The Bayat is the clan that trained strong personalities likewise Dede Korkut, the state and religious man of Oghuz, in the history of Turk. They ara alleged to have come to el-Cezire and Syria in event of the first Seljuk Invasions. Bayat's country, today in the middle of Musul and Bagdat, living together with Araps as containing for about thirty villages as well as being neat and speaking artless Turkish is also accepted to be the first remnants of conqueror and known to be the clan that trained Fuzuli. In the trace of Bayat, the fact Naibi Sungur's of Aksungur ul Buhari, one of the ruler of Seljuk, in Basra possessed the addition repute as al-Bayati drows attention. It ıs also known that a castle in Luristan, in southern east of Bagdat, was called Bayat. In that time the owner of the castle was a Turk. The presence of the castle is known in the period of Mogol and Ottoman as well. During the Ottoman Empire, it was used as a capital in the term of divisions of Iraq. In that matter, assumptions, confronted in Ottoman achieves, were written addressing to the governer of a sanjak who had the name, not ruler of the Bayat, that some researchers was mistaken. Two assumptions registered in Divan-ı Hümayun's inventery, dated H.973(M 1566), is stated that Mir Hüseyin who was the ruler of the Bayat Sanjak had been entrusted with the protection of Basra.
In the Ottoman, composing inventeries belonged to 16.century only a small tribe's name, Karaca-Bayat, exist. Apart from this tribe settling in Kerkük and consisting 24 tax inhabitens, the Bayats whose historical knowledge about their living in that area intensively exist though, aren't mentioned. This is related to most of them settled life and those continuing nomadic life was exempt from the inventeries.
In the mean time, Bayati one of the post of the Turkish music was known to have been spread in Istanbul by means of 12 musicians from Iraq Bayat Turk who had been brought by IV.Murad while returning from campaign of Bagdat. One of the most common post in Iraq is considered to affect all East Post and is expressed as Bayati. The post of Bayat, which is loved in Kerkük, forms the most common mold of melody that is sung in the area. The eminent singer of this post and Rahmetullah Şaltag (1801-1876) known as the famous performer were also from Bayat Clan.
Going about this area in 1820, Engilsh Claudius James Rich notified that he had reached Bayat Plain, descending from Kifri Hills to Cimen, and explained there to be Bayat's own land. He recorded that Hasan, the chief of the tribe, was sometimes called as the ruler of Karakuş and he was invited to the dinner bye him. The ruler clarified to him directly; this land had been given them from Sultan, Ottoman Empire exempted them from paying tax, in response to it they had to give almost 1000 horses in the event of any military campaign, that the ruler of tribe didn't know when the tribe had come there for the first time and they had very valuable horses.
Going about this area in 1822, Bagdatlı Mursi notified that Bagdat Tribe were settling in the region, between Kifri and Tuzhurmatu; he obliged to give 1000 rider to Pasha of Bagdat, and for about 2000 clans were living in the Bayat Tribe. Musri also recorded; they spoke Turkish and Arabish, as for denomination some were Sunni and some were Şii, and the horses which were grown by Bayat's made a great reputation in Iraq.
During the Worl War I, a report, dated 1917and prepared by English, made it cleared that Bayats living in a religion that extented from Kifri, Karatepe to Tuzhurmatu spoke Turkish and Arabic, and the number of the tribes fostering animal were nearly a thousand familiy. In the same report, some tribes were called like these; Elbu Ali, Amırlı(Emirli), Bastamlı, Al-ı Bekir Ahmed, Elbu Hasan Sarlıya, Elbu Hüseyin, Elbu Vali, Develve Elvüzat and Yengice(Yenice).
Until 1940 it was confirmed that an important number of Bayats passed to settle life, those contuining nomadic life were few, and they consisted of 13 tents seperating into different parts. Nowadays, an importanat number of Bayats still maintaining their existence Turkishness, many Bayat families migrated from Bayat Religion, where being nomad was coming an end, and settling in nomadic life, today, are living places such as Kerkük, Tuzharmatu,Kifri, Hanekin, Kızlarbet, Karağan Tavuk, Karatepe and Musul, where there is a dense population of Turks, and possess the surname of Bayatlı or Bayati proudly, Others are living their own villages, The villages belonging to Bayat Tribe and still possessing the same family name are these; Abbud, Elbuhasan, Bastamlı, Biravcılı, Çardağlı, Karanaz, Muradlı, Süleyman Bey, and Zengili.
the other hand, we know the families having migrated from Bayat Religions to Arap Religions in the duration of the historical time almost all of them became Arabian.Among the families, forgetting their languages, there are ones knowing their origin due to their surname, and also someone accepting themselves as Arab despite the surname of Beyati or Beyallı. Today, to encounter family name of Bayatlı (Beyati) in Basra, Hille, Kut, Samerra, Necef, Kerbela, and Bağdat in Iraq is quiet possible. Speaking Turkish Bayatlar also know Arabic in order to communicate with Arab tribes.With the special treaty they singned with Araps, they let them graze their herd in the plains of Bayat. According to the census made in 1957, the number of Bayats living as a group in villages was 17.455. But the population of Bayats in Kerkük was over 50 thousand according to the estimation in 1990. If we add the Bayats settling in the center of Kerkük, Diyala, Musul and some places of Iraq, the total population of them appears to be almost 100 thousand.
Struggling with aggriculture and cattle dealing for a living, Bayats spent their life, which is quiet good in rural regime, as a group in villages close to each other. The names of tribes belonging to Bayats that locate in the west of the huge plain, indicate the name of place or sometimes even the name of a family chief. The names of the group relating to Bayats Tribe and are the second degrees of them are; Pir Ahmedli, Izzeddinli, Allııballı, Mahmudlu, Faris Beğli, Ali Musalı, Abbudlu, Zengülü, Sayyadlı, Karanazlı, Biravcılı, Hasandarlı, Kalaylı, Kahyalı, Keremli,Şuhurtlu, Tezekli,Serheli, Kuşçulu anad Kenneli.And these are the places that Bayats are living as a group; Yukarı Ali Saray, Aşağı Ali Saray, Sındıc, Bastamlı, Pir Ahmed, Abbud, Amırlı (Emirli), Seyyad, Küçük Donbalandere, Elbu Hasan, Biravcılı, Hasardalı, Yeşiltepe, Karanaz, Zengülü, Başagelen, Çardağlı, Muradlı, Bısas, Bablan, Yengice, Üçtepe, Kuşçu, Delelbe, Elboğmaz, Sülaymanbeg, İlanciye (Yılancıya), and Casımbeg.
The villages where Turks, belonging to Bayat and today use the name of this tribe, settle in Musul are; Abzah, Besan, Karayatağ, Selamiye, Şennif, Şirehan, Tezharap, and Yarımca.