Chepni (; ; ) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes.Magnarella, Paul, Tradition and change in a Turkish town, Schenkman Pub. Co., 1981, p 35.
History In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of Gök Han that consists of Pecheneg (Beçenek), Bayandur (Bayındır), Chowdur (Çavuldur) and Chepni, a part of Üç-Oklar branch of the Oghuz Turks.Faruk Sümer, Oğuzlar: Türkmenler, Tarihleri, Boy Teşkilâtı, Destanları, Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı, 1992, , p. 172. According to Mahmud al-Kashgari's Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, it was the 21st tribe of the 22 Oghuz tribes.Besim Atalay (ed.), Divanü Lügati't - Türk, Cilt I, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2006, , p. 57.
They had been converted to Islam (Sunni, Shia and Alevi). According to a Turkish historian, Faruk Sümer, the first murids of Haji Bektash Veli may have been the Chepni residents of Suluca Kara Üyük (now a town of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey)Faruk Sümer, Çepniler: Anadolu'daki Türk Yerleşmesinde Önemli Rol Oynayan Bir Oğuz Boyu, Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları Vakfı, 1992, , p. 22. and some Turkish historians claim that Haji Bektash Veli may be of Chepni origin.Halil İbrahim Türkyılmaz, Dünden Yarına Tüm Yönleriyle Eynesil, Eynesilliler Kültür ve Yardımlaşma Derneği, 1995, p. 50.
Language In the 1330s, some Turkmens appeared in the coastal regions of the Pontus. A remarkable feature of the Pontic situation is that some groups of nomads apparently wandered Trapezuntine territories as subjects of the Grand Komnenoi. In addition to the case of the Christian Çepni, this is substantiated by linguistic data. According to Brendemoen, by the 14th century, a group of Pontic Chepni nomads was bilingual and spoke both Turkic and Greek. Moreover, the earliest Turkic dialect of the Pontos was based on the Aq Qoyunlu Turkic dialect under the influence of Pontic Greek. Historian Michael Meeker states that the linguistic Hellenization of some Turks who settled in the region is not "altogether improbable".
Settlements Turkey Giresun province and its region is known as Chepni province in history. Chepni are mainly concentrated in the provinces of Giresun and Ordu in the Eastern Black Sea Region but also live in Gaziantep, Trabzon, and Balıkesir.
Turkmenistan In Turkmenistan, Chepni is a clan among Geklen Turkmens living in the west of the country.
See also Küresünni Chepni of Rumkale
References