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Chapter 60: Nomad, Speak Turkic
So folks I am back, so let us take a look at Central Asia, shall we?
View attachment 482799
A political of the area discussed: Cumania (orange), Bolgharia (green), Baskhiria (yellow-green), Kimek Confederation (green in KLazakhstan), Karakhanid (olive) and Qocho Uyghurs (Blue in Xinjinag)
Beginning in the East we have the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho, still ruling the Dzungar basin. Not much to say here, just that the Uyghur language (1) has come to dominate the entire Dzungar basin. In religious terms the realm witnesses a sort of synthesis of Buddhist and Manichean teachings; the Toxoxian sect of Manicheism which prevails in the Kingdom of Qocho has many strong Buddhist influences.
Further westwards was the Kara-Khanid realm. The Karakhanids were a Karluk Turkic tribal Confederation controlling the lands from Jaxartes estuary into the Aral Sea to the Balkash across the Tengri Mountains to include the western edges of the Tarim Basin. The Tarim basin had been populated by the Saka, an Iranic people practising Buddhism (2).
During the mid-eleventh century, the Karakhanids had lost to the Seljuks, and were forced to pay tribute. Furthermore, they had also lost some of the most valuable parts of their empire: most importantly Khwarezmia on the lower Oxus, as well as the hearland of Sogdia itself.
The later Karakhanid khans would stick to Nestorian Christianity, which would become the predominant faith in the realm (3). The Church of the East would have erected two Archdioceses or Metropolitan provinces, at Navekath and Almaliq. An Archdiocese would also be set up at Khotan; however the people would continue to practice Buddhism.
From the linguistic point of view, we can observe a rather diverse realm: the Ferghana valley continues to speak Sogdian (which is the predominant language among the “sart”, or settled urban population, consisting of artisans, merchants but also farmers in the oasis. On the other hand, the Karluk dominate the steppe north of the Jaxartes River, as well as the region of Zhetysu and the Tengri Mountains (4). Ultimately you have the Sakas speaking an Iranian language in the regions of Khatan and Kashgar (5).
Horse-riding: a typical trait of Steppe culture
Further northwards we enter into another nomadic realm, the Kimek-Kipchak confederation. The Confederation extends over most of the central steppe, from the Aral Sea to Lake Balkash and northwards to the confluence of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. While Manicheism had been prevailing in the eastern part of the realm, Nestorian Christianity spread rapidly throughout the western parts of the realm, practically eliminating original Tengri shamanism (although many practices remain ingrained in the folklore).
Further westwards we have the Bashkirs, who have not done anything of significance.
Cuman statue, not far from
The western steppe had come to be dominated by the Cuman-Kypchak Confederation, another nomadic empire based around the lower Itil River (6), and stretching to the Don estuary. . In general, one can claim, that they were the geopolitical heirs of the Khazars. The Cumans have thus taken advantage of the Don portage. Their political system was however never centralized; rather it consisted of loosely interconnected tribal units, with the military being the sole unifying institution.
The area they ruled had already a significant Christian presence; the incoming Cumans were however mostly Tengri pagans; and Christianity remained practiced mainly along the coasts in areas with strong contact to the Rhomaic Empire.
The lands between the Dnieper and the Eastern Carpathians were held by the Pechenegs, another nomadic Turkic tribe of the Oghuz branch this time.
The Crimean Peninsula remains populated predominantly by Crimean Goths, a Christian Eastern Germanic people. Its southern coast is controlled by the Rhomaic Empire.
The North Caucasus remains essentially a tribal region: with the two powers in the region being a Christian Circassia on the northwestern slopes of the Caucasus, a Christian kingdom of Alania beyond the Darial Pass and ultimately a smaller duchy of Sarir controlling the inland mountainous Daghestan.
Christian architecture in Alania
Sarir was a Christian realm. Christianity arrived to Sarir either from neighbouring Alania or more likely from Georgia beyond the mountains. The entirety of the northward side of the Caucasus was thus fully within the gravitational sphere of the Rhomaic Empire; the sole exception was the Khazar Coast.
The Khazar Coast could be found between the estuary of the Itil River southwards along the coast of the Caspian Sea to the eastern end of the Caucasus Mountains.
Further northwards we of course have the Kingdom of Bolgharia controlling the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers. It has grown into a major power in this part of the world, and has also subdued (or forced to pay tribute) the Permic tribes at the upper Kama.
View attachment 482800
Linguistic map of central Eurasia. You may also notice some "refuge" areas of the Iranic peoples:Burtasia (south-central Russia, just next to the Mordvins), Alania (North Caucasus), Ferghana, Khotan and
As you can see, the Eurasian Steppe populated almost fully by various Turkic peoples. The Turkic peoples had been at first deemed by historians to have had a common ancestor with Mongolic languages. Nowadays, however the similarities are explained rather by multiple phases of close contact.
Linguists divide the Turkic languages into five major branches, out of which one is very divergent. This divergent branch is known as Oghur Turkic, and apparently developed in the western Steppe. By 1100 AD this branch is present in the form of the Bolghar language at the middle Volga and the Khazars on the Caspian coast.
The remaining four branches appear to have descended from Common Turkic and are: the Kipchak (Northwest Turkic), Oghuz (Southwest Turkic), Karluk (Southeast Turkic) and Siberian (Northeast Turkic).
The Kipchak languages are now prevalent in much of the western and central steppe: spoken by the Cumans and the Kimek. The Oghuz peoples, originally dwelling between the Caspian and the Aral Sea, will be dealt with in the next update. The Karluks have their own state : the Karakhanid Khanate. Ultimately, the Siberian Turkic peoples include the Uyghurs of Qocho, the Yenisei Kirgiz, the Khakas and the Sakha.
(1) The Old Uyghur language belongs to the Siberian Turkic family.
(2) In OTL, these conquests were viewed as jihad and there was much fanaticism. Here, the conquest of Khotan happens nevertheless but is motivated more by economic factors, keeping the Buddhist culture of the Tarim Basin intact. Controlling the passes of the Silk Road means economic profit.
(3) Caused not only by royal patronage, but also by population dynamics and general teachings of the faith. While Christianity teaches: “Be fruitful and multiply”, Manicheism has a negative attitude to sexuality and earthly material matters. Therefore, should you have devout believers of both faiths, the Christian faith would eventually prevail. Of course, the local tradition also incorporates quite a few Manichean elements.
(4) Simply said Kyrgyzstan
(5) The linguistic shift doesn’t happen, as their culture is not destroyed.
(6) Around Astrakhan
View attachment 482801
The golden blob of nomadic society looks nice, dont you think?
View attachment 482799
A political of the area discussed: Cumania (orange), Bolgharia (green), Baskhiria (yellow-green), Kimek Confederation (green in KLazakhstan), Karakhanid (olive) and Qocho Uyghurs (Blue in Xinjinag)
Beginning in the East we have the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho, still ruling the Dzungar basin. Not much to say here, just that the Uyghur language (1) has come to dominate the entire Dzungar basin. In religious terms the realm witnesses a sort of synthesis of Buddhist and Manichean teachings; the Toxoxian sect of Manicheism which prevails in the Kingdom of Qocho has many strong Buddhist influences.
Further westwards was the Kara-Khanid realm. The Karakhanids were a Karluk Turkic tribal Confederation controlling the lands from Jaxartes estuary into the Aral Sea to the Balkash across the Tengri Mountains to include the western edges of the Tarim Basin. The Tarim basin had been populated by the Saka, an Iranic people practising Buddhism (2).
During the mid-eleventh century, the Karakhanids had lost to the Seljuks, and were forced to pay tribute. Furthermore, they had also lost some of the most valuable parts of their empire: most importantly Khwarezmia on the lower Oxus, as well as the hearland of Sogdia itself.
The later Karakhanid khans would stick to Nestorian Christianity, which would become the predominant faith in the realm (3). The Church of the East would have erected two Archdioceses or Metropolitan provinces, at Navekath and Almaliq. An Archdiocese would also be set up at Khotan; however the people would continue to practice Buddhism.
From the linguistic point of view, we can observe a rather diverse realm: the Ferghana valley continues to speak Sogdian (which is the predominant language among the “sart”, or settled urban population, consisting of artisans, merchants but also farmers in the oasis. On the other hand, the Karluk dominate the steppe north of the Jaxartes River, as well as the region of Zhetysu and the Tengri Mountains (4). Ultimately you have the Sakas speaking an Iranian language in the regions of Khatan and Kashgar (5).
Horse-riding: a typical trait of Steppe culture
Further northwards we enter into another nomadic realm, the Kimek-Kipchak confederation. The Confederation extends over most of the central steppe, from the Aral Sea to Lake Balkash and northwards to the confluence of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. While Manicheism had been prevailing in the eastern part of the realm, Nestorian Christianity spread rapidly throughout the western parts of the realm, practically eliminating original Tengri shamanism (although many practices remain ingrained in the folklore).
Further westwards we have the Bashkirs, who have not done anything of significance.
Cuman statue, not far from
The western steppe had come to be dominated by the Cuman-Kypchak Confederation, another nomadic empire based around the lower Itil River (6), and stretching to the Don estuary. . In general, one can claim, that they were the geopolitical heirs of the Khazars. The Cumans have thus taken advantage of the Don portage. Their political system was however never centralized; rather it consisted of loosely interconnected tribal units, with the military being the sole unifying institution.
The area they ruled had already a significant Christian presence; the incoming Cumans were however mostly Tengri pagans; and Christianity remained practiced mainly along the coasts in areas with strong contact to the Rhomaic Empire.
The lands between the Dnieper and the Eastern Carpathians were held by the Pechenegs, another nomadic Turkic tribe of the Oghuz branch this time.
The Crimean Peninsula remains populated predominantly by Crimean Goths, a Christian Eastern Germanic people. Its southern coast is controlled by the Rhomaic Empire.
The North Caucasus remains essentially a tribal region: with the two powers in the region being a Christian Circassia on the northwestern slopes of the Caucasus, a Christian kingdom of Alania beyond the Darial Pass and ultimately a smaller duchy of Sarir controlling the inland mountainous Daghestan.
Christian architecture in Alania
Sarir was a Christian realm. Christianity arrived to Sarir either from neighbouring Alania or more likely from Georgia beyond the mountains. The entirety of the northward side of the Caucasus was thus fully within the gravitational sphere of the Rhomaic Empire; the sole exception was the Khazar Coast.
The Khazar Coast could be found between the estuary of the Itil River southwards along the coast of the Caspian Sea to the eastern end of the Caucasus Mountains.
Further northwards we of course have the Kingdom of Bolgharia controlling the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers. It has grown into a major power in this part of the world, and has also subdued (or forced to pay tribute) the Permic tribes at the upper Kama.
View attachment 482800
Linguistic map of central Eurasia. You may also notice some "refuge" areas of the Iranic peoples:Burtasia (south-central Russia, just next to the Mordvins), Alania (North Caucasus), Ferghana, Khotan and
As you can see, the Eurasian Steppe populated almost fully by various Turkic peoples. The Turkic peoples had been at first deemed by historians to have had a common ancestor with Mongolic languages. Nowadays, however the similarities are explained rather by multiple phases of close contact.
Linguists divide the Turkic languages into five major branches, out of which one is very divergent. This divergent branch is known as Oghur Turkic, and apparently developed in the western Steppe. By 1100 AD this branch is present in the form of the Bolghar language at the middle Volga and the Khazars on the Caspian coast.
The remaining four branches appear to have descended from Common Turkic and are: the Kipchak (Northwest Turkic), Oghuz (Southwest Turkic), Karluk (Southeast Turkic) and Siberian (Northeast Turkic).
The Kipchak languages are now prevalent in much of the western and central steppe: spoken by the Cumans and the Kimek. The Oghuz peoples, originally dwelling between the Caspian and the Aral Sea, will be dealt with in the next update. The Karluks have their own state : the Karakhanid Khanate. Ultimately, the Siberian Turkic peoples include the Uyghurs of Qocho, the Yenisei Kirgiz, the Khakas and the Sakha.
(1) The Old Uyghur language belongs to the Siberian Turkic family.
(2) In OTL, these conquests were viewed as jihad and there was much fanaticism. Here, the conquest of Khotan happens nevertheless but is motivated more by economic factors, keeping the Buddhist culture of the Tarim Basin intact. Controlling the passes of the Silk Road means economic profit.
(3) Caused not only by royal patronage, but also by population dynamics and general teachings of the faith. While Christianity teaches: “Be fruitful and multiply”, Manicheism has a negative attitude to sexuality and earthly material matters. Therefore, should you have devout believers of both faiths, the Christian faith would eventually prevail. Of course, the local tradition also incorporates quite a few Manichean elements.
(4) Simply said Kyrgyzstan
(5) The linguistic shift doesn’t happen, as their culture is not destroyed.
(6) Around Astrakhan
View attachment 482801
The golden blob of nomadic society looks nice, dont you think?
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 1.2k