Oguz and Gok Turk People of the Same Race           

        Some of the Turkish tribes that had gathered within the structure of the Gok-Turk khanate since the 6th century formed a union among themselves just like some other Turkish tribes. They had established the Dokuz-Oguz (Nine-Oguz) khanate within the region of Tolga-Selenga Rivers. Oguz people that were defeated by Ilteriş (Inek Gölü War) in the year of 682 were in this situation. The stele of Baz Kagan who was the ruler of the Oguz State was erected in the tomb of Ilteriş Kagan.

 

        We have dealt with the attitudes and rebellions of Oguz people in the period of the Gok-Turk khanate. On this occasion, the expressions within the inscriptions indicate that there was not any differentiation between Oguz and Gok-Turk people. Furthermore, it was stated that Oguz people constituted the base for the khanate. Therefore, it was already accepted that Oguz people and Gok-Turk people were of the same kind.

 

        However, Thomsen V considered Oguz people as "a tribal union under the high sovereignty of Turks" within his las article that he allocated in the inscription of Tonyukuk. This historical reality was then considered as an "ethnical" difference and the issue was studied in details with new researches. Thus, there has aroused an important point of conflict in relation with the consideration of Oguz people as Turks and or any other ethnical organisation. The first important issue that is related with this matter is whether such a community existed in return for Oguz people.

 

        It is possible to give a negative reply to this question. Actually, it has been cited that the name of "Turk" was a political name used for the expression of an "ethnical identity" with the meaning of power-strength. Therefore, they are included within the same ethnical community together with the Oguz people that came from the lineage of "Turk". In other words, the Oguz people and Gok-Turk people were of the same kind. Now, as for the second issue: which "Turkish" community founded the Gok-Turk State.

 

        As it has been known, this state was founded by an ancient Turkish ruler dynasty called as "Aşina" through the support of the groups with "Turkish origin" around this dynasty. These groups must have been the Turks (in other words Oguz) that had formed a tribal union. W. Barthold had the opinion that "the Gok-Turk rulers were from the origin of Dokuz-Oguz". This opinion proves the relation between Aşina family and the members of this Oguz unio. However, it has been cited within the Chinese resources that the Turkish (Gok-Turk) community in the 6th-7th centuries were directly composed of this group of Oguz people. Within the documents pertaining to the T'ang period (T'ang-su and Kiu T'ang-shu almanacs and 4 state translation), the nine tribes (the "Dokuz-Oguz" people in the inscriptions) were sometimes cited as the "nine tribes of Turks (Gok-Turks) or "the Turks (Gok-Turks) of Nine tribes, and sometimes as "nine tribes of Töles people".

 

        Therefore, the Dokuz-Oguz people of Töles people and the Dokuz-Oguz people of Gok-Turk people were the same groups. In other words, the Oguz tribes constituted the community that formed the Gok-Turk State. In the Chinese resources, the Oguz people were not cited as a separate group (for example; directly as "Oguz" people) in the period of the Gok-Turk Khanate and the word of Oguz was translated as Nine tribes (Kui-sin) in these resources. This situation displays that there was not any need for the identification of the community that was composed of T'u-küe (=Turk) under a different name. Due to the same reason, the name of "Oguz" was not cited in the period of 1st Gok-Turk Khanate within the inscriptions. However, in the period of interregnum, the members of the Aşina dynasty became puppets in the service of the Chinese palace.

 

        Upon this event, some of the tribes got organised among themselves and they founded a "state". This state was the "organised" Oguz union that rebelled against the ruler's dynasty in the period of the 2nd Gok-Turk Khanate. The government tried to suppress these rebellions of this union. Afterwards, the term of "Turkish tribal union" that were stated within the inscriptions implied the groups that were directly under the domination of the ruler doubtlessly. Within the inscriptions, the ruler had uttered that "Oguz tribal union belonged to the Turkish tribal union".

 

        It is difficult to observe a contradiction between this statement and the rebellions of Oguz people. Actually, the subject matter was composed of the struggle of the "people" against the dynasty that they supported and exalted. (There are some other examples for this situation in the Turkish history). The resistance of Karluk people against Kara-Hanli people, the resistance of Turkmen people against the Seljuk sultans and the fight of Sultan Sencer that was an Oguz in origin against the rebellious Oguz people, etc…).