First
Muslim-Turkish ruler (B. 895, Kaşgar – D. 955, Artuş).He was born around the
year 895 in Kaşgar city or near to it which is within the borders of Eastern
Turkistan nowadays, as a prince of Karakhanid State which had not become Muslim
at that time. He passed away in 955 in Artuş city in the region of Northern
Kaşgar. According to narrations, his family’s lineage reaches Prophet Noah
through Afrasiyab bin Beşen. Since his father son of Bilge Mançur Kâdir Hân,
BezirArslan Han, passed away when he was young, he was raised by his mother and
uncle. He learnt Islam from a conveyor of Islam called Nâsır bin Ahmed of
Samanoğulları at the age of twelve. Life of Prophet Muhammad and his enthusiasm
of Islamic prayers guided him to Islam. When he became a Muslim, he was called
Abdülkerim and made great effort to spread Islam among Turks and in the region
until the end of his life. He kept it a secret until the age of 25 that he was
a Muslim and he became the first Muslim-Turkish ruler removing his uncle Oğulcak
Kadir Han from the throne in 920s. These years belong to a period in which
Karakhanids often fought battles against Samanoğulları State which was
sovereign in Khorasan and Maveraünnehir region.
Turkish and
Muslim historians mention sagas which tell Satuk Buğra Han’s conversion to
Islam and arrival to Karakhanid rule. Satuk Buğra Han Epic tells that Buğra Han
became a Muslim upon the suggestion of Hızır (T.N. a holy person believed to
come in time of need). “Tezkire-i Satuk Buğrâ Hân” which is one of the first
Turkish biographic works mention Satuk Buğra Han as someone with supernatural
powers. Arabic historian İbnü'l-Esir in his "el-Kâmilfi't-Tarih", the
famous Ottoman historian Müneccimbaşı Ahmet Dede in his Cami-ü’ddüvel which is
written in the 17th century and which is about Islamic history claim
that Satuk Buğra Han became a Muslim because of a dream he had.
During the
rule of the first Muslim Turkish ruler Abdülkerim Satuk Buğra Han, Islam
started among released slaves and spread among all Turkish groups under the
rule of Karakhanids in a short time and rapidly. Buğra Han who conquered places
to spread Islam also extended the borders of his country with these actions. He
conquered many cities in Turkistan where Turkish tribes lived, in a short
period. Later he defeated non-Muslim Karakhanid Turks who ruled the eastern
parts of Karakhanid state and managed to dominate Balasagun region and around.
Starting
from his conversion to Islam, he made continuous effort to spread Islam in this
region and entered wars for this purpose. The heroic Turkish ruler Satuk Buğra
Han ruled for 70 years and caused thousands of people to convert to Islam
thanks to his just rule. Islamic scholars such as Ebü'l-Hasan, Muhammed guided Satuk
Buğra Han and encouraged him.
Abdülkerim Satuk
Buğra Han completes hid life of great service and success and passed away in
955 in Artuş city which turned into a commercial center thanks to efforts of Nasır
bin Ahmed and Muslim merchants coming by. After him, his son Musa Tunga replaced
him. Later his grandson Baytaş Süleyman Arslan ruled the country.
A beautiful
mosque which entered service in 2010 in Ankara’s Eryaman district was given his
name “Abdülkerim Satuk Buğra Han Mosque”.
Abdülkerim Satuk
Buğra Hân’s conversion to Islam and spreading Islam to his country is one of
the most important and beautiful happenings in Turkish and Islamic history.
Earlier there were some groups converted into Islam among Oghuz and Kalaç Turks
but the first Turkish states to embrace Islam were Karakhanids and Idil Turks.
After Turks became Muslims as a state, they became its standard bearers and
spread this religion to all over the world. Karakhanid Turks in Turkistan,
Ghaznavids in India, Oghuz and Seljuk Turks in Anatolia and Ottomans who were
the greatest Muslim Turkish state to three continents. Thus Muslim Turks served
to Islam for more than thousand years.
REFERENCE: Mustafa Güneş / Klasik Türk Edebiyatında Menakıpnameler ve
Menâkıb-ı Akşemseddin (Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, Cilt: 4
Sayı: 16, Ordu, 2011, s.167), Rehber Ansiklopedisi (c. 17, s. 147; c. 9, s.
249), – Ünlü Devlet Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 1, 2013) -
Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).
