Avshar people
The Afshar ( more Germanized also: Afshar, modern Turkish spelling: Afşar, Persian افشار, Afsar DMG ) had a significant Oghuz tribe, which in turn belong to the Turkic peoples. They settled during the Seljuk conquest of the Middle East mainly on the territory of modern Turkey, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, northern Syria and Iran, and later on the Balkan Peninsula.
Mahmoud al - Kaschghari she mentioned under the name Afshar as one of the 24 Oghuz tribes. As a totem animal they had a peregrine falcon. Their tribal name means in the Old Turkic excited by animal hunting.
The Afshars have come to the Seljuks in the 11th century from Central Asia to Anatolia and the Middle East; some groups also settled in the 14th century in the Balkans. The Afshar established many dynasties and empires, including the Afschariden, Aydiniden, Germiyaniden, Qaramaniden, Menteşe - Oghullari, Saruchaniden, Zengids and the Khanate of Karabakh.
Today, there are still remnants of the tribe in Turkey, Azerbaijan and in other countries in the Middle East and the Balkans. In Turkey today there are 55 places called Afşar or Avşar, Iran and 23 in Afghanistan seven places called Afshar or Avschar and Azerbaijan in a place called Avşar. In Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Kosovo, there are a few Afshar villages. Especially in the Greek city of Komotini and the Bulgarian Haskovo and Kardzhali oblasts there are descendants of the tribe. In addition, there are hundreds Afshar villages in Azerbaijan, in northern Iraq, northern Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. The Turkmens in the provinces of Kerman, Khorasan Razavi and South Khorasan are largely descendants of Kermanshah. In addition, there are descendants in the central Iranian cities Abadeh and Shiraz.
The descendants of the Afshar speaking today various Turkish and Azeri dialects as mother tongue. In Iran and Afghanistan, they are largely assimilated and most speak the Persian language. The until a few generations yet attested named after them afscharische language is spoken and understood by only a few, mostly older Afshars. The Afshars are also known for their distinctive, hand-knotted carpets Afshar, who were still made in the 1990s, the time-honored tradition with typical patterns. These patterns are used even in the conventional, so-called Persian carpet.
Important figures of the 20th and 21st century, belonging to the descendants of the Afshar or were, the Turkish politician Alparslan Türkeş and the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Chamene'i are.