Oğuz, confederation ofTurkic peoples whose homeland, until at least the 11th centuryce, was the steppes ofCentral Asia andMongolia. TheOrhon inscriptions, describing an early Turkic people, probably refer to the Oğuz. TheSeljuqs, whoconstituted one branch of the Oğuz, controlled an empire stretching from theAmu Darya to thePersian Gulf and from theIndus River to theMediterranean Sea by the end of the 11th century. Speakers of the southwestern branch of theTurkic language subfamily are also sometimes referred to as Oğuz Turks.