| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Karluk languages = Uzbek, Uyghur, Chagatai, Turkic, Persian, Ili Turki | |
| Religion | |
| islam, Christian,[1] |
The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰺𐰞𐰸, Qarluq,[2] Para-Mongol: Harluut, simplified Chinese: 葛逻禄; traditional Chinese: 葛邏祿 Géluólù; customary phonetic: Gelu, Khololo, Khorlo, Persian: خَلُّخ, Khallokh, Arabic: قارلوق Qarluq) were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribal confederacy residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh (Black Irtysh) and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains in Central Asia. Karluks gave their name to the distinct Karluk group of the Turkic languages, which also includes the Uzbek, Uyghur and Ili Turki languages.
The descendants of Karluks today include the Uzbeks and Uyghurs. Karluks were known as a coherent ethnic group (with autonomous status within the Göktürk khaganate and an independent one in their subsequent states of the Karluk yabghu, Karakhanids and Qarlughids) before being absorbed in the Chagatai Khanate of the Mongol Empire. Karluks are close descendants of the Ashina clan. Karluks are also people of the Altaics. Karluks are mainly Uzbeks and Uyghurs who are also the minor descendants of the Hans otherwise known as the Han peoples (Han Chinese). Karluks are also closely related to the Rouran Khaganate (柔然; Róurán), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan (蠕蠕; Ruǎnruǎn) (or variously Jou-jan, Ruruan, Ju-juan, Ruru, Ruirui, Rouru, Rouruan or Tantan).
They were also called Uch-Oghuz meaning "Three Oghuz".[3] Despite the similarity of names, Mahmud al-Kashgari's Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk wrote: "Karluks is a division of nomadic Turks. They are separate from Oghuz, but they are Turkmens like Oghuz."[4] Ilkhanate's Rashid al-Din Hamadani in his Jami' al-tawarikh mentions Karluks as one of the Oghuz (Turkmen) tribes.[5] I. Kafesoğlu (1958) proposes that Türkmen might be the Karluks' equivalent of the Göktürks' political term Kök Türk.[6]
Over time, these peoples were divided into numerous clans, [and indeed] in every era [new] subdivisions arose from each division, and each for a specific reason and occasion received its name and nickname, like the Oghuz, who are now generally called the Turkmens [Turkman], they are also divided into Kipchaks, Kalach, Kangly, Karluk and other tribes related to them...