THE ETHNIC HISTORY AND TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE TURKMENS

Abstract. This article analyzes the historical formation of the Turkmen people and presents information on the designation of the Oghuz tribes before the ethnonym Turkmen came into use, as well as the etymology of the term Oghuz. It discusses the origin of the Oghuz ethnonym, the legends of Oghuz Khan, the establishment and disintegration of the Oghuz state, and the replacement of the term Oghuz with Turkmen beginning in the thirteenth century. The article also examines the migration of Turkmen tribes into the regions of Bukhara, Zarafshan, Kashkadarya, and the Amu Darya basin, their ethnic composition, economic activities, material and spiritual culture, and their ethnocultural interactions with the local population.