lecture 2 Kyrgyzstan in the Turkic Period.pptx

Kyrgyzstan in Turki period

1. Lecture 2

2. Kyrgyzstan in the Turkic period. Senior lecturer: Adylbekova Bekzada Uzakbaevna

3. In the middle of the 6th century, the first Turkic state, The Turkic Qaghanate , was formed in Central Asia and was of great importance centuries, from 552 to 744. The “Turk” or “ Turkut ” ethnonyms (“ Tujue ” in a Chinese transcription) were first mentioned in the Chinese chronicles in 546 and Sogdians , Persians, and Byzantines called new conquerors of vast steppes by these names. The original name of the Turkic Qaghanate , according to the runic texts, implied the concepts of “strong,” “stable,” and “unshakeable.” 49 On the other hand, the term had more social significance because it was originally associated only with the military aristocracy. Over time its meaning referred not only to a clan headed by a military aristocracy, but also to the peoples subjugated by them.

4. The Turkic tribe was formed in the 4th and 5th centuries among the Xiongnu , who believed that Ashina , the son of a mythical she-wolf, was their ancestor. The word ashina itself has an Iranian etymology and means “blue” or “dark blue.” In the middle of the 5th century, Turks were under the Juan Juan ( Avar ) Qaghanate which ruled over the whole of Central Asia, while their main place of settlement was Altai. Here, Turks exploited rich ore deposits and smelted iron. Because of the abundance of iron, it was the exchange they used when they paid taxes to the Juan-Juan. However, the far-sighted leaders of the Turks ( Asan -Shad, Tuu , and Bumi ) tried to use available natural resources as effectively as possible. Workshops were widespread and were devoted to the construction of weapons, iron armor, and equipment for military horses.

5. Seeking a pretext for the clash, Bumin demanded Anagui (520-552), the Juan-Juan Qaghan , to marry his daughter. Basking in glory and power, Anagui insultingly declined Bumin’s demands, allowing Bumin to declare war. The Turks attacked the Juan Juan in 552, effectively diminishing the influence of the enemy forces in Central Asia; shortly after the defeated ruler took his own life. The triumphal Bumin took the supreme Juan-Juan title of Illig Qaghan (Great Qaghan ) and the Great Turkic Qaghanate (552-603) was officially established in Central Asia. The camp of the Qaghan was located along the Orkhon River (northern Mongolia) and over time became the administrative and political center of the new state. Bumin Qaghan , the founder of the great Turkic dynasty Ashina , died in 553.

6. According to nomadic tradition, the power passed to his brother, Istemi Qaghan , who had conquered the “ten arrows tribe,” who inhabited the valleys of Semirechye and the foothills of the central and western Tian Shan. After that, Istemi received the title of Qaghan of the ten tribes; in reality, however, he ruled only the western region of the coun77 try. Bumin’s counterparts, who ran the eastern part of the state, were formally under the authority of Qaghan , but pursued a foreign policy of their own, according to their interests. While Illig-Qaghan (553-572) was busy conquering southern Siberia and northern China, Istemi Qaghan of the ten arrows tribes was more attracted by the prospect of occupying the fertile lands of Central Asia and the steppes of Kazakhstan than anything else. During that time the Hephthalites ruled Central Asia. In the second half of the 5th century, Iran had been paying tribute to the Hephthalites as well. Naturally, the Iranian rulers hoped to get into close contact with the Istemi , in order to get rid of the Hephthalites ’ oppressive oversight. In 555, an alliance against the Hephthalites was agreed upon and sealed by the marriage of Khosrau Anushirvan (531- 579), the Shah of Iran, to the daughter of Istemi Qaghan .

7. Massive mixing tribes and peoples in the Eurasian Turkic state played an important role in the process of turkisization in Kyrgyzstan as well. Foreigners often assimilated into local tribes. Mongolian features started to become more prevalent in the physical appearance of these groups. Among those inhabitants who spoke the Sogdian language (an Iranian language), the Turkic dialect began to solidify. Ancient Turks In the 7th century, the western Turkic Qaghanate was known as “the people of ten arrows.” Officially, the rulers of the state were from the Turkic dynasty of Ashina and held the “ Yabghu - Qaghan ” title, translated as “ Qaghan of the people of ten arrows.” The name of the state and the official title of its rulers demonstrated the dominant position of “the people of ten arrows.” They were not native Turks from Central Asia, but were rather native Turks from the areas surrounding Tian Shan. The Nushibi confederation included five tribes who occupied the territory from the shores of Syr Darya to the Chu River. Another five tribes united under the common name of Dulu and occupied the territory between the Chu River and Altai and Jungaria . The western Turkic Qaghanate included eastern Turkestan, the agricultural regions of Central Asia, vast steppe spaces of Aral Sea, and northern Caucasus. The administrative and political center of the state was Ming- Bulak in Talas valley and Suyab from 618 (adjacent the ruins of Ak-Beshim settlement near modern Tokmok ).

8. At the beginning of the 8th century, the Turgesh Qaghanate emerged on the ruins of the western Turkic Qaghanate . The Turgesh were included in the Dulu confederation of tribal association, or “Ten Arrows,” and lived in the valley between the Ili and Chu Rivers. The Turgesh were divided into two groups, the “yellow Turgesh ” and the “black Turgesh .”The leaders of these separate groups were constantly at odds with each other. The founder of the ruling dynasty was Ushyly Qaghan (704-706), the head of the “yellow” Turgesh . His camp settled in the captured city of Suyab . The territory from the middle of the Syr -Darya River to the upper Irtysh was under the rule of Turgesh . Qaghan divided his lands into twenty districts, each of which had to present an army of seven thousand people to the supreme ruler in cases of emergency. The power of Turgesh spread all over eastern Turkistan. After the death of Ushyly Qaghan , his successor, Sakal Qaghan (706- 711), was enthroned. The position of the state during this period was very difficult. In the south, the greatest threat was represented by the armed forces of the Tang Empire. In the east, the Turks managed to restore their Qaghanate , while from Arabia invaders raided the southwest. In order to preserve their independence, Sakal Qaghan had to make extraordinary efforts. After attacking Anxi in 709 (the Chinese protectorate or governorship) in eastern Turkestan, he inflicted heavy losses on the Chinese troops and executed the governor.

9. Then the Turgesh sent their forces to Central Asia where, together with Sogdians in Bukhara, they surrounded the army of Arab general Kuteib ibn Muslim. Kuteib , skillfully using the disagreements between their allies, got out of a hopeless situation. The main danger for the Turgesh , however, was still to come from the eastern Turkic Empire. Eastern Turks, led by a representative of the Ashina Dynasty, rebelled and freed themselves from the dictates of the Tang Empire in 679. Born a new eastern Turkic Empire reached the peak of its power during the rule of Qapaghan Qaghan (691-716). While relying on a large and powerful army, Turkic warlords attempted to restore the borders of the state of their famous predecessors, Bumin and Istemi Qaghans .

10. A serious impediment to the implementation of these plans was a tripartite coalition founded in 710 and which consisted of Tang China, the Kyrgyz Qaghanate on the Yenisei and the Turgesh Qaghanate in Tenir - Too. Such a strong antiturkic coalition was created as a result of the active diplomatic work of Barsbek . A joint campaign of allies against the eastern Turks was scheduled for 711. Qapaghan Qaghan , however, decided to pre-empt these events and carry out a cunning maneuver. Having signed a contract with Tang China, Qapaghan Qaghan eliminated it from the coalition by securing its neutrality. Then the eastern Turks, despite severe winter conditions, crossed the Sayan and suddenly entered the domain of the Yenisei Kyrgyz and defeated them. Reacting quickly to the changing situation, Qapaghan Qaghan sent troops to another bank of the Irtysh River via a secret Altai route. At one of the fords near the tract of Boluchu , the eastern Turks defeated a large army of the Turgesh . Sakal Qaghan was captured and hung while Turgesh lands became part of the second Turkic Empire. In 712, the Chinese army was defeated in Manchuria by the decisive actions of the Turks. It was the apex of Turkic military power.

11. The Turgesh Qaghanate was replaced by the Karluk state. The name “ Karluk bodun ” (the Karluk people) or “the Uch Karluk ” (the three tribes of Karluks ) was spread among a strong alliance of ancient nomadic tribes. Their boundaries stretched from the Mongolian Altai Mountains to the coast of Lake Balkhash, and also to the north and south of the Tarbagatai Ridge. The Karluk maintained a close and friendly relationship with the Yenisei Kyrgyz for a long time. The Karluk consisted of three large Turkic tribes: the Bulak , Chigil (or Sebek ), and Tashlyk . According to the historical sources, from the beginning the Karluk Union was characterized by territorial and political disunity. At the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th century, one faction of the Karluks controlled Toharstan . Their ruler held the title of Yabgu and at different periods was subordinate to the western Turkic and Turkic Qaghans . The Karluks of Toharstan played a significant role in the struggle against the Arab invaders.

12. The Karakhanid state was created by a Turkic dynasty and it ruled over Central Asia from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The name of the royal clan is not actually known and the term Karakhanid is artificial—it was derived from Qara Khan or Qara Khaqan (the word “Kara” means “black” and also “great” and “courageous”), which was the foremost title of the rulers of the dynasty.54 For the first time the term ‘ Karakhanids ’ as a powerful dynasty was invented by the 19th century. Since then European scholars and orientalists have applied the name to all Turks of the state.55 In the 9th century such regions as Semirechye , Western Tian Shan (modern Kyrgyzstan), and Western Xinjiang ( Kashgaria ) were settled in by the Turkic tribes, in which the Karluks , Yaghmas , Chigils and Bulaks unified in one tribal confederation. The noble and core rulers of these tribes bore the specific titles related to their totemic animals. For instance, the rulers from the Chigil bore the title Arslan Qara Khaqan meant the “lion” and chiefs of the Yaghma tribes acquired the title Bughra Qara Khaqan meant Bughra or a “male camel”. The titles of the members of the dynasty changed with their changing position, normally upwards, in the dynastic hierarchy.56 Satuk Bogra Khan, the founder of Karakhanid state

13. The Seljuks In 1040, the Seljuk Turks came up to the mediaeval political arena of Central Asia. They defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan and entered Iran. The Karakhanids were able to withstand the Seljuks initially, and briefly took control of Seljuk towns in Khurasan . The Karakhanids , however, developed serious conflicts with the religious classes (the ulama ). In 1089, during the reign of Ibrahim’s grandson Ahmad b. Khidr , at the request of the ulama of Transoxiana , the Seljuks entered and took control of Samarkand, together with the domains belonging to the Western Khanate. The Western Karakhanids Khanate became a vassal of the Seljuks for half a century, and the rulers of the Western Khanate were largely whomever the Seljuks chose to place on the throne. Ahmad b. Khidr was returned to power by the Seljuks , but in 1095, the ulama accused Ahmad of heresy and managed to secure his execution.62 In the mid of the 12th century, the power of the Karakhanids was weakened because of the constant wars with Seljuks and they were easily dominated by the other dynasty called the Qara Khitais .

14. The written sources called this new tribal confederation differently. In the Chinese sources the Qara Khitai tribes were called as ‘ Kidan ’’ and in the Arabic inscriptions as ‘ Qara Khitai ’.They came to Semirechye from present Mongolia and north-eastern China, where they unified in the state of Liao meant in Chinese language the Iron dynasty. The Liao state existed more than a hundred years and it largely adapted the Chinese mode of life and culture. The Mongol language and local shamanic beliefs were prohibited, while the Buddhism became the state and main religion. The person who did not worship Buddhism was considered as a second ranked citizen. Politically the Qara-khitais always fought against the rulers of southern China and the nomadic population of Steppes. In the mid of the 11 th century the Liao state again attempted to capture the Steppe nomads and make control upon them. The nomadic leader of the resistance khan Marguz was punished on the wooden donkey. The cruel punishment reached his successor khan Mogusu , who was captured by Qara-Khidans and publicly was cut off on the city plaza. However, the population of the Steppe did not become the subject of the Liao dynasty.

15. The Kara- Khanids is arguably the most enduring cultural heritage among coexisting cultures in Central Asia from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The Karluk -Uyghur dialect spoken by the nomadic tribes and turkisized sedentary populations under Kara- Khanid rule formed two major branches of the Turkic language family, the Chagatay and the Kypchak . The Kara- Khanid cultural model that combined nomadic Turkic culture with Islamic, sedentary institutions spread east into former Kara- Khoja and Tangut territories and west and south into the subcontinent, Khorasan (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Northern Iran), Golden Horde territories ( Tatarstan ), and Turkey. The Chagatay , Timurid , and Uzbek states and societies inherited most of the cultures of the Kara- Khanids and the Khwarezmians without much interruption. Legacy of Turks The Turkic peoples are now a collection of ethnic groups that live in Northern, Eastern, Central, and Western Asia, North -Western China, and parts of Eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The term Turkic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of peoples including existing societies such as the Turkish people, Azerbaijanis, Chuvashes , Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyz, Turkmens, Uyghurs , Uzbeks, Bashkirs , Qashqai , Gagauz , Altai, Khakas , Tuvans , Yakuts , Crimean Karaites , Krymchaks , Karakalpaks , Karachays , Balkars , Nogais and as well as past civilizations such as Yenisei Kirghiz, Dingling , Tiele , Chuban , Pannonian Avars , Göktürks , Bulgars , Kumans , Kipchaks , Turgeshes , Khazars , Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Mamluks , Timurids , Khiljis , and possibly Huns, Xiongnu , Wusun , Tauri and the Tuoba.63