The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks (Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; Mongolian: Хөх Түрэгийн Хаант Улс; Chinese: 突厥; pinyin: Tūjué; Wade–Giles: T’u-chüeh) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate as the main power in the region and established the First Turkic Khaganate, one of several nomadic dynasties that would shape the future geolocation, culture, and dominant beliefs of Turkic peoples. Strictly speaking, the common name “Göktürk” emerged from the misreading of the word “Kök” meaning Ashina, ruling clan of the historical ethnic group’s endonym: which was attested as Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰, Türük Old Turkic: 𐰛𐰇𐰜⁚𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰, Kök Türük, or Old Turkic: 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚, Türk. It is generally accepted that the name Türk is ultimately derived from the Old-Turkic migration-term[8] 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰 Türük/Törük, which means ‘created, born’.
The Göktürkler(s) or Köktürkler(s) were a Turkic people of ancient Central Asia. Known in medieval Chinese sources as Tujue (突厥 Tūjué), the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Khan (d. 552) and his sons succeeded the Xiongnu (Turkish: Doğu Hun; Chinese: 匈奴; pinyin: Xiōngnú; Wade-Giles: Hsiung-nu) as the main Turkic power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade during the sixth century. The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina tribe, an Altaic people who lived in the northern corner of the area presently called Xinjiang. (:新疆|新疆). Under their leadership, the Göktürks rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in north-western China, North Asia and Eastern Europe (as far west as the Crimea). They were the first Turkic tribe known to use the name “Turk” as a political name. At their height, the Gokturks controlled a vast area stretching from Eastern Europe all the way across northern China. Their empire made contact with many cultures including Persia, and facilitated the movement of cultural concepts from one area to another. Their religion, Tengriism, a form of shamanism centered on a celestial deity, Tengrii, includes elements which resemble concepts of Confucian and Hindu thought. The state’s most famous personalities other than its founder Bumin were princes Kül Tigin and Bilge and the general Tonyukuk, whose life stories were recorded in the Orkhon inscriptions discovered in 1889 in the Orkhon Valley in Mongolia. From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound the nomadic Turkic tribes together into an empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts. The Khanate received missionaries from the Buddhists, Manicheans, and Nestorian Christians, but retained their original shamanistic religion, Tengriism. From the eighth century, the Göktürks used “Old Turkic script” (also “Göktürk script,” “Orkhon script,” “Orkhon-Yenisey script;” Turkish: Orhun Yazıtları, 鄂爾渾文字) to record the Old Turkic language.
The Gök Türks (aka Türük, Kök Türük, Tourkh, Turk, Tujue, Tr’wk) were one of the many nomadic Turkic peoples that lived in Mongolia in the early Middle Ages. Their origins are not clear because 6th-7th century Chinese sources describe different myths. They might have been a part of the Xiongnu, they might have been Turkified Xianbei who fled massacre from the Tuoba Wei or they might have Turkified Indo-Europeans. Whoever their origins were, they were the first Turkic group to use the name Turk. The ruling family of Türük came from the Ashina tribe which was believed to have descended from a child and the Kök Böri (Blue Wolf). Until 552, the Türük people lived in the Southern Altais but in 552 they moved into the Orkhon Valley in Central Mongolia. The Gök Türks were one of the many nomadic Turkic peoples that lived in Mongolia in the early Middle Ages. Their origins are not clear because 6th-7th century Chinese sources describe different myths. They might have been a part of the Xiongnu, they might have been Turkified Xianbei who fled massacre from the Tuoba Wei or they might have Turkified Indo-Europeans. Whoever their origins were, they were the first Turkic group to use the name Turk. The ruling family of Türük came from the Ashina tribe which was believed to have descended from a child and the Kök Böri (Blue Wolf). Until 552, the Türük people lived in the Southern Altais but in 552 they moved into the Orkhon Valley in Central Mongolia.
Long before the spread of the Mongols, there existed a Eurasian Empire centered in Mongolia that was nearly as great and as powerful as that of Genghis Khan. It is known as the Göktürk Kaganate (552-744 AD), and it controlled the Silk Road as far west as the Black Sea. European historians rarely mention this state, probably because the Göktürks (Blue or Celestial Turks) had not reached western Europe directly, still their influence on Central Asia was profound. The Gokturk Empire was destroyed by the Tang dynasty in 630 by Li Jing and the western half was destroyed in 657 by general Su Dingfang. The only part of the Turkish Empire which the Tang state didn’t occupy was the Khazars in southern Russia. The Turks (Turkish people), whose name was first used in history in the 6th century by the Chinese, are a society whose language belongs to the Turkic language family (which in turn some classify as a subbranch of Altaic linguistic family. They identify themselves as being descended of Oghuz Turks who migrated to Anatolia in 11th century. Throughout history, the Turkic peoples have established numerous states in various geographical regions on the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. Turks brought their culture to the places to which they had migrated and were also affected by the cultures of these regions. According to Chinese records, Turks appeared in political history of Asia with the Huns, a coalition of various central Asian nomads, including Turks.
The ancient Turkish were called Gok Turks or Kok Turks. They were nomadic tribes and 1st in Mongolia to identify them as “Turk”. The 1st reference to Turks were in Chinese Records of about 2000 BC. About 4000 years ago. The records refer to Husiung-nu, an early form of Western Hun.’ They lived in area bounded by Altai Mountains, Lake Baikal and northern edge of the Gobi Desert.
The earliest form of Turkish writings was found in Mongolia. Approximately some 2500-3000 years ago Turkish language is thought to have evolved. It is thought to be part of Altaic Language family, which is common ancestor of following languages:
- Turkish
- Korean
- Japanese
The earliest written record is in early 8th century by the Gok Turks. They are called Orkhon inscriptions written in Old Turkic language. The two memorials were erected in the honor of two Turkic princes:
- Kul Tigin
- Bilge Khagan- lived from 683 CE to 734 CE.
Origins from Prophet Nuh(Noah in Bible, and maybe Manu of Hindu Scriptures).
What do these people in the photos all have in common? They are Turkic. They all share some linguistic and cultural and even genetic similarities. It is believed that the first Turkic people inhabited around Central Asia, China and Siberia. They are believed to have had strong mongoloid features. It is believed they branched off from the Xiongnu people of ancient China. The first widely known Turkic ethnic group where the Gokturks who established the Gokturk empire in the 6th century. Turkic people originally had their own writing systems such as Orkhon, Yenisey and then later Uyghur (which was also used in Mongolia until the USSR introduced Russian Cyrillic.) Over the course of many years and various empires and dynasties, Turkic people migrated to new places and integrated with other ethnic groups, mixing with the locals creating forming new groups of Turkic speaking people. As a result there are now significant populations of Turkic people in North, east and central Asia and also Eastern Europe.
Indigenous Peoples Literature 
