Afshar (tribe)


The Afshar, also spelled Awshar, is one of the Oghuz tribes. These originally nomadic Oghuz tribes moved from Central Asia and initially settled in what is now Iranian Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Republic, Eastern Turkey. Later some of them were relocated by the Safavids to Khurasan, Kerman and Mazandaran. Today, they are variously grouped as a branch of the Azerbaijanis and Turkmens or Turkomans.
Afshars in Iran remain a largely nomadic group, with tribes in central Anatolia, northern Iran, and Azerbaijan. They were the source of the Afsharid, Karamanid dynasties, Baku Khanate, Zanjan Khanate and Urmia Khanate.
According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Afshar, the eponymous founder of the tribe, was a son of Yildiz Khan, the third son of Oghuz Khan. Afshar means "obedient".
Nader Shah, who became the monarch of Iran in 1736, was from the Qereklu tribe of Afshars.

Afshar tribes

List of Afshar tribes are: Alplū, Arašlū, Bekešlū, Gündüzlü, Imirlü, Köse Aḥmedlū, Köselü, Pāpāglū, Qāsemlū, Qereḵlū, Karalu, Karamanlu, Salmanlu, Sindelli, Tur Ali Hacılu, Receplü, Balabanlu, Karabudaklı and Qirqlū.

Afshars in Turkey

Afshars in Turkey mostly live in Sarız, Tomarza and Pınarbaşı districts of Kayseri province, as well as in several villages in Adana, Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep provinces. Most of Afshars in Turkey are descendants of those who migrated from Iran after the fall of Nader Shah. This is hinted in one of poems by Dadaloğlu, famous Afshar bard during the resistance against forced settlement policy in Ottoman Empire:
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;Avşar elleri
While Afshars had remained nomadic and retained their Oghuz lifestyle, forced settlements caused them to adopt a settled lifestyle. A resistance against Ottomans under spiritual leadership of the bard Dadaloğlu and local Afshar lord :tr:Kozanoğlu|Kozanoğlu was proven futile.

Afshars in Turkmenistan

During the reign of Nader Shah, the rest of the Afshars that went to Iran later assimilated into some of the Turkmen tribes that currently live in present-day Turkmenistan, such as Gekleng, Murcheli, Esgi, and Ersary. It is known that they formed a large part of the Murcheli tribe. The Afshars also played a major role in the formation of the Turkmen tribe of Alili.

List of dynasties with Afshar origin