WHO IS MAHMUD OF KASHGAR?
Mahmud was born in Kashgar and belonged to a noble family who were called the Hamirs, a name which was the counterpart of Amir among the Oguz tribes. We learn that he is of the family of Karahan through his own writings. His father Husein had immigrated from Barsgan to Kashgar where Mahmud was born. The definite dates of his birth and death are not known. If we consider the fact that he had completed his famous book in 1071 and that he was quite old by then, one could say that he must have lived in the eleventh century [11]. He had very good education, observing the Islamic scientific studies and learning fluent Arabic and Persian. He also travelled extensively in the Turkish regions, learning all the dialects of his native tongue, Turkish, and at the same time observing their traditions very closely. He mentioned in his book that he had travelled all along Sirderya. Mahmud had the reputation of knowing Turkish history, geography, and folklore very well [12]. As he pointed out in his b
