Afro-Turks are the present-day descendants of Africans who came from Africa to Anatolia, the Balkans, and the Aegean Islands during the Ottoman Empire. This community uses the term “Afro-Turk” in reference to their African ancestors. Afro-Turks carry not only their ethnic or geographical origins but also the traces of social, cultural, and political experiences from different historical periods and geographies.

Historical Background

Throughout the nearly 600-year existence of the Ottoman Empire, people of African descent lived in various provinces of the empire. Africans who migrated to Anatolia from regions such as the Middle East, Arabia, Egypt, and North Africa for various reasons gradually became a part of the Ottoman social structure. During this process, Ottoman rule maintained its dominion in these regions sometimes through local administrators and sometimes through governors appointed from the center.

There are important historical documents regarding the presence of Africans in Ottoman geography. For example, it is known that there were African students in the Sahn-ı Seman madrasahs established by Mehmed II in the 15th century. The work titled Miratü’l-Hubuş (The Mirror of the Abyssinians), written by Ali Mekki in the 16th century, is one of these historical testimonies.

The presence of African individuals in Arab geography during the Ottoman period forms the historical basis for the term "Arab" being used to refer to black people in some regions today.

^{The Family Settled in Aydın and Known as "Afro-Turks" (AA)}

Terminology and Social Definitions

During the Ottoman period, Africans were frequently referred to as “Arap” (Arab) by the public, while non-African people living in Arab provinces were called “Ak Arap” (White Arab). In Ottoman archives, Africans were recorded as “zenc” or “zenciye.” These definitions gained different meanings with the shaping of race and nationality concepts in the modern era. The multicultural and multi-ethnic structure of Ottoman society made the existence of Afro-Turks possible as part of this diversity.

Migration and History of Slavery

The presence of individuals of African origin in Anatolia was largely shaped by trade routes and the slave trade. In the 19th century, particularly with the widespread use of steamships and the end of the Atlantic slave trade, a migration occurred towards Istanbul, Izmir, Thessaloniki, and the Aegean islands via the ports of Egypt and Tripoli.

Prominent Afro-Descendant Figures in the Ottoman Period

Historical sources show that Afro-Turks played active roles in Ottoman society. Hacı Beşir Ağa, an Ottoman palace official of Ethiopian origin, served as Darüssaade Ağa during the reigns of three sultans. Zenci Musa, who accompanied Enver Pasha and Mustafa Kemal in the Italo-Turkish War (Trablusgarp War), became the orderly of Kuşçubaşı Eşref, a member of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. Zenci Musa is also featured in Mehmet Akif Ersoy's poetry. Afro-Zeybeks were influential in Aegean folklore during the National Struggle period, finding their place in folk melodies such as “Koca Arap Zeybeği.”

Cultural and Historical Heritage

Afro-Turks continue to maintain their unique identity in Türkiye as carriers of the cultural heritage that spread from Africa to the entire world. This identity is based on both the multicultural structure of the Ottoman period and the individual and collective memory of today. Afro-Turks carry their existence to the present day through historical documents, folklore, and oral culture.

^{Music Group Formed by Afro-Turks to Learn the Rhythms They Left Behind in Africa (AA)}