T U R 



Among thefe was the Turkman Ala-el-din, fultan of Ico- 

 niuni. Ak-el-din, advanced in life and haraffed by the 

 Tartars of Genghis Khan, granted lands to the Turks under 

 Ertogrul, and even made their chief general of all his 

 troops. Ertogrul proved himfelf deferving the confidence 

 of the fultan, vanquiHied the Moguls, acquired ftill greater 

 power and reputation, and tranfmitted his honours to his 

 fon Ofman, who received from Ala-el-din, fucceffor of the 

 former of that name, the Kofetan, drum, and horfe -tails, 

 which are fymbols of command among all the Tartars. 

 This Ofman, to diftinguifh the Turks, his followers, from 

 the others, gave them the name of " Ofmanles," from which 

 we have made Ottomans ; which new name foon became 

 formidable to the Greeks of Conflantinople, from whom 

 Ofman conquered a fufiicient extent of territory to found a 

 powerful kingdom. He foon bellowed on it that title, by 

 affuming, in 1300, the dignity of fultan, which fignifies 

 abfolute fovereign. 



No one is ignorant in what manner his fuccelTors, the 

 heirs of his ambition and aftivity, continued to aggrandize 

 themfelves at the expence of the Greeks ; till, continually 

 depriving them of whole provinces in Europe and Afia, 

 they at length (Tint them up within the walls of Conftan- 

 tinople; and Mahomet II. fon of Amurath, having taken 

 that city in 1453, annihilated this branch of the Roman 

 empire. The Turks, now finding themfelves difengaged 

 from the affairs of Europe, turned their ambitious arms 

 againft the fouthern provinces. Bagdad, fubjugated by the 

 Tartars, had been without caliphs for two hundred years, 

 but a new power, eftablifhed in Perfia, had fucceeded to a 

 part of their domains ; and another, formed in Egypt, fo 

 early as the tenth century, and fubfilling, at that time, 

 under the name of Mamlouks, had feized on Syria. 



The Turks determined to defpoil thefe two rivals. 

 Bayazid, the fon of Mahomet, executed a part of tliis 

 plan, by taking Armenia from the Sofi of Perfia, and Se- 

 lim his fon completed it, by the conqueft of the Mamlouks. 

 This fultan having drawn them near to Aleppo, in 15 17, 

 under pretext of deCring their affiflance in the war with 

 Perfia, fuddenly turned his arms againft them, and took 

 from them fucceffively Syria and Egypt, whither he pur- 

 fued them. From that time the Turks eftabhftied them- 

 felves in that country ; but they are not fettled much among 

 the villages. We rarely meet with any individuals of that 

 nation, except at Cairo ; there they exercife the arto, and 

 occupy the religious and military employments. Formerly 

 they alfo were advanced to poils under government, but, 

 within the laft thirty years, a tacit revolution has taken 

 place, which, without taking from them the title, has de- 

 prived them of the reality of power. See Turk and 



TlRKXY. 



V<;Jney obferves, that the language of the Turkmans is 

 the fame with that of the Turks, and their mode of life 

 nearly fimilar to that of the Bedouin Arabs. Like them, 

 they are paftors, and confequently obliged to travel over 

 immenfe trafts of land to procure lubfiftence for their nu- 

 merous herds. But there is this difference, that the coun- 

 tries frequpnted by the Turkmans being rich in pafturage, 

 they can Teed more cattle on them, and are therefore lefs 

 difperfed than the Arabs of the defert. Each of their 

 " ordous" (hence hordts ], or camps, acknowledges a chief, 

 whofe power is not determined by fixed laws, but governed 

 by cuftom and circumllances. It is rarely abufed, becaufe 

 the fociety is compaft, and the nature of their fituation 

 maintains fufficient equality among its members. Every 

 man able to bear arms is anxious to carry them, fince on his 

 jiidividual force depend both his perfonal fafety, and the 



T U R 



refpedl paid him by his companions. All their property 

 confifts in cattle, that is camels, buffaloes, goats, and efpe- 

 cially {heep. They five on milk, butter, and meat, which 

 are in great abundance among them, and the furplus of 

 which they fell in the towns and the neighbouring country, 

 for they are almoft able alone to fupply the butcheries. In 

 return, they take arms, clothes, money, and corn. Their 

 women fpin wool, and make carpets, the ufe of which is 

 immemorial in thefe countries, and confequently indicates 

 their manner of living to have been always the fame. As 

 for the men, their whole occupation confifts in fmoking, 

 and looking after their flocks. Perpetually on horfeback, 

 with their lances pn their ftioulders, their crooked fabres by 

 their fides, and their piftols in their belts, they are expert, 

 horfemen and indefatigable foldiers. They have frequen 

 differences with the Turks, who dread them ; but as the 

 are divided among themfelves, and form feparate camps, 

 they do not affume that fuperiority which their combined 

 forces would enfure them. The pachalics of Aleppo and 

 Damafcus, which are the only parts of Syria they frequent, 

 may be computed to contain about 30,000 wandering Turk- 

 mans. A great number of thefe tribes pafs, in fummer, 

 into Armenia and Caramania, where they find grafs in 

 greater abundance, and return to their former quarters in 

 the winter. The Turkmans are reputed Muffulmen, and 

 generally bear the diftinguiftiing mark, circumcifion. But 

 they trouble themfelves very little about religion, and they 

 have neither the ceremonies, nor the fanaticifm of fedentary 

 nations. As for their manners, to defcribe them accurately, 

 it would be neceffary to have lived among them. They 

 have, however, the reputation of not being robbers, like 

 the Arabs, though they are neither lefs generous, nor lefs 

 hofpitable than they ; and when we confider that they 

 live in plenty, without being rich, and are inured to war, 

 and hardened by fatigue and danger, we may prefume they 

 are equally removed trom the ignorance and fervility of the 

 peafants, and the corruption and felfiftmefs of the inhabit- 

 ants of the towns. See Truchmen'ians. 



TURLACH-MORE, ;. e. the Great Turlach, in the 

 county of Galway, Ireland, a kind of lake, formed by the 

 expanfion of the rivers Clare and Moyne, which is upwards 

 of fix miles in length, and two in breadth ; but which in fum- 

 mer, from. the water being carried off by fubterraneau paf- 

 fages, becomes a beautiful and found fheep-walk. 



TURLAH, a town of Hindooftan, in the circar of Ci- 

 cacole ; 25 miles E. of Kimedy. 



TURLOS, a fmall illand in the gulf of Engia, near the 

 N.E. point of the ifland of Engia. 



TURLUPINADE, a term ufed chiefly among the 

 French for a low jeft or witticifm. The occafion of the 

 name is faid to be derived from a famous comedian at Paris, 

 called 7«Wu/i;n ; whofe talent confifted chiefly in raifing a 

 laugh by miferable puns and quibbles. 



TURLUPINS, TuRLUPlNl, a denomii.ation given to 

 the brethren of the free fpirit ; whofe external afpect and 

 manners carried a very ftiocking air of lunacy and dil- 

 traftioii. 



They called their feft the fraternity of the poor, and fpread 

 themfelves over England and France. They are faid by 

 forae to have had their name turlupines, quod ea tantuni habi- 

 tarent loca, quit lupis expofita crant. 



They attempted to fettle themfelves at Paris in 1372, but 

 were a great part of them burnt, with their books ; as is re- 

 lated by Gaguin and Du Tillet, in the life of Charles V. 



TURMERIC, or Indian Sajron, in Botany. See Cur- 

 cuma. 



Turmeric, Curcuma, in the Materia Medica, a medici- 

 nal 



k, 

 ■rtj 



i 



