TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

ARMENIANS ARE KIPCHAK TURKS Murad Adji A People Emerged as a Result of Turkish-Armenian Contacts in History: Armenian Kipchaks or Gregorian Kipchaks Ss, 253-272 A People Emerged as a Result of Historical Turkish-Armenian Contacts: Armeno-Kipchaks or Gregorian Kipchaks June 2015 Journal of Turkish Studies 10/8(Spring):253-272 DOI:10.7827/EnglishStudies.8215 Authors: Gökçe Yükselen Abdurrazak Peler Erciyes University Download full text PDF Read full text Download quote Copy link References (61) Abstract Introduction and Purpose of the Study It does not seem possible to determine the beginning of Turkish-Armenian contacts in history. Perhaps the most important reason for this situation is the impossibility of specifying the homeland of both peoples. However, historical sources record that the Turkic peoples and the Armenians have been in contact since the Hunnic period, and that this contact has been repeated throughout history up to modern times. These recurring Turkish-Armenian conflicts include at least two historical encounters between the Kipchaks and Armenians; first in Transcaucasia and Eastern Anatolia, and later in Crimea. As a result, the Armeno-Kypchaks, a Turkic-speaking people who lived in Crimea, Ukraine and Poland between the 13th and 17th (perhaps 18th) centuries, emerged and took their place in history. However, the ethnic origin of the Armeno-Kypchaks is a matter of debate. One claim is that the Armenians contributed ethnically and religiously, while the Kipchaks contributed linguistically to the formation of the Armeno-Kypchaks, i.e. that they were linguistically Turkified Armenians. Another claim is that the Armenians contributed only religiously, while the Kipchaks contributed ethnically and linguistically, and therefore they were Kipchaks who converted to Armenian Christianity. The aim of this study is to find an answer to this debate by examining sociolinguistic, onomastic and celestial data. Methodology Historical data on Turkish-Armenian contacts were examined from sociolinguistic, ethno-linguistic and religio-linguistic perspectives. In the Armenian cultural field, special attention was paid to the conversion of the Turks to Christianity. Special attention was given to the Kipchaks' contacts with the Armenians and their conversion to Armenian Christianity. The Armeno-Kipchak linguistic data were examined in the context of contact linguistics and in comparison with the Turkish (i.e. Uzbek)-Tajik contact. In addition, in addition to anthroponyms, the Armeno-Kipchak month and day names were also examined in order to find clues about the ethnic origins of the Armeno-Kipchaks. The lexical content of the Armenian-Armeno-Kipchak dictionaries was also examined from a sociolinguistic perspective. Findings and Discussion The Kipchaks' interest in almost every monotheistic religion they encountered, namely Greek Orthodoxy, Russian Orthodoxy, Georgian Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Islam and Judaism (Gökbel 2000: 265-342; Ahincanov 2009: 268-276), can be considered as evidence for the possibility of conversion to Armenian Christianity in Crimea. Records of Kipchaks' conversion to Armenian Christianity in Transcaucasia and Eastern Anatolia further confirm this possibility. The existence of an Armenian village called Kıpçak in Gumry and a monastery called Hpçahavank/Kıpçak-a Vank “Kıpçak Monastery” in the same village (Grousset 1947: 26-30; Gökbel 2000: 310; Gökbel 2002: 514-15; Aynakulova 2005: 829) is evidence that the Kipchaks converted to Armenian Christianity in Transcaucasia. It is also understood from the inscription of the building that the people who built this monastery were Kıpçaks (Alasania 2013: 131). Similarly, another Armenian village called Kuchakh in Iğdır in Eastern Anatolia, which was evacuated in 1918 (Gökbel 2000: 311; Gökbel 2002: 515; Aynakulova 2005: 829), is another evidence pointing in the same direction. The language of the Armeno-Kipchaks is similar to the language of the Codex Cumanicus, compiled in the 13th century, and especially to the Karaim language. The differences between the Armeno-Kipchaks and the Karaim seem to be based on religious reasons. The speakers of the Karaim language are members of a Jewish sect and therefore their language is written in the Jewish alphabet and their religious terminology is copied from Hebrew. On the other hand, the Armeno-Kipchaks believe in Armenian Christianity and therefore their language is written in the Armenian alphabet and their religious terminology is copied from Armenian (Clauson 1971: 8). It is not very convincing to put forward a different claim regarding the ethnic origin of the Armeno-Kipchaks, but it is accepted that the Karaims are of Turkish origin, since the two peoples speak almost the same language. The general appearance of the language mixing resulting from the language encounters may also shed light on the ethnic origin of the Armeno-Kipchaks. Usually, the language of the culturally dominant group copies many words from the language of the dominant group.