What is the difference between Turk and Arab?

[jonatas]

this is an area i'm really curious about and which i am also ignorant in... can you history buffs please explain the major differences and any similarities between Turk and Arab? what is the history of the two groups, what is the history of their interaction and relationship? i love detailed responses, so share you wisdom...

 

[pawpaw]

this is an area i'm really curious about and which i am also ignorant in... can you history buffs please explain the major differences and any similarities between Turk and Arab? what is the history of the two groups, what is the history of their interaction and relationship? i love detailed responses, so share you wisdom...

arabs were the inhabitances of arabia that spread across the middle during the rise of islam. the turks were steppe tribes that drifted west into the middle east in the middle ages. their interaction began as the turks conquerored modern turkey and wetre used as mercanaries by the arabs. they soon converted to islam.

 

[blindside]

Both are usually grouped by languages. The turks originated in the Eastern Steppes perhaps 2000 years ago and after a series of invasions took over most of Central Asia. Eventually different Turkish tribes would conquer most of Asia and parts of Europe. Turkey as we know it was conquered by some Turkish group (Seljuks I think). After living there for many centuries a noble family rose to power and formed the Ottoman empire which leads to modern day Turkey. The people that live in the Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan are all Turkish people.

The term Arab is commonly used to describe the people in North Africa and much of hte Middle East. The true Arabs are the Gulf Arabs. The others are local people that speak Arabic after they were conquered by Arabs.

 

[airrahul]

The Turks are originally from Central Asia. They speak a different language than the Arabs as well. They migrated into the Middle East in waves, the first being (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the Seljuks who caused the Byzantines trouble and the last major group being the Ottomans (named after their leader, Othman or Osman). They eventually conquered the Byzantine Empire and the surrounding area in the Balkans along with establishing control over the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt. The Ottoman Turks, along with the Mughals of India and the Safavids of Persia were one of the three major Muslim "gunpowder empires" of those times (about 1400s to late 1600s).

The Ottoman Turks were kicked out of the Middle East by the British and Arab revolts during World War I (for the Hollywood version, watch Laurence of Arabia). This also gave rise to modern Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's guidance after WW1.

Anyhow, Turks speak Turkish, are originally from Central Asia. Arabs speak Arabic. Most Turks in Turkey are Sunni Muslims though I don't know about the Turkic peoples of Central Asia (mostly in former Soviet republics) who are linguistically and culturally related to the Turks you seem to have in mind. Most Arabs are Sunni muslims though a majority in Iraq are Shia Muslims. Basically, the Turks from the Arab point of view would probably be seen as colonial oppressors. Just my opinion though, I'm not really sure exactly what the state of their relations are today.

 

[superisis]

I would say that the last turkish wave westward came with Timur-i-Lenk (Tamerlane), "the super turk". Though wether his was a "real" expansion or not remains to be argued.

 

[allhailIndia]

Turks get Sipahi and Arabs, the Ansar Warrior....oh sorry that's Civ3

I think rahul seems to have covered the basics of the question so there isn't much I need to add.

On a side note, Turkish culture and tactics, along with Persian had a huge impact on Indian history in the 15-17th century. Turkish officers served in almost every major INdian army in this period from the Mughals to the Vijayanagara Empire. Turkish cannons and muskets were in great demand in all over the country and Turkish influences can be seen in architecture all over the country, best example being the Taj Mahal.

The Arabs had a more limited impact on India as they never established any significant kingdom east of the Indus and most of their western possessions were taken over by the Persians and Afghans in the later middle ages. However, contact with Arabs was more significant down south as they controlled the Spice trade with Europe till the coming of the Europeans. In fact the Arab monopoly over Indian trade was what inspired the Portuguese and later, other European countries to come to India.

 

[Sargon of Agade]

The Turkic peoples who were under Soviet Occupation were and are Sunni. Shia Islam is confined to small areas such as parts of Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabai's Eastern Coast, Qatar, Bahrian, Iraq and Persia.

 

[ZIG_Ilia]

huh.. "soviet occupation" - very funny..
turkish people in 30-th years of 20 century wants to be with Soviet Russia...
Russia was agreed to accept them..

read history...

 

[allhailIndia]

There is also a significant Shia population in India, though I am not sure of the exact figures, especially in the Deccan area.

This is because of the Persian nobles who set up their kingdoms which lasted well into the 20th century, the best known being Hyderabad, whose last ruler was once the world's richest man.
However, Shiites in general are in a minority as compared to the Sunnis, but they are the second largest Islamic sect

 

[Verbose]

The Turks are originally from Central Asia. They speak a different language than the Arabs as well. They migrated into the Middle East in waves, the first being (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the Seljuks who caused the Byzantines trouble and the last major group being the Ottomans (named after their leader, Othman or Osman).

Actually the original "Bulgars" that turned up in the Balkans (couple of hundred years before the Seljuks) were turkish speakers. They set themselves up as ruler over the local slavs and were then converted to their subjets language and faith.
Even earlier, the Avars, another of these horse-nomad peoples from Central Asia that came after the Huns, may have been Turks as well.
The Seljuks appeared in the 11th c.

The Turks were originally part of the horse-nomad steppe culture that from around 600 B.C. until 1500 A.D. or so (the Tartars in Russia being the last hurrah of this force in history). As horse nomads they were usuallt better organised for military conquest than the agriculturalists living around them (Europe, ME, China). From time to time some group would burst out and build a more or less longlasting empire (Skythinas, Medes and Persians, Parthians, Huns, Tibetans, Seljuks, Mongols, Ottomans, Manchu etc.).

 

[mrtn]

@Verbose
are you saying that the Tibetans and Mongols were/are Turks?

I think/hope you're not, but...

 

[Verbose]

@Verbose
are you saying that the Tibetans and Mongols were/are Turks?

I think/hope you're not, but...

No I'm not. I'm saying all these people shared a common lifestyle as horse nomads in Central Asia. Linguistically they were very different.

 

[MaisseArsouye]

No I'm not. I'm saying all these people shared a common lifestyle as horse nomads in Central Asia. Linguistically they were very different.

Actually, some people think that turkish and mongol languages are related in the altaic familly, just like french and hindi in the "indo-european" familly. Finnish, hungarian and japanese would also belong to the altaic familly.

Arab is a semitic language, belonging to the afro-asian familly. It's related to hebrew, aramean, ethiopian, berber and old egyptian.

It's clear that arab and turkish have completely different grammars. Vocabularies are differents too, even if, as neighbours, they had influence on each other ( especially arab on turkish ).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages

 

[CruddyLeper]

Turks do kebab shops. Arabs don't.

Turkey had a strangehold over the rest of Islam for a very long time... another reason why Turks are thought different from Arabs.

The writing is different, as well as the language.

 

[wurkwurk]

Writing, culture, language, traditions...Turks differ from Arabs in so many ways. Kinda like comparing the French to the Germans.

Not to forget Turkish girls either

 

[blindside]

Writing, culture, language, traditions...Turks differ from Arabs in so many ways. Kinda like comparing the French to the Germans.

Not to forget Turkish girls either

The French and Germans are far more similar to one another than the Turks and Arabs.

 

[Xen]

this post was bull****. this post was bull****. this post was bull****. nevermind

 

[Tatar Caner]

As a Turk human I have to explain that question of you . We Turks are the people who came from Central Asia Altay mountains. We were livin as the groups that earn their life by animals. Also who used horses and leather clothes . The humans who had slant eyes as someones know ( I wish ) . You can never see these in the Arabs and their culture . Because we are far different from them. But after year 751 Talas War Arabs started to kill Turks vainly and in agony. They had commanders as Kuteybe Bin Muslim (etc) The Turks in anatolia had to give up and . but when arabs wanted to break into Central Asia they were not succesfull because the Turks in the Central Asia were so much strong. And then Turks became Muslims but we didnt get the arab culture so thats why we are turks . not arabs . when 1299 Ottoman Empire was built by Osman Bey they were still Turks but then someones needed to ruin our culture and maybe they were succesful . we were gettin some arab culture but not all maybe 10 per cent . you can understand from Ottoman Empire had soldiers as Akincilar or Sakalar they were turkish words that we used . when Ottom Empire started to be called '' Sick man '' We lost our scientists or army and we got nothing . then in the independence war of Turks arabs backstabbed us . they always backstab us . And still .... But today youth of Turks love arabs who killed their ancestors ( I hate em ) thats because of Turkish youngsters are not reading books or history . The fact is that arabs are enemies of TURKS

 

[sophie]

Turkish is a Turkic language. Arabic is a Semitic language. End of thread.

 

[Tahuti]

Turkish is a Turkic language. Arabic is a Semitic language. End of thread.

Nobody cares.