Abstract
This study compares the ‘Sultan’s Daughter’ narratives featuring Keloğlan, a central figure in Turkic tales, across Anatolian, Uyghur, and Gagauz Turk variants. Keloğlan represents a social hero symbolizing the aspiration to ascend from poverty to wealth and from the common people to power. The thesis frames the hero‘s shedding of his initial «bald» and «poor» identity to gain a new status as a narrative of social mobility. In the Anatolian variants, cunning and supernatural helpers play a key role in achieving success. Gagauz (Kelce/Külce) narratives show strong ties with the mythological ash/hearth cult. Conversely, the motifs of heroism and struggle attributed to Keloğlan in the Uyghur variants may differ. The fundamental motif of marriage is not just an individual reward for Keloğlan but also secures the fair representation of the lower class he belongs to. The study investigates how the socio-cultural and religious differences across the three geographies are reflected in the subtext and hero ideal of the tale. Ultimately, Keloğlan reflects a common Turkic hero ideal that glorifies intellect and conscience, rather than physical strength. This comparison aims to demonstrate the common origins and the richness of local adaptations within Turkic folk narratives.