RUSSIA, TURKEY, AND ENGLAND; OR, THE EASTERN QUESTION.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 996, 4 September 1877, Page 3

RUSSIA, TURKEY, AND ENGLAND; OR, THE EASTERN QUESTION.

(FROM THE PRESS,) THE TURKISH RACE. As considerable interest exists respecting what is called the Eastern Question, we purpose giving in the following articles the result of careful reading of standard writers on the subject treated of, and of inquiries from other well informed sources. And although we can hardly hope that all who follow us will arrive at the same conclusion as ourselves, yet the material which we have collected will certainly aid our readers to form a much more intelligent opinion of the merits of the question than is usually possessed. The question is not one that is to be disposed of by sentimental humanity, except by the sacrifice of :i humanity that is deeper and more

lasting than the mere emotion which too often usurps an honored name. In this paper we shall give our readers some account of the Turkish race, and of those races which are related to it by way of common descent. An examination of the map of Asia reveals these general physical features. The centre of the vast continent is occupied by high mountain ranges, which arc (lanked on the north by the lower land of Siberia, and on the south by the lower land of India, Burmah, and Siam. These mountain ranges, which run parallel to each other, extend from the foot of the Ural mountains to the Indian Ocean, a distance of nearly 6000 miles. Between the parallels are enclosed fertile plains of great elevation, called plateaux. The width of the high plains varies from 700 miles at the narrowest point, between Bokhara and Persia, to 2000 miles on the extreme cast. But it is not meant that the latter is one continuous plain. While the parallel ranges running from west to east keep drawing apart, thus enlarging the enclosed plain, fresh ranges break off from the main ridge and intersect the vast plain, forming several plateaux of a more or less fertile character. Thus Upper Asia, as tins region is called, consists of several series of mountain ranges, running east and west, and of high levels lying between these ranges. The whole region, which is fully a third of the continent itself, is known as Upper Asia, and is sometimes described as the cradle of the human family.

On this upper land, before the historic period, dwelt live nomadic or wandering tribes. Various reasons have led to the opinion that the live tribes had originally a common ancestry —that they were indeed oi one stock. The struggle for existence demanded a separation of the several branches of the family ; and, once separated, the usual circumstances operated to produce the changes of feature, language, &c., which mark them distinct tribes. Of these five races, who ai» known as the Turanian family, our subject lias principally to do with one; only remotely with a second race. But we will briefly enumerate the whole. The first is the Bbolya or Tartars, in the south-east of Asia; the

second the Tungasian, lying between the River Yenesei and the Sea. of Okhotsk in Siberia; the third the Mongolian, to the north of the wall of China and to the west of Mancbooria. Of these three races we have nothing more to say. There remain the Ugrian and the Turkish races. The former, at a very early date, descended from tho plateau and passed into the north of Europe, extending itself as far as Norway and occupying the tracts between Norway and the Yenesei in Siberia. In Europe the Lappes and Finns arc the descendants of the Ugrian race. And it is worthy of note that our word Ogre is a corruption of the name by which the Ugrians were known. The Ugri were invested with terrible attributes by the Scandinavian imagination. Besides the Lappes and Finns, another branch of this race established itself in Europe—the Magyars. These Ugrians were settled at the south of the Uralian Mountains, but in the ninth century they descended to the Lower Danube, and driving back the Slavs of Hungary inhabited that country, which received its name from these conquerors. The Ugri being corrupted by the Russians into Ungri, from which came in due course Hungarian —the name by which the Magyars are best known. It is thus seen that the Lappes, Finns and Magyars of Hungary, are first cousins of the Turks, although of a different religion. That this relationship is of some account is evident from the fact that the eminent Eastern traveller Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian, was sent into Turkestan some years back, for the purpose of making enquiries about the habits of the family in the original seat of the Magyars. The Turkish race with which we are more immediately concerned, occupies very extensive tracts of Asia and Europe, and is divided into not fewer than ten branches. The Turks were known as Thu-ku by the Chinese—hence the name Turk —and were driven by them to the Altai mountains. According to another account, 500 families of the celebrated Hiongnu settled under a helmet-shaped mountain, and hence were called Turk-terk, meaning helmet. This race gradually occupied those lands which arc now in possession of its several branches. The following account of these several branches will bo found interesting at the present moment: — 1. The Ouigors situated to the west of Mongolia. 2. The Turks of the sandy deserts of Mongolia and Thibet in the north, and south of the Chinese Empire. 3. The Turks of Khotan, Kashgar, and Yarkand. These are on the Eastorn side of the Bcloort-tagh or Cloudy Mountains, which cut the plateau at right angles, and which is formed by the juncture of several mountain ranges—the Altai, Hindoo Koosh, Hymalaya, and Kuen-lun. On the west side of this range are (4) The Uzbeks of Bokhara. To the north of the latter, and between that place and the Algy-dim Tano mountains, starting from the south of the Ural, are (5) the Kirghis, in Independent Tartary, and (6) the Turkomans of Turkestan ; (7) the Nogays, between the lower Don and the lower Volga, north of Caucasus ; (8) the Turks, scattered through the Russian Empire; (9) the Yakuts, occupying_ the valley of the river Lena, which empties itself into the Frozen Ocean. These Turks are subject to Russia, and are partly Christian and partly Pagan in religion. They number about 400,000, and speak a language which is understood at Constantinople, which is the capital of (10) the Ottoman Turks, the largest and most important branch of the Turkish race. The whole of this race, except. the Yakuts, are Mahomedan in religion. The movements of the family whose different branches we have indicated have had an important bearing upon European history. Through eight centuries Europe has been devastated at different points by members of this family. Under the names of Avars, Huns, Chazars, Comanians, and Bulgarians, the Turks have swept like a scourge through Europe from the fourth to the twelfth century. But it was not until the thirteenth century that the armies of the Ottoman Turks began to exercise an influence over the destinies of the world. The Turkomans inhabiting Khorasan, in the north of Persia, and subject to their sultan, whose sceptre stretched from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, defeated their rulers and, electing Togrul Beg, a grandson of Seljuk, as their ruler, established the Seljuk ian Empire, which embraced Asia Minor, Syria and Persia. The dynasty thus established lasted for three generations only. Alp Arslan succeeded his uncle Togrul Beg, and on the death of his son, Malek Shah, the empire was broken into three—Kerinan, washed by the Indian Ocean, Syria and Asia Minor, then called Roum, ruled by descendants of Seljuk, entitled Sultans of Iconium. During the ' continuance of this division occurred those warlike movements of Europe called the Crusades, which were taken for the avowed purpose of recovering the sacred places of Scripture History from the hands of the Mahommedan conquerors. All this occurred before the arrival of the Ottoman Turks. Between the beginning and middle of the thirteenth century the great Tartar leader, Zenghis Khan and his conquering hordes swept over Asia, Asia Minor, and Russia. While they shattered the power of the Sultans of Iconium, they overran Russia and occupied its fairest portions for two centuries. The necessities and distresses of the Seljukian Turks reached their kinsmen in Khorassan, from which country the Seljukians had emerged as conquerors. This led to the migration of the Ottoman family. Led by Soliman Shah, a number of warriors with their families left their old home in Khorassan to assist their kinsmen in Asia Minor. Soliman was drowned in the passage of the Euphrates, but the tribe, or such portion of it as was willing to continue its march about 500 families were led on by his son Ertoghrul. "the right-hearted man." The manner of their introduction to their kinsman was of a romantic character. On reaching the crest of a hill in their toilsome march, they saw before them two armies engaged hi battle. Ertoghrul immediately formed his small army into battle array and gave the order to "charge to the rescue " of the weakest. Their coming turned the scale and the weakest became winners of the field. The army thus strangely succoured was that of Aladdin, Sultan of Iconium, the kinsman whom Ertoghrul was socking. In rclurn for his eminent assistance, Aladdin gave him the principality of Saguta, on the River Sakharia, which discharges itself into the Black Sea. And here begun that Empire which lias played so important a part in the fortunes of Europe. We shall trace its rise in our next paper.