The 8th-century steppes were filled with change: the Abbasids were stirring to the south, the Second Göktürk Empire lay in ruins to the east, and the Khazars solidified control over the Caucasus. This episode delves into the journey of twenty-four Turkic tribes as they seized the Syr Darya basin, forming the Oğuz Yabgu State, a precursor to empires that would dominate the Islamic world for a millennium. Starting from their first mention in the Orkhon inscriptions to the councils under the blue-topped yurt of the Yabgu, we explore how this nomadic coalition became the foundation for the Seljuks, Karamanids, Ak Koyunlu, and eventually the Ottomans.

Discover how these tribes—split into the Gray and Three-Arrow factions—navigated rival Khaganates and how five lineages (Kınık, Bayundur, Salur, Yıva, and Kayı) evolved from tribal groups to dynastic founders. We’ll examine the legends and facts of Oğuz Khan and Bayundur Khan, the roles within the Yabgu’s court, and the westward migration that transformed Central Asia, Anatolia, and beyond. By the end of the episode, you'll understand why the Oğuz legacy endures in modern Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and the Gagauz of Moldova, as well as how their martial spirit left an indelible mark on Eurasian history.

Sources:
Mahmud al-Kashgari, Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk; "The Book of Dede Korkut"; Rashid al-Din Hamadani, Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh; Ahmad ibn Fadlan, Risala; Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kāmil fi al-Tārīkh; Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk; Ibn Hawqal, Kitāb Ṣūrat al-Arḍ; René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes; Peter Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples; Carter Vaughn Findley, The Turks in World History; Encyclopaedia Iranica; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia entries: "Oghuz Turks," "Kayı Tribe," "Bayat Tribe," "Afsharid Dynasty," "Ak Koyunlu."