What is the subject of the Ergenekon Epic and to whom does it belong?

When we look at thousands of years of ancient Turkish history, we see that there is a different legend and a different hero in every period. One of the most well-known among these is the Ergenekon Epic. The Ergenekon Epic tells a story about the pre-Islamic Turks. In this story Turks take shelter on a mountain slope when they are almost destroyed And hundreds of years later, they emerge from here and spread around the world.

When we look at the Ergenekon Epic historically, it is indeed a period. It seems that the Turks were under great pressure, were engaged in blacksmithing, and their numbers were decreasing. For this reason, the Ergenekon Epic also contains historical facts. Of course, it would be wrong to view this as a historical narrative, but it is still true that it gives us some information about the lives of pre-Islamic Turks.

Let’s explain briefly for those who don’t know: What is the Ergenekon Epic?

The Ergenekon Epic refers to the Turks living in Central Asia before Islam. It is a story containing legendary elements belonging to the Göktürks. Even though we see stories similar to the ones told in this epic in Chinese and Russian sources, the source in which it is written in full is the work called Câmi’ü’t-Tevarih, also known as Reşididdin History, written by the Mongolian historian Reşidüddin Hamedani. The epic was later recorded in the work titled Şecere-i Türk, written by Ebulgazi Bahadır Han.

Ergenekon Epic in Summary:

One day, the Gokturks were attacked by the Tatars and most of them were killed, while the survivors were taken prisoner. Only Il Khan’s son Kayan, his brother’s son Nüküz and their wives survived. When they left, they took many horses, camels, goats and sheep with them. Since the surroundings were full of enemies, they wandered among the Serbian mountains while looking for a deserted place. At last they found a plain surrounded by mountains, with a single entrance that was difficult for even a loaded animal to pass through.

There were streams, meadows and fruit-bearing trees on this plain. They settled here and ate animal meat in winter and their milk in summer. They made clothes from the skins and wool of the multiplying animals. They stayed in this place, which they called Ergenekon, for more than four hundred years, but eventually they multiplied and could no longer fit here.

One day they remembered the story their ancestors told them and They decided to go out to the world outside Ergenekon, but they needed a way out. One of the blacksmiths told them that if they melted the metal on the mountain, a road would be opened. They immediately piled coal and wood in front of the mine and lit a big fire. By pounding the melted metal, they eventually opened a path wide enough for a loaded camel to pass through.

The name of the blacksmith who gave them the idea of ​​melting the metal and showed them the direction. It was Börte Çene, Gray Wolf. After leaving Ergenekon under his leadership, they sent ambassadors everywhere and declared that the captivity of the Turks was over, and they started celebrating the day they left Ergenekon every year by lighting fires and beating iron.

Okay, but who does the Ergenekon Epic belong to?

The Ergenekon Epic is an interesting story because even though many different names are mentioned, it is not a single person’s story. It is the heroic story of a society. For example, the person mentioned as Kayan is not a person, but the Kayıhanlı tribe of the Turks. The people mentioned as Tukuz are actually the Nine Oghuzs themselves.

When we examine it from this perspective, we can clearly say that the Ergenekon Epic is much more than belonging to a certain person or a certain tribe. The Ergenekon Epic is an epic that belongs to everyone who proudly says they are Turkish today. because the story told is the story of the rebirth of the Turks. The Ergenekon Epic is the story of our ancestors.

The Ergenekon Epic has details that coincide with historical facts:

Of course, it is not known whether they actually melted a mine in the mountain and went out, but when we look at it geographically, what is described is The Ergenekon region is similar to the regions we see many examples of around the Altay Mountains. It is also known that during the period when the Hun union was dissolved, the Gokturks retreated to the Altai Mountains due to Tatar pressure and worked as blacksmiths here.

The Ergenekon Epic has also been mentioned in modern Turkish literature:

The work titled Şecere-i Türk, written by Ebulgazi Bahadır Han and telling about the Ergenekon Epic, Translated from Chagatai to Turkish by Ahmet Vefik Pasha and was serialized in the Tasvir-i Efkâr newspaper in 1863.

An Ergenekon-themed poem written by Ziya Gökalp was published in Türk Duygusu magazine in 1913. Turkish Tradition: Ergenekon It was published under the name Ergenekon in his book named Kızılelma in 1914. In the same year, Ömer Seyfettin also wrote a poem telling the Ergenekon story.

The origin of the Turks’ Nevruz holiday dates back to the Ergenekon Epic:

Nowruz, celebrated as a spring festival by many communities today, has a different origin for each community. Nevruz holiday celebrated by the Turkish nation It is based on the story of the melting of the iron mine in the mountain told in the Ergenekon Epic. That’s why we light a fire, jump over it and forge iron every Newroz holiday.

Why is the Ergenekon Epic important for us?

When we look at other epics in our history Sometimes we encounter a single hero equipped with divine powers. This hero somehow survives all kinds of difficulties and then saves those around him. Unlike other epics, the Ergenekon Epic includes not a single hero, but multiple heroes, that is, the Turkish nation.

Just as the Turks, who were about to disappear due to the attacks of the Tatars at that time, survived by struggling even if they were a handful of people left, we too should take this epic as an example and face the difficulties. Already This is why Turkish writers often talked about the Ergenekon Epic in the 20th century. The fire lit in the Ergenekon Epic also ignited the fuse of the War of Independence.

One of the most important epics of the pre-Islamic Turks. What is the Ergenekon Epic, who does it belong to and what is it about? We answered frequently asked questions such as: The Ergenekon Epic is a much more detailed and long story, but in this article we only talked about its summary and meaning.

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