Where in the World does Southern Turkestan fall?

Where in the World does Southern Turkestan fall?

We are doing our chronological/historical readings on the History of Islamic Philosophy at the Faculty of Theology at Hitit University in the context of a project we call "Reterritorializing Philosophy in Anatolia". In Çorum, the center of the Hittite civilization, which is the natural heir to the ancient Anatolian civilizations, we follow the heritage of Mesopotamian culture with the Turks in Asia, the Caucasus, the North of the Black Sea, the idyl-Ural and Western Siberia. In the History of Turkish Intellectual History course, we see this as contributing to the formation of Turkish Philosophy by re-reading the philosophical and cultural accumulation we brought from Turkistan from Inner Asia with the cultural accumulation we found in Anatolia, that is, in Asia Minor. In this context, we call Ötüken Ergenekon the historical basis of our resurrection, and our resurrection from the ashes with the National Struggle that ensured the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Anadolu Ergenekon.

While investigating the political-ideological/philosophical continuity of the Seljuk-Ottoman-Turkish Republic, we enter the classroom with the Great Seljuk map showing the Karakhanid and Ghaznavid states. We show the cities of Belh, Kabul, Ghazni, Tarkan, Kandahar, which show Southern Turkestan, which is the subject of the article. We show the cities of Tashkent, Farab, Talas, Harizm, Cürcan, Samarkand, Nishapur, Dandanakan, Merv, Rey and Khorasan of East and West Turkestan. Then we draw the political map of the Hun-Turkic States in Asia and Europe. Because the Turks, together with the Western Huns, have started to live in Europe since 434.

When you see Turkestan in its unified form, historical consciousness is remembered again, that the West Hun empire covers Northern Europe, today's England, France and Scotland, that there is the Western Roman Empire in the South, that Anatolia was then the Eastern Roman Empire (174-M.C.) .S450-550), we say that the Turks are the most important playmakers in world political history. We emphasize that with the establishment of Istanbul as the capital of Eastern Rome in 1453, the distinction between East and West became meaningless, and that the Ottomans turned the accumulation brought by the migration process from Turkistan, which we see as a socialization process, into a world culture.

A Holistic Reading of East, West and South Turkestan to Re-domesticate Philosophy in Anatolia

While the term Turkistan was used for a very wide area especially for Inner Asia in the VI century, it started to be used for the Caspian and Hungarian countries extending from the Volga to Central Europe in the IX-X centuries, and finally for Anatolia from the XII century. Even the lands of the Egyptian slave state were called Turkey.

In the Asian continent, the natural geography, ethnographic and historical boundaries of Turkestan, in the sense of the homeland of the Turks, are as follows: Gurgan River, Horasan Mountains, Kopet Mountain, Kuhi Baba, Mezduran, Tapcak and Ak Mountains, Hindukuş Ridges, Mustag-Kuenker Mountain Range; from the east, the eastern borders of East Turkestan, 98°50' north parallel around Sucav, 40°50' east meridian point; the northern slopes of the Irtysh Basin and the Aral-Irtysh water separation line, forming the northern borders of Cungarya and Kazakhstan from the north; It is surrounded by the North Ural Mountain, Yayık River, Bökey Orda, where İdil empties into the sea, and the Caspian Sea from the west. Its area is around six million square kilometers.

In short, Turkistan; It is analyzed in four parts as West Turkestan, East Turkestan, Afghan or South Turkestan and Iranian Turkestan. West Turkestan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan; East Turkestan People's Republic of China; South Turkestan, Afghanistan; Iranian Turkestan is also within the borders of Iran. Afghan Turkestan in the south; It is a low area extending towards Seyhun Valley and West Turkestan Çukureli in front of Bend-i Turkistan and Hindukuş mountain range in the north of Afghanistan. The largest city of Afghan Turkestan is Mazar-i sharif. Iranian Turkestan; It includes Iran's provinces of Estarabad and Deregiz.

South Turkestan and its History

The south of the Greater Turkestan geography, where Turks live, from the Urals to the Hindikuş Mountains, is the place called Southern Turkestan, where it is the region from Badahşan to Herat, including the historical cities such as Belh, Feryap and Kunduz.

The entry and dominance of the Turks in India started with the Indian expeditions of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (1000-1030) at the beginning of the 11th century and continued during the reign of Muhammad Guri (1149-1206) in the 12th century. Relatively, it reached its peak during the Mughal period, also called the Gürkanis.

In summary, Pakistani lands and the North West regions of India have become the Turkish Homeland since Sultan Mahmud. Mohammed Guri, on the other hand, dominated the Ganges valley, and the Mughals completely dominated India, except for a small area in the south of the Peninsula. Let's remember that the Turks ruled the region for seven centuries after they became Muslims, and colonial powers came to the region from the 1600s. Reached by Spain through K. Columbus Seeing that it was exploiting the American continent against its marrow, England wanted to be a stakeholder in the Portuguese passing through the Cape of Good Hope, while trying to reach there with pirate ships, which we can call the proxy wars of the period.

As of 1613, it started to show its power in the region under the name of the East India Company. In the Battle of Baksar in 1764, the Mughal state was defeated by the British, although it is no longer officially visible, the dominance actually passed into the hands of the British. In 1857, the Sipahi Freedom Movement tried to break it, but the British, who bloodily suppressed it, continued to exploit the region even more harshly. In 1887, Queen Victoria was officially proclaimed empress of India.

Please note this date; because it shows that the Ottoman-Russian war, which we call the 93 War, was fought, that is, the British, who saw that we were weakened, simultaneously annexed the Turkish state in India together with Cyprus (1878). This de facto colony continued until Gandhi's acts of civil disobedience began. When Gandhi, who was trying to protect the integrity of India, was killed by a Hindu, the country was divided into three parts.

Cultural Artifacts of Southern Turkestan

When I visited India, I remember the saying, “You went, the British came, they only opened missionary schools and tried to establish English and its culture, now your ancestors made all the places you came to visit historically”.

The castle and Taj Mahal in Ağra were built in the name of Begüm, whom I named after my daughter. Fatahpur City, Akbar Shah (Panch Mahal), Bülend-i darvaza (Victory Monument), Selim Chishti Shrines, Force al-Islam Mosque in Delhi, Lal Kila (Red Fort) Qutb Minar, Friday Masjid, Mecca Masjid in Hayaderabad , Tsar Minar, Golkonda and Kutbi Shahiler Castles, Şirin Lal Han Tomb in Benares, İftihar Han in Çunar, Türkmen Baba, Süleyman Baba, Kasım Baba Tombs with their unique structural features, architectural styles and turquoise blue colors are still alive in India. are the seals of the culture. Turks live in different parts of Kashmir and Punjab, in the cities of Rampur, Muradabad, Muzaffernagar, Haridvar, Balmrapur, Bijnar, Gonda and Shambal in the state of Uttar Pradesh. These are called tulukkiyat, that is, people of Turkish origin.

Despite this reality, West Turkestan is politically relatively independent, economically and intellectually the influence of Russia is still intense, and economically, in addition to China, it is under the threat of invasion; East Turkestan is already a colony of China, so why does South Turkestan have no name?

While drawing attention to the economic impositions of China on Turkey and the Islamic world as a global power, we must not forget Southern Turkestan, which was overlooked in this turmoil. First of all, it should be said that England did what Russia did in West Turkestan. As you know, the Commonwealth is an international coalition of states that were part of the British Empire in the past and the later acceding states, and was founded by the UK Parliament.

When we say that it protects its colonies all over the world within this structure, that the place we call Southern Turkestan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, is located here, in addition to these, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka are added, and Cyprus and Malta in Europe, the political economy struggle becomes a reality. we see that it still continues with new names but with old global powers. At that time, England, which continued its empire on which the sun never sets, with a new form, has historically always been the Turks, both in the south of Turkestan and in Northern Europe, more precisely in the important centers of the ancient world.

Conclusion

While we are investigating the intellectual foundations of the Turkestan-Turkey contact by following İsmail Gaspıralı, we would like to contribute to the establishment of the cultural foundations of the unions that will ensure the intellectual and economic (business) independence of the states in West Turkistan as well as gaining their political independence.

While resisting the pressures of East Turkestan, which has material riches that can be called the Kuwait of Asia, and the world's disgrace, it is necessary to constantly keep the historical and cultural foundations of the Turks in Southern Turkestan on the agenda.

We say that the British policy underlying the tensions between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh in the region, that the organization that emerged under the name of the Taliban constituted the infrastructure for the de-Turkification operation of the region, and that similar work has been done in Iraq and Syria.

While saying that the West of Turkestan has attained its political freedom, East Turkestan is living under the oppression of China, it is imperative to bring to the agenda that Southern Turkestan is in constant tension and conflict, and what the Turks are going through in the region. Because, as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, “Gentlemen! The Turkish state will help Afghanistan, you will see in return for these aids, one day we will witness the establishment of an independent Turkish state there.”