The Iraqi Turkomans and Turkey Vahram Petrosian

Home , Bayat (tribe), Daquq, Kifri, Turkmens, Turkoman (ethnonym), Tuz Khurmatu

THE IRAQI TURKOMANS AND TURKEY

VAHRAM PETROSIAN

(Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies, Yerevan)

Remarks on Terminology

In the publications on the Turkomans and related subjects, espe- cially those by Turkish and Iraqi authors,' i the terminology is ex- tremely inconsistent. In order to forestall misunderstandings and misleading characteristics, one must, therefore, clarify from the outset the terminological aspect of the problem under discussion. In this paper the following system of terminology is considered to be the most authentic: I) Turkoman-a common denomination of the Turkic ethnic continuum from Central Asia, including Iran, Iraq and Turkey. 2) Turkmen-a term designating the ethnic Turkmens in the Republic of Turkmenistan with adjoining areas and Turkmen in- habitants in Iran, as well as only the remnants and progeny of the old Turkmen ethnic elements resided in Iraq during the 9th-13th centuries A.D. or planted here after that period. In other words, Turkoman is a generic name, covering ethnic Turkmens and Turkic speaking communities in Iraq, while Turk- men denotes only the ethnic Turkmens of the Central Asian type. The subject of this paper, the Turkic conglomerate of Iraq, therefore, requires the adoption of the term "Turkoman"2 as a

1Turkey, Turkmenia and Azerbaijanaspire to provescientifically the historical,ethnical and linguisticidentity with the ethnic Turkic and Turkic speakingpopulation of Iraq. In Turkishsources the latter are calledIraqi Turks (Iraq Turkleri),or Turkmens(Turkmenler), while Turkmen and Azerbaijanihistorians name them accordinglyIraqi Turkmens, or Turkmans.At the same time in the works of Western and Russian authors the Turkic populationof Iraqis mentionedas Turkomans(or Turcomans). 2 the Mosul between Great Britain and from 1918 to During dispute " Turkey 1925/1926,Turkey did it best usingthe "Iraqi Turks' factor.The Governmentof Great Britainput forwardthe view,that the Leagueof Nationsmust makethe distinctionbetween "Turks" and "Turkomans".But the authors of the Leagueof NationsReport on the ques- tion of the Frontierbetween Turkey and Iraq disputedthe validityof the distinction,which Great Britain sought to make between "Turks" and "Turkomans"(see CJ. Edmonds, Kurds, Turks and Arabs.Politic.s, Travel and Researchin North-EasternIraq (1919-1925), London, 1957:398, 265).This approach is, of course,partly understandable,as the large majorityof Turkomanpopulation (including Iraqi Turks and Turkmensof Iraq)supported the Turkish claims in that dispute. The main aim of the Internationalcommission was bringingto light the politicalpreference of the populationof the region,but not the under- standingof the "inessential"(from its point of view)differences between Turks and Turko- mans,or if more precise,between the Iraqi Turks and Turkmensof Iraq. 280 generalised name of the whole Turkic speaking population of the country.

The Geography of Turkoman Settlements in Iraq

The Turkoman settlements are located mainly in the north-eastern and partly in the central provinces of Iraq in the following livas Kirkuk, Mosul, Suleymaniye, Erbil (Arbil, Hawler), Diyala, Khilla and Baghdad. The Turkomans live in an original and peculiarly long corridor area beginning at the villages Shibik and Rashidiya (on the north) passing the towns Tel-Afar, Erbil, Kirkuk, and settlements of Altin-Kyopru, Daquq (Tavuq, Tauq), Tuz Khurmatu, partly including Bayat, Kifri, Qara-Tepe, Kizil Rabat, Khanekin, Shahriban, al-Mansuriye, Deli Abbas, Kazaniya and terminating at Mendeli town. The mentioned line simultaneously serves as an 3 ethnical border between the Arab and Kurdish provinces of Iraq.3 Nonetheless, taken by and large, the great majority of the population is Kurdish in this area.4

The Origin of the Iraqi Turkomans

The first mass flow and influx of Oghuz-Turkmen nomadic tribes to Iraq is associated with the Seljuk invasions. However, it is well known that the penetration of some Turkic groupings to Iraq took place in the time of the Caliphate and even before. Subsequently, by virtue of complicated historical processes and geographical factors the main mass of Turkmen nomads merged into other ethnic formations. The Turkmen groups who went far away to the west in time found themselves absolutely isolated and divorced from their Middle Asian kinsmen in ethnical, economical, cultural, and even linguistic respects. As a result, today we deal with two clearly devided and quite different peoples bearing the same ethnic

CJ. Edmondshimself mentions, that he has "generallyused the name Turkomanto de- note villagersor townsmenin the humblerranks of societywhose language is Turkish,and 'I'urk for the Ottomanisedcivil servants, officers and membersof aristocraticfamilies" (ibid : 265). 3 H. ra,?capos, "K Bonpocy H3YlleHIDIKynbTypHoro HaciieRHA 1j'pKMeHcKoro HaUHOHafIbHOFOM2HbllIHHCTBa B hIpaxcxoH Pecrry6nHxe", Xr3paKTepHble vep7i?i COLaeHanbHO- j7a,7HTHvecKorop,738HTHi? apa6cKmx ctpaff B 1950-1970-e ro,qb?,EpeBaH, 1980: 64-70. 4 CJ. Edmonds. op. cit. :2-3. On present Turkoman settlementsin Iraq, see Fazil Demirci,Iraq Türklen"'ninDünü-Bugünü,Ankara, 1991: 61-74.