Turkic group of languages: peoples. The history of the Turks has more than four thousand years

Settled on a vast territory of our planet, ranging from the cold Kolyma basin to the southwestern coast mediterranean sea. The Turks do not belong to any particular racial type, even among the same people there are both Caucasoids and Mongoloids. They are mostly Muslims, but there are peoples who profess Christianity, traditional beliefs, and shamanism. The only thing that connects almost 170 million people is the common origin of the group of languages ​​that the Turks now speak. Yakut and Turk - they all speak related dialects.

Strong branch of the Altai tree

Among some scientists, disputes still do not subside over what language family belongs to the Turkic language group. Some linguists singled it out as a separate large group. However, the most generally accepted hypothesis today is the version about the entry of these related languages ​​into the large Altaic family.

A great contribution to these studies was made by the development of genetics, thanks to which it became possible to trace the history of entire peoples in the wake of individual fragments of the human genome.

Once a group of tribes in Central Asia spoke the same language - the ancestor of modern Turkic dialects, however, in the 3rd century. BC e. a separate Bulgar branch separated from the large trunk. The only people who speak the languages ​​of the Bulgar group today are the Chuvash. Their dialect is noticeably different from other related ones and stands out as a special subgroup.

Some researchers even propose to place the Chuvash language in a separate genus of the large Altai macrofamily.

Southeast direction classification

Other representatives of the Turkic group of languages ​​are usually divided into 4 large subgroups. There are disagreements in the details, but for simplicity, we can take the most common way.

Oguz, or southwestern, languages, which include Azerbaijani, Turkish, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz. Representatives of these peoples speak very similarly and can easily understand each other without an interpreter. Hence and a huge impact strong Turkey in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, whose inhabitants perceive Turkish as their native language.

The Turkic group of the Altai family of languages ​​also includes the Kypchak, or northwestern, languages, which are spoken mainly on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of the peoples of Central Asia who have nomadic ancestors. Tatars, Bashkirs, Karachays, Balkars, such peoples of Dagestan as Nogais and Kumyks, as well as Kazakhs and Kirghiz - they all speak related dialects of the Kypchak subgroup.

The southeastern, or Karluk, languages ​​are solidly represented by the languages ​​of two large peoples - the Uzbeks and the Uighurs. However, for almost a thousand years they developed separately from each other. If the Uzbek language has experienced a colossal influence of Farsi, Arabic, then the Uighurs, the inhabitants of East Turkestan, brought over many years great amount Chinese loanwords into their own dialect.

Northern Turkic languages

The geography of the Turkic group of languages ​​is wide and varied. Yakuts, Altaians, in general, some indigenous peoples of northeastern Eurasia, are also combined into a separate branch of a large Turkic tree. Northeastern languages ​​are quite heterogeneous and are subdivided into several separate genera.

The Yakut and Dolgan languages ​​separated from the single Turkic dialect, and this happened in the 3rd century BC. n. e.

Tuvan and Tofalar languages ​​belong to the Sayan group of languages ​​of the Turkic family. Khakasses and residents of Gornaya Shoria speak the languages ​​of the Khakass group.

Altai is the cradle of the Turkic civilization, the indigenous inhabitants of these places still speak the Oirot, Teleut, Lebedin, Kumandin languages ​​of the Altai subgroup.

Incidents in a slender classification

However, not everything is so simple in this conditional division. The process of national-territorial delimitation, which took place on the territory of the Central Asian republics of the USSR in the twenties of the last century, also affected such subtle matter as language.

All residents of the Uzbek SSR were called Uzbeks, a single version of the literary Uzbek language was adopted, based on the dialects of the Kokand Khanate. However, even today Uzbek language characterized by pronounced dialectism. Some dialects of Khorezm, the westernmost part of Uzbekistan, are closer to the languages ​​of the Oguz group and closer to Turkmen than to literary Uzbek.

Some areas speak dialects that belong to the Nogai subgroup of the Kypchak languages, hence the situations are not uncommon when a Ferghana native hardly understands a native of Kashkadarya, who, in his opinion, godlessly distorts native language.

The situation is approximately the same with other representatives of the peoples of the Turkic group of languages ​​- the Crimean Tatars. The language of the inhabitants of the coastal strip is almost identical to Turkish, but the natural steppe people speak an dialect closer to the Kypchak ones.

Ancient history

For the first time the Turks entered the world historical arena during the Great Migration Period. In the genetic memory of Europeans, there is still a shudder before the invasion of Attila's Huns in the 4th century. n. e. The steppe empire was a motley formation of numerous tribes and peoples, however, the Turkic element was still predominant.

There are many versions of the origin of these peoples, but most researchers place the ancestral home of today's Uzbeks and Turks in the northwestern part of the Central Asian plateau, in the area between Altai and the Khingar Range. This version is also followed by the Kyrgyz, who consider themselves the direct heirs of great empire and still nostalgic about it.

The neighbors of the Turks were the Mongols, the ancestors of today's Indo-European peoples, the Ural and Yenisei tribes, the Manchus. The Turkic group of the Altaic family of languages ​​began to take shape in close cooperation with close peoples.

Confusion with Tatars and Bulgarians

In the first century A.D. e. individual tribes begin to migrate towards southern Kazakhstan. In the 4th century, the famous Hun invasion of Europe took place. It was then that the Bulgar branch separated from the Turkic tree and an extensive confederation was formed, which was divided into the Danubian and Volga. Today's Bulgarians in the Balkans now speak Slavic and have lost their Turkic roots.

The reverse situation occurred with the Volga Bulgars. They still speak Turkic languages, but after the invasion of the Mongols they call themselves Tatars. The conquered Turkic tribes living in the steppes of the Volga took the name of the Tatars - a legendary tribe that had long disappeared in the wars, with whom Genghis Khan began his campaigns. They also called their language Tatar, which they used to call Bulgar.

Chuvash is considered the only living dialect of the Bulgar branch of the Turkic group of languages. The Tatars, another descendant of the Bulgars, actually speak a variant of the later Kipchak dialects.

From Kolyma to the Mediterranean

The peoples of the Turkic language group include the inhabitants of the harsh regions of the basin of the famous Kolyma, the resort beaches of the Mediterranean, the Altai mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan, which are flat as a table. The ancestors of today's Turks were nomads, along and across the Eurasian continent. For two thousand years they interacted with their neighbors, who were Iranians, Arabs, Russians, Chinese. During this time, an unimaginable mixture of cultures and bloodlines occurred.

Today it is even impossible to determine the race to which the Turks belong. Residents of Turkey, Azerbaijanis, Gagauz belong to the Mediterranean group of the Caucasian race, there are practically no guys with slanted eyes and yellowish skin. However, the Yakuts, Altaians, Kazakhs, Kirghiz - they all carry a pronounced Mongoloid element in their appearance.

Racial diversity is observed even among peoples who speak the same language. Among the Tatars of Kazan you can meet blue-eyed blonds and black-haired people with slanted eyes. The same is observed in Uzbekistan, where it is impossible to deduce the appearance of a typical Uzbek.

Faith

The majority of Turks are Muslims who practice the Sunni branch of this religion. Only in Azerbaijan adhere to Shiism. However individual peoples either retained ancient beliefs or became adherents of other major religions. Most of the Chuvash and Gagauz profess Christianity in its Orthodox form.

In the northeast of Eurasia, individual peoples continue to adhere to the faith of their ancestors; among the Yakuts, Altaians, Tuvans, traditional beliefs and shamanism continue to be popular.

During the time of the Khazar Khaganate, the inhabitants of this empire professed Judaism, which continues to be perceived as the only true religion by today's Karaites, fragments of that mighty Turkic state.

Vocabulary

Along with world civilization, the Turkic languages ​​also developed, absorbing the vocabulary of neighboring peoples and generously endowing them with their own words. It is difficult to count the number of borrowed Turkic words in the East Slavic languages. It all started with the Bulgars, from whom the words “kap” were borrowed, from which arose “temple”, “suvart”, transformed into “serum”. Later, instead of "serum" they began to use the common Turkic "yogurt".

The exchange of vocabulary became especially lively during the Golden Horde and the late Middle Ages, during active trade with the Turkic countries. A huge number of new words came into use: donkey, cap, sash, raisins, shoe, chest and others. Later, only the names of specific terms began to be borrowed, for example, snow leopard, elm, dung, kishlak.

Ethno-speaking group speaking Turkic languages. This population group is considered one of the oldest, and its classification is the most complex and still causes controversy among historians. 164 million people today speak the Turkic language. Most ancient people The Turkic group is the Kirghiz, their language has been preserved almost unchanged. And the first information about the appearance of Turkic-speaking tribes dates back to the first millennium BC.

Modern strength

Most a large number of modern Turks is. According to statistics, this is 43% of all Turkic-speaking peoples, or 70 million people. Next come - 15% or 25 million people. Slightly fewer Uzbeks - 23.5 million (14%), after - - 12 million (7%), Uighurs - 10 million (6%), Turkmens - 6 million (4%), - 5.5 million (3%) , — 3.5 million (2%). The following nationalities make up 1%: Qashqais and - an average of 1.5 million. Others less than 1%: Karakalpaks (700 thousand), Afshars (600 thousand), Yakuts (480 thousand), Kumyks (400 thousand), Karachais (350 thousand ), (300 thousand), Gagauz (180 thousand), Balkars (115 thousand), Nogais (110 thousand), Khakasses (75 thousand), Altaians (70 thousand). Most Turks are Muslims.

Origin of peoples

The first settlement of the Turks was in Northern China, in the steppe zones. They were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Over time, the tribes settled, so they reached Eurasia. The ancient Turkic peoples were:

• Huns;
• turkuts;
• Karluks;
• Khazars;
• Pechenegs;
• Bulgars;
• Cumans;
• Oghuz Turks.

Very often in the historical annals the Turks are called Scythians. There are many legends about the origin of the first tribes, which also exist in several versions.

language group

There are 2 main groups: eastern and western. Each of them has a branch:

• Eastern:
  • Kirghiz-Kypchak (Kyrgyz, Altaians);
  • Uighur (Saryg-Uighurs, Todzhans, Altaians, Khakases, Dolgans, Tofalars, Shors, Tuvans, Yakuts).
• Western:
  • Bulgar (Chuvash);
  • Kypchak (Kypchak-Bulgarian: Tatars, Bashkirs; Kypchak-Polovtsian: Crimeans, Krymchaks, Balkars, Kumyks, Karaites, Karachays; Kypchak-Nogai: Kazakhs, Nogais, Karakalpaks);
  • Karluk (Ili Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Uyghurs);
  • Oghuz (Oguz-Bulgarian: Balkan Turks, Gagauz; Oghuz-Seljuk: Turks, Azerbaijanis, Capriot Turks, Turkomans, Qashqais, Urums, Syrian Turks, Crimeans; Oghuz-Turkmen peoples: Trukhmens, Qajars, Gudars, Teymurtashis, Turkmens, Afshars , Salars, Karapapahi).

The Chuvash speak the Chuvash language. Dialectic of the Yakuts in Yakut and Dolgan. The Kipchak peoples are located in Russia, Siberia, so Russian becomes native here, although some peoples retain their culture and language. Representatives of the Karluk group speak Uzbek and Uighur. Tatars, Kirghiz and Kazakhs achieved independence of their territory and also preserved their traditions. But the Oguzes tend to speak Turkmen, Turkish, Salar.

Characteristics of peoples

Many nationalities, although they live on the territory of Russia, retain their language, culture and customs. Vivid examples Turkic people who are partially or completely dependent on other countries:

• Yakuts. Often, the indigenous people call themselves Sakhas, and their Republic was called Sakha. This is the easternmost Turkic population. The language was acquired a little from the Asians.
• Tuvans. This nationality is found in the east, closer to the border with China. Native Republic - Tuva.
• Altaians. They preserve their history and culture the most. They inhabit the Republic of Altai.
• Khakasses. Live in the Republic of Khakassia, approximately 52 thousand people. Partially someone moved to Krasnoyarsk region or Tulu.
• Tofalars. According to statistics, this nationality is on the verge of extinction. Found only in the Irkutsk region.
• Shors. Today it is 10 thousand people who have taken shelter in the southern part of the Kemerovo region.
• Siberian Tatars. They speak Tatar, but live in Russia: Omsk, Tyumen and Novosibirsk regions.
• Dolgans. These are bright representatives living in the Nenets autonomous region. Today, the nationality consists of 7.5 thousand people.

Other peoples, and there are six such countries, have achieved their own nationality and now these are prosperous countries with a history of Turkic settlement:

• Kirghiz. Exactly this ancient settlement Turkish origin. Let the territory have been vulnerable for a long time, but they managed to preserve their way of life and culture. They lived mainly in the steppe zone, where few people settled. But they are very hospitable and generously meet and see off guests who come to their house.
• Kazakhs. This is the most common group of Turkic representatives. They are very proud, but at the same time strong-willed people. Children are brought up strictly, but they are ready to protect their neighbor from bad things.
• Turks. A peculiar people, they are patient and unpretentious, but very insidious and vindictive. Non-Muslims do not exist for them.

All representatives of Turkic origin are united by a common - history and common origin. Many managed to carry through the years and even in spite of other problems, their traditions. Other representatives are on the verge of extinction. But even this does not prevent getting acquainted with their culture.

Inner Asia and Southern Siberia are the small homeland of the Turks, this is the territorial “patch”, which eventually grew into a thousand-kilometer territory on a global scale. The geographical composition of the area of ​​the Turkic peoples took place, in fact, over two millennia. The Proto-Turks lived in the trap of the Volga as early as the III-II millennium BC, they constantly migrated. Ancient Turkic "Scythians" and Huns" were also an integral part of the Ancient Turkic Khaganate. Thanks to their ritual structures, today we can get acquainted with the works of ancient early Slavic culture and art - this is precisely the Turkic heritage.

The Turks were traditionally engaged in nomadic pastoralism, in addition, they mined and processed iron. Leading a sedentary and semi-nomadic way of life, the Turks in the Central Asian interfluve in the VI century formed Turkestan. Existing in Central Asia from 552 to 745, the Turkic Khaganate in 603 was divided into two independent Khaganates, one of which included modern Kazakhstan and the lands of East Turkestan, and the other was the territory that included present-day Mongolia, Northern China and Southern Siberia.

The first, Western, Khaganate ceased to exist half a century later, conquered by the Eastern Turks. The leader of the Turgeshes, Uchelik, founded a new state of the Türks - the Turgesh Khaganate.

Subsequently, the Bulgars were engaged in the combat "formatting" of the Turkic ethnos, Kyiv princes Svyatoslav and Yaroslav. The Pechenegs, who devastated the southern Russian steppes with fire and sword, were replaced by the Polovtsy, they were defeated by the Mongols-Tatars ... Partly Golden Horde (Mongol Empire) was a Turkic state, which later broke up into autonomous khanates.

In the history of the Turks, there were numerous other significant events, among which the most significant is the formation of the Ottoman Empire, which was facilitated by the conquest of the Ottoman Turks, who seized the lands of Europe, Asia and Africa in the 13th-16th centuries. After the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which began in the 17th century, Petrine Russia absorbed most former Golden Horde lands with Turkic states. Already in the 19th century, East Transcaucasian khanates joined Russia. After Central Asia, the Kazakh and Kokand khanates, together with the Emirate of Bukhara, became part of Russia, the Mikin and Khiva khanates, together with the Ottoman Empire, were the only conglomerate of Turkic states.

The ancient Turks are the ancestors of many modern Turkic peoples, including the Tatars. The Turks roamed the Great Steppe (Dashti-Kypchak) in the expanses of Eurasia. Here they conducted their economic activities, on these lands they created their own states. The Volga-Ural region, located on the periphery of the Great Steppe, has long been inhabited by Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes. In the second century AD, other Turkic tribes also migrated here from Central Asia, known in history as the Huns. In the 4th century, the Huns occupied the Black Sea region, then invaded Central Europe. But, over time, the Hun union of tribes broke up and most of the Huns returned to the Black Sea region, joining other local Turks.
The Turkic Khaganate, created by the Turks of Central Asia, existed for about two hundred years. Among the peoples of this kaganate, written sources point to the Tatars. It is noted that this is a very numerous Turkic people. The tribal association of the Tatars, located on the territory of modern Mongolia, included 70 thousand families. The Arab historian pointed out that due to their exceptional greatness and authority, other tribes also united under this name. Other historians also reported about the Tatars living on the banks of the Irtysh River. In frequent military clashes, the opponents of the Tatars usually turned out to be the Chinese and Mongols. There is no doubt that the Tatars were Turks, and in this sense they are close relatives (and can also be attributed to a certain extent to the ancestors) of modern Turkic peoples.
After the collapse of the Turkic Khaganate came into force Khazar Khaganate. The possession of the kaganate extended to the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and the Crimea. The Khazars were an association of Turkic tribes and peoples and "were one of the remarkable peoples of that era" (L. N. Gumilyov). Exceptional religious tolerance flourished in this state. For example, in the capital of the state, Itil, located near the mouth of the Volga, there were Muslim mosques, prayer houses of Christians and Jews. Seven equal judges worked: two Muslims, a Jew, a Christian and one pagan. Each of them resolved the lawsuits of people of the same religion as him. The Khazars were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, agriculture and gardening, and in the cities - crafts. The capital of the kaganate was not only a center of handicrafts, but also of international trade.
In the years of its heyday, Khazaria was a powerful state, and it was not for nothing that the Caspian Sea was called the Khazar Sea. However, the military actions of external enemies weakened the state. Especially tangible were the attacks of the troops of the Arab Caliphate, Kyiv principality and the hostile policy of Byzantium. All this led to the fact that at the end of the tenth century Khazaria ceased to exist as an independent state. One of the main components of the Khazar people were the Bulgars. Some historians of the past pointed out that the Scythians, Bulgars and Khazars are one and the same people. Others believe that the Bulgars are the Huns. They are also mentioned as Kipchaks, as Caucasian and North Caucasian tribes. In any case, the Bulgar Turks are known from written sources almost two thousand years. There are many interpretations of the word "Bulgar". According to one of them, 6ulgars are river people or people associated with fishing. According to other versions, “Bulgars” can mean: “mixed, consisting of many elements”, “rebels, rebels”, “wise men, thinkers”, etc. The Bulgars had their own public education- Great Bulgaria in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, with the capital - r. Phanagoria, on the Taman Peninsula. This state included lands from the Dnieper to the Kuban, part North Caucasus and steppe expanses between the Caspian and Azov seas. Once the Caucasus Mountains were also called the chain of the Bulgar mountains. The Azov Bulgaria was a peaceful state, and often fell into dependence on the Turkic Khaganate and Khazaria. The state reached its greatest prosperity under the rule of Kubrat Khan, who managed to unite the Bulgars and other Turkic tribes. This khan was a wise ruler who achieved remarkable success in ensuring a peaceful life for his fellow citizens. During his reign, Bulgar cities grew, crafts developed. The state received international recognition, relations with geographical neighbors were relatively stable.
The position of the state deteriorated sharply after the death of Kubrat Khan in the middle of the 7th century, the political and military pressure of Khazaria on Bulgaria intensified. Under these conditions, there were several cases of resettlement of significant masses of Bulgars to other regions. One group of Bulgars headed by Prince Asparukh moved west and settled on the banks of the Danube. large group Bulgar, led by the son of Kubrat Kodrak, went to the middle Volga region.
The Bulgars who remained in the Sea of ​​Azov ended up as part of Khazaria along with the Lower Volga Bulgars-Saksins and with other Turks of the state. However, this did not bring them eternal peace. In the 20s of the 7th century, Khazaria was attacked by the Arabs, during which the large Bulgarian cities of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov were captured and burned. Ten years later, the Arabs repeated their campaign, this time they plundered the Bulgar lands in the vicinity of the Terek and Kuban rivers, captured 20 thousand Barsils (the travelers of the century, as part of the Bulgar people, singled out Barsils, Esegels and, in fact, Buggars). All this caused another massive campaign of the Bulgar population to their fellow tribesmen in the Volga region. Subsequently, the defeat of Khazaria was accompanied by other cases of Bulgar migration to the middle and upper reaches of the Itil (the Itil River, in the understanding of that time, began with the Belaya River, included part of the Kama and then the Volga).
Thus, mass and small migrations of the Bulgars to the Volga-Ural region took place. The choice of the resettlement area is quite understandable. Here several centuries ago the Huns lived and their descendants continued to live, as well as other Turkic tribes. From this point of view, these places were the historical homeland of ancestors for certain Turkic tribes. In addition, the Turkic peoples of the middle and lower Volga region maintained constant close relations with kindred peoples of the Caucasus and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov; the developed nomadic economy more than once led to the mixing of different Turkic tribes. So. the strengthening of the Bulgar element in the middle Volga region was quite an ordinary phenomenon.
The increase in the Bulgar population in these parts led to the fact that it was the Bulgars who became the main forming element of the Tatar people, formed in the Volga-Ural region. It should be noted, however, that no more or less big people cannot trace its genealogy from only one single tribe. And the Tatar people in this sense is not an exception, among its ancestors one could name more than one tribe, and also indicate more than one influence (including Finno-Ugric). However, it is the Bulgars that should be recognized as the main element in the composition of the Tatar people.
Over time, the Turkic-Bulgarian tribes began to make up quite a lot in this region. large population. Moreover, taking into account the presence of historical experience state building, then there is nothing surprising in the fact that the state of Great Bulgaria soon arose here ( Volga Bulgaria). In the initial period of its existence, Bulgaria in the Volga region was, as it were, a union of relatively independent regions, vassal dependent on Khazaria. But, in the second half of the 10th century, the supremacy of a single prince was already recognized by all specific rulers. A common system has developed, paying taxes to the common treasury united state. By the time of the collapse of Khazaria, Great Bulgaria was a fully formed single state, its borders were recognized by neighboring states and peoples. In the future, the zone of political and economic influence of Bulgaria extended from the Oka to the Yaik (Urals). The lands of Bulgaria included areas from the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama to the Yaik and the lower reaches of the Volga. The Khazar Sea became known as the Bular Sea. “Atil is a river in the region of the Kipchaks, it flows into the Bulgar Sea,” wrote Mahmud Kashgari in the 11th century.
Great Bulgaria in the Volga region became a country of settled and semi-sedentary population and had a highly developed economy. In agriculture, the Bulgars used iron plowshares to plows already in the 10th century, the Bulgar Saban plow provided plowing with a layer turnover. The Bulgars used iron tools for agricultural production, grew more than 20 types of cultivated plants, were engaged in gardening, beekeeping, as well as hunting and fishing. Handicraft reached a high level for that time. The Bulgars were engaged in jewelry, leather, bone carving, metallurgical, pottery production. They were familiar with iron smelting, and began to use it in production. The Bulgars also used gold, silver, copper and their various alloys in their products. "The Bulgarian kingdom was one of the few states medieval Europe, in which, in the shortest possible time, conditions were created for the high development of handicraft production in a number of industries ”(A.P. Smirnov).
Since the 11th century, Velikaya Bulgaria has been the leading trading center in Eastern Europe. Developed trade relations with the nearest neighbors - with northern peoples, with the Russian principalities and with Scandinavia. Trade with Central Asia, with the Caucasus, with Persia, with the Baltics unfolded. The Bulgarian merchant fleet ensured the export and import of goods by waterways, and by land trade caravans went to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Bulgars exported fish, bread, timber, walrus teeth, furs, specially processed leather “Bulgari”, swords, chain mail, etc. From the Yellow Sea to Scandinavia, jewelry, leather and fur products of Bulgar craftsmen were known. The minting of own coins, begun in the 10th century, contributed to the further strengthening of the positions of the Bulgarian state as a recognized center of trade between Europe and Asia.
Bulgars, in their bulk, adopted Islam as early as 825, i.e. almost 1200 years ago. The canons of Islam, with their call for spiritual and physical purity, for mercy, etc., found a special response among the Bulgars. The official adoption of Islam in the state has become a powerful factor in the consolidation of the people in single organism. In 922 Almas Shilki, the ruler of the Great Bulgaria, received a delegation from the Baghdad Caliphate. A solemn prayer service was held in the central mosque of the capital of the state - in the city of Bulgape. Islam became the official state religion. This allowed Bulgaria to strengthen trade and economic relations with the developed Muslim states of that time. The position of Islam soon became very stable. Western European travelers of that time noted that the inhabitants of Bulgaria are united people, "holding Mukhammetov's law more firmly than anyone else." Within the framework of a single state, the formation of the nationality itself has also been basically completed. In any case, the Russian chronicles of the 11th century note here a single, Bulgar people.
Thus, the direct ancestors of modern Tatars were formed as a nationality in the Volga-Ural region. At the same time, they absorbed not only related Turkic tribes, but also partially local Finno-Ugric ones. The Bulgars more than once had to defend their lands from the encroachments of greedy robbers. The incessant attacks of seekers of easy money forced the Bulgars even to move the capital, in the 12th century the city of Bilyar, located at some distance from the main water artery - the Volga River, became the capital of the state. But, the most serious military trials fell on the lot of the Bulgar people in the XII century, which brought the Mongol invasion to the world.
Within three decades of the XIII century, the Mongols conquered a significant part of Asia and began their campaigns on the lands of Eastern Europe. The Bulgars, conducting intensive trade with Asian partners, were well aware of the danger posed by the Mongol army. They tried to create a united front, but their call for neighbors to unite in the face of a deadly threat fell on deaf ears. Eastern Europe met the Mongols not united, but disunited, divided into warring states (the same mistake was made by Central Europe). In 1223, the Mongols utterly defeated the combined forces of the Russian principalities and the Kipchak warriors on the Kalka River and sent part of their troops to Bulgaria. However, the Bulgars met the enemy on the distant approaches, near the Zhiguli. Using a skillful ambush system, the Bulgars, led by Ilgam Khan, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mongols, destroying up to 90% of the enemy troops. Remains Mongolian army retreated to the south, and “the land of the Kypchaks was freed from them; whoever escaped from them returned to his own land ”(Ibn al-Athir).
This victory brought peace to Eastern Europe for a while, and trade that had been suspended was resumed. Apparently, the Bulgars were well aware that the victory won was not final. They started active training for defense: cities and fortresses were fortified, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe Yaik, Belaya, etc., huge earthen ramparts were poured. At the then level of technology, in such a short period of time, such work could be carried out only with a very high level of organization of the population. This serves as an additional confirmation that by this time the Bulgars were a single, close-knit people, united common idea striving to preserve their independence. Six years later, the Mongols attacked again, and this time the enemy failed to penetrate the main territory of Bulgaria. The authority of Bulgaria, as a real force capable of resisting the Mongol invasion, became especially high. Many peoples, primarily the Lower Volga Bulgars-Saksins, Cumans-Kipchaks began to move to the lands of Bulgaria, thereby contributing their share to the composition of the ancestors of modern Tatars.
In 1236 the Mongols made their third campaign against Bulgaria. The subjects of the country fought fiercely to defend their state. For a month and a half, the Bulgars selflessly defended the besieged capital - the city of Bilyar. However, the 50,000th army of the Bulgar Khan Gabdulla Ibn-Ilgam could not resist the onslaught of the 250,000th Mongol army for a long time. The capital has fallen. AT next year were conquered western lands Bulgaria, all fortifications and fortresses were destroyed. The Bulgars did not reconcile themselves to the defeat, the uprisings followed one after another. Bulgars almost 50 years of hostilities against the conquerors, which forced the latter to keep almost half of their troops on the territory of Bulgaria. However, it was not possible to restore the full independence of the state, the Bulgars became subjects of the new state - the Golden Horde.

Turks(the exact meaning of the word is unknown) - a group of peoples who speak various dialects of the Turkic language (see Turkish languages) and, according to their physical characteristics, to one degree or another belong to the Turkic race (see below). Geographic distribution, classification, number. T. are scattered over a vast territory that occupies more than half of Asia, a significant part of the Southeast. Europe and north-east. part of Africa - starting from the Arctic approx. (Yakuts) to Kuen-Lun (half) and Ispahan (Turkmen of Persia) and from the banks of the Kolyma and the Yellow River (Yegurs, Salars) to Central Russia (Kasimov Tatars) and Macedonia (Ottomans). Separate oases of the T. tribe are also found beyond these limits: Yakut colonies on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, on Sakhalin, Tatars in Lithuania, etc., and tribes that have taken in a significant admixture of T. blood are found not only among the population of Eastern Europe, but even in India (Jats). In view of the mixed ethnic composition of the T. tribe, its most correct classification is linguistic (see Turkish languages); the system of Academician V. Radlov is considered to be the best, which significantly coincides with ethnic data. None of the linguistic classifications, however, covers all Tajik peoples, since not all dialects have yet been studied. Recently, N. Aristov made an attempt to classify T. on the basis of historical and ethnic data, according to the main tribes from which all modern T. nationalities were formed, namely: 1) the Kangl tribe and the related Kipchak tribe, which served as the main element for the formation of - Western Tajik peoples (Osmans, Aderbeidzhans, Turkmens, Nogais, Volga Tatars, Bashkirs, etc.), whose total number exceeds 17 million souls, and who largely participated in the formation of Uzbeks, Sarts and Kirghiz-Cossacks, so that 2 / 3 of all T. comes from these two main tribes; 2) tribes: dulat (the predominant element of a large horde), alchin ( main element small horde), argyn, naiman, kirey (comprising the middle horde with the Kipchaks) - together with the first two, participated in the formation of the Kirghiz Cossacks; 3) the Kyrgyz tribe, which gave part of its clans to the middle horde, but continues its independent existence in the mountainous part of the West. Tien Shan, numbering about 225 thousand souls; 4) the Yakut tribe (230 thousand souls), the remnant of the ancient T. tribe that once lived under the name Sakha in the West. Tien Shan, which ended its existence in India and left traces in the West. Tien Shan in the form of the Kara-Kyrgyz generation of Sayaks and on the Yenisei in the form of the Sagay clan; o) the ancient tribes of the Tele (it is also Gaogui) and the Turk-Tukyu, which, after the fall of their rule in Mongolia - first the Turks, and then the branches of the Tele, the Uighurs, - became part of the Kirey, Naiman and Argyn tribes, as well as the forest tribes between Baikal and Black Irtysh; they also became part of the Sino-Turkic mixture of the Dungans, originally formed by the Huns. The remnants of the Tukyu Turks are now the Teleses in Altai, and the remnants of the Teles are the Teleuts; 6) the Karlyk tribe, which merged with the Kanglis and the Iranian population of Vost. and Zap. Turkestan; the memory of him was preserved only in the names of the Uzbek clans, along with the names of the Uighurs and Turks. The rest of the Turkic tribes or tribal unions (Onguts, Tatars, Merkits), almost completely mongolized or exterminated during the time of Genghis Khan, as well as the Huns, Bulgarians, Khazars, Pechenegs, Guzes (they are also Komans, Polovtsy) who left the Urals, partly merged with other non-Turkic peoples , partly became part of the T. of Eastern Russia. The small tribes of the Altai and Sayan played a very insignificant role in the formation of the main Tajik peoples. Geographically and ethnographically, T. is divided into the following three groups. I. Eastern, which includes the Yakuts, Siberian Tatars and Altaians (see T.-Tatars); Soyots or tuba (self-name) in the North-West. Mongolia; T. of Eastern Turkestan: pure T. - rams of Kashgar, Gami and Kulja, Dungans, Kara-Kurchins; machins and semis from Kuen-Lun mixed with Aryans and Mongols; T. China - Yegurs, Salars, Daldy, living in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, between Kuku-Nor and Lan-cheu, also to the north of Nanshan. This also includes the Dards and Jats of India, who lost their native language, but, by physical signs, retained their connection with the Turkic tribe. II. Central, which includes: Tatars South-East. Russia (see T.-Tatars); Kirghiz (pure - Kara-Kyrgyz, or Buruts, and mixed - Kirghiz-Cossacks and Kara-Kalpaks); Uzbeks (pure - actually Uzbeks, Kipchaks, Tyuruks, etc.; mixed with Iranian elements - Sarts); Bashkirs (pure - actually Bashkirs, mixed [Finno-Ugric] - Meshcheryak, Chuvash; the first were almost completely Russified). III. Western, which includes: Turkomans or Turkmens (see); Caucasian Tatars (see T.-Tatars); T. of the Iranian type - Persian and Caucasian Aderbeijans; T. Mediterranean type - Ottomans (see Turks) and Crimean Tatars(see T.-Tatars). The number of T. is summarized by Aristov in the following figures. T. Siberia and Mongolia - 391192 souls about. gender; Kyrgyz Cossacks (in Russian, Khiva and Bukhara and Chinese) - 3236394; Kara-Kyrgyz - 318388; T. East Europe. Russia - 3550543; southwest T. (Ottomanly of Turkey, Transcaucasia and Persia and Aderbayjans) - 13238251; Turkmens (in Russian owned, Khiva and Bukhara, Afghanistan and Persia) - 545347; Uzbeks (in Russian owned, Khiva, Bukhara and Afghan) - 2037240; Sarts (in Russian, Bukhara, Afghan) - 1428000; T. East Turkestan (Taranchi Russian rulers, T. Chinese Kulja and East Turkestan) - 1097911. Total 25843266 souls about. sex - the figure is lower than the actual one due to the obsolescence of some data and the absence of others. Based on these results, it must be assumed that T. make up 2% of the total population of the globe. In Russia, they make up over 9% of the total population, being concentrated mainly in Turkestan, in the steppe and Transcaspian regions, in the Transcaucasian region and in the east. provinces of Europe. Russia; in the steppe regions, Turkestan, Amu Darya department and Transcaspian region. they constitute a continuous mass of the population - 4,913,030 out of 5,427,098 (according to the 1885 census).

Anthropological features. T. entered the arena of history for more than 2000 years. to R. Chr. and have undergone during the period of their historical existence a continuous series of clashes and mergers with the main races of Asia and southeast Europe: Tungus, Mongolian, Yenisei - in the east, and Iranian, Semitic, Mediterranean - in the west. This is strong mixed race. The earliest crossbreeds, judging by historical data, consistent with anthropological data, were with the North Asian long-headed race (Dinlins), Samoyedic and Finno-Ugric tribes. Later ones occurred with the Central Asian Aryans, then with the Iranians and various peoples of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, touching mainly on the Kangli and Kipchak tribes, who participated in the formation of 2 / 3 T. nationalities (Aristov). A more or less pure Turkic type is found in the central group of Turkic peoples, especially among the Kirghiz, Kara-Kirghiz, Uzbeks, and some Tatars of Europe. Russia. This type is characterized by the following features: taller than average (1.67-1.68), the head is very round, hyperbrachycephalic (head indicative of the living: 85-87), the face is elongated, oval; the eyes are set horizontally, without the Mongolian fold, but with a characteristic turning upper eyelid towards the inner corner of the eye, which is why the gap seems very small and resembles the Mongolian eye. Hair without exception black, straight. The hairline is more developed than that of the Mongols, not reaching the pomp of the Iranian; on the face, hair is especially abundant on the lips and chin (wedge-shaped beard), almost absent on the cheeks; cheekbones are wide, but less protruding than those of the Mongols; the lips are thick, the nose is straight, rather high. In contrast to the Mongols, a tendency to obesity is noticeable. By the degree of deviation from this type, one can judge the degree and quality of the mixing of one or another Tajik nationality. While, for example, the Kara-Kyrgyz have on average. height of 1.67 m and heads. pointer 87, Uzbeks - on average. height 1.68 and index 85, the Kyrgyz-Cossacks already have an average. growth of 1.64 and despite the high goals. pointer (87) reveals a Mongolian eye, prominent cheekbones, and other signs of Mongolian admixture. Russian Tatars are even shorter (1.63) and have a head index of 83 (the influence of the Finns, who are characterized by short stature and mesocephaly). Bashkirs with a fairly high growth (1.66) are subrachycephalic, like the Tatars. Meshcheryaks, more mixed with Finns, are even shorter (1.65) and even less brachycephalic (head index 81.1); finally, the Chuvash are true Finns in their short stature (1.61) and head index, almost mesocephalic (80.5). From the eastern group, the Siberian Tatars and Soyots find a mixture with the Yenisei, the Yakuts - with the Tungus. Taranchi well preserved their original type in Ghulja and the northern part of Turkestan (height - 1.66, head index - 85.6), but in the south they mixed with the Iranians. The Chinese T. - Yegurs-kansu, who, together with the northern rams, are direct descendants of the ancient Uyghurs (see), according to Potanin and Pyasetsky, are very reminiscent of the Volga Tatars. The Dungans represent features of mixing with the Chinese, the Sarts - with the Iranians. Western group- the most mixed. Turkmens, for example, especially the Tekke tribe, have a height of 1.70 heads. index 75.64 (subdolichocephalic) and lush facial hair (the result of mixing with Iranians and Indo-Iranians); Ottomans - urban residents of Asia Minor - small in stature and dolichocephalic (see Turks); European Turks have very little in common with the Turkic type, in the vast majority of cases representing either subrachycephaly or dolichocephaly according to the head index. Brachycephaly and growth above the average have been preserved among the isolated Turkmens of Anatolia, among the T. Akhaltsikhe and Akalkalaki in the Caucasus, having a height of 1.66 heads. pointer 84.7, while the adjoining Aderbaidjans, with the same high growth, are mesocephalic (head pointer 80.4) and, according to all other signs, abundant facial hair, a very elongated face, a curved nose, merging eyebrows, etc. are clearly approaching the Iranians. Having taken in many foreign impurities, T., in turn, gave their blood and their typical features to many peoples and tribes in Asia (the Persians - the once fair-haired and brachycephalic race, some Mongolian and Tungus peoples, Tibetans, and in Europe the Finno-Ugric peoples, a significant part of the population of the Volga region and Southern Russia, Balkan Peninsula, etc.).

Ethnographic features and religion. Various peoples of the T. tribe live under such various conditions and are so different in terms of the degree of culture (sedentary, nomadic, semi-nomadic, hunting-wandering way of life) that one can only point out some features that were once common to all T., how much they were preserved among more primitive tribes (Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Turkmens) and are drawn in literary monuments, inscriptions of the Orkhon, etc. The primordial feature of T. is nomadism, a pastoral way of life, with which they are extremely reluctant to part. Even when moving to a settled way of life, the custom of nomads to have two dwellings remains for a long time: summer (yaylak) and winter (kishlak). Forced in some places to switch to agriculture, they are nevertheless ready to exchange it for nomadism (Turkmens) or engage in trade and crafts (Tatars, Yakuts) at every opportunity. Real agricultural peoples, like the Sarts, Taranchi, Dungans, represent a strongly mixed population. A wagon is considered a typical dwelling of T. nomads, which differs from the Mongolian type wagon in that the poles that make up the roof are curved and therefore the top is domed, and not cone-shaped, like that of the Mongols. Following the type of summer wagons, some T. nationalities also build winter dwellings for themselves - round turf yurts covered with poles, a type of above-ground dwellings that led to the art of building stone buildings. There is also a type of cave dwelling T., in which three walls are formed by a rock, and the fourth is attached, with a window for light and smoke to escape (among the Tatars in the Caucasus, among the Altai T., among the Teleuts in the 18th century). A feature of the winter dwelling is the chuval-fireplace (a hearth with a pipe made of rods or boards coated with clay). The food is boiled over the fire, and therefore the cauldron is pushed into the hearth. The basis of T. nomad food is meat, which is consumed exclusively in boiled form, but typical food products are dairy. Whey is a favorite food even of settled Osmanly. national drink- koumiss. Of the cultivated plants known to T. since ancient times, only millet has a purely Turkic name, the rest are borrowed. Farming was known to T. as early as the 8th century, as the purely Turkic word ekinlig - arable land, from ekin - sowing, field, indicates on the Orkhon inscriptions. In the national costume of T., with all its diversity, there are some common features, preserved from the time of the tukyu statues to the present time among many Turkic peoples: a pointed hat of men, a cylindrical headdress of women with a veil falling over their faces, a long robe with fluttering floors, etc. The art of processing metals T. was adopted from the tribes of the Finno-Samoyed and Yenisei, but since ancient times they were famous in Chinese chronicles as blacksmiths. The Yenisei Tatars are still called "blacksmiths"; many Turkic tribes are distinguished by skillful manufacture of weapons. AT social relations typical generic organization whose foundations were created nomadic state. The most important element of the latter after the genus was the so-called. el - a union of clans and tribes, which was later headed by "kagans", or khans, who ruled the ales on the basis of customary law. Their power developed to the detriment of people's rights as a result of wars, first for independence (from the Chinese and other peoples), and then for conquest. The custom of raids (alamans) for the purpose of robbery, the removal of livestock and women is explained by clashes over pastures and harassment by neighboring settled tribes, and sometimes by accidental scarcity of territories, as among the Turkmens. The primitive religion of T. was imbued with totemism (see) and shamanism. Each clan had its own totem (ongon), usually an animal, to which it paid homage and refrained from eating it. The Orkhon inscriptions preserved the names of some deities: "tengri" (heaven and its master), "yer-sub" (earth), the female deity "umai" (preserved to this day among the Shors); ancestral gods, the names of idols (“bel”), sacred places (forests, mountains), in a word, a typical cult of anthropomorphized nature are also found there. The soul, according to these inscriptions, was presented in the form of a bird or a fly, as among many modern wild peoples. The body was usually interred a few months after death. The funeral was accompanied by three celebrations, pulling out hair, cutting the face, etc. Divination on the shoulder blades is a typical shamanic technique of T., which passed from them to many other peoples, even nationalities Southern Europe. - Buddhism was widespread in antiquity among