The 16 Great Turkic Empires (Turkish: 16 Büyük Türk Devleti, which translates as "16 Great Turkish States") is a concept in Turkish ethnic nationalism, introduced in 1969 by , map officer and widely invoked by Turkish authorities during the 1980s, under the government of Kenan Evren. Prior to this assertion, the 16 stars had been taken as representing sixteen medieval beyliks which succeeded the Seljuk Empire.