"Hirvatistan'da Türkler Üzerine Yapilan Çalişmalar Hakkinda Bazi Notlar", Yeni Türkiye, 43

(2002); 95–97.

Emil Heršak
Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies,
Trg Stjepana Radića 3, p.o. box 294.
10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
emil.hersak@zg.hinet.hr

SOME NOTES ON TURKIC AND RELATED STUDIES IN CROATIA

In this short text I would like to indicate some of the problems and accomplishments
pertaining to the development of Turkic (or Turkish) and related studies in Croatia.

For quite a long time scholars and other observers have been more than aware that re-
lations with Turkic peoples and with Turkey have had an extremely important role in Croatian
history. On the other hand, once in a while during the past five centuries Croats have produ-
ced major works that have been important also for Turkic studies in general. On such person
was Bartolomej Đurđević (1506–1566) or Bartholomeus Georgievicz as he was known
abroad. Đurđević was born in Velika Mlaka near Zagreb. After being captured by the Turks at
the battle of Mohács, he spent some twenty years in various parts of the Ottoman Empire
before managing to return. His books on the situation in the Ottoman Empire and on the
customs of the Turks, published afterwards, are considered one of the first ethnological
studies on this subject in early modern Europe.1

Nevertheless this book and most of the other early works – just as those published
more or less to the end of the period of Romantism, were coloured by historical and other
stereotypes, as well as prejudices, which although at times understandable – must always be
analysed in the spirit of the times. As we know today, the historical reality was very complex
and as such quite different from the overt imagery and conclusions that we might find in the
earlier works.

Basically, relations between Croats or Croatia and the Turkic world can be divided into
two contexts.

The earlier one encompasses the pre-Ottoman period and during this time it can be
assumed that Croats were to various degrees in contact with Turkic peoples or groups arriving
from the east, over the Pontic steppe, to Pannonia. Some of these may have contributed di-
rectly to the ethnogenesis of the early Croats, although it is very difficult at present to resolve
this question. Turkic words that have survived from the early Mediaeval period in the Croa-
tian language seem to fall mostly into three categories: 1) lexemes that entered into Common
Slavic and are therefore not particular to Croatian, 2) words that derive from Turko-Bulgarian
or some related language, that are also found in other South Slavic languages, 3) words that
arrived through intermediary languages, mostly Hungarian and which also show Bulgarian
(West Turkic) phonetic traits, combined with the influences of the intermediate language.
Apart from these three groups, there is a very small number of terms, most likely inherited
from the language of the Avars, which may perhaps be indications of a particular relationship

1
De afflictione tam captivorum quam etiam sub Turcae tributo viventium christianorum, 1544; De Turcarum
moribus epitome, 1553.
between the early Croats and some Turkic-speaking group. The title ban is one of them and
some scholars have suggested that the Croatian ethnonym itself is Turkic in origin. Neverthe-
less, although the dominant view today is that the Croatian ethnonym is non-Slavic, an Iranian
origin seems to have a stronger basis than a Turkic one. Yet whatever the case, there is no
doubt whatsoever that their were very strong contacts between the early Croats and the Avars,
who most certainly had a Turkic core (along with other ethnic elements). The Byzantine
emperor-historian Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus emphasised these contacts, which were in
principle conflictive, even though he also mentioned that a portion of the Avars survived in
Croatia, and that they can still be physically recognised as Avars. The same author mentioned
conflicts between the White Croats in the North (or North-East) and the Pechenegs.

The second major context in the relationship between Croatia and the Turkic world is,
of course, the period of Ottoman expansion. This period had an extremely important impact
on Croatia’s history. Even the present political borders of the Republic of Croatia are mostly
inherited from the borders that came into effect during the late 17 th – early 18th between the
Ottoman Empire, on the one hand, and the other hand: the Kingdom of Croatia, Venetian Dal-
matian and the Republic of Dubrovnik. Yet the number of questions that this period still poses
is too great to list in a short comment such as this one. Therefore it would be best now to
focus on a few points pertaining to the development of Turkic Studies in Croatia during the
past decade.

Political independence of the Republic of Croatia was most certainly a turning-point in

the development of Turkic (Turkish) studies in the country. One factor that added to this were
the very good diplomatic relations that were established quickly between Turkey and the
newly independent Croatia. On another level, the previous break-up of Yugoslavia ended a
period of specialisation that had hindered the development of Turkic (Turkish) studies in
Croatia. Namely, in the former Yugoslavia, subjects of study had been essentially divided out
between the individual republics of that former state. In this framework, most Oriental studies
– including Turkology – were concentrated in Sarajevo, i.e. in Bosnia. In fact the only branch
of Oriental studies that was more or less based in Zagreb had been Indology.

A programme of study of the Turkish language was initiated at the University of

Zagreb only in 1993, under the direction of Ekrem Čaušević, who had arrived from Sarajevo.
At first it was organised within the department of linguistics and its main focus was the mo -
dern Turkish language. However, for the purposes of historians, Nenad Moačanin began to
give supplementary courses necessary for reading sources in Ottoman Turkish. Other experts
were brought in to teach Arabic and Persian, also necessary for reading the historical material.

At present, the study of Turkish at the University of Zagreb is included in the newly-
formed Department of Oriental and Hungarian Studies (Hungarian was added into the
framework, since it was difficult to place elsewhere). Student may enrol in Turkish courses as
one of a two-subject degree programme (meaning that another degree discipline must selected
alongside) and each year about 25-30 students do enrol, which is a relatively good result. Co-
operation with the Department of History has also continued to develop in a favourable
direction. To this must be added recent advances in the exchange of archival material between
Turkey and Croatia. Without doubt the archival material arriving now from Turkey will throw
new light on the interpretation of Croatian history in Croatia itself, whereas the archives e.g.
in Dubrovnik contain much material that will surely be of interest to Turkish researchers into
Ottoman history.

2
 Finally, a few words on my own institute – the Institute for Migration and Ethnic
Studies in Zagreb is at present defined as a public government-finances scientific institution
dedicated to the study of Croatian migration and of ethnic groups and processes. In view of
the present reorganisation of scientific structures there is a high possibility that the Institute
will shortly become part of the University of Zagreb, i.e. once more – since it had been in the
University until about ten years ago, when a former reorganisation had removed many
institutes from the University structure. At any rate, the project in which I myself work has a
comparative approach and, therefore, studies various ethnic groups and ethnic history and
processes in general.

So far two works have been published in the Institute's journal Migracijske i etničke
teme (until 2000. Migracijske teme) that would relate more directly to the theme of this
symposium. One is a review of Croatia's long-standing relations with Central Asia and the
East, during the Mediaeval period.2 This paper was published in a special issue of the journal
dedicated to Eurasian, in which articles appeared by Edwin Pulleyblank on the ethnic
situation along the Chinese borders in early centuries and by Alexander Vovin on the present
state of Altaic theory3. Another paper was published later on the state of knowledge in regard
to the origins of the Altaic peoples and languages. 4 The later is also the first work that gives a
review of this topic in the Croatian language.

In general, the major works pertaining to Turkic (more precisely Turkish) studies that
have been published in Croatia in the last decade have been, apart from dr. Čaušević's Turkish
grammar5, three books written by Nenad Moačanin: 1) Požega i Požeština u sklopu Osman-
skog carstva [= Požega and the region of Požega in the framework of the Ottoman Empire]
(Jastrebarsko, 1997), 2) Turska Hrvatska [= Turkish Croatia] (Zagreb, 1999), and 3) Slavonija
i Srijem u razdoblju osmanske vladavine [= Slavonia and Sirmium in the period of Ottoman
rule] (Slavonski Brod, 2001).

Thank you for your attention.

Ankara, 27th March 2002.

2
Emil Heršak and Sanja Lazanin. »Veze srednjoazijskih prostora s hrvatskim srednjovjekovljem«, Migracijske
teme, vol. 15, no. 1-2, 1999, ppr. 15-34.
3
Edwin G. Pulleyblank. »The peoples of the steppe frontier in early Chinese sources«, Migracijske teme, vol.
15, no. 1-2, 1999, pp. 56-59; Alexander Vovin, »Altaic, so far«, Migracijske teme, vol. 15, no. 1-2, 1999, pp.
155-213.
4
Emil Heršak. »Iz etničke prapovijesti Evrazije – Altajci, kineski izvori i Turanija«, Migracijske teme, vol. 16,
no. 4, 2000, pp. 359–392.
5
Ekrem Čaušević, Gramatika suvremenoga turskog jezika. Zagreb: Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, 1996.