Sart - Alternative Meanings

Alternative Meanings

In the post-Mongol period we find that Ali Sher Nawa'i refers to the Iranian people as "Sart Ulusi" (Sart Ulus, i.e. Sart people), and for him "Sart tili" (Sart language) was a synonym for the Persian language. Similarly, when Babur refers to the people of Margelan as "Sarts", it is in distinction to the people of Andijan who are Turks, and it is clear that by this he means Persian-speakers. He also refers to the population of the towns and villages of the vilayat of Kabul as "Sarts".

A further change of use seems to have occurred with the arrival in the oasis regions of Turkistan of the Uzbeks under Shaybani Khan. They distinguished between themselves as semi-nomadic speakers of a Kipchak dialect, and the settled Turkic-speaking populations already living in the oasis towns, most of whom spoke the Uyghur dialect. It is at this date that the distinction between the terms "Sart" and "Tajik" seems to have made itself felt, as previously they were often used interchangeably. Even after the Uzbeks switched to a settled way of life, they continued to maintain this distinction between Turkic-speakers who were members of one of the Uzbek tribes, and "Sarts" who were not.

In June 2010 The term "SART" was used in ethnic conflict between Kirghiz and Uzbeks on Southern Kirghistan to indicate less mongoloid race, Uzbeks from Kirghiz.

SART O'L