Sälçük (Türki: سَلجُك; Persian: سَلجُق) was a bäg and sübaşı for the Oğuz El in the 11th century C.E. According to äl-Kaşğäri, he was remembered as Sälçük Sübaşı (سَلجُك سُو بَاشِی).

Etymology

Sälçük is the form given by Mähmud ibn äl-Husäyn ibn Muhämmäd äl-Kaşğäri in his Compendium of the Languages of the Turks (ديوان لغات الترك). There, it is transcribed as Sälçük (سَلجُك); however, there is also the variant, Salçuq (سَلجُق), which is featured in Persian transcriptions.

Given äl-Kaşğäri's expertise, it is safe to say Sälçük is the correct form. Unfortunately, it is of uncertain etymology. Some speculate that it is derived from Arabic säyl (سَيْل‎) "flood" and Tägäräk *-çük, a diminutive suffix; yet, an Arabic etymology seems unlikely given Sälçük's personal history. As warriors under the Xazar El, both Sälçük and his father, Doqaq, were heavily influenced by Judeo-Oğuric culture. So much so that Sälçük would give his children Judaic names. Moreover, their association with the Xazar El would have made them hostile to the Arabs, providing little incentive for Doqaq to name his son from their language. Given that Sälçük's name is not Judaic, one would then assume it must be Tägäräk.

If it is derived from an Oğuz language, then there are no obvious etymologies. However, if one considers an Oğur etymology, then there is Oğur *sʲäl "wind." It is comparable to Mongolic *sɑlkïn s.m. (Nugteren ,2011) and survives in Çŏvaşla as ҫил s.m. It is also a loan in Hungarian as szél s.m. Thus, Sälçük could mean "little wind."

Origins

Sälçük's clan belonged to the Qınıq tribe, a sub-tribe of the Oğuz. Prior to the formation of the 8th century Oğuz El state, the Oğuz tribes inhabited the lands of Avarşahr. However, with the Islamic conquest and the rise of the rival Türük El in Inner-Asia, their Hunnish ancestors found themselves trapped between several emerging powers. By the late 7th century, the empire of the Yedivar had collapsed. Thereafter, much of their former territory would be ruled by local Persianate, Arab, and On Oq Bodun rulers. While some of their descendants would join the On Oq Bodun, forming many Turko-Hunnish states, many would migrate to the lands between the Xazar and Aral Seas. There, they would establish the Oğuz El state.

Early Life

According to the İlxan official Räşid äl-Din Fäzlullah Hämädani in his Compendium of Chronicles (جَامِعْ اَلتَوَارِيخُ), itself based on Zähir äl-Din Nişapuri’s Book of Saljuq (سلجوق‌نامه), Sälçük was a descendant of Doqşurmış, the son of Gärägücü Xwaca, presumably a yurt maker for the Yabğus of the Oğuz El. The Book of Oğuz (اوغوزنامه) expands on this genealogy, claiming the following order of descent: Sälçük, Doqaq (Temür Yalığ), Ertoğrul, Luqman, Doqşurmış Elçi, and Gärägücü Xwaca. Of these, the Arabic Luqman may be ignored, as the ancestors of Sälçük would be unlikely to have Islamic names. So too may we consider the omission of Ertoğrul, a name possibly inserted into their genealogy to tie them to the Osmanoğlu clan.

As for their migration into inner Türkistan, Räşid äl-Din recounts that Sälçük and his clan migrated “on account of their prevalence and the inadequacy of grazing lands… [thus] they came from Türkistan to the province of Transoxiana” (Luther, 2001). This, however, may not be the entire truth of the matter. For prior to their migration, Doqaq served as a Sübaşı or “commander-in-chief” to the Oğuz Yabğu and by extension, as a commander under the Xazar Xaqan. According to the Book of Kings (مالک نامہ), Doqaq refused the Xazar Xaqan’s command to attack a group of Muslim Türks, going so far as to knock him (or his official) off his horse. Later writers would interpret this as proof of Doqaq’s conversion to Islam, but this is unlikely given that Sälçük himself converted only after his clan’s migration. In any case, Doqaq would soon die. At the time Sälçük was between eighteen and nineteen years old and would soon inherit his father’s position as Sü-başı. Reportedly, Sälçük was well-liked by the Yabğu who would take the young warrior under his wing. However, the Yabğu’s wife, fearing Sälçük’s growing influence, would come to order his execution. Muhämmäd Ibn Xavändşah Ibn Mähmud's version of the Book of Kings in his Gardens of Purity in the Biography of the Prophets, Kings, and Caliphs (روضة الصفا في سیرة الانبياء والملوك والخلفاء) notes that at this time, “[Sälçük] thought much about how to save himself. He decided to flee into exile. When he had decided on flight, with a hundred horsemen, 1500 camels and 50,000 sheep he headed for the lands of Sämerkänd” (Peacock, 2015).

Revolt Against the Oğuz

Sälçük and his clan would migrate to Cand, on the left bank of the Yäxşärtä river and to the south-east of Yeŋikent, where the Oğuz Yabğu is said to have wintered. Hämdällah Mustäwfi Qäzvini’s Excerpt History (تاریخ گزیده) dates the migration to 375 H or 985–6 C.E. At the time, Cand was under the vassalage of Xwaräzm, ruled by the Mämuniyan dynasty, themselves vassals of the Samaniyan dynasty.

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Sälçük Sübaşı