OGHUZ (GHUZZ) The Oghuz, also called Ghuzz or Ouzz, were a confederation of 24 Turkic tribes inhabiting
the region between the Caspian and the Aral Sea (northern and western Khwarazm). They were successors to the Gök Turks, from whom most of the
tribes were descended (some may have been Uighur originally). Though frequently subject to the Khazars or other steppe peoples, they are nonetheless of critical importance to world history as being the forbears of the Seljuq Turks. Their ruler, when they were united under one individual, held the title Yabghu (prince); his foremost warlord and military leader was
called the Kudarkin.
Oghuz Khan
Component of the Gök Turkic Khaganate............c.550-650
Inal Awi.......................................c. 600
Duyli Kai
Erkin
Tuman
Kanly Awi
Mur Awi
Qara Khan ?
Bugara Khan ?
Kazi Tegin
Bazkhagan...............................fl. 670's-680's
To the Gök Turks...................................682-c.700
?
To the Khazars..................................c. 750-940
It is possible that the Pechenegs were an Oghuz offshoot formed during this period. In the early 900s the Oghuz established an independent state around the fortress of Enikert.
Arslan............................................. ? -960
Osman
Ysli
Shayban
Buran
'Ali Khan.......................................c. 980-c. 998
Shah-Malik......................................c. 998-1042 opposed by...
QINIQ/SELJUQ dynasty
Duqaq (Tuquq) Iron-Bow............................. ? -c. 950
Sarjuq (Seljuq).................................c. 950-1010
Sarjuq, an Oghuz officer (probably a mercenary) in the Khazar army, had a falling out with the Khazar government and fled to Khwarazm, where he managed to defeat the Yabghu and establish hegemony over the Oghuz tribes. He converted to Islam c. 990 (though his sons had Judeo-Arabic names, leading some to suggest that he had originally adopted the court religion of Khazaria).
'Ali Khan........................................early 1000's
Arslan Isra'il ibn Sarjuq......................c. 1010-1029 with...
Doud ibn Sarjuq...
Arslan's son, Toghril Beg, took control of the Oghuz horde and invaded Persia, establishing the Seljuq dynasty. Around 1000 Cuman incursions caused the Oghuz remaining in Khwarazm to fragment. Some, like the Torks and Berendei, took up residence in Russia (the "Black Hats" who served Russian princes as mercenaries were formed from these tribes.) Others remained behind and formed the nation that would eventually be called Turkoman, periodically emerging as the White Sheep Turks and Black Sheep Turks to seize parts of Iran and Mesopotamia. The Oghuz language is spoken today in variants including Modern Turkish, Azeri, and Turkoman.