16 Great Turkic Empires

The 16 Great Turkic Empires (Turkish: 16 Büyük Türk Devleti, also translated as "16 Great Turkish Empires") is a concept in Turkish ethnic nationalism, introduced in 1969 by Akib Özbek[2] and widely invoked by Turkish authorities during the 1980s, under the government of Kenan Evren. Prior to this assertion, the 16 stars had been taken as representing sixteen medieval beyliks which succeeded the Seljuk Empire.[3]

Erdoğan and Abbas with actors representing the 16 Great Turkic Empires (2015)[1]

Flags of the 16 Great Turkish Empires displayed in the Istanbul Military Museum

The list

According to the concept the "16 Great Turkic Empires" are the following:

Flag (fictional)[4]	Name	Turkish name	Leader[5]	Dates (Gregorian)[6]
	Great Hunnic Empire	Büyük Hun İmparatorluğu	Mete Han	220 BC-46 BC
	Western Hunnic Empire	Batı Hun İmparatorluğu	Panu	48-216
	European Hunnic Empire	Avrupa Hun İmparatorluğu	Attila	375-469
	White Hunnic Empire	Akhun İmparatorluğu	Aksunvar	390-577
	Göktürk Empire	Göktürk İmparatorluğu	Bumin Kağan	552-745
	Avar Khaganate	Avar İmparatorluğu	Bayan Kağan	565-835
	Khazar Khaganate	Hazar İmparatorluğu	Tun Yabgu Kağan	651-983
	Uyghur Khaganate	Uygur Devleti	Kutluğ Kül Bilge Kağan	745-1369
	Kara-Khanids	Karahanlılar	Kül Bilge Kadir Han	840-1212
	Ghaznavids	Gazneliler	Alp Tekin	962-1186
	Great Seljuq Empire	Büyük Selçuklu İmparatorluğu	Selçuk Bey	1040–1157
	Khwarazmids	Harzemşahlar	Muhammed Harzem Şah	1097–1231
	Golden Horde	Altınordu Devleti	Batu Han	1236–1502
	Timurid Empire	Büyük Timur İmparatorluğu	Timur	1368–1501
	Mughal Empire	Babür İmparatorluğu	Babür Şah	1526-1858
	Ottoman Empire	Osmanlı İmparatorluğu	Osman Bey	1299-1922

Reception

16 stars in the Presidential Seal of Turkey represents each empire

Turkish nationalist writer, novelist, poet and philosopher, Hüseyin Nihâl Atsız, supporter of the pan-Turkist or Turanism ideology, had noted that while some states with questionable Turkic identity were included in the list (like Mungal), some ostensibly Turkic states (such as Akkoyunlu) were left out, and labeled the list a "fabrication."[7]

In spite of Atsız' criticism, the concept was made a mainstream topos in Turkish national symbolism in the wake of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, under the presidency of Kenan Evren, when "Turkish-Islamic synthesis" was declared the official nature of Turkish national identity. The Turkish Postal administration issued a series of stamps dedicated to the 16 Empires in 1984, showing portraits of their respective founders as well as attributed flags.[4] In 1985, Özbek's 16 Empires were invoked as a retrospective explanation of the 16 stars in the presidential seal of Turkey (introduced in 1936).[8]

Several municipal buildings and public parks in Turkey have collections of busts or statues of the founders of the "16 Empires" alongside a statue of Kemal Atatürk, including the municipal buildings of Keçiören (Ankara), Mamak, Ankara, Etimesgut, Niğde, Nevşehir, Pınarbaşı, Kayseri, etc.[5]

In 2000, Türk Telekom produced a series of smart cards dedicated to the topic.[9]

In January 2015, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in the Turkish Presidential Palace with a guard of 16 "warriors", actors wearing loosely historical armour and costume, intended to symbolise the 16 empires.[10] The costumes were ridiculed in secular Turkish media outlets, and one of the costumes in particular was mocked as a "bathrobe", becoming a trend on social media under the name of Duşakabinoğulları (as it were "son of the shower cabin").[11]

See also

• Pan-Turkism
• Turanism

References

1. France-Presse, Agence (2015-01-12). "Abbas welcomed at Turkish presidential palace by Erdoğan – and 16 warriors". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
2. H. Feridun Demokan, Contemporary Turkey: Geography, History, Economy, Art, Tourism, Demokan, 1978, p. 4. Necdet Evliyagil, Sami Güner, Basın-Yayın Genel Müdürlüğü, Ajans-Türk, Türkiye: Cumhuriyetin 50. Yıl Kitabı, Ajans-Türk Matbaacılık Sanayii, 1973.
3. X. Türk Tarih Kongresi, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1994, p. 2947. (in Turkish))
4. Ivan Sache, Presentation of the Sixteen Great Turkish Empires and their alleged flags, Flags of the World, 4 July 2004; c.f. jpeg of the 1984 stamp series. The flags were designed by Özbek in 1969. They are mostly imaginary, with the exception of the 1844 Ottoman flag, and arguably the wolf's head and the bow-and-arrow used as emblems for the Göktürk and the Seljuk states, respectively. Ekrem Buğra Ekinci, 16 TÜRK DEVLETİ Cumhurbaşkanlığı forsundaki 16 yıldız neyi ifade ediyor?, 2 February 2015.
5. Keçiören 39°58′41″N 32°52′3″E. Etimesgut Belediyesi kent meydanı için hazırlanan 16 Türk Büyüğü heykelleri. Niğde’nin simgesi Türk Büyükleri heykelleri kaldırılıyor mu? Türk devlet büyükleri Mamak'ta Archived 2016-08-05 at the Wayback Machine Türk Büyükleri Anıtları Yenilendi (Nevşehir). "Pınarbaşı Turkishness Monument" (Pınarbaşı Türklük Anıtı, opened in 2000).
6. Dates as shown in the original document
7. On line history newspaper ((in Turkish)) Archived 2016-03-21 at the Wayback Machine Nihal Atsız (in Turkish)
8. Central Eurasian Studies Review, Vol. 3, Central Eurasian Studies Society, 2004, p. 23
9. Büyük Türk Devletleri
10. "Spear-carriers and chainmail warriors: Erdogan's palace welcome". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
11. "'Duşakabinoğulları' istifa getirdi: O kıyafete 'bornoz' diyen dekan görevinden ayrıldı" (in Turkish). Diken. Retrieved 29 May 2016. "Duşakabinoğulları 3 ay sürmüş!" (in Turkish). Sözcü. Retrieved 29 May 2016. "Duşakabinoğullarını Dolmabahçe Sarayı'na getirdi" (in Turkish). Birgün. Archived from the original on 2016-05-27. Retrieved 29 May 2016. The Takvim daily newspaper omitted a label for this particular costume (Western Hunnic Empire) by mistake; diken.com.tr.