Agacheri was a Turkmen tribe that inhabited parts of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

until the 14th century. They were allied with the

Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation tha ...

during the 14–15th centuries but shifted their allegiance to the Aq Qoyunlu upon the downfall of the former. A portion of the tribe remained in Anatolia and split into smaller subgroups, while another branch migrated to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, where they additionally incorporated

Lurs The Lurs, Lors or Luris () are an Iranian people living in western and southern Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language. Lorestan province is name ...

. The tribe is known by its historical name in Iran. Although it has been contested by later publications due to lack of primary evidence, it is conventionally considered to be connected to the

Tahtacı Tahtacı () are a subgroup of ethnic Turkish people living mainly in the forested areas of Aegean Region, Aegean and Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean regions of Turkey. Historically engaged in woodworking since Ottoman Empire, the Ot ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Etymology

The name of the tribe was attested by multiple medieval sources. Twelfth–thirteenth-century

Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

historian

Rashid al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Oghuz group that settled in the forested areas of the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

, which earned its name. The term means "people of the forest" in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

. Present-day members of the tribe in

, primarily those who do not speak Turkic, hold that the name originates in the terms agha (gentleman) and jari (bold), which are lexical borrowings that entered

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

from Turkic.

History

Origins

Some sources relate the tribe's origins to the

Akatziri The Akatziri, Akatzirs or Acatiri (, , , ; ) were a tribe that lived north of the Black Sea, though the Crimean city of Cherson seemed to be under their control in the sixth century. Jordanes ( 551) called them a mighty people, not agricultural ...

tribe that inhabited

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the 5th century. However, medieval historians attest to the tribe's Turkmen origin. Historian Faruk Sümer suggests that Agacheri may be related to the Turkmens who previously initiated the Babai revolt as they inhabited the same region around

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

. In 1246, tribesmen were known to have fought against

Baiju Noyan Baiju Noyan or Baichu (; Chagatai: بایجو نویان; ; in European sources: Bayothnoy; ) was a Mongol commander in Persia, Armenia, Anatolia and Georgia. He was appointed by Ögedei Khan to succeed Chormagan. He was the last direct imperi ...

(), the commander of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

in the Near East. A group of the tribe was the dominant population near

Khalkhal, Iran Khalkhal () is a city in the Central District of Khalkhal County, Ardabil province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 38,521 in 9,61 ...

, where they neighbored the

Daylamites The Daylamites or Dailamites (Middle Persian: ''Daylamīgān''; ''Deylamiyān'') were an Iranian people inhabiting the Daylam—the mountainous regions of northern Iran on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea, now comprising the southeastern ...

and are thought to have been brought to the region following the capture of

Alamut Alamut () or Rudbar () is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts on the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provin ...

Hulegu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ar ...

(), a

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

commander who was the founder of the Ilkhanate after the

division of the Mongol Empire The division of the Mongol Empire began after Möngke Khan died in 1259 in the Siege of Diaoyucheng, siege of Diaoyu Castle with no declared successor, precipitating infighting between members of the Tolui family line for the title of khagan th ...

Relations with the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu

During the second half of the 14th century, the tribe forged an alliance with the

. Its head at the time, Hasan, was the son of Tatar Khatun, who was the sister of

Qara Mahammad Qara Mahammad Yiwa was a bey of the Qara Qoyunlu and father of Qara Yusuf. Life Mahammad was a nephew of Bayram Khwaja and one of his main supporters. He served Jalayirid sultan Uways and suppressed Khwaja Marjan's rebellion (governor of ...

(), the ruler of the Qara Qoyunlu. In the next century, the tribe migrated to

along with the Qara Qoyunlu tribe. Members of the tribe, Husayn, Sulan, and Ali Beg were chieftains loyal to the Qara Qoyunlu ruler

Iskandar Iskandar (name) or Eskandar also Iskander, Skandar, or Scandar is a given name and a surname. Iskandar or Eskandar or their varieties may also refer to: Places * Iskandar Malaysia, the new main southern development corridor in Johor, Malaysia * ...

(). Ali Beg was among the ranks of the Qara Qoyunlu forces in the skirmish against the

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

tribe in 1450. He was captured but later released by the Aq Qoyunlu. Upon the downfall of the Qara Qoyunlu, Ali Beg and various other Agacheri chieftains entered the Aq Qoyunlu ruler

Uzun Hasan Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan (; February or March 1425 – January 6, 1478) was a ruler of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. Hasan ruled between 1452 and 1478 and presided ove ...

's () service. Agacheri tribesmen continued to serve various Aq Qoyunlu chieftains, such as Hajji Hasan and Dündar-i Ahaj Eri who served Jahan Shah Mirza and Uzun Hasan's son Zeynel Mirza, respectively.

Iran

Agacheri is not mentioned in contemporary

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

primary sources, namely chronicles. When

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

temporarily came under Ottoman control in the first half of the 18th century, a (cadastral survey) attested a nearby village that was the namesake of the tribe of Agacheri. Another homonymous village lay near

Garni Garni (), is a major village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the nearby Garni Temple, classical temple. As of the 2011 census, the population of the village is 6,910. History The settlement is best known for the Hellenistic ...

according to the Ottoman records. Much of the tribe was forced to transition into a sedentary life in

Behbahan Behbahan () is a city in the Central District of Behbahan County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology The origin of word 'Behbahan' can be traced back to two distinct ideas. Accord ...

in in order to defend the town from the violent tribes of Bakhtiari and Boir Ahmadi. The nomadic portions of Agacheri were eventually absorbed by the latter and became known as Aqa'i. In the mid-19th century, Agacheri appeared in records as a wealthy tribe of 1000 tents (households) in

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

incorporating the sub-tribes of Chaghatai and Kashtil. By the next century, the tribe was known to be inhabiting Kohgiluyeh and included the sub-tribes of Afshar,

Begdili Begdili (also spelled Bekdili or Bigdeli; Middle Turkic: بَكْتِلى Begtili; ; Turkish: Beğdili boyu; Azerbaijani: Bəydili boyu) were an Oghuz Turkic people and a sub-branch of the Bozok tribal federation. Currently, the descendants of ...

, and Tileku. Historian Pierre Oberling describes the Agacheri of Kohgiluyeh as a tribe of mixed origin inhabiting

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

classified them as part of the Kohgiluyeh

but noted that it was composed of the Turkic tribes of Afshar, Chaghatai, Begdili, and Qarabaghi. Other sources from around the turn of the 20th century, Iranian and French authors, Hasan Fasa'i and Gustave Demorgny, referred to them as an "amalgamation of Turkic, Tajik, and Lur elements." Oberling links some of the constituent tribes to the Afshars of Khuzestan, who

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

Abbas the Great Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid Iran, Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Mohammad Khodabanda, Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered ...

() had scattered over the region following a rebellion in 1596–97. Oberling further proposes a tie between the Agacheri of Kohgiluyeh and the Qashqai Kashkuli Bozorg tribe of western Fars as both incorporate the sub-tribes of Begdili and Jama Bozorg. Demorgny put the population of Agacheri around Behbahan at 2000 families in 1913. Oberling noted that the number was over 1000 in the 1950s. It consisted of the following sub-tribes: Jama Bozorgi, Tileku, Chaghatai, Begdili, Afshar, Lor Zaban, She'ri, Aqbaghi, Bashiri, Daylami, Kashtil, and Davudi. A portion of the tribe retained their Turkic language, but most conversed in Persian and Luri. Many of the tribesmen have moved to

Abadan Abadan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Abadan County), Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is in the southwest of the coun ...

Bandar-e Mahshahr Bandar-e Mahshahr () is a city in the Central District of Bandar Mahshahr County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. فارسی Most of its people speak a dialect that was a mixture of South ...

, and

Aghajari Aghajari () is a city in the Central District of Aghajari County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Language The language of the people of Aghajari is the same as Masjid Suleim ...

, where they work under the

National Iranian Oil Company The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; ) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran. NIOC was established in 1951 and restructured under The Consorti ...

Anatolia

The remnants of the tribe in

who did not depart for Iran split into smaller tribes for economic reasons and spread across the peninsula. Building on writer

Ziya Gökalp Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (born Mehmed Ziya, 23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen ...

's earlier claims, historian Faruk Sümer identified these groups with the modern-day

, who inhabit various regions of Turkey, such as

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

Isparta Isparta is a city in western Turkey. It is the seat of Isparta Province and Isparta District.İl ...

Burdur Burdur is a city in southwestern Turkey. The seat of Burdur Province and of Burdur District,İl Bel ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the district of Menteşe, Muğla, Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean Sea, Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of ...

Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...

, and

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar; Greek: Τράλλεις)'' is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River (ancient ...

. In parallel with Agacheri's etymological explanation, Tahtacı are known for woodworking. Sümer's claims have been repeated by later sources with no further comments on its veracity. Although he claimed that no records from the fourteenth century onwards attested to Agacheri inhabiting Anatolia, s from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries mention two villages identified with the tribe, one in the Gerz Yakası of the Sanjak of Kütahya and another near Sinop. According to historian Sadullah Gülten, the only socioeconomic link between the modern-day Tahtacı and an Anatolian community named Agacheri is a court register from 1737 that notes that 20 villages near Sinop, including the Agacheri's namesake settlement, traded oak and pine lumber with a

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

-manufacturing shipyard. There isn't any other evidence that such a community was involved in woodworking as previously claimed.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam , first=Faruk , last=Sümer , title=Ağaçeriler , url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/agaceriler , year=1988 , volume=1 , pages=460–461 Oghuz tribes Luri tribes