Ersari (, where ''Er'' - brave man, master; ''sari'' - light, bright, yellow) are one of the major tribes of the Turkmen people of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and one of the five major tribes of the country of

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 ...

. They live mainly in Turkmenistan,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Population

Ersari people's number is approximately 2.1 million people overall (1 million in Turkmenistan, 1,5 million in

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 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

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Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and other countries). Ersari has four sub-tribal divisions. They are: Gara, Bekeul, Gunesh and Uludepe.

History

Origin

Ersari are direct descendants of the Oghuz Turks. It is believed that they come from the

Salur tribe Salur, Salyr or Salgur (, , ) was an ancient Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic peoples, Turkic (or Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman) tribe and a sub-branch of the ''Üçok'' tribal federation. The Middle Ages, medieval Karamanids, Karamanid principality in ...

of the Oghuz Turks,Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, ''"Shajare-i Tarakime"'' org. text pp. 207-218 and trans. pp. 267-268. just as Turkmen Yomud tribe. The

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

Turkomans, the conquerors of

and

, are also considered as the forefathers of the Ersari.

Sayin Khan Turkmen tribal confederacy

Ersari appear to have been major component of the Sayin Khan Turkmen tribal confederacy whose Yurt (nomadic territory), in the late 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, stretched from the

Balkan mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

to the Mangishlaq peninsula and north to the Emba river. The label Sayin Khani, given to these Turkmen by the other peoples around, referred to their emergence from the breakup of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

, (founded by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu, known as the Sayin Khan), in order to differentiate their origins from tribes that came from the territories of Hulegu (Iran) or Chaghatay (Trans-Oxanian Central Asia). The Sayin Khani Turkmens appear to have been an organized confederation of tribes said to be divided, in typical

Turco-Mongol The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these khanates eventually ass ...

fashion, into two parts, the Ichki (inner) and Tashki (outer) Oghuz. Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, the Uzbek Khan of Khiva in the 17th century, in his book ''

Shajara-i Tarākima ''Shajara-i Tarākima'' () is a Chagatai language, Chagatai-language historical work completed in 1659 by Khan of Khiva and historian Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur. ''Shajara-i Tarākima'' is one of the two works composed by Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur that hav ...

'' ("The Genealogical Tree of the Turkmen", 1659) does not indicate whether the term Tashki refers to an organizational, military or purely geographical meaning. Sometime in the 17th century, in part to the drying up of the western Uzboy channel of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

, the Ersari and its major subtribes moved east to the banks of the main course of the Amudarya. One sub-tribe, the Ali-Eli also moved eastwards, but remained near Kaka region, which is now in

Ahal Province Ahal Region (; from , also ) is one of five provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-center of the country, bordering Iran and Afghanistan along the Kopet Dag Range. Its area is and population 886,845 (2022 census).''Statistical Yearbook ...

Ersari baba

Ersari baba is the legendary leader of Ersari people, and of all Turkmen, who lived in the 13-14th centuries in Mangishlaq ( Mangystau Province) and Balkan mountains (

Balkan Province Balkan Region () is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkana ...

). He had been the founder of the Sayin Khan Turkmen confederation and considered to be father of Ersari people. He assembled all Turkmens, those that remained in Central Asia after the

Mongol invasion of Central Asia Mongol campaigns in Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on the Mongolian plateau in 1206. Smaller military operations of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia included the destruction of surviving Merkit and ...

. He played a leading role in consolidation of Turkmen tribes at that arduous period in Central Asia.

References

{{Turkmen tribes Ethnic Turkmen people Turkmen tribes Ethnic groups in Turkmenistan Ethnic groups in Pakistan Ethnic groups in Afghanistan