. He held onto his horse’s reins even stronger. He was leaving, finally seeking his own destiny but it meant leaving everything and almost everyone he held dear, everything he was born into and grew alongside.

Such was the way of nomads.

By his side, half of his father’s oba** that decided to come with Sungur, he was tasked with finding a new home for the Clan Ashina and its people. Staying was not an option, their law dictated both siblings, Sungur and Aksökö divide what land their father left them after his death. Aksökö, being the older one had a lot more popularity than Sungur and were to eventually claim all of the Ashina land for himself as soons as he gets an heir, so the two would eventually clash.

Sungur knew this because they were old royalty. It was the more powerful Ashina’s duty to prevent the chieftain line from branching. Their cousin clan, Ashida, made the mistake of tolerating root and branch clans, the resulting civil war almost erased their name from the face of the steppes.

“May your yurts ever multiply, Aksökö” said, Sungur. for the last time, then turned his horse’s face to west. His horse instinctively switched to travel speed as he held up the banner of his clan, carrying Ashina’s coat of arms or rather their symbolic “tamga** of the raven” as he rode to the leading front of the convoy of people that are ready to follow him.

And to the west they rode, first, through a small desert; then came the rocky fields. When they reached the Khazar land to the north, they were more or less close to the third anniversary of the start of their journey. Sungur led his people with greater wisdom than it was expected of his age. He was calm, calculated, thorough in his every decision. Sungur was keen on making new connections from the Oghuz and Kipchak Turkish Clans who just recently started to reign on these lands to find his clan a place to live. Ashina’s formal royal status did little to help him on his endeavour, as it was a reason enough to make any Khagan or bey** uneasy while allowing a clan this old and this large into their holds. Every bey Sungur made a connection advised him to travel further west or go south to join in with the young Seljuk Empire as soon as possible, as they had an already somewhat established control over the land and needed fresh cannon fodder clans to brace the might of Byzantines on the southeastern Anatolian Border. Persians’ distaste for Seljuk Turks’ control over their land was also well known and placing clans like Ashina would also prove them useful in terms of culturally dominating the area.

:::“We are getting close to the desired geography, doctor.::: :::”Hardly means anything. We’re still a few years off from Sabbah’s birth”.:::

Sungur aimed to reach to Nishapur. To walk the streets and talk with people. Learn who is who before making any awkward introductions with powerful people and getting pushed around.  Ashina’s young chieftain took thirty of his men and traveled south to Seljuk capital. Approaching the city as a traveling caravan, he wandered the town’s dense streets to a point he can map them. Things he saw left him in awe. He was a steppe man, he grew up in a large oba but had never graced his sights with an architecture quite like Nishapur’s. Buildings, temples with domes and towers piercing the blue skies was displaying the perfect mixture of sharp edges and curvy outline of middle eastern architectural sense at the same time. “Persians sure does know how to build things.” he thought. Sungur later learned that these temples were of the religion of Islam which was dominant there. Blue turquoise was mined here and the gems were under open display as they were covering every possible facades of the mosques. It looked like the marbling and turquoise art of every kind was supplied to the world from this town, although Egypt’s Sinai was known to be a close competition. Even pavings of the streets had some form of pattern art made of marbles that embellishes the simplest of neighborhoods.

Nishapur was a diverse city. Traveling merchants from east to west, north to south all had their own districts and caravansarais to stay when they entered the city. Turks, if not royalty, were living outside the city because they preferred tents to solid walls. Persians, under the rule of Seljuks were still living in their ancestral homes, although their lands were confiscated for Seljuk’s own iqta.** Greeks, Armenians and Jews had a minor presence in the city too. Bustling bazaars of Nishapur had so many languages being yelled at to customers from many kingdoms. Sungur crossed paths with a group of Slavs buying turquoise sword sheaths, some Latins hauling silk and salt to their carts, dodgy looking hooded men carefully inspecting the streets from rooftops in a particular neighborhood and even witnessed a fat Egyptian buy opioids from an Indian with the longest grown beard he has seen in his life.

After four days of wandering around, Sungur caught the attention of the city’s security, or whoever it was to be tasked with figuring out what business this unknown warriors of thirty men that claims to be a trade caravan but neither selling nor buying anything in Nishapur. At night, fully armed gulams** with an old scribe came saying that he has to check the trade made by caravan for taxing purposes. Sungur, realizing that his cover as a merchant is blown up, introduced himself as the leader of clan Ashina. He said he wanted to buy supplies for the clan’s main convoy for the way west but found nothing to his interest in the city. Hearing of Ashina name, gulams told the Persian scribe that the man before him needs to be taken to Tugrul Khan. 

“Why are you riding around in my city with a false identity, bey?” Said Emperor Tugrul Khan of Seljuks. “You packed up from the fatherland with quite a crowd. While we encourage strong beys like you to join our ranks; a formal hail before your arrival could’ve prevented my cavalry from encircling your main convoy encampment. Imagine my surprise when I found their lost bey within the walls of my city under the disguise of a merchant.”

“I meant no offence, noble Khan. We really did came here with the intention of supplying our convoy, then to be on our way to Byzantine border northwest to Baghdad. Ashina is crowded and we want to cause no problems to the establishment of the young empire you founded. We will carve our own territory to the west around Dogubeyazid and....” “A-a-a-a!” Interrupted, Khan. “What makes you think, that I’ll let you pass, bey? What makes you think that I don’t want Dogubeyazid and beyond, even Constantinople for myself, for my young empire?” “My Khan… I.. I assumed…” “You assumed too much, Sungur Bey. You will settle to wherever I see fit for your clan. But only, for a short time. I will give you a vast herding land and some autonomy near Caspian Sea. You, in turn will take your forces to my army when I demand.”

Sungur agreed, they talked terms. In several hours, they have found a special kind of sense of humor in eachother and Sungur realized, for all his dominance and agressiveness, Khan liked jesting around. Sungur realized this is a different breed of leader he’s talking with. Educated, literate, he was referencing of philosophers of ancient Greek when forming an argument, assuming Sungur already know them. Sungur wished he did. Khan gifted him a horse, couple dozen Seljuk banners that depicts an Öksökö the legendary two headed eagle, a guide tasked with showing them their new land, what rules to follow. He bowed as low as possible before exiting.

When Sungur reached south of Caspian Sea, Seljuk lords saw it reasonable to make Ashinas settle near Ak Yayla for couple of years, until Tugrul Khan of Seljuks, now a friend of Sungur decided their fate. Sungur made several raids to Byzantine borders with his alps**, atamans** and lesser beys. He eventually fell in love with a golden haired shield maiden from northern Tatars, Altun Khatun** whom he met during a raid. Despite her father’s objections, she loved Sungur too and the two eventually married. Altun’s younger brother, Jeng, also joined up with Ashinas and quickly became Sungur’s right hand man. Sungur trained, met people, learned Arabic, some Farsi, even some Greek. At the fourth summer there, Altun gave the family a daughter, they named her Alchin. And at the fifth... :::Warning: Birth trauma imminent. Flow of genetic data suggests a change in memory subject.:::

“It’s a boy, Sungur Bey. You have a son.”

:::Initial scan complete. Possible names and aliases listed as…:::

“As we agreed with Altun, let it be known that he’s called...”

:::Ashina Tugrul:::

:::Ataman:::

:::Hidden One:::

:::and Assassin:::

Database/Codex Entries Below:

Blue Sky: The Deity most Turks and Mongolians worshipped before majority of Turks switched to Islam.It was also known as Gok Tengri, and was the Zeus-like head of the steppe pantheon of gods.

Oba: A tent town made of “yurts”. Often different places for winter and summer settling.

Tamga: A mixture of coat of arms and a letter-like symbol of a deity, a society or a noble house. Clan Ashina’s tamga was raven, but as you might notice, it didn’t resemble one at all and tamgas had no place in Turkic alphabet to begin with.

Figure: Tamga of Blue Sky Tengri with inscription: “Öd Tengri yaşar kişioğlu kop ölgeli törümiş.” “Only gods really live; mankind has bred to die.”

Bey: Oghuz Turkish word for “lord” or “sir”.

Iqta: The Middle Eastern feudalic system when an individual or a family is awarded with personel land in exchange of covering the expenses of some particular soldiers of high class. The system survived under the name of timar and gave rise to the infamous timariot class of soldiers in Ottoman times until around 16 to 17th centuries.

Gulam: Elite soldiers of Seljuk Khan. Consisting of Turkmen clans like Ashina who recently migrated to west. Tasked with protecting the Khan himself in the capital. The just like the word “Mamluk” in Arabic, the word “Gulam” originates from “Slave” in Persian which Turks basically was when they arrived to Middle East as paganist refugees from Chinese war. Turks’ beliefs meant they could not be equal citizens like Christians or Jews. Muslims gave control of the cavalry of their army to the Turks and allowed them to live outside of the walls of their cities. In time, more and more Turks arrived and they used the military control they were given to usurp the old regime, both in Egypt(which led to the birth of Mamluk Sultanate) and in Persia. Although Seljuk’s case were more of a brute force case rather than a political scheme.

Alp: Means “brave”, alp-hood was somewhat equivalent of knighthood of Europe; although anyone could become an alp and it was not an inherited title for nobles.

Ataman: A warlord title of Cossacks and Tatars. Ashina Tugrul is half Tatar from his mother’s side, so I figured he can use the title. He will be called Ataman by his uncle Jeng, who is also an Ataman, somewhere in his lifetime.

Khatun: Old Turkish word for “lady” and the root of current Turkish word for “woman” which originates from the word that is more or less similar to “shield maiden” or “female warlord” in ancient Turkic.