Ethnogenesis in the Tribal Zone: The Shaping of the Türks

Статья //Түрік дүниесі. Альманах. — Алматы, 2013. — Pp. 114-135.This paper traces the origins of the Türks, the founders of the Türk Qaghanate, evaluating the earliest notices on them, the question of Ashina origins, the role of interactions on the frontiers between agrocentric states/empires (in particular China) and the peoples of their «tribal zones» as a catalyst in the creation of highly organized nomadic states, the heterogeneity of the Türk Empire and the spread of the ethnonym Türk as a politonym and cultural designator among kindred, Turkic-speaking peoples.