Everything about Kipchaks totally explained
Kipchaks (also spelled as
Kypchaks,
Kipczaks,
Qipchaqs,
Qypchaqs) (
Turkic:
Kypchak,,,
Arabic: القفجاق
Byzantine:
Kuman or
Cuman ) were an ancient
Turkic people, first mentioned in the historical chronicles of
Central Asia in the
1st millennium BC. The western Kipchaks were known as
Cumans (Kumans, Kuns) in
Western Europe and Polovtsy (Polovtsians) in
Ukraine and
Russia, or by other names, most of which have the meaning "pale", or "sallow". Their language was also known as
Kipchak.
History
Kipchaks were a confederation of pastoralists and warriors of Turkic origin, known in
Ukrainian and
Russian as
Polovtsy, who lived in yurts (felt tents) and who came from the region of the
River Irtysh. Some tribes of the Kipchak confederation probably originated near the
Chinese borders and, after having moved into western
Siberia by the 9th century, migrated further west into the
Trans-Volga region (now western
Kazakhstan).
They occupied a vast, sprawling territory in the
Eurasian steppe, stretching from north of the
Aral Sea westward to the region north of the
Black Sea (now in
Ukraine and southwestern
Russia) and founded a
nomadic state (
Desht-i Qipchaq). They invaded the territory later known as
Moldavia,
Wallachia, and part of
Transylvania in the 11th century. From there they continued their plundering of the
Byzantine Empire and the
Kingdom of Hungary.
In the late 11th and early 12th centuries they became involved in various conflicts with the
Byzantines,
Kievan Rus, the
Hungarians, and the
Pechenegs, allying themselves with one or the other side at different times. In
1089, they were defeated by
Ladislaus I of Hungary, again by
Knyaz of
Kievan Rus Vladimir Monomakh in the
12th century, and finally crushed by the
Mongols in
1241. After the breakup of the
Mongol empire, the Kipchaks became the part of the
khanate comprising present-day
Russia,
Ukraine, and
Kazakhstan, called the
Golden Horde, the westernmost division of the Mongol empire.
The
Kuman, or western Kipchak tribes, fled to
Hungary, and some of their warriors became mercenaries for the
Latin crusaders and the
Byzantines. Members of the
Bahri dynasty, the first dynasty of
Mamluks in
Egypt, were Kipchaks, one of the most prominent examples being Sultan
Baybars, born in
Solhat,
Crimea.
Language and culture
The Kipchak spoke a
Turkic language whose most important surviving record is the
Codex Cumanicus, a late 13th-century dictionary of words in
Kipchak and
Latin. The presence in
Egypt of Turkic-speaking
Mamluks also stimulated the compilation of Kipchak-Arabic dictionaries and grammars that are important in the study of several old Turkic languages.
The Kipchaks are also known to have converted to Christianity, around the 11th century, at the suggestion of the
Georgians as they allied in their conflicts against the Muslims. A great number were baptized at the request of the Georgian king
David II who also married a daughter of the Kipchak khan
Otrok. From 1120, there was a Kipchak national Christian church and an important clergy. However, by the 12th and 13th centuries,
Islam took firm root amongst the Kipchaks.
Modern times
The modern Northwestern
Turkic languages are named after the Kipchaks. Some of the descendants of the Kipchaks are now known as
Siberian Tatars,
Nogays,
Bashkirs,
Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz,
Tatars (partly),
Crimean Tatars (partly),
Karachays (partly),
Krymchaks,
Karaims (partly),
Kumyks (partly).
Kipchaks have transformed, to a degree, into modern
Kazakh and
Kyrgyz populations. Kipchak is the name of a
tribe within the
Middle Juz of the
Kazakh nation, as well as the name of a
Kyrgyz tribe within modern-day
Kyrgyzstan.
There is also a village named 'Kipchak' in
Crimea.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kipchaks'.
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