THE COMMON FEATURE OF THE SUPER POWERS OF TURKISH HISTORY: LOCAL AND NATIONAL WEAPONS
For the Turks, who have established powerful states throughout history, the defense industry is not only a security issue, but also an indicator of civilization. Throughout the process from the Huns to the Republic of Turkey, the Turks have produced weapons technologies suitable for the conditions of the time and have seen this as a guarantee of their independence. Today, the concept of “local and national defense industry” is the necessary reality of this legacy of the past.
The Great Hun State
The most important feature of the Great Hun State, one of the most powerful states in pre-Islamic Turkish history and which laid the foundations of the Turkish state organization, was its strong army. The power of the state’s armed forces was its army organization with strict discipline and hierarchy, and the weapons it used of its own production. In addition, the Huns, who domesticated horses as mounts, used these horses with tremendous effect in the battle arena.
The weapons that the Hun State had, which were of their own production, made them superior to the Chinese armies. These locally produced bows and whistling arrows formed the basis of the Huns’ war doctrines.
Gokturk State
The Gokturks were one of the Turkish communities that used technologies far ahead of their time in mining. They could produce sharp weapons from iron and durable, light, and quite useful armors compared to their contemporaries. Strong and definite emphasis was also placed on blacksmithing in Turkish epics and Orhun Inscriptions.
The Gokturk State was the superpower of Central Asia in the 6th and 7th centuries with its powerful army equipped with weapons and armor of its own production and its organizations based on tradition.
The Great Seljuk State
The Seljuk Turks, one of the most powerful states of the Middle Ages, developed weapons suitable for their own war tactics. The Seljuks, in addition to their own weapons such as bows, arrows, swords, maces and axes, had also become a large and powerful state beyond its time with their siege technologies and had become an unrivaled country extending over very wide borders.
Ottoman State
The Ottomans were a state far ahead of their time with their land and sea power. With the weapons they produced with their own means, especially heavy artillery, they had established an indisputable superiority over their rivals both on land and at sea.
The Ottoman navy, just like the land army, had become invincible with the ships they produced in their own shipyards. The Ottoman State was far ahead of Europe in terms of defense technology until the beginning of the 17th century.
The Turkish States mentioned above were the superpowers of their time. One of the common characteristics of these unrivaled states was that they had strong armies equipped with their own weapons.
Republic of Turkey State
The Republic of Turkey has made major investments, especially since the early 2000s, to reduce external dependency in the defense industry. The success of domestic and national weapons in operations in Syria, Iraq and Karabakh showed how correct and important investments made in the defense industry are.
This development in the Republic of Turkey reflects the current continuation of the Turkish state tradition, which has seen weapons production as an indispensable element for its own survival throughout history.
From the Huns to the Republic of Turkey, Turks have produced and developed their own weapons in order to protect their independence. This is not only a technical activity, but also a political and cultural determination. Developments in the domestic and national defense industry today are a continuation of the strong heritage of the past. It should not be forgotten that; “States that cannot produce their own weapons cannot determine their own destiny.”
The Impact of the Domestic Defense Industry on Turkish Foreign Policy
In the 21st century, the effectiveness of states in foreign policy is shaped not only by diplomatic channels, but also by their military and technological capacity. The strategic steps taken by Turkey in the defense industry in recent years, especially the increase in domestic and national production rates, have not only increased their defense capabilities, but also created an important maneuver area for itself in foreign policy. As the capacity of domestically produced weapons increases, Turkey has become a more assertive actor at the regional and global level.
In other words, developments in the domestic and national defense industry have become not only an increase in military capacity, but also a strategic force multiplier that directs Türkiye’s foreign policy. With the power it derives from its army equipped with domestic and national weapons, Turkey has become an actor that sits in a more effective seat at the diplomatic table and can act much more independently.
This situation has both strengthened the deterrent effect of Turkish foreign policy and expanded its sphere of influence.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Savaş Eğilmez, Faculty Member of the History Department, Faculty of Letters, Atatürk University
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