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England, France and Russia. Commander of Kazakh forces
Reza Khan and Seyyed Zia’eddin conducted a coup against
the government in 1921 with the support and incentive they
received from England. After the coup, Reza Khan was
appointed as army commander and Seyyed Zia’eddin as the
Prime Minister. However, as unrest increased, Qajar Ahmad
Shah left the country and ended up in England.
Commanding Iranian army forces, Reza Khan overthrew
Zia’eddin and designated himself as the Iranian Shah with
the name Reza Khan Pahlavi in 1925. Thus Turkic
dominance in Iran which had been going on for about a
thousand years ended and a strict Persian rule started under
Reza Pahlavi. A civil unrest did not take place as a result of
this change because strong sectarian ties in Iran outweighed
national Turkish identity among Turks in Iran. Despite the
fact that there was not any political pressure on Persian
culture during Turkic administration in Iranian geography
for about a thousand years, Reza Shah Pahlavi and the
following administrations in Islamic
Republic of Iran did not
follow a similar approach for Turks in Iran and hence
Turkish culture employing inhibitory policies and
applications. Current state administration’s oppressive
attitude toward Turks in Iran has not changed a bit despite
efforts by some of the personalities in high ranks and
positions who are of Turkish descent (e.g. Iran’s religious
leader Ali Khamenei). Turkic states were sovereign in Iran
geography for about a thousand years since the ancient age
and although they were not necessarily founded in Iran, they
controlled the whole area or some parts of it in different
periods. On the other hand, Turkic communities that have
lived in Iran all along make up a significant portion of the
Turkic world in this part of the world.
Turkic tribes and communities which we regard as
representatives of Turks in Iran ruled over all over or
specific parts of Iranian geography since the ancient ages
periodically despite the fact that some of them were political
establishments founded outside the region. Scholars have
had a variety of opinions regarding the aforementioned
Turkic states. Without conducting in-depth
research, some of
them even claim that some of the states of Turkic origin
were in fact Indian with reference to states that were mostly
settled in the aforementioned geography. On the other hand,
10
archeological findings and data gathered from locations in
and around Iran reveal much about the history of the region.
This topic will be discussed in length in other articles that
we believe will be of particular concern to political
establishments. This study aims to present a list of Turkic
states and communities that were settled in Iran in an
attempt for drawing attention to the scope, historic
significance and depth of the topic. Is it a coincidence that
six of the sixteen states that are included in Turkish
Republic
Presidential Seal were founded in Iranian geography? It is
just a clear manifestation of Iranian geography’s
significance
in Turkic world history that extends along a long period of
time. Hereby, some of the main Turkic political
establishments founded in the Iranian geography are:
1.
Kayanis
2.
Medes
3.
Cimmerians and Scythians
4.
Ak Huns
5.
Khazars
6.
Ghaznavids
7.
Great Seljuk Empire
8.
Iraqi Seljuks
9.
Kerman Seljuks
10.
Ildegizids
11.
Khwarazmian State
12.
Ilkhanate
13.
Timurid State
14.
Kara
Koyun State
15.
Ak Koyun State
16.
Safavid State
17.
Afshar State
18.
Qajar State
Some of these states are included in the Presidential
Seal of the Republic of Turkey. These are:
1.
Ak Huns
2.
Khazar Empire
3.
Ghaznavids
4.
Great Seljuk Empire
5.
Khwarazmian State
6.
Timurid State
Some of the Turkic communities that lived in
Iranian geography throughout history include: