During your trip in Turkey, you will surely read or hear terms that may seem synonymous but are not: Turkish, Ottoman and Seljuk. Actually, they are closely related to each other, and that is why we try to clarify some basic ideas and explain the differences between them, to better understand what each of them refers to.
Turkish: language and ethnicity
The term Turkish can refer to two major realities: language and ethnicity. As far as language is concerned, the current Turkish language belongs to the group of southwestern Turkic languages, that is to say, it is related to others in the surrounding area, such as Turkmen (Turkmen) and Azerbaijani (Azerbaijani), among others. And its current configuration is the one that came about after Atatürk‘s reform , which modernized the language spoken during the Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish), a concept we discuss below.
In terms of ethnicity, among the various traits that can be attributed to the Turkish people is, precisely, the use of the Turkish language. In terms of genetics, it is difficult to speak of a standard Turkish prototype and, although haplotypes present in past Turkic groups predominate, the current population also has a significant Phoenician, Berber, Hellenic, Slavic and Arab genetic load, among others.
Ottoman: up to Atatürk
The term Ottoman refers to the aspects that characterized the population of Anatolia during the time of the empire ruled by the Ottoman dynasty. Its founder in 1299 was Osman I, who in some cases and languages is known as Ottman or Othman, from which his name derives. Osman I was a Seljuk Turk, so his lineage and the political entity he created was considered heir to the Seljuk empire, therefore, of Muslim religion and Sunni branch. Its language, similar to modern Turkish, incorporated many borrowings from other languages, such as Arabic, something that was put an end to in the time of Atatürk. It was an era of artistic, social and political splendor, with capital in Bursa, Edirne and finally, Istanbul (Constantinople).
Its collapse came with the First World War, resulting in its being one of the losing powers. It was then that its dismemberment, various international agreements that were considered humiliating and the war against Greece took place: the perfect breeding ground for the nationalist reformulation of the modern state, driven by the considered father of the fatherland, Mustafa Kemala Atatürk.
Seljuk: the ancestors
In the 13th century, immediately before the rise of the Ottoman dynasty, Anatolia was in a period of uncertainty and political fragmentation, caused by the Mongol invasions, in addition to the still significant portion of territory dominated by the Byzantine Empire. At the arrival of the Mongols, Anatolia was dominated by the Seljuk dynasty, which eventually adopted Islam and became a Turkic-Persian empire that dominated from Asia Minor to Iran.
It was so called because its founder was the leader Seljuq in the 10th century. In the 12th century, this empire had already fragmented and its only surviving representative in Anatolia was the Sultanate of Rum. Its capital was Konya and, not surprisingly, its architecture and other artistic expressions show Persian influence. And in fact, some of its distinctive cultural elements are today authentic signs of identity of the Turkish people, such as the gyrovagous dervishes.
Of course, Turkey is a complex country in which elements inherited from Greeks, Armenians, Kurds and other peoples also coexist, as we explain in detail on this page. But without a doubt, being clear about the differences between Turks, Ottomans and Seljuks will help you to better appreciate the legacy of each of them.
