Origin Ersari are direct descendants of the
Oghuz Turks. It is believed that they come from the
Salur tribe of the Oghuz Turks, just as Turkmen
Yomud tribe. The
Seljuk Turkomans, the conquerors of
Iran and
Turkey, are also considered as the forefathers of the Ersari.
Sayin Khan Turkmen tribal confederacy Ersari appear to have been major component of the Sayin Khan Turkmen tribal confederacy whose Yurt (nomadic territory), in the late 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, stretched from the
Balkan mountains to the
Mangishlaq peninsula and north to the Emba river. The label Sayin Khani, given to these Turkmen by the other peoples around, referred to their emergence from the breakup of the
Golden Horde, (founded by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu, known as the Sayin Khan), in order to differentiate their origins from tribes that came from the territories of
Hulegu (Iran) or
Chaghatay (Trans-Oxanian Central Asia). The Sayin Khani Turkmens appear to have been an organized confederation of tribes said to be divided, in typical
Turco-Mongol fashion, into two parts, the Ichki (inner) and Tashki (outer)
Oghuz.
Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur, the Uzbek Khan of Khiva in the 17th century, in his book
Shajara-i Tarākima ("The Genealogical Tree of the Turkmen", 1659) does not indicate whether the term Tashki refers to an organizational, military or purely geographical meaning. Sometime in the 17th century, in part to the drying up of the western
Uzboy channel of the
Amu Darya, the Ersari and its major subtribes moved east to the banks of the main course of the
Amudarya. One sub-tribe, the Ali-Eli also moved eastwards, but remained near
Kaka region, which is now in
Ahal Province of
Turkmenistan.
Ersari baba Ersari baba is the legendary leader of Ersari people, and of all
Turkmen, who lived in the 13-14th centuries in Mangishlaq (
Mangystau Province) and Balkan mountains (
Balkan Province). He had been the founder of the Sayin Khan Turkmen confederation and considered to be father of Ersari people. He assembled all Turkmens, those that remained in Central Asia after the
Mongol invasion of Central Asia. He played a leading role in consolidation of Turkmen tribes at that arduous period in Central Asia. == References ==