T U R 



TvRK's-Cap, in Botany, a name given to a fpecies of 

 lily. See LiLIUM. 



TvRR's-Hcail, a name fometimes given to the melon 



thiftle. r ■ c 



Turk't Turbnn, a name given to a fpecies ot ranun- 



cuius.. 



Turk IJIanJs, or Tar/J'V 7/7<jHrt'j, in Geography, a clutter 

 of fmall idands among the Bahamas, the largeft fituated 

 N. lat. 2i°2o'. W. long. 71°. 



TURKAL, a town of Afiatic Turkey, m the provmce 

 of Sivas ; 25 miles S.E. of Amafreh. 



TURKAREL, a town of Candahar ; 30 miles W. of 

 Cabul. 



TURKEIM. See Turckheim. 

 TURKESTAN. See Taraz. 



Turkestan, (formed oi Tourt and efiati, a Pfffian word 

 fignifying country,) or Turan, a country of Afia, bounded on 

 the N. by deferts, which feparate it from the dominions of 

 Ruflia, on the E. by a part of Tartary, belonging to the 

 Kalmucks, on the S. by Bucharia, and on the W. by 

 Charafm or Kharafm, near 300 miles in length, and not 

 much lefs in breadth. It is at prefent divided between two 

 Tartar khans or chiefs ; one of them, refiding at Tafhkund, 

 pofTeffes the eaftern part ; the other, who pofTefles the 

 weftern part, refides at Turkeftan or Taraz. The latter is 

 generally called the khan of the Karakalpahs. Turkeftan, 

 taken in a larger fenfe, is underftood to include all the 

 country between Ruflia to the N. and Bucharia to the S., 

 and between the Cafpjan fea to the W. and Chinefe 

 Tartary on the E., not lefs than 700 miles from E. to W. 

 and 350 from N. to S. 



In ancient periods, Weftern Turkeftan and the N. of the 

 Cafpian were the feats of the Maffagetx ; to the S. of 

 whom were the Scythians, on this fide of the Imaus or 

 Belur-Tag. In the fixth century, the Turks, having 

 migrated from their habitations near the mountains of 

 Bogdo, adjoining to thofe of Altai, or the mountains of 

 gold, and having imparted to the country the name of 

 Turkeftan, and forming a grand branch of the Tartars, or 

 Huns, fpread themfelves to the Cafpian. They foon after 

 fubdued the people of Sogdiana, and the Nephthalites of 

 Great Bucharia, called in that ignorant age White Huns. 

 As the Turks founded their firft weftern fettlements in the 

 regions now held by the Kirgufes, they thence received the 

 name of Turkeftan, the capital city being denominated Otrar, 

 and fometimes Taraz, alfo called Turkeftan. From the cen- 

 tre of their power iflued thofe Turkifh armies, which have 

 changed the deftinies of fo many nations. Little Bucharia 

 was called Eaftern Turkeftan from a fimilar caufe ; but ap- 

 pears to have been firft fubdued by the Turks of Cathay, on 

 tlie N.W. of China. The Turks and Huns may be con- 

 fidered as one and the fame Tataric race, totally unknown to 

 Europeans till the appearance of the latter, who firft pafted 

 the fteppes, deferts and mountains which had concealed 

 them from obfervation till the fourth century. The Huns, 

 who appeared about A.D. 375, feemed to the writers of the 

 period as a new and unknown race, having paffed in a courfe 

 of uniform depredation from Afia to Europe; while the 

 Gothic and Slavonic nations had left many of their fettle- 

 ments vacant, in their progrefs into the Roman empire. 

 But the Turks, though originally the fame people, perhaps 

 warned by the fate of their brethren, made a flow and 

 gradual progrefs, and appear to have been blended by mar- 

 riages and conquefts with the Slavonic and Gothic tribes 

 on the N. and E. of the Cafpian, Such was the origin of 

 the name of Turkeftan, from which the Turks fpread defo- 

 lation over the moft beautiful countries of the Eaft, and 



T U R 



even threatened the liberties of Europe. Pinkerton's Geog. 

 vol. ii. See Bucharia and Independent Tartary. 



TURKEY, an extenfive empire, comprehending a great 

 number of countries on the continents of Europe, Afia, 

 and Africa, and feveral adjacent iflands. 



Turkey in Europe extends, according to the ftatement of 

 Pinkerton, about 870 miles in length, from the northern 

 boundary of Moldavia to Cape Matapan in the Morea ; and 

 its breadth, from the river Unna to Conftantinople, is about 

 680 Britifti miles. It is computed to contain 182,560 

 fquare miles. Its eaftern and fouthern boundaries arc 

 formed by the Euxine or Black fea, the fea of Marmora, 

 the Archipelago, and the Mediterranean. Its utmoft 

 northern limit is now the river Dniefter, and the weftern 

 confifts of an arbitrary line, fometimes fupplied by rivers 

 or mountains. In its whole extent it comprehends many 

 ancient kingdoms and republics, which, fince the fubjuga- 

 tion of its greater part in the 15th century, after the 

 fall of Conftantinople and of the Byzantine empire, afford 

 only ihe records of claffical names and events. Moldavia, 

 the moft northern province, was part of ancient Dacia ; 

 and Jaffy or Yaffy, the capital, was the " Jafiiorum Muni- 

 cipiuni" of the Romans. Budzac, or Beffarabia, was the 

 country of the Getse and Peucini. Walachia was alfo a 

 province of the ancient Dacians ; and Bulgaria, on the S. 

 of the Danube, embraces nearly the two provinces of Moefia. 

 Romeha, a fpacious territory, contains ancient Thracia, 

 Paeonia, Macedonia, and the northern part of the claffical 

 country of Greece ; and the Morea is equivalent with the 

 ancient Peloponnefus. Dalmatia retains its ancient appel- 

 lation ; while Servia and Bofnia reprefent ancient Pannonia. 

 Turkifh Croatia, the moft weftern province of the empire, 

 forms a portion of ancient Pannonia, with probably a 

 fmall diftridl of Noricum ; but the Turkifh part of Croatia 

 is a diminutive province, about 40 miles in length by 20 

 in breadth, bounded by the river Save on the N., and partly 

 by the river Unna on the W. In modern times Turkey, 

 finking before the power of Ruflia, has loft the provinces 

 of the Crim and New Servia, which, with feveral Afiatic 

 diftrifts, have furrendered to Ruffia ; and on the W., Tran- 

 fylvania, Sclavonia, with the Buckovin and part of Mol- 

 davia, and a great part of Croatia, have been fubjugated 

 by Auftria. Of the original population of the Turkifh 

 empire, we have already given fome account under the 

 article Turk ; and it appears to have been derived from 

 the ancient Scythians on the Euxine, the progenitors of the 

 Dacians, Thracians, &c. and even of the Greeks. Thefe 

 were originally blended northward with many Sarmatic or 

 Slavonic tribes ; which on the fall of the Roman empire 

 migrated towards the S., fo that about one-half of the 

 population may now be regarded as Slavonic. Walachia, 

 however, is fuppofed to contain many defcendants of the 

 ancient Roman fettlers in Dacia. This original population, 

 in confequence of the extent of the Turkifh empire, has 

 been blended with various Afiatic tribes, among whom the 

 Turks conftitute a part. Of that branch called Ottomans, 

 and the commencement of the appellation of Ottoman 

 empire, we have already given a brief account under the 

 articles Othman and Ottoman; and for the more remote 

 antiquity of the name and power of the Turks, we refer to 

 Turk. Thofe Turks, or Turkomans, defcending, about 

 the middle of the fixth century, from the Altaian mountains, 

 fpread as far as the lake MiEotis ; but their progrefs was 

 reftrifted to the region near the river Oxus : from the Oxus 

 and Samarcand they afterwards fpread to the E. of Perfia, 

 where Mahmoud of Gazna cftablifhed a powerful king- 

 dom, fubdued by the Turks of Bochara, who in the \ ith 



century 



