''Çıtak'' is a term employed by several 17th-century sources primarily for groups of people inhabiting the region of
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...
and other parts of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
. The primary source that utilized the term was
Ottoman traveler
Evliya Çelebi
Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...
's (travelogue). Other 17th-century authors using this ethnonym included the
Crimean-Armenian chronicler
Khachatur of Kaffa
Khachatur of Kaffa, or Khachatur Kafaetsi (died 1658), was a Crimean-Armenian priest and chronicler from the coastal city of Kaffa.
References
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book , last1=Poghosyan , first1=Naira , editor1-last=Karateke , editor1-fir ...
.
''Çıtak'' is derived from the
Oghuz verb root "çat-", meaning to pair or to breed. According to historian Arkadiusz Blaszczyk, the meaning implied by Evliya Çelebi was "half-breed" or "hybrid". Outside the region of Dobruja, Evliya Çelebi associated the term with the
Rumelia
Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
n
Yörüks
The Yörüks, also Yuruks or Yorouks (; , ''Youroúkoi''; ; , ''Juruci''), are a Turkish ethnic subgroup of Oghuz descent, some of whom are nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia, and partly in the Balkan peninsula. On the Bal ...
, such as those near
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, who included
Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
among their ranks. Evliya Çelebi described the ancestry of the ''çıtak''s as a mixture of Tatars,
Bulgarians
Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
,
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
ns,
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
ns, and the descendants of the Ottoman prince
Suleiman Pasha's retinue. Evliya Çelebi additionally provided a sample list for the
Turkish dialect spoken by the ''çıtak''s of Dobruja.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Citak (term)
Ethnic groups in the Balkans
Ethnonyms