BeyondHeadlines Staff reporter
Title: Turk – Asia, Europe, Africa
Publisher: Vaani Prakashan
Moradabad: ‘The Turks’ is a much needed addition to the shelves of Indian history as it fills the gaps in the understanding of the Great Empire of the Turks. Mohammad Usman, a retired Principal of the prestigious Hind Inter College, Sambhal in Moradabad attempts to add one to the shelf.
The book entitled Turk – Asia, Europe, Africa gives a detailed account of the origin of Turks in Central Asia, their history, language, religion, culture and their eventual intermingling with tribes of Arabs and Mughals to Hindi readers. It connects this knowledge of the Turks with their off-shoot descendants in the Indian subcontinent and opens a window to the understanding of shared cultural elements between the two regions.
The book further investigates the establishment of the Ottoman Empire at the end of 13th century through the lineage of ‘Oguz chief’ of one of the ten Ghazi Emirates in Asia minor and Selzuk Sultans of Turkish Anatolia, both hailing from Central Asia. The spotlight is on the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Role of the great revolutionary leader Mustafa Kamal Pasha and an overview of the six present independent Turkish countries.
The high point of ‘The Turks’ is the establishment of Turkish roots in Delhi Sultanates, Timur’s Empire of Mughal Origin in India, Turkish empire of Asia minor (Eastern Anatolia) and Ottoman Empire of Anatolia. The Author forms fertile grounds for the meeting of the Indian and Turkish cultures.
The book appears to be written after consulting various libraries, research papers, local historiography and eminent historians across the India; and provides an insight into the contributions to the nation by the 250 years old local Turk population of the historical city of Sambhal.
The author’s interest in Turks come from his roots Turks settled in India whose lineage he has further traced in his first book ‘Turks and Sambhal’.
The book will be launched today evening in Sambhal in Western Uttar Pradesh.
