Even today, it is still considered as a natural result that each community that is deprived of its independence is exposed to such restrictions. The captivity and the slavery are much different thing in respect of social and legal characteristics. There were some captives (especially the prisoners of war) apart from the slaves in the ancient Greece, Roma and the Mongolians. Actually, the word of "köle" (slave) is not cited within the ancient Turkish texts. The word of "kün" (concubine) is derived from China (kü'an). However, some of the expressions such as "ol kul boş kıldı" (he set free his slave) were observed among Tabgaç people and the Central Asian Uighur people and these expressions were of significance.
All of these expressions can be explained on the basis of the foreign effects. The slavery in the first two Turkish states were observed in China and in the Central-Asian regions rather than the actual Turkish regions. This must have resulted from the fact that the Turkish political organisations that always preferred the practical ways did not intervene in the familiar civil and legal provisions that were created by the people in those regions.
Kasgarli Mahmut provided examples from the language of the Turkish groups that were under the influence of a non-Turkish culture for a long time. Some of the Turkish children in the Kipchak steppe lands were purchased and sent to the Middle East countries. This situation can be considered as a result of the famous captive (slave) trade that was derived from the Slav and Noman people. Actually, such a state of affairs was not observed among the Eastern European Turks in the more ancient periods. As it has been known, the slavery is based on the "settled" civilisation. The slavery that is an institution present in some of the forest tribes and communities (for example, Mongolians) was unfamiliar to the steppe lands. As we have stated, the reason for the unfamiliarity with the concept of slavery depends on the fact that the people of the steppe lands had reached to a conception of justice in some certain degree in the very ancient prehistoric ages as required by the geographical conditions that they lived in.
It is obvious that this concept of justice prevented the establishment of an order that was based on privileged "classes" in the ancient Turkish societies. There are three principal factors that play important role in the formation of privileged classes in any society: the possession of vast lands (economical), the military profession (administrative- political) and the membership in the clergy (religious). All these three characteristics could not have the chance for development within the steppe culture. First of all, the agriculture had the secondary importance in the general economical life within the steppe lands and therefore, it was impossible to establish large "estates" (feudalism) in the steppe lands.
Accordingly, the "vassalage" ("serfhood") was not the subject matter in the ancient Turkish social lifestyle. Secondly, the military profession cannot be considered as a separate profession among the ancient Turks since each Turk was a permanent soldier ready to war that was properly trained with war training and practices. The children would be put on the lambs and sheep and set to hunt for red squirrels, etc. with arrows since the ages of 3*4. Therefore, they were accustomed to horse riding and shooting. There would be a saddled horse by the side of each child that started to walk.
Among the ancient Turks, the individuals would find their characters in the field of battles and combats and they would be distinguished in proportion with the level of their heroism that they showed in these fields within the society. The women were also trained in the same way and they would mostly join the war together with the men (even in the Cairo war of Atsiz in the year of 1077 that coincided with the Islamic era). As a result of the movements of migrations for thousands of kilometres, the steppe Turks were obliged to settle in a new homeland together with all the members of the family.Therefore, It was natural that women supported the steppe Turks in each field including the battles.
As for the third factor, the religious leaders did not constitute a privileged "class" within the ancient Turks. Actually, as it has been stated above, the steppe Turkish groups mostly had political characteristics and they did not have any religious character. Hardly any comments were included in the documents pertaining to the ancient steppe Turkish groups including the Orhun inscriptions and this situation is of great significance.
End
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