Scientists came together at the "Workshop on the History of the Turkic World"

Binali Yıldırım, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (OST), stated that they want to be a country that writes history and said, "We will write history, not just read history, and we will present the history we write to the whole world and future generations. We will achieve this through the work to be carried out under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States."

The Workshop on the History of the Turkic World was hosted by Atatürk Culture, Language and History Institute.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Binali Yıldırım, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (CSTO), said that the Turkic Academy is the project coordinator in the writing of the common history, adding that there is not much time in the writing of the common Turkic history and it should be done in a short time.

Stating that the focus should be on the future, Yıldırım said, "Those without a past have no future. Our roots are in the past and our face is in the future. With this joint Turkic history study, we will create a document that will serve as a guide for future young generations rather than older generations. The Turkic Academy, the Turkish Historical Society and similar institutions of other member countries, professors, professors and experts of the subject will put forward a very intensive work and thus we will bring our common history to light."

Binali Yıldırım noted the following:

"This is not a study from scratch. There is a lot of work, especially after the 15th century, and there is not much unknown from the 15th century onwards. The most important thing is to reveal the history from 800 BC, that is, from the Scythians and Sakas to the period when Turks converted to Islam, and to resolve the differences of opinion here. This is not only a joint history study, we also want to eliminate the issues that different experts have worked on in the past. We want to be the country that writes history. We will write history, not just read history, and we will present the history we write to the whole world and future generations. We will achieve this through the work to be carried out under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States."

Yıldırım stated that their greatest strength is the organization's young and dynamic population, which has reached 170 million, and said, "This geography, which harbors different cultures from west to east and smells of history, is ours. This is our homeland, we are talking about a geography of 4.5 million square kilometers. The surface area of the European Union is almost the same, but they do not have different cultures, different historical backgrounds and different riches. I find the common history study that we will realize after the common language study very valuable. I wish it to be auspicious and auspicious for the Turkic world and Turkic states."

"We do not have to look at Turkish history as a history of victors and vanquished"

Prof. Dr. Derya Örs, President of the Atatürk Culture, Language and History Supreme Council, said: "We should reflect the great potential of the Turkic world to the future by taking inspiration from the past. The aim of the workshop is to make the first studies on how we can write Turkish history together in an academic way in a short time."

Stating that academics working on general Turkish history write a common history and that it is normal to have disagreements on various issues, Örs said

"We never have to look at Turkish history as a history of victors and vanquished. There is no need to turn the results of political considerations among Turks from time to time into a matter of fighting today. What the Turkic world needs is more brotherhood, more cooperation. We will definitely write this history with our Common Turkic Alphabet."

"The Turkic Common Alphabet initiative is a valuable example and starting point for us"

President of the Turkish Historical Society Prof. Dr. Yüksel Özgen said that the Turkish Academy and the Turkish Historical Society, with the support of historical institutions from the Turkic world, are carrying out and finalizing the Turkish history study.

Stating that the Turkic world is a big family with approximately 300 million members, Özgen said, "A large geography of 4.5 million square kilometers and an economic volume of 4 trillion dollars are mentioned. Undoubtedly, these are our richness, they are very valuable. In addition to these, a vast history, a deep-rooted culture and a strong civilization that cannot be expressed in any material measure are also inherent qualities in the Turkic world."

Referring to the Common Turkish Alphabet, the foundations of which were laid in the 1990s and a consensus was reached at the end of 2024, Özgen said, "The Turkish Common Alphabet initiative is a valuable example and starting point for us." and noted the following:

"The support of the Heads of State of our countries through the Organization of Turkic States, the Council of Elders and our peoples will be a great strength for us in this process. I hope that we will achieve serious results this year through the draft to be put forward at this workshop."

"The study needs to be written with academic quality and scientific methodology"

President of the International Turkic Academy Prof. Dr. Shahin Mustafayev said that at the 11th Summit of the CIS held in Bishkek on November 6, 2024, instructions were given to write a common academic history.

Mustafayev said that the Turkish Academy has been appointed as the responsible coordinator of this project and noted that the implementation of the project is a joint task of national institutions, institutes and centers responsible for historical research in Turkic countries.

Mustafayev said, "The work should be written with academic quality and scientific methodology. We find it right to write the work in two volumes. Of course, it is not an easy task to work on the history of only one country. Our task is to write an integrated and common history of related peoples and countries. This work should be completed by the end of 2025. In the official instruction sent to the Turkish Academy by the Organization of Turkic States, the official name of the project is the History of Turkic Countries."

Mustafayev also noted that the study aims to create a common historical consciousness among Turkic peoples, to strengthen the sense of national pride in the younger generations of Turkic societies and to disseminate the cultural heritage of Turkic history to the world.

After the speeches, the work to be carried out for the writing of the History of the Turkic World was started.