,THE TURKESTAN OF THE HUNGARIAN TURKOLOGIST VÁMBÉRY

TRACES OF THE “BIG GAME" ON HIS TRIP

_ Along With the Original Photos_

TRACES OF “THE GREAT GAME" IN THE TURKESTAN TRAVEL OF

HUNGARIAN TURCOLOGIST VÁMBÉRY

_ Together with the Original Photos_

The geography of Turkestan, which unites the East and the West, is from the point of view of Hungarians who are looking for their own origins

it has been a very important research area.

XIX century in Turkestan. Towards the end of the century, Turkology was developing in Hungary

during the period, there was a Decisionism in the scientific literature between Great Britain and Russia, which wanted to create spheres of influence ‘ Great

The political and economic competition, which was called ’The Game", was going on.

Hungarian Turkologist Ármin Vámbéry, the founder of Turkology in Hungary, also participated in the ‘Big Game

"he got involved. He gave the reports he prepared by traveling to Turkestan to England. Vámbéry

In the Turkestan travelogue, traces of orientalism, British imperialism against Russia, Turkestan

it was a result of his support for the subject. After he obtained the Chair of the Turkology Department or

Against the background of Russia's declaration of Pan-Turkism against the policy of Panslavism, UK support

there was. Against Vámbéry, the Russians denied his trip to Turkestan, while the British denied him

their support means that the Anglo–Russian strife is manifested in the person of a Hungarian Turkologist.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the data of the Hungarian archival documents and other Hungarian sources based on

in the aforementioned subject, which has not been much research done, by making use of them to a large extent,

Based on Vámbéry's trip to Turkestan, the occasional alliance of the British-Russian strife

by tracing them, Hungarian Turkologists were involved in the “Big Game” with their Central Asian studies, and

from time to time, Britain and Russia have benefited from the results of this by making alliances

possible findings that can be explained using the method of the discipline of history, Britain and Russia

To evaluate it in the context of Central Asian policy.

In addition, examples of original photos left from travelers going to Turkestan will be presented.

•

Keywords

Hungarian, Turkology, Central Asia, Vámbéry, Travel, Turkestan, England, Russia, ‘The Big Game".’

•

Prof. Dr., Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Faculty of Letters, Faculty Member of the Department of History, tunam10@gmail.com,,

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6037-1039

THE TURKESTAN OF THE HUNGARIAN TURKOLOGIST VÁMBÉRY

TRACES OF THE “BIG GAME" ON HIS TRIP

_ Along With the Original Photos_

TRACES OF “THE GREAT GAME" IN THE TURKESTAN TRAVEL OF

HUNGARIAN TURCOLOGIST VÁMBÉRY

_ Together with the Original Photos_

Melek ÇOLAK∗

Date of Submission: 29.06.2018

Date of Admission: 18.03.2019

14 Angel COLAK

SUTAD 45

The Abstract

Central Asia where connects the East and the West is a special area of research for Hungarians

looking for their origins. In Central Asia, towards the end of the 19th century, in the period when

Turkology developed in Hungary, the political and economic rivalry between the Great Britain and

Russia, which wanted to create areas of influence in Central Asia, was called the "Great Game" in the

scientific literature.

Ármin Vámbéry, who was the founder of Turcology in Hungary, also got involved in the Great

Game. During his visits to Central Asia, he prepared reports and gave these to England. Tracks of

orientalism in Vámbéry's Central Asia Travel Book was the result of his supporting British

imperialism against Russia in Central Asia. The reason behind his acquiring the Chairmanship of

Department of Turkology or declaring Pan-turkism policy against Russia's Pan-slavism was there the

support of England. Vámbéry established the foundation of Turcology education in Hungary by

systematising Turkish dialects in the Central Asia and while his travels to Central Asia were denied by

Russians and supported by the English, which shows that English-Russian rivalry found a body in a

He is a Hungarian Turcologist.

The purpose of the current study is to explore the traces of the conflicts and sometimes

agreements of Britain and Russia on the basis of Vámbéry's travels to Central Asia by using the data

find in the documents from the Hungarian archives and sources and to evaluate the involvement of

Hungarian Turcologists in the “Great Game" and how Britain and Russia benefited from their

findings by using the method of the discipline of History within the context of the Central Asian

policies of Britain and Russia.

Moreover, samples of the original photos remaining from travelers visiting Turkey will be

presented.

•

Keywords

Hungary, Turcology, Central Asia, Vámbéry, Travel, Turkey, England, Russia, ‘Great

Game".

15 Traces of the “Big Game" by the Hungarian Turkologist Vámbéry on His Trip to Turkestan

_ Along With the Original Photos_

SUTAD 45

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entry

The ties between Turks and Hungarians go back a long Decadent history. History's most

these relations, which began in the old times, were later established in V. and IX. Deciphered by the Turks between the centuries

it took place within the established empires; therefore, Greek, Latin and Islamic sources

He called the Hungarians “Turks". IX. who came to Hungary at the end of the century and kept the dorm

During the period when the Hungarians adopted Christianity in 1000 and tried to integrate into Europe

and even after that, relations with Turkish tribes such as Pecheneg, Uz, Kuman continued, finally

then came the period of Ottoman domination, which would last for more than 150 years (Çolak 2012: 527-

528). These relations are related to the history of the Hungarians, their origins, ancient dates and XIX century. continuing until the century

it shows that they are very closely related to the Turkish world with their adventures (Baştav 2006:5)

I. The Tradition of Oriental Formation in Hungary and the Outlook on Asia

Because of the deep-rooted historical connections with the Turkish world (Çolak 2012: 527-528) From the point of view of Hungarians

“East" has never been just a geographical concept. In the consciousness of Hungarians, “it came from the east

there was a ”being" (Cases from Hungary 2014: 1). Decontamination of the Danube-Tisza rivers in Central Europe

from the moment of their arrival on the territory there are such Slavic nations as German and Czech Dec Slovak, Polish, Russian

forgetting their loneliness with the awareness that they are different in language and culture from where they stay

they felt the need to turn to their distant past for. From the territory of Hungary of the Ottomans

Hungarians, who came under Habsburg rule after the withdrawal, took the remedy in the face of German pressure

they found refuge in their ancient history. Literary works on pre-Christian Hungarian history

they gave us. The tradition of the Hungarians to have an eastern origin, starting with the chronicles of the pagan era,

XVIII, which is the beginning of the romantic era. issues related to the east at the end of the century

when it became fashionable in all its branches, it created a special orientalism that sought the old homeland in Hungary.

In this current, which manifests itself in the scientific field, as well as in art and literature, the Oriental

the idea of being a people made Hungarian orientalism different from the West (Çolak 2012, 531). The Hungarians

their interest in the Oriental origins of their language and history has led to important research

(Oral 2004: 111). Thus, in the historical process, Turkishness has been Deciphered among the European nations

the Hungarians, who were, ensured that Turkology also appeared in Hungary. The existence of old relationships

As a result of the fact that Turkology is considered a “national branch of science” in Hungary, the emergence of national culture

it has become a necessary branch of science in its extraction. Information about Turks with a scientific approach

although the beginning of its study goes back to the period of Ottoman rule, Hungarian Turkology

his etudes XIX. it appeared as a result of a long development in the XVIII century. It is an independent branch and scientific

the origin and origins of his birth as an ecole XIX. the nationalization of Hungarian history in the XVIII century and

it occurred during the regeneration cycle. XIX. various schools, researches since the middle of the century

it has appeared (Çolak 2012: 528-529).

The tradition of Oriental formation reveals the idea of Turanism other than Turkology in Hungary

(Colak, 2012: 531). The influence of European imperialist policies on the

in a period of time that it shows, the distant homeland ideal of the term panturanism on this axis

its use in the sense dates back to 1839 (Batsman 2011:13). First of all, Turan belongs to Iran

its nomenclature was established in 1839 to describe the Turkic communities in Central and South-East Asia

as a result of their attempts at origin and language research, Hungarians who use remote

they called their dormitory “Turan”. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is losing power

in response to the beginning of the spread of Panslavism and Panturanism, distrust of the West

He has matured the idea of Tourism in Hungary (Çolak 2017: 462).

One of the geographies that Hungarians consider in the context of Turkological studies and Turanism

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It was Central Asia. Central Asia, uniting East and West, from the point of view of Hungarians who are looking for their own roots

it has been the subject of research as a very important region (Çolak 2017: 463). This research

XIX, where he made progress. a century in which the issues of national identity and language were tried to be resolved

it represented the era of reformation. The Habsburg, who believed that the origin of the Hungarians was in Central Asia

anti-intellectuals founded the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and traveled to Central Asia and

they supported the explorers (Marácz 2010: 123-124).

During this period, only “those who are interested in Central Asia are looking for their racial relatives in the east, social and

it is not the Hungarians who "feel connected to the east because of cultural relations" (Turán 1918: 514-515,

from the beginning of the 1800s, it was necessary to strengthen their position against a potential enemy and

who began to pursue political influence in Central Asia in order to improve trade opportunities

It was England and Russia (Sabol 2002: 587).

II. The ”Big Game" and Hungarian Researchers in Central Asia

XIX. how Britain and Russia took control of Central Asia for a century

it is stated that they are in a serious and complex struggle with each other regarding

(Sabol 2002: 587). by Captain Arthur Conolly, who travelled in Persia and Bukhara in the 1820s

it is believed that it was used, by the 1840s, for the struggle for dominance in Central Asia