Chepni (; ; ) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes.

History

In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of ''Gök Han'' that consists of Pecheneg (''Beçenek''), Bayandur (''Bayındır''), Chowdur (''Çavuldur'') and Chepni, a part of ''Üç-Oklar'' branch of the

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...

. According to Mahmud al-Kashgari's '' Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk'', it was the 21st tribe of the 22 Oghuz tribes.Besim Atalay (ed.), ''Divanü Lügati't - Türk'', Cilt I, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2006, , p. 57. They had been converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

and

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

). According to a Turkish historian, Faruk Sümer, the first murids of

Haji Bektash Veli Haji Bektash Veli (; ; ; ) was an Islamic scholar, Mysticism, mystic, Wali, saint, sayyid, and philosopher from Greater Khorasan, Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia.C. Olsen: Celibacy and Religious Traditions. Oxford University Press. 1st ...

may have been the Chepni residents of Suluca Kara Üyük (now a town of

Nevşehir Province Nevşehir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its area is 5,485 km2, and its population is 317,952 (2024). Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir Province, Kırşehir to the northwest ...

in the Central Anatolia region of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) and some Turkish historians claim that Haji Bektash Veli may be of Chepni origin.

Language

In the 1330s, some Turkmens appeared in the coastal regions of the Pontus. A remarkable feature of the Pontic situation is that some groups of nomads apparently wandered Trapezuntine territories as subjects of the Grand Komnenoi. In addition to the case of the Christian Çepni, this is substantiated by linguistic data. According to Brendemoen, by the 14th century, a group of Pontic Chepni nomads was bilingual and spoke both Turkic and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. Moreover, the earliest Turkic dialect of the Pontos was based on the Aqqoyunlu Turkic dialect under the influence of Pontic Greek. Historian Michael Meeker states that the linguistic Hellenization of some Turks who settled in the region is not "altogether improbable".

Settlements

Turkey

Giresun province and its region is known as Chepni province in history. Chepni are mainly concentrated in the provinces of Giresun and

Ordu Ordu () or Altınordu is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey and the capital of Ordu Province. The city forms the urban part of the Altınordu, Ordu, Altınordu district, with a population of 235,096 in 2023. Name Kotyora, the origina ...

in the Eastern Black Sea Region but also live in

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

, and

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, Chepni is a clan among Geklen Turkmens living in the west of the country.

References