AHISKA  AND AHISKA TURKS

Sevil Pirieva

Ahmed Yesevi International Turk-Kazak University

Şimkent/Kazakhstan

 

 

                                                                  SUMMARY                                                        (Article)

 

In this article the history of geographical area of ''Ahıska Turks'' and their life at the last period in Azerbaijan, Middle Asia and Kazakhstan has been searched.

 

 

Because of its ethnic structure Caucasus has taken care of researchers for centuries and it has taken an urgent place in the world map. In spite of its small geographical area there are variety languages speaking people from different origins. So ''El Eziz'' called this land as ''Cebel Alsun'' otherwise ''Ediller Dağları'' that means ''Country of variety languages'' and he reported 300 hundred different languages talking people (1).

Caucasus protected its ethnic structure in the 19th and 20th centuries and at the same time researchers began to learn the secret of its feature in a detailed way. They brought new reforms to the scientific researches. The ethnic researches has proved that there are people from Turkish origin and talking Turkish in Caucasus ethnic map. One of these nations is ''Ahıska Turks'' who lived at the Ahıska  Pasha Land of Ottoman Empire and gained their identity from the name of that land. That area where those Turkish talking and Turkish origined people live in is at the south and south west part of Georgia. The historical ''Ahıska'' and ''Ahıskalılar'' names are begun to delete from the glossaries because some Georgian researchers has called that area as ''Mesthetiya''. Trying to deny that ethnic name and ethnic origined people is the most interesting thing. According to those awared or blind purposes ''Ahıska Turks'' are ''Meshets''. Their purpose is to delete ''Ahıska Turks'' and their history from that Caucasus land. This effort is depends on political reasons. Some awared researchers who believe those things trying to show this land as ''Mesthetiya'' instead of ''Ahıska'' and ''Mesthetiler'' instead of ''Ahıskas'' without any historical proof. (2).

In other words it is meant that ''Ahıskas'' are the Georgians who are turned into Turkish. They bet that at the end of the 16th century after Turkish invasion of Ahıska lands ''Meshetiler'' has become Turks by assimilating.

If it is true, Georgian origined assimilated Turkish people are majority and Georgians are minority. Thinking like that doesn't depend on any historical document.

Making them Turk project had continued till the ''Edirne Sulh'' pact in 1829 and after this pact Ahıska region brought into Georgia with Ottoman Empire lands (3).

Those bets belong to Georgian researches aren't historical facts. The people who live in those lands don't call themselves as ''Mesheti'', they call themselves ''Ahıska Turks''. They are ''Bunturks'' in historical way. This name comes from Georgian language which means ''Turkish man''. It is formed the combination of ''Bun'' and ''Turk'' words (4). ''Bun'' means ''real'' (5). So this proves that those lands belongs to Turks not to Georgians. We are trying to tell that any minority ethnic groups of people on the world are called with their original names. This is the principle which is accepted by science and history. Another proof is lighting this subject; in the 19th century Russia allocated Ahıska district and Ahıska city was made the centre of this district. That was made as a result of historical principles. Because that region was called as ''Ahıska'' and the people living there were called ''Ahıskas''. That region which was given to ''Ahıskas'' contains Ahalsıh, Adıgün, Aspinza, Ahılkelek, Bağdanovka wich were ruled by Tiflis Goverment (6).

Russian imperialism sent the Turks to Turkey using Edirne Pact in the first 40 years of 19th century to delete them from the Caucasus.

By exchanging nations Armenian from Erzurum and Kars was sent to Ahıska region. And also Russians from Kırım was sent to Ahıska region. Turks became minority, Christians became majority there. In spite of changing ethnic structure Ahıska Turks protected their own culture and language there.

At the 2nd World War with the national struggle against to the Russia, Muslims living in Caucasus were sent from their home towns. In 1944 August SSR government defence committee sent Ahıska Turks from their home towns. On the 14th of October 1944, 115.5 thousand people from 220 diffirent Georgian cities were forced to immigrate to Middle Asia and Kazakhstan with the guide of S. Mamulyan people international affairs secretaryship. During these events 40 thousand Ahıska Turks were dying at the war. Armanians and Georgians were settled to those Ahıska lands. 17 thousand Ahıska who were sent to the uninhabited areas of Uzbek, Kırgız, Kazakhstan died there because of bad conditions on their way. They forbidden them to come back who were returning from their military service. The Ahıskalılar who fought bravely at the war had to search their relatives in the deserts. They didn't give permission them to change their places in the desert. They tried to live by supporting themselves. They became the target of other nations with their works. They never gave up thinking to return back to their home lands.

Because of Ahıska people's superior effort the government wanted some changes about this nation. After the 20th meeting of the party the government gave the permission the nations who were banished by edict of October 1957 to return back to their countries. But Ahıska Turks weren't permitted to return back to their home towns in Georgia.

In different regions of the world, in ten different republic lands living Ahıska Turks found the most acceptance and comfort in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Having same religious, language, culture and ethnic structure made them to live with Azerbaijan people together easy. In September of 1958 the first Ahıska group came to Azerbaijan. They were settled in Saatlı, Sabirabad, Kuba, Haçmaz. The whole Ahıska People who were living in Uzbekistan were permitted to live in Azerbaijan.in 1960  the emigration to Azerbaijan was stopped and the the new comers were permitted to settle in Caucasus (2). Nearly 27 thousand of Ahıska Turks who came to Azerbaijan were recorded with Azerbaijan names not with their original names and identity.

After Fergane events in 1989, 60 thousand of Ahıska People who were living in Uzbekistan were sent to different republics in Russia not to Azerbaijan. The 60 thousand Ahıska People who came to Azerbaijan were settled in Saatlı, Sabirbad, Kuba, Haçmaz, Deveçi, Şamahı, İsmayıllı and Aksu regions. After giving lands to these immigrants, they show their hard working character there also.

They got the same rights as the other citizens. They found some organisations to represent themselves and to defence their rights. The target of these organisations is to return back to their own country. Although Azerbaijan is their second country, they never give up the idea of returning back to their own country.

Consequently they haven't returned back to their home towns for more than fifty years because of stolidity of international law organisation. But they can solve their problem in peace with the rights which has arised in the 21st  century and means the nations can decide their own future.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

1. E.G.VEYDENBAUM. Putovoditel po Kavkazu. Tiflis. 1888, c.66.

2. E.H. PANEŞ, E.B.ERMOLOV. Turki-Meshetinsi. “Sovetskaya Etnografia” 1990, c.16-24.

3. E.H.PANEŞ, E.B.ERMOLOV. Meshetinskiye Turki “Voprosıy İstorii”, 1991 No: 9-10, c.212-217.

4. TAKAİŞVİLİ. İstoçniki Gruzinskoy Letopisey. Sbornik materialov dlya  opisaniya mesnostey i plemyon Kavkaza. Tiflis 1990. Vıp. XXVIII, c.1-6.

5. Drevneturkskiy slovar. L; İzd. “Nayka”, 1969. c.124. 

6. A. YUNUSOV. Meshetinskiye Turki; Dvajdıy deportirovannıy narod. Baku,     2000.