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Carter V. Findley
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The Turks in World History 1st Edition

by Carter Vaughn Findley (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 70 ratings
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Beginning in Inner Asia two thousand years ago, the Turks have migrated and expanded to form today's Turkish Republic, five post-Soviet republics, other societies across Eurasia, and a global diaspora. For the first time in a single, accessible volume, this book traces the Turkic peoples' trajectory from steppe, to empire, to nation-state. Cultural, economic, social, and political history unite in these pages to illuminate the projection of Turkic identity across space and time and the profound transformations marked successively by the Turks' entry into Islam and into modernity.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780195177268
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0195177268
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    November 11, 2004
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.16 x 6.26 x 0.69 inches
  8. Print length
    320 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a first-rate book, of a kind that has never been written before."--Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association

"An ambitious and timely book...One has to admire his ability to make accessible long-range and deeply complex developments."--Matthew Gordon, Journal of World History

"An original and masterful synthesis of the complex six-thousand year history of the tribes, clans, and empires that produced the dozens of peoples generally known as Turks or TurkicAny tribute to Findley, already at the pinnacle of Turkish and Ottoman studies, is fully deserved."--Kemal Karpat, The Historian

"Findley's book has many merits, and he has written a considered and balanced, as well as a readable, survey, which should help to bring the disparate fields of 'Turkic'/Turkish/Ottoman history to the attention of a non-specialist audience."--The International History Review

"A timely, rich, and accessible work. A welcome addition to the field of world history."--Africa and the Middle East

"Findley's study is to be admired for its attempt to place the history of the Turks within the larger context of world history and its wide-ranging discussion of the impact of modernity."--Middle East Journal

"Carter Vaughn Findley's book is one of the most noteworthy achievements in recent years and a very welcome and needed contribution to Turkish and Turkic studies. The story of the 'Turks,' from their pre-Islamic, nomadic times to their glorious and powerful Islamic empires, and to their encounter with Western ideas and ideals, is masterfully presented in a single and accessible volume accompanied by specially generated maps and pictures."--American Historical Review

"[M]akes an important contribution to the study of world history as well as to its immediate topic, the history of the various Turks over the past 1,500 years."--D.M. Fahey, Miami University

"Cater Vaughn Findley's history of the Turkish people certainly has original, learned aspects, and although it is not consistently supported by primary texts, it is certainly worth other scholars' deep attention...Findley's done quite a fine job."--Journal of the Society of American Studies

"[A] timely, rich, and accessible work that examines the spatial and temporal shifts in Turkic peoples'identity formation and the trajectory from steppe, to empire, to nation-state."--History

"This is a much-needed, welcome and highly readable introduction to the Turkic world and its complex evolution. Findley's book, based on the most recent scholarship, has the added advantage of being set in a global context, connecting the important stages in the history of the Turkic peoples with larger, world-historical processes."--Peter B. Golden, author of An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples

"The Turks in World History offers a masterful overview and interpretation of the entire Turkish historical experience. Throughout, Findley skillfully interweaves heritages from early nomadic life with complex subsequent encounters with settled farmers and urban societies, down to and including the recent Turkish diaspora into western Europe and overseas."-William H. McNeill, co-author of The Human Web: A Bird's-Eye View of World History

Book Description

Traces the Turkic peoples' trajectory from steppe, to empire, to nation-state

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0195177266
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 11, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780195177268
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195177268
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.07 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.16 x 6.26 x 0.69 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 70 ratings

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Carter V. Findley

Carter V. Findley

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
70 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

doc peterson
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, historicially detailed with insightful analysis
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2009
Verified Purchase
Findley, in the introduction to _The Turks in World History_ writes, "This book is intended for the nonspecialists who want to know more about this important part of the history of humanity." This is quite a broad goal; Findley hits the mark, dead center. His masterful historical narrative pulls together geographically and socially disparate parts of world history - East Asia, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe with the common thread of the Turks. His history has certainly given me pause to reconsider the way in which "world civilization" is interrealted.

The book begins with the distant (and not well documented) history of the nomads of present-day Mongolia and Siberia, the forefathers of both the Mongols, the Finns, the Hungarians, Turkomans, Uzbeks and the Turks: the Hsung-nu. Well known to the Ch'in and Han dynasty, these were the peoples against whom the Great Wall of China was constructed. From these origins, the gradual migration of Turkish-speaking peoples is chronicled through a variety of westward migrating groups from Uighurs, to the Huns, to the Golden Horde of Chingiss Khan to the Ottomans and the residents of present-day Turkey. As the history of this people are told, the common cultural ties of the Turks are pointed out - the forest that I had missed for the trees of differences between groups. The dialectic between micro-political forces (born of the de-centralized nature of steppe life) macro-political forces (as the Turks in their various groups became slaves, soldiers, and eventually conquorers) particularly impressed me: I had never seen the cultural, artistic and sociological similarities between Mongol, Mameluk, Seljuk, Ottoman and Moughal before. Similarly I had never made the broader connection between "cossack" (the free-ranging horsemen of Ukraine) with "Kazakh", the Turkish horsemen of Central Asia; or the connection between the Uzbeks (of Central Asia) with the decendents of Chingiss (Oezbek). These are only two of the many threads that Findely uses to weave together his world history.

Truly the Turks, perhaps more than any other ethno-lingusitic group, have pulled together far-flung parts of the world through commerce and conquest. The last third of the book in which European imperialism and the rise of modern states is discussed was of less interest to me, but was no less profound. History can be dry, even downright boring if not well presented. Findely's writing is fluid and keeps the reader's attention. The connections between peoples, civilizations and cultures are regularly referred back to, allowing the reader to easily follow the larger points he wants to make.

That the Turks had such a major role and place in world history is something I had not previously considered; before reading _The Turks in World History_, I understood them only in the narrow construct of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires. I now seriously reconsider my view as a result of this book. For students of history (either literally or figuratively) I highly recommend this book.
24 people found this helpful
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H. Schneider
4.0 out of 5 stars Closing a gap, partly
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2011
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If you feel that you want to know more about Turkey and its history, and are not entirely clueless about related subjects, like Islam, Central Asia, Russia/ the Soviet Union, China, Mongolia, India, the Silk Road, empires and whatnot, then this book is a good choice. I found it through an amazon friend's review. I can't exclude that the specialists in the many fields touching on the subject are dissatisfied with this or that, nor that essentialists, like Islamists or Anti-Islamists or Turkish Pan-Nationalists, find fault with it. It did its job for me. I am not enthusiastic about the author's writing skills, but one can't have perfection, often. He writes clearly and scholarly, but I would wish a little more `esprit' once in a while, to spice things up or sweeten them. Of course one can say that humor has no place in serious scholarship, but after all I don't get paid for reading this and hence might be humored a little, no?

A key point to consider when approaching the subject `Turkey' is its complexity: as Findley explains in his introduction, modern Turkey's history and cultural tradition feeds on three main streams: the Anatolian heritage from pre-Turkish and pre-Islamic times; Islam, which came from the South; and the Turkish/Turkic peoples, which came from the East. This book, as its title implies, focuses on the third part. Considering that the book has only 230 pages it would be unrealistic to expect the full package.

The Turks of the title include the people of Turkey as well as the Turkic peoples living further East: the Uigurs, Uzbeks, Kirgiz, Kasakhs (Cossacks), Turkmens, Tadjiks, Tatars, etc. as well as some peoples of the past, like the Huns. Turkish empires existed already during the first millennium in the neighborhood of China and had mixed relations, mainly with the Tang dynasty. That included clashes and wars, but also periods of symbiosis.
Most Turks were converted to Islam between the 10th and 14th century. Anatolia was first called Turchia in a European document of the 12th. Turkish nationalists make much of this great Greater Turkey tradition. It is worth noting, in Findley's words, that: `Far from leading to a pure national essence, the search for pure Turkic origins leads to a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual steppe milieu.'

The predecessor of modern Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, was a long-lived structure: its beginning is dated at 1300, and it fell at the same time as the Habsburg Empire and the Russian Czars' (except that the latter stayed more or less together under the Soviets, while the other 2 were dismantled, which was not necessarily a good thing for the 20th century.)
The Ottomans began to thrive after the demise of the Mongol Empire. What had caused that? Findley does not go deeply into that question, it is outside the scope. An important factor was surely the invention of gun powder, which reduced the steppe horsemen's efficacy. Another one mentioned by Findley is the plague epidemic of the 14th century.

One should be aware that the Ottoman empire was in existence at the same time as the Safavids' in Iran and the Moghuls' in India. At the time China was ruled by two great dynasties: first the Ming, then the Manchus. Point being: the European imperial expansion did not impact Asia all that much before 1800. And another point: imperialism was not a European invention. (The Europeans just did it differently and later. No apology meant by this, just trying to put things in perspective.) The crusaders were a fringe phenomenon.
15 people found this helpful
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grahamdogger
3.0 out of 5 stars Very academic, difficult to read, inclusive of long names, not too many pages but the pages are LONG.
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2015
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For a beginner, it is way too thorough and includes far too many names. I read this book (well I only made it through half) while traveling through central Asia and the middle east hoping to better understand the culture. The book does an excellent job at covering history... but just not for someone who isn't a massive history buff or a pure academic.
4 people found this helpful
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Dorothy K Morris, Author of the Mockingbird Hill Series
2.0 out of 5 stars A Study in the Evolution of Political Systems in Inner Asia and the Middle East.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2020
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Less about Turkic peoples than it was a study of the evolution of political systems in Inner Asia and the Middle East, with a side view of Turkey. Full of data and facts, which were often difficult to follow, it is an intense scholarly endeavor and did not make history come alive. I consider it a reference source only. It attempted too much and became encyclopedic. Not recommended for the faint of heart. I plowed through to the end to glean what I could. Reading it was as difficult as weaving that carpet would be for me.
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Elizabeth Williamson
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive history of the Turkic peoples
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2013
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This book is obviously written by a scholar who knows the history of the Turkic peoples in detail. He tells the story in simple language covering the whole spectrum in time and in space, giving the layman an introduction to this little-known people and their relation to one another and to other peoples in and around the steppes of Central Asia. The book is very readable, yet is so rich in detail that I plan to read this book again.
3 people found this helpful
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Emily Costigan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview.
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2013
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An excellent overview of all the Turkish peoples from Ghengis Khan to the present. An especially good book for novices.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sevinc Ayhan
5.0 out of 5 stars Gutes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on November 8, 2022
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Die Lieferung des Buches war sehr schnell, der Preis ist passend und es ist ein sehr interessantes Buch, nur zu empfehlen.
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Atal
4.0 out of 5 stars Excited
Reviewed in Germany on January 31, 2023
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Excited To read this amazing book. Delivery was all good
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Kristian Søgaard
4.0 out of 5 stars All about the Turks
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2014
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The best book I ever read on this subject!!
Absolutely recommendable!
Gives a thoroughly insight in the history of a people and a region ofte forgotten.
2 people found this helpful
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T. Gokce
3.0 out of 5 stars Okish
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2019
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A good read but nothing to getting really appreciate or get excited about!
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