Concept
Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans (Türken in Deutschland/Deutschtürken; Almanya'da yaşayan Türkler/Almanya Türkleri), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used to refer to German-born individuals who are of full or partial Turkish ancestry. Whilst the majority of Turks arrived or originate from Turkey, there are also significant ethnic Turkish communities living in Germany who come from (or descend from) Southeastern Europe (i.e. Balkan Turks from Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia and Romania), the island of Cyprus (i.e. Turkish Cypriots from both the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus), as well as Turkish communities from other parts of the Levant (including Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria). At present, ethnic Turkish people form the largest ethnic minority in Germany. They also form the largest Turkish population in the Turkish diaspora. Turks who immigrated to Germany brought cultural elements with them, including the Turkish language. During a series of invading Crusades by European-Christian armies into lands ruled by Turkic rulers in the Middle East, namely under the Seljuk Turks in the Seljuk Empire and the Rum Seljuk Sultanate (but also the Bahri Mamluk Sultanate), many crusaders brought back Turkish male and female prisoners of war to Europe; women were generally baptised and then married whilst "every returning baron and count had [male] prisoners of war in his entourage." Some of the Beutetürken ('booty Turks') taken to Germany during the Crusades also included children and young adults. The earliest documented Turk in Germany is believed to be de (Mehmet Sadık Selim Sultan) (ca.1270-1328) from the Anatolian Seljuk lands. According to Streiders Hessisches Gelehrtenlexikon, Soltan was a Turkish officer who was captured by Count von Lechtomir (Reinhart von Württemberg) during his return to Germany from the Holy Land in 1291. By 1304 Soltan married Rebekka Dohlerin; he was baptised the following year as "Johann Soldan", but "out of special love to him", the Count "gave him a Turkish nobility coat of arms".
