Qarluk
/ˈkɑːr.lʊk/noun
A member of a medieval Turkic tribal confederation that played an important role in Central Asian history.
Did you know?The Qarluks became one of the principal components of the Kara-Khanid state, whose rulers were among the first major Turkic dynasties to adopt Islam.
Etymological Timeline
Early Turkic
Old Turkic
qarluγ
“The ethnonym recorded for the Qarluq tribal confederation; its internal derivation is traditionally connected with snow.”
8th Century
Chinese records
葛逻禄 (Geluolu)
“A Chinese transcription of the Qarluq name in records of Central Asian peoples.”
8th–9th Century
Arabic
Qarluq
“The form used by Arabic and Persian historians for a powerful Turkic confederation in Central Asia.”
10th–12th Century
Middle Turkic
Qarluq
“The name of a major political and tribal group associated with the formation of the Kara-Khanid realm.”
19th Century
European scholarship
Karluk
“The conventional Latin-script scholarly spelling used for the medieval Turkic people.”
Modern English
English
Qarluk / Karluk
“A historical ethnonym referring to the Turkic confederation and its descendants or associated populations.”