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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

DANCE CUMANE -- dance poloviciane

Speranza



Cuman-Kipchak confederation in Eurasia circa 1200

Cuman/Kipchak statue, 12th century, Luhansk

Historical coat of arms of Kunság, where those Cumans in Hungary settled. It is divided into Little Cumania and Greater Cumania

Map of Europe in 1190.

The Cumans (Turkish: kuman / plural kumanlar[1] Hungarian: kun / plural kunok;[2] Greek: Κο(υ)μάνοι, Ko(u)mánoi;[3] Romanian: cuman / plural cumani, Polish: Połowcy, Plauci (Kumanowie), Russian:  Polovtsy; Ukrainian: Половці, Polovtsi; Bulgarian: Кумани, Czech: Plavci, Georgian: ყივჩაყი, ყიფჩაღი, German: Falones, Phalagi, Valvi, Valewen, Valani) were a Turkic[2][4][5][6] nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation.


After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sought asylum in Hungary[7] and, subsequently, Bulgaria.

The Cumans were also welcomed to Hungary before the Mongol invasion.[8]

Cumans had also settled in Bulgaria before the Mongol invasion.[9][10]


Related to the Pecheneg, the Cumans inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea and along the Volga River known as "Cumania", where the Cuman-Kipchaks meddled in the politics of the Caucasus and Khwarezm.

Many eventually settled to the west of the Black Sea, influencing the politics of Kievan Rus', the Golden Horde, the Second Bulgarian Empire, Serbia, the Kingdom of Hungary, Moldavia, Georgia and Wallachia.

Cuman and Kipchak tribes joined politically to create the Cuman-Kipchak confederation.[13]

The Cuman language is attested in some medieval documents and is the best-known of the early Turkic languages.[14]

The Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual which was written to help missionaries communicate with the Cuman people.

The Cumans were nomadic warriors of the Eurasian steppe who exerted an enduring impact on the medieval Balkans.

The basic instrument of Cuman political success was military force, which dominated each of the warring Balkan factions.

Groups of the Cumans settled and mingled with the local population in regions of the Balkans.

Those Cumans that settled in the Balkans were the founders of three successive Bulgarian dynasties (Asenids, Terterids, and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids) [15][16][17]

But, in the cases of the Basarab and Asenid dynasties, medieval documents refer to them as Vlach (Romanian) dynasties.[18][19]

They played an active role in Byzantium, the Kingdom of Hungary, and Serbia, with Cuman immigrants being integrated into each country's elite.

The Cumans were called Folban, Vallani/Valwe by Germans.

In the German account by Adam of Bremen, and Matthaios of Edessa, the Cumans were referred to as the “Blond Ones” .[20]

They were called Kun (Qoun)/Kunok by the Hungarians, and Polovtsy/Polovec (from Old East Slavic "polovy", yellow) by the Russians — all meaning "blond".

It is difficult to know which group historians were referring to when they used the name Kipchak, as they could refer to the Cumans only, the Kipchaks only, or to both together.

The two nations joined and lived together (and possibly exchanged weaponry, culture and fused languages), with the Cumans encompassing the western half of the confederation, while the Kipchaks and (assumably) the Kangli/Kankalis (a ruling clan of the Pechenegs) encompassing the eastern half.[21]

This confederation and their living together may have made it difficult for historians to write exclusively about either nation.

Some of the clans of the Cuman-Kipchaks were the Terteroba (Ter'trobichi), Burdjogli, Borchol, Toksoba, Etioba/Ietioba, Kay, Itogli, Kochoba (meaning Ram Clan), Urosoba, El'Borili, Kangarogli, Andjogli, Durut, Djartan, Karabirkli, Kotan/Hotan, Kulabaogli, Olelric, Altunopa (meaning Gold Clan), Toksobychi, Burchevychi, Ulashevichi (Ulash-oghlu), Toksobichi (Mamluk Toqsoba), Chitieevichi, Elobichi, Kolabichi, Etebichi, Yeltunovychi, Yetebychi, Berish, Olperliuve (Olperlu), Emiakovie (Yemek), Phalagi and the Olberli.


 

The Cumans' name in Russian and German means "yellow" (blond), in reference to the colour of the Cumans' hair.[23]

The Ukrainian word Polovtsy (Пóловці) means "blond", since the old Ukrainian word polovo means "straw", and a straw is yellow.

Kuman means "pale yellow" in Turkic.

Some authors put forward the idea that the name Polovtsy referred to "men of the field, or of the steppe" (from the Ukrainian word pole: open ground, field), not to be confused with polyane (cf. Greek polis: city).

In Slavic languages the word 'polyane' literally means "open ground, field".

According to O. Suleymenov polovtsy came from a word for "blue-eyed", since the Serbo-Croatian word plav means "blue" (and surely if something is blue is the eye, not the hair -- cfr. 'yellow').

The Eastern Slavic equivalent would take the regular form polov.

The name ‘Kipchak’/’Qipcak’ was not in use amongst the Cumans.

‘Qun’, Quman' was used.[25]

The Cumans originally lived east of the large bend of the Yellow River in China.[25]

They entered the grassland of Eastern Europe in the 11th century, from where they continued to assault the Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, and Kievan Rus'.

The vast territory of the Cuman-Kipchak realm consisted of loosely connected tribal units who were the dominant military force but were never politically united by a strong central power.

There was no state or empire of Cumania.

Rather, different groups under independent rulers, or "khans", acted on their own initiative, often meddling in the political life of the surrounding states.

Cumans interacted with the Rus' principalities; with Bulgaria, Byzantium, and the Wallachian states in the Balkans; with Armenia and Georgia (see Kipchaks in Georgia) in the Caucasus; and with the Khwarezm in Central Asia.

The Cuman-Kipchaks also created a powerful caste of warriors, the Mamluks and the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo).

The Cumans were also active in commerce with traders from Central Asia to Venice.[26]

The Cuman-Kipchak Qutub-ud-din Aibak was appointed as governor of a part of Muhammad Ghori' realm. Qutub proclaimed independence after the death of his patron and created the Delhi Sultanate.[27]

His line is therefore known as the (Mamluk) Dynasty on account of his origin.[28]

In the Mamluk Empire, a particularly strong sense of Cuman identity was maintained among the Mamluks, to the degree that the biography of Sultan Baibars focused on his birth and early years in Desht-i-Kipchak (“Steppe of the Kipchaks”/Cumania).

The historian Dimitri Korobeinikov relates how the way in which Baibars’ story sums up the tragic fate of many Cumans after the Battle of Kalka River and the Mongol invasion of Europe.

Roman Kovalev states that this story can further be seen as a mechanism for the preservation of a collective memory broadly reflecting a sense of Cuman identity, in Mamluk Sultanate.[29]

The field of Igor Svyatoslavich's battle with the Cuman–Kipchaks by Viktor Vasnetsov.

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The Cumans first encountered the Rus' in 1055, which resulted in a peace agreement.

In 1061, however, the Cumans invade and devastate the Rus' Pereiaslav principality.

In 1068 at the Alta River, the Cumans defeat the armies of the three sons of Yaroslav the Wise — Iziaslav Yaroslavych, Sviatoslav II Yaroslavych, and Vsevolod Yaroslavych.

After the Cuman victory, they repeatedly invade Ukraine, devastating the land and taking captives, who became either slaves or were sold at markets in the south.

The most VULNERABLE regions were the principalities of Pereiasla, Novhorod-Siverskyi, and Chernihiv.

The Cumans initially managed to defeat the Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kievan Rus in 1093 at the Battle of the Stugna River, but they were defeated later by the combined forces of Russian principalities led by Monomakh and forced out of the Rus borders to Caucasus.

Many Cumans at that time resettled in Georgia where they achieved prominent positions and helped Georgians to stop the advance of Seljuk Turks. After the death of warlike Monomakh in 1125, Cumans returned to the steppe along the Rus borders. In the Balkans, the Cumans were in contact with all of the statal entities of that time, fighting with the Kingdom of Hungary, allied with the Bulgarians of the Second Bulgarian Empire and Vlachs against the Byzantine Empire, and involved in the politics of the fresh Vlach states. A notable Cuman leader in Europe, Thocomer (Toq-tämir, meaning ‘hardened steel’) was possibly the first to unite the Romanian (Vlach) states from the west and the east of the Olt River. Thocomer's son Basarab[31] ("Father king"[16] in the Cuman language) is considered the first ruler of the united and independent kingdom of Wallachia. This interpretation corresponds with the general view of the situation of Romania in the 11th century, with the natives living in collections of village communities united in small confederacies, and with powerful chiefs competing to create small kingdoms. Some of these Romanian chiefs paid tribute to the militarily dominant nomadic tribes that surrounded them.

Hungarian King Ladislaus I of Hungary (left) fighting a Cuman warrior (right).


In 1089, Ladislaus I of Hungary defeated the Cumans after they attacked the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1091, the Pechenegs, a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the prairies of southwestern Eurasia, were decisively defeated as an independent force at the Battle of Levounion by the combined forces of a Byzantine army under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and a Cuman army under Togortok/Tugortak and Bunaq. Attacked again in 1094 by the Cumans, many Pechenegs were again slain. The remnants of the Pechenegs fled to Hungary, as the Cumans themselves would do a few decades later: Fearing the Mongol invasion, they asked asylum from Béla IV of Hungary in 1229. In alliance with the Bulgarians and Vlachs[32][33] during the Vlach-Bulgar Rebellion by brothers Asen and Peter of Tarnovo, the Cumans are believed to have played a significant role in the rebellion's final victory over Byzantium and the restoration of Bulgaria's independence in 1185.[34] Istvan Vassary states that without the active participation of the Cumans, the Vlakho-Bulgarian rebels could never have gained the upper hand over the Byzantines, and ultimately without the military support of the Cumans, the process of Bulgarian restoration could never have been realised.[13][35]

The Cuman participation in the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185 and thereafter brought about basic changes in the political and ethnic sphere of Bulgaria and the Balkans.[13]

The Cumans were allies in the Bulgarian-Latin Wars with emperor Kaloyan of Bulgaria, who was descended from the Cumans. They contributed to emperor Kaloyan's crushing victory over the Latin Crusaders, in 1205, with their light cavalry.[35]

Ivan Bilibin's illustration to the The Lay of Igor's Campaign shows the Cumans fighting against the Rus'


Like most other peoples of medieval Eastern Europe, they put up resistance against the relentlessly advancing Mongols, led by Jebe and Subutai. The Mongols crossed the Caucasus mountains in pursuit of Muhammad II, the shah of Khwarazm, and met and defeated the Cumans in Subcaucasia in 1220. The Cuman khans Danylo Kobiakovych and Yurii Konchakovych died in battle, while the other Cumans, commanded by Koten, managed to get aid from the Rus’ princes.[30]

As the Mongols were approaching Russia, Khan Koten fled to the court of his son-in-law, Prince Mstislav the Bold of Galich. He warned Mstislav: "Today the Mongols have taken our land and tomorrow they will take yours." However, the Cumans were ignored for almost a year as the Rus had suffered from Cuman raids for decades. But when news reached Kiev that the Mongols were marching along the Dniester River, the Rus responded. Mstislav gathered an alliance of the Kievan Rus' princes including Mstislav III of Kiev and Prince Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal, who promised support with Khan Koten's Cumans.

The Rus princes then began mustering their armies and going towards the rendezvous point. The army of the alliance of the Rus and Cumans numbered around 80,000. The battle took place near Kalka River (Battle of Kalka River). Due to confusion from mistakes from the Rus and Cumans, the battle was lost — the Cumans and Rus were defeated (1223). The Cumans were allied in this battle with Wallach warriors named Brodnics, led by Ploscanea.[citation needed] Brodnics territory was in the lower parts of Prut river in today Romania and Moldova. The Cumans were finally crushed in 1238.

Map of Asia circa 1200, showing the Cumans and their neighbors


During the second Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe in 1237 the Cumans were defeated again. After the defeat some Cuman tribes followed Koten to Hungary and Bulgaria, where they became part of the local population; they were integrated into the élite and became nobles and rulers. In Hungary Cumans created two regions named Cumania (Kunság in Hungarian): Greater Cumania (Nagykunság) and Little Cumania (Kiskunság), both in the Great Hungarian Plain. The Hungarian king, in return for their military service, invited the Cumans to settle in areas of the Great Plain between the Danube and the Theiss Rivers (today's Great Cumania and Little Cumania); this region had become almost uninhabited after the Mongol raids of 1241-1242.[36] The Cumanians lived there until their settlements were destroyed during the Turkish wars (16th and 17th centuries).[37] At the beginning of the 18th century the Cumanian territories were resettled by their Hungarian-speaking descendants of the Cumans.[38] In the middle of the 18th century they got their status by becoming free farmers and no longer serfs.[8][39] Here, the Cumans maintained their autonomy, language and some ethnic customs well into the modern era. According to Pálóczi's estimation originally 70-80,000 Cumans settled in Hungary.[40] The Cumans were in every way different to the local population of Hungary — their appearance, attire and hairstyle set them apart. In Hungary, the Cumans were exempt from jurisdiction of country officials; the Cumans had their own representatives. The Cumans also participated in some of the early general assemblies of Hungary, the precursors of its parliament. At the time of Elizabeth the Cuman, queen of Hungary, gifts of precious clothes, land and other objects were given to the Cumans with the intent to ensure their support. By the 15th century, all the Cumans were permanently settled in Hungary, in villages whose structure corresponded to that of the local population, and were Christianized. The Cumans did not always ally to the Hungarian kings; they assassinated Laszlo IV. The royal and ecclesiastical authorities incorporated, rather than excluded, the Cumans. The Cumans in Hungary served as light cavalry in the royal army, as an obligation since they were granted asylum. Being very fierce and capable warriors (as noted by Istvan Vassary), the king lead them in numerous expeditions against neighbouring countries; most notably they played an important part in the battle of Rudolf of Habsburg and Ottokar II of Bohemia (1278) — King Laszlo IV and the Cumans were on Rudolf's side. Laszlo IV was particularly fond of the Cumans and abandoned Hungarian culture and dress for Cuman culture, dress and hairstyle (he spent much time with them).[41] Although they were defeated by the Mongols, the cultural heritage of the Cuman-Kipchaks that remained in the Rus steppe (those who did not move to Hungary and Bulgaria) was transferred on to the Mongols. The Mongol élite adopted a lot of the traits, customs and language from the Cumans and Kipchaks; the Cumans, Kipchaks and Mongols finally became assimilated through intermarriage and became the Golden Horde. The Cumans, with the Turko-Mongols, adopted Islam, in the second half of the 13th and the first half of the 14th century.[30]

Battle between the Cumans and Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky

A Mamluk nobleman from Aleppo.

Cuman camp -- from the opera by Borodine, "IL PRINCIPE IGOR".

Monument to the Asen dynasty (of Cuman origin) in their capital Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. The dynasty was of Cuman origin[15] and was responsible for establishing the Second Bulgarian Empire. Sculptor: prof. Krum Damianov


In 1229, they had asked for asylum from King Béla IV of Hungary, who in 1238 finally offered refuge to the remainder of the Cuman people under their leader Kuthen (Hungarians spelled his name Kötöny). Kuthen in turn vowed to convert his 40,000 families to Christianity. King Béla hoped to use the new subjects as auxiliary troops against the Mongols, who were already threatening Hungary. The king assigned parts of central Hungary to the Cuman tribes. A tense situation erupted when Mongol troops burst into Hungary. The Hungarians, frustrated by their own helplessness, took revenge on the Cumans, whom they accused of being Mongol spies. After a bloody fight, the Hungarians killed Kuthen and his bodyguards, and the remaining Cumans fled to the Balkans, pillaging and destroying many Hungarian villages in the way. After the Mongol invasion Béla IV of Hungary recalled the Cumans to Hungary to populate settlements devastated by war. The nomads subsequently settled throughout the Great Hungarian Plain. During the following centuries the Cumans in Hungary were granted rights, the extent of which depended on the prevailing political situation. Some of these rights survived until the end of the 19th century, although the Cumans had long since assimilated with Hungarians. Istvan Vassary states that after the Mongol conquest, "A large-scale westward migration of the Cumans began. In the summer of 1237 the first wave of this Cuman exodus appeared in Bulgaria. The Cumans crossed the Danube, and this time Ivan Asen II could not tame them, as he had often been able to do earlier; the only possibility left for him was to let them march through Bulgaria in a southerly direction. They proceeded through Thrace as far as Hadrianoupolis and Didymotoichon, plundering and pillaging the towns and the countryside, just as before. The whole of Thrace became, as Akropolites put it, a ‘Scythian desert’".[42] The pontic Cumania (Latin term for Deshti-Kipchak, not the Cumania in modern-day Romania and Moldova) ceased to exist in the middle of the 13th century, when the Great Mongol Invasion of Europe occurred. In 1223, Genghis Khan defeated the Cumans and their Russian allies at the Battle of Kalka River (in modern Ukraine). The final blow came in 1241, when the Cuman confederacy ceased to exist as a political entity, with the remaining Cuman tribes being dispersed, either becoming subjects and mixing with their Tatar-Mongol conquerors as part of what was to be known as the Nogai Horde or fleeing to the west, to the Byzantine Empire, the Second Bulgarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary, where they became kings and nobles with many privileges. Cumans had served as mercenaries in the armies of the Byzantine Empire from the end of the 11th century and were one of the most important elements of the Byzantine army until the mid-14th century. They served as horse-archers and those in the central army were collectively called Skythikoi. In 1241, the Byzantines settled 10,000 Cumans in Thrace and Anatolia where they became hellenized. A Greek-speaking Cuman even became Megas Domestikos (Commander-in-Chief of the Army) under Emperor Andronikos II.[43] The Cumans who remained scattered in the prairie of what is now southwest Russia joined the Golden Horde khanate, and their descendants became assimilated with local Tatar populations.

Kingdom of Hungary (13th century)
The Cumans who remained east and south of the Carpathian Mountains established a county named Cumania, in an area consisting parts of Moldavia and Walachia. The Hungarian kings claimed supremacy over some areas of Cumania, among the nine titles of the Hungarian kings of the Árpád and Anjou dynasties were rex Cumaniae. The Cuman influence in Wallachia and Moldavia was very strong, according to some historians who claim that the earliest Wallachian rulers bore Cuman names[44] (e.g., Tihomir and Bassarab). This hypothesis is though disputed, while the toponymy of the most densely populated regions of Romanian settlement shows strong evidence of Cuman placenames.[44] In lack of convincing archaeological evidence of a Cuman civilisation, it appears the Cumans were a minority in the local population, but they made up part of the ruling élite in Wallachia. As in the case of Bulgaria, they were assimilated by the majority, the present-day Romanians. Basarab I, son of the Wallachian prince Thocomerius of Wallachia obtained independence from Hungary at the beginning of the 14th century. The name Basarab is considered by some authors as being of Cuman origin, and meaning "Father King". It is generally believed by historians (Bulgarian and Hungarian, amongst others) that the Bulgarian mediaеval dynasties Asen, Shishman and Terter were Cumanian.[35][45] The Caucasian mummies found in China a while ago could have been Cumans, as it is stated that the Cumans originally came from eastern China before migrating to Europe.[13]

Codex Cumanicus[edit]

The Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual for the Cuman language of the Middle Ages, designed to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Cumans. It is currently housed in the Library of St. Mark, in Venice (Cod. Mar. Lat. DXLIX). Some parts from the Codex's Pater Noster are shown below: Atamız kim köktesiñ. Alğışlı bolsun seniñ atıñ, kelsin seniñ xanlığıñ, bolsun seniñ tilemekiñ – neçikkim kökte, alay [da] yerde. Kündeki ötmegimizni bizge bugün bergil. Dağı yazuqlarımıznı bizge boşatqıl – neçik biz boşatırbiz bizge yaman etkenlerge. Dağı yekniñ sınamaqına bizni quurmağıl. Basa barça yamandan bizni qutxarğıl. Amen! In English, the text is: Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have done us evil. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. In Modern Turkish, the text is: Atamız sen göktesin. Alkışlı olsun senin adın, gelsin senin hanlığın, olsun senin dileğin– nasıl ki gökte, ve yerde. Gündelik ekmeğimizi bize bugün ver. Ve de yazıklarımızdan (suçlarımızdan) bizi bağışla– nasıl biz bağışlarız bize yaman (kötülük) edenleri. Ve de şeytanın sınamasından bizi koru. Tüm yamandan (kötülükten) bizi kurtar. Amin!
Cuman prayer:

A page from Codex Cumanicus
Cuman LanguageModern TurkishEnglish
Bizim atamız kim-szing kökte
Szentlenszing szening ading
Düs-szün szening könglügüng
Necsik-kim dzserde alaj kökte
Bizing ekmegimizni ber bizge büt-bütün künde
Ilt bizing minimizni
Necsik-kim biz ijermiz bizge ötrü kelgenge
Iltme bizni ol dzsamanga
Kutkar bizni ol dzsamannan
Szen barszing bu kücsli bu csin ijgi Tengri, amen.		Bizim atamız ki sensin gökte
Şenlensin senin adın
Hoş olsun senin gönlün
Nasıl ki yerde ve tüm gökte
Bizim ekmeğimizi ver bize bütün günde
İlet bizim aklımızı
Nasıl ki biz boyun eğeriz bize emir gelince
İletme bizi her (tüm) kötülüğe
Kurtar bizi her kötülükten
Sen varsın bu güçte bu yücelikte Tanrım, amin.		Our father who is in the sky
May your name be glorified
May your desire be done
On the ground and in the sky
Give us our bread in all days
Deliver our mind
When you give the command we will bow down
Do not deliver us to evil
Save us from all harm
You exist in this strength and highness my God, amen.

Their language, known from a 13th-century trilingual Cumanian-Latin-Persian dictionary, was a form of Turkic (Kipchak Turkic) and was, until the 14th century, a lingua franca over much of the Eurasian steppes.[46][47] There was also some Khazar Jewish linguistic influence upon the Cumans - the Cuman words shabat and shabat kun (meaning Saturday) are related to the Hebrew word Shabbat (meaning Sabbath). These Hebrew influences in the language may have resulted from contact or intermarriege between Khazars and some of the Cumans in the mid-11th century.[48]

Culture[edit]

Despite their historical status, the ethnic origins of the Cumanians are uncertain.[17] The Cumans were reported to have blond hair,[35] although their anthropological characteristics suggests that their geographical origin might be in Inner-Asia, South-Siberia, or as Istvan Vassary states - east of the Yellow River in China.[8][49][50][51] al Marwazi, in his writings (c. 1120) states that the 'Qun" people came from the northern Chinese borders - "the land of Qitay" (possibly during a part of a migration from further east). After leaving the lands of the Kitans, they entered the territory of the Shari/Sari people. From there the Cumans eventually reached the southern Russian steppes. It cannot be concluded whether the Cumans conquered the Kipchaks or simply represent the western mass of largely Kipchak-Turkic speaking tribes. A "victim" of the Cuman migration to the west was the Kimek union/khanate, which dissolved but then regrouped again under Kipchak-Cuman leadership. Due to this, Kimek tribal elements were represented amongst the Cuman-Kipchaks. Rus'[clarification needed] annals mention the "Yemek Cumans/Polovtsy" (who were active in the region of Volga Bulgaria)[17] The Cumans were reported to have blond hair[35] and to be a handsome people, with their women much desired.[52][53] The Cuman-Kipchaks never established a state, instead having a Cuman-Kipchak confederation. This was possibly due to them facing no prolonged threat before the Mongol invasion, and it may have either prolonged their existence or quickened their destruction.[54] According to the 12th-century Jewish traveller Petahia of Ratisbon “they have no king, only princes and royal families.” [54] Horses were central to Cuman culture and way of life, and they maintained them by the thousands.[20]
Robert de Clari described Cumans as nomadic warriors, who did not use houses or farm, but rather lived in tents, and ate milk, cheese and meat. The horses had a sack for feeding attached to the bridle, and in a day and a night they can ride seven days of walking (Mansio), they go on campaign without any baggage, and when they return they take everything they can carry; they wear sheepskin and were armed with composite bows and arrows. They pray to the first animal they see in the morning.[55][56] The Cumans, like the Bulgars, were known to drink blood from their horse (they would cut a vein) when they ran out of water and were far from an available source. Another interesting feature of the Cumans was their elaborate masks which they used in battle — they were shaped like and worn over the face.

Cuman representation in the Radziwiłł Chronicle
A typical feature were mustaches.
The main activity of the Cumans was animal husbandry. They raised horses, sheep, goats, camels, and cattle. In summer they moved north with their herds; in winter, south. Some of the Cumans led a semi-settled life and took part in trading and farming. They mainly sold and exported animals, mostly horses, and animal products. The Cumans also played the role of middlemen in the trade between Byzantium and the East, which passed through the Cuman-controlled ports of Surozh, Oziv, and Saksyn. Several land routes between Europe and the Near East ran through Cuman territories: the Zaloznyi, the Solianyi, and the Varangian. Cuman towns — Sharukan, Suhrov/Sugrov, and Balin — appeared in the Donets River Basin; they were also inhabitted by other peoples besides the Cumans. Due to the practice of Cuman towns being named after their khans, town names changed over time - the town of Sharukan appears as Osenev, Sharuk and Cheshuev. Rock figures called stone babas, which are found throughout southern Ukraine and other ares on the steppes of Russia, were closely connected with the Cuman religious cult of shamanism. The Cumans tolerated all religions, and Islam and Christianity spread quickly among them. As they were close to the Kyivan Rus’ principalities, the Cuman khans and important families began to Slavicize their names, for example, Yaroslav Tomzakovych, Hlib Tyriievych, Yurii Konchakovych, and Danylo Kobiakovych. Ukrainian princely families were often connected by marriage with Cuman khans; this lessened wars and conflicts. Sometimes the princes and khans waged joint campaigns; for example, in 1221 they attacked the trading town of Sudak on the Black Sea, which was held by the Seljuk Turks and which interfered with Rus’-Cuman trade.[30]
Niketas Choniates, while describing a battle in the vicinity of Beroe in the late 12th century, gave an interesting description of the nomadic battle techniques of the Cumans:
"They [i.e., the Cumans] fought in their habitual manner, learnt from their fathers. They would attack, shoot their arrows and begin to fight with spears. Before long they would turn their attack into flight and induce their enemy to pursue them. Then they would show their faces instead of their backs, like birds cutting through the air, and would fight face to face with their assailants and struggle even more bravely. This they would do several times, and when they gained the upper hand over the Romans [Byzantines], they would stop turning back again. Then they would draw their swords, release an appalling roar, and fall upon the Romans quicker than a thought. They would seize and massacre those who fought bravely and those who behaved cowardly alike."[57]
The fundamental unit of Cuman society was the family, which was made up of blood relatives.[58] A group of families formed a clan, which was led by a chief; while a group of clans formed a tribe which was then led by a khan. A typical Cuman clan was named after an object, animal or a leader of the clan. The names of the leaders of clans or tribes sometimes ended in “apa/aba”. Cuman names were descriptive and represented a personal trait or an idea. Clans lived together in movable settlements named ‘Cuman towers’ by Kyivan Rus’ chroniclers. The Cuman-Kipchak tribes formed subconfederations which were governed by charismatic ruling houses – they acted independently of each other and had opposing policies. The territory controlled distinguished each Cuman tribe; the ‘seashore’ Cuman tribes lived in the steppes between the mouths of the Dnieper River and the Dnister River, the ‘coastal Cuman tribes lived on the coast of the Sea of Azov, the ‘Dnieper’ Cuman tribes lived on both banks of the bend in the Dnieper Valley, and the ‘Don’ Cumans lived in the Don River Valley.[58] The Rus grouped the Cuman-Kipchaks into two categories – the Non-Wild Polvcians (Cuman-Kipchaks who had friendly relations with Kieven Rus) and the Wild Polvcians (the Cuman-Kipchaks who had hostile relations with Kieven Rus). As the Cuman-Kipchaks gained more territory, they drove off or dominated many tribes – such as the Oghuz, various Iranian and Finno-Ugrian tribes, Pechenegs and Slav groups. They also raided the Byzantine Empire and a few times joined the Normans from southern Italy and the Hungarians in doing so. After 1159 AD, some Cumans settled in the lands of present day Romania. Those Cumans south of the Danube River would eventually join the garrisons of the Byzantine Empire and then as a fief or ‘pronoia’ possessing military aristocracy. Over the course of time feudalism would take over the traditional social structure of the Cumans and this led to the changing of identity from kinship to territory-based. Some of the Cumans eventually settled in and led sedentary lives - these Cumans were involved in agriculture and crafts such as leather and iron working and weapon making. Others became merchants and traded from their towns along the ancient trade routes to regions such as the Orient, Middle East and Italy.[20]
When the Cuman-Kipchaks swore oaths it was done with swords in the hands that touched the body of a dog cut in two. The wolves were greatly respected by the Cuman-Kipchaks, and they would sometimes howl along with them in commune . The personal bodyguard of the khan were called Bori (wolf in Turkic). Like other nomadic nations, the Cuman-Kipchaks initiated blood bonds (with the purpose of symbolically cementing a bond) by the drinking or mixing of each other’s blood. For many years before the Mongol invasion, the Cuman-Kipchaks were in an ambiguous relationship with their neighnours (through marital and martial alliances) - Kwarizmians, Byzantines, Georgians and the Russians – at one time they would be at peace, in another at war.[59] The Byzantine Empire hesitated to go to war with the Cuman-Kipchaks that were north of the Danube River, instead, like the Hungarians, choosing to bribe them. Since Kwarizm had more important enemies, they hired the Cuman-Kipchaks for garrison duty.[20]
Amongst the Cuman-Kipchaks ethnic names often became personal names - this was also practiced amongst the Mongols. This practice involved naming newborns after the names of conquered tribes and people. Names such as ‘Baskord’, ‘Imek’, ‘Kitan (from the Khitan people)’ and ‘Urus’ were used by the Cumans[60] There was a number of ways that the Cuman-Kipchaks could make a living as nomadic warriors. One could partake in questing and raiding with their tribe and subsequently keep the spoils. Another avenue was to seek employment as a mercenary in exchange for the guarantee of loot. There was also the option to serve in a garrison, although this caused those Cumans, who chose this route, to eventually forget their light cavalry skills and become poor infantry. This was taken full advantage of when the Mongol army destroyed the Cuman-Kipchak garrison in Samarkand.[61] Cuman-Kipchak women were fought besides their fellow male warriors. Women were shown great respect, and would often ride on a horse or wagon while the men walked.[20][62]
Up until the late 11th and early 12th centuries the Cumans fought mainly as light cavalry, after which they yielded heavy cavalry. The main weapons of the Cumans were the recurved and later composite bow (which with the quiver was worn on the hip), javelin, curved sword (a sabre, which was less curved then a scimitar), the mace and a heavy spear for lancing. Due to European influence, some of the later period Cumans wielded war hammers and axes. For defence they used a round or almond shaped shield, short sleeved chain mail armour (which consisted of commonly alternating butted and riveted rows), lamelar (iron or leather), leather cuirass, shoulder spaulders, conical iron helmet with a detachale iron or bronze anthropomorphic face plate (gold for princes and khans) and at times a camail suspended from the helmet (which consisted of chain or leather).[20] Like the Bulgars, the Cumans were proficient at shooting to the rear, with their back turned towards the front of the horse – a revered technique that they used in battle. The horsemen used oval shaped stirrups and employed a large bridle for the horse. Another important accessory was a small whip that was attached to the rider’s wrist. Tribal banners were either made of cloth with tribal emblems or dyed horse hair – with more tails signifying greater importance of the warrior or group. Some of the Cumans that moved west were influenced by Western heraldry, and those Cumans (that were influenced) eventually displayed hybridized European-Cuman heraldry.
The commonly employed Cuman battle tactic was firstly repeated attacks by light cavalry archers (by facing and shooting to the rear of the horse), then a feigned retreat and lastly a skilled ambush. To maintain this tactic to optimum efficiency the Cumans kept a large number of horses to replace fatigued ones AnIllustratedIntroductiontotheKipchakTurks.pdf. In their travels the Cumans used wagons, which transported supplies as well as weapons such as mangonels and ballistas. Light felt tents with a frame consisting of wooden laths could be placed on top of wagons (these could easily be placed on the ground). The windows of the tents were “grilled” in such a way that it was difficult to see in, but easy to see out. As the Cumans became more settled, they constructed forts for defence and settlement purposes.[20]
The knight, Robert de Clari, said that the Cumans often dressed in sheepskins – they wore a sleeveless sheepskin vest, usually worn in conjunction with bracers.[20] Underneath the vest was worn a short or long sleeved tunic/tabard, which extended to the mid calf, splitting in the front and back between the legs. Men wore trousers and a caftan, each fastened by a belt, which was the traditional costume. The women wore pants as well as dresses. The tunic that the women wore was shorter than that of the men’s, and would sometimes split in four along the front, back and sides. The colour, deep crimson, was commonly used for clothing decoration. Cuman men wore distinguishing conical felt or leather hats, pointy at the top with a broad brim (if made of felt) or a fur trim around the base (if made of leather). The brim of the hat was pointy at the front and upturned on the rear and at the sides. Females also wore conical hats, but with a felt top and a cloth veil extending down the back. This veil only covered the back neck and not the hair or face. The men shaved the top of their head, while the rest of the hair was plaited into several braids; they also had prominent moustaches. Other men also had loose or braided long hair and prominent moustaches. The women had their hair loose or braided with buns twisting at the side. Both men and women followed a tradition of braiding coloured ribbons onto the hair. For footwear, Cuman men and women wore long leather or felt boots that had support straps which connected to a belt. Both men and women wore cloth or metal arm bands.[20]
The Cuman-Kipchaks used dung for fires when firewood was not available. The Cumans had very strict rules (taboos) against theft, and thus would, without prohibition, loosen their horses, camels and livestock (sheep, oxen) without sheppards or guards, when they were stationary.
The traditional diet consisted of soup with millet and meat. The diet included beer, curdled mare’s milk – kumis and bread (though bread could be rare depending on location)[20]

Religion[edit]

Main article: Christianization of Kievan Rus'
It is alleged that the Cumans practiced Shaminism and Tengrinism. Their belief system comprised animistic and shamanistic elements; they celebrated the cult of ancestors and provided the dead with objects whose lavishness paralleled the recipient's social rank. The Cumans referred to their shamans as Kam.[20] Funerals for important members involved firstly creating a mound, then placing the dead inside, along with various items deemed useful in the afterlife, a horse (like the Bulgars) and sometimes a servant or slave.[20] Cuman divination practices used animals, especially the wolf and dog. The dog “It/Kopec” was sacred to the Cuman-Kipchaks, to the extent that an individual, tribe or clan would be named after the dog, or type of dog. Cumans had shamans who communicated with the spirit world — they were consulted for questions of outcomes.[41] The Cumans in Christian territories were baptised in 1227 by Róbert Archbishop of Esztergom in a mass baptism in Moldavia on the orders of Bortz Khan, who swore allegiance to King Andrew II of Hungary.[63]

Polovetian leaders (Khan) (Ruthenian chronicles)[edit]

  • Iskal or Eskel (possibly a self-name of a bolgharic tribe (Nushibi)) who were mentioned by Ahmad ibn Fadlan after visiting Volga region in 921-922. They also were mentioned by Abu Saʿīd Gardēzī in his Zayn al-Akhbār. According to Bernhard Karlgren, Eskels became the Hungarian people Székelys. Yury Zuev thought that Iskal who is mentioned in the Laurentian Codex about the first military encounter of Cumans against the Ruthenians on February 2, 1061, is personification of a tribal name.
  • Sharukan/Sharagan (also known as Sharukan the Elder), grand father of Konchak. Another Polovetian khan who was victorious against the Ruthenian army of Yaroslavichi at the Alta river (Battle of the Alta River). According to the Novgorod First Chronicle Sharukan was taken as prisoner by Svyatoslav II of Kiev in 1068, while no such information is provided in the Laurentian Codex. In May of 1107 along with Bonyak, Sharukan raided couple of Ruthenian cities (Pereyaslav and Lubny), however already in August of the same year the collective Ruthenian army led by Svyatoslav carried out a devastating defeat to the Cuman Horde forcing Sharukan to flee.
  • Bonyak,[64] Polovetian khan who actively was involved in civil conflicts of Ruthenia. He had a brother Taz who perished at the battle on the Sula River in 1107. Bonyak was last mentioned in 1167 when he was defeated by Oleg of Siveria. Bonyak was a leader of Cuman tribe Burchevichi that resided in steppes of the East Ukraine between modern cities of Zaporizhia and Donetsk.
  • Tugorkan (1028-1096) was mentioned in essays of the Byzantine Empress Anna Komnene along with his compatriot Bonyak. He perished with his son at the battle on the Trubizh River against the Ruthenian army.
  • Syrchan, a son of Sharukan. He was a leader of Cuman tribe that lived on the right banks of Siversky Donets. Chronicles mentioned that after the death of Vladimir II Monomakh, grand prince of Kiev, Syrchan sent out an emissary and a singer Orev to Georgia after his brother Atrak/Otrok (who, with 40,000 CUman troops, was in Georgia at the time), urging him to return. Khan Otrok agreed (giving up the fame and security he had won in Georgia), after smelling eyevshan, the grass of his native steppe.[65] Syrchan was mentioned in the poem of Apollon Maykov (1821-1897) "Eshman".
  • Otrok/Atrak, a son of Sharukan and a brother of Syrchan. In 1111 along with his brother withdrew to the Lower Don region after losing a battle against the Ruthenians. There Atrak's horde joined the local Alans. In 1117 his army sacked Sarkel forcing the local Pechenegs and Torkils to flee to Ruthenia. Around the same time Atrak invaded the Northern Caucasus where he entered into conflict with local Circassians pushing them beyond the Kuban River. The conflict was settled by a Georgian King David IV of Georgia who offered a military service to Atrak against Seljuks in 1118. David also married the daughter of Atrak Gurandukht. After withdrawal of Atrak away from the Don region, the Alan's duchy in East Ukraine was liquidated in 1116-17. Atrak returned after the death of Vladimir Monomakh in 1125.
  • Khan Konchek/Konchak/Kumcheg (meaning ‘trousers’), grandson of Sharukan, son of Khan Otrok. He united the tribes of the eastern Cumans in the later half of the 12th century, afterwhich in the 1170s and 1180s he launched a number of particularly destructive attacks on the settlements in the Duchy of Kiev, the Principality of Chernigov and the Principality of Pereyaslavl. Konchak gave aid to the princes of the Principality of Novgorod-Seversk in their struggle for control with the other Rus’ princes. Along with Khan Kobiak/Kobek, Khan Konchak was routed on the Khorol River in 1184 during an assault on Kyivan Rus’. In 1185, he defeated the army of Ihor Sviatoslavych, who was taken as a prisoner. Later, Konchak laid siege to Pereiaslav and ravaged the Chernihiv and Kyiv areas. His daughter married prince Vladimir Igorevich of Putivl (Igor’s son). It is hypothesized that Konchek was with the Cumans who helped Riurik Rostislavovich seizure and sack of Kiev in 1202.[10] Khan Konchek is credited with certain technological advancments, such as Greek fire and a special bow that needed 50 men to operate.[10] Konchek was noted by the Rus' to be "greater than all the Cumans".[10] He died in a skirmish that preceded the Battle of Kalka River. The struggle to repel Khan Konchak and his army by Ihor Sviatoslavych and the Rus’ princes is immortalized in the epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign (“Slovo o polku Ihorevi).”

Legacy[edit]


Cuman sculpture in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
While the Cumans were gradually absorbed into eastern European populations, their trace can still be found in placenames as widespread as the city of Kumanovo in the northeastern Republic of Macedonia; a Slavic village named Kumanichevo in the Kostur (Kastoria) district of Greece, which was changed to Lithia after Greece obtained this territory in the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest; Comăneşti in Romania; a village of Kumane in Serbia; Comana in Dobrogea (also Romania); the small village of Kumanite in Bulgaria; and Debrecen in Hungary. As the Mongols pushed westward and devastated their state, most of the Cumans fled to the Bulgarian Empire as they were major military allies. The Bulgarian Tsar Ivan-Asen II (who was descended from Cumans) [35] The Cuman participation in the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185 and thereafter brought about basic changes in the political and ethnic sphere of Bulgaria and the Balkans.[13] settled them in the southern parts of the country, bordering the Latin Empire and the Thessallonikan Despotate. Those territories are in present-day Turkish Europe, Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia.
The Cumans also settled in Hungary and had their own self-government in a territory that bore their name, Kunság, that survived until the 19th century. Two regions — Little Cumania and Greater Cumania — exist in Hungary. The name of the Cumans (Kun) is preserved in county names such as Bács-Kiskun, Kunbaja and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and town names such as Kiskunhalas, Kunszentmiklós. The municipality of Kuman in the Fier District, Fier County, southwestern Albania is a legacy of the Cumans. The Cumans were organized into four tribes in Hungary: Kolbasz/Olas in upper Cumania around Karcag and the other three in lower Cumania.
Unfortunately, the Cuman language disappeared from Hungary in the 17th or 18th century (1770?), possibly following the Turkish occupation. Their 19th-century biographer, Gyárfás István, in 1870 was of the opinion that they originally spoke Hungarian, together with the Iazyges population. Despite this mistake, he has the best overview on the subject[citation needed] concerning details of material used. In addition, toponyms of Cuman language origin can be found in some Romanian counties of Vaslui and Galaţi, including the names of both counties. When some of the Cumans moved to Hungary, they brought with them their Komondor dogs, which have become one of the national dogs of Hungary.
In the countries where the Cumans were assimilated, family surnames derived from the words for "Cuman" (such as coman or kun, "kuman") are not uncommon. Traces of the Cumans are the Bulgarian surnames Kunev or Kumanov (feminine Kuneva, Kumanova), its Macedonian variants Kunevski, Kumanovski (feminine Kumanovska), and the widespread Hungarian surname Kun. The names "Coman" in Romania and its derivatives, however, do not appear to have any connection to the medieval Cumans, as it was unrecorded until very recent times and the places with the highest frequency of such names has not produced any archaeological evidence of Cuman settlement.[66] Over time, Cuman culture exerted an influence on the Hungarian Csangos and Romanian culture in Moldavia, due to the Hungarians in Moldavia socilaizing and mingling with the Cumans between the 14th and 15th centuries.[67] Hakan Aydemir,a Turkic linguist, states that the ‘ir’ of the Csangos and Székelys dialect, which means ‘carve’, ‘notch’, as well as the words ‘urk/uruk’ (meaning ‘lasso’, ‘noose’), ‘dszepu (meaning ‘wool’) and ‘korhany’ (meaning ‘small mountain’, ‘hill’) are of Cuman-Kipchak origin.[67] Additionally, the Cumans could have also had some connection with Székelys runes. Several Romanian, as well as Hungarian academics believe that a significant Cuman population lived in Moldavia in the 15th century; these Cumans later assimilated into the Romanian population.[67] People in Hungary with the surname Palóc are descended from the Cumans (and possibly Kabars and Pechenegs) - Palóc origintates from the Slavic word Polovets/Polovtsy.[68] Although similar to the Hungarians in origins and culture, they were considered distinct groups by the Turks. The first written record of the word "palóc" as the name of a people appears in the Mezőkövesd register in 1784.
In the Hungarian village of Csengele, on the borders of what is still called Kiskunsag, Little Cumania, an archeological excavation in 1975 revealed the ruins of a medieval church with 38 burials. Several burials had all the characteristics of a Cumanian group: richly jeweled, non-Hungarian, and definitely Cumanian-type costumes; the 12-spiked mace as a weapon; bone girdles; and associated pig bones.[69] In view of the cultural objects and the historical data, the archeologists concluded that the burials were indeed Cumanian and mid-13th century; hence some of the early settlers in Hungary were from that ethnic group. In 1999 the grave of a high-status Cumanian from the same period was discovered about 50 m from the church of Csengele; this was the first anthropologically authenticated grave of a Cumanian chieftain in Hungary,[36] and the contents are consistent with the ethnic identity of the excavated remains from the church burials. A separated area of the chieftain grave contained a complete skeleton of a horse.[8] The flower - Kumoniga(melilot) - is also a relic of the Cumans.[35] The Gagauz people are believed by some historians to be descendents of the Cumans.[35]
A genetic study was done on Cuman burials within Hungary and it was determined that they had substantially more western Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages.[70] In a 2005 study by Erika Bogacsi-Szabo et al. of the mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) of the Cuman nomad population that migrated into the Carpathian basin during the 13th century, six haplogroups were revealed.
"One of these haplogroups belongs to the M lineage (haplogroup D) and is characteristic of Eastern Asia, but this is the second most frequent haplogroup in southern Siberia too. All the other haplogroups (H, V, U, U3, and JT) are West Eurasian, belonging to the N macrohaplogroup. Out of the eleven remains, four samples belonged to haplogroup H, two to haplogroup U, two to haplogroup V, and one each to the JT, U3, and D haplogroups. In comparison to the Cumans, modern Hungarian samples represent 15 haplogroups. All but one is a West Eurasian haplogroup [the remaining one is East Asian (haplogroup F)], but all belong to the N lineage. Four haplogroups (H, V, U*, JT), present in the ancient samples, can also be found in the modern Hungarians, but only for haplogroups H and V were identical haplotypes found. Haplogroups U3 and D occur exclusively in the ancient group, and 11 haplogroups (HV, U4, U5, K, J, J1a, T, T1, T2, W, and F) occur only in the modern Hungarian population. Haplogroup frequency in the modern Hungarian population is similar to other European populations, although haplogroup F is almost absent in continental Europe; therefore the presence of this haplogroup in the modern Hungarian population can reflect some past contribution."[71] "The results suggested that the Cumanians, as seen in the excavation at Csengele, were far from genetic homogeneity. Nevertheless, the grave artifacts are typical of the Cumanian steppe culture; and five of the six skeletons that were complete enough for anthropometric analysis appeared Asian rather than European (Horváth 1978, 2001), including two from the mitochondrial haplogroup H, which is typically European. It is interesting that the only skeleton for which anthropological examination indicated a partly European ancestry was that of the chieftain, whose haplotype is most frequently found in the Balkans."[71]
The study concluded that the mitochondrial motifs of Cumans from Csengele show the genetic admixtures with other populations rather than the ultimate genetic origins of the founders of Cuman culture. So the maternal lineages of a large part of the group would reflect the maternal lineage of those populations that had geographic connection with the Cumans during their migrations. Nevertheless, the Asian mitochondrial haplotype in Cu26 may still reflect the origins of the Cumans of Csengele. Considering genetic distances, Cumans ( of Csengele) are nearest to the Finnish, Komi and Turkish populations.[72] The Cumans appear in Rus culture in The Tale of Igor's Campaign and are the Rus' military enemies in Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor, which features a set of Polovtsian Dances. The name Cuman is the name of several villages in Turkey, such as Kumanlar, including the Black Sea region.

Gallery[edit]

  • "Baba" 11th century, Luhansk
  • "Baba" 11th century, Luhansk
  • "Baba" 11th century, Luhansk
  • "Baba" 11th century, Luhansk
  • "Baba" 11th century, Luhansk
  • Cuman, 12th century Hermitage Museum
  • "Baba" at the Open Air Museum, Prelesne
  • Chormukhinsk Madonna, Luhansk
  • Cuman Stone statue "baba"
  • Cuman Stone statue "baba"
  • Ladislas IV of Hungary, 14th century
  • Ladislaus IV of Hungary (the Cuman)
  • Elizabeth the Cuman mediaeval seal
  • Kunkereszt ("Cuman cross") in Belez, periphery of Magyarcsanád, Hungary
  • Cuman stone statues "babas"
  • Cuman stone statue in Luhansk, Ukraine
  • Cuman prairie art, as exhibited in Dnipropetrovsk
  • Cumans in Hungary
  • Cuman burial mound in Hungary

Famous or notable Cumans, or people of Cuman descent, in history[edit]

  • Qutb-ud-din Aibak - founder of the Delhi sultanate
  • Khan Boniak (Maniak). Boniak was a khan during the time of Sharukan. He was called "the Mangy" by Russians. He led invasions, together with Togortac, on Kyivan Rus’ in 1096, 1097, 1105, and 1107. In 1096 Boniak attacked Kyiv, burned down the princely palace in Berestove, and plundered the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. In 1107 he was defeated by the Kyivan Rus’ princes' forces near Lubny. led the invasions, together with Togortac, on Kievan Rus'. In 1096 Boniak attacked Kiev, plundered the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, and burned down the prince's palace in Berestovo. He was defeated in 1107 by the princes of Rus's forces, near Lubni. He is mentioned for the last time in the Primary Chronicle in 1167, when he was defeated by Prince Oleg I of Chernigov. Boniak is often represented as a sorcerer in Rus' folklore[73]
  • Khan Köten (or Sutoiovych/Kuthen/Kotian), Mstyslav Mstyslavych's father-in-law. Köten was allegedly of the Terteroba clan. He participated in the power struggles between the princes of Kyivan Rus' in 1202, 1225 and 1228. After the defeat by the Mongols in 1222, he convinced the princes of Kyivan Rus' to forge an alliance against the Mongols. He fought in the war against the Mongols (allied with the Russians) in the Battle of Kalka River, where the Rus'-Cuman alliance was defeated. In 1238 he was again defeated by Batu Khan on the Astrakhan steppes.[74] Afterwards, Koten led 40,000 "huts" (families) (around 70 - 80,000 people) to Hungary (to escape from the Mongols), where he was later assassinated by the Hungarian and Germans in concert. The Cumans then left Hungary, pillaging along the way and emigrated to the Second Bulgarian Empire. Some of the Cumans were later called back to Hungary. He was possibly the most notable of Cumans (together with Baibars).
  • Khan Konchak (Konchek, Kumcheg - meaning 'trousers'), daughter married Igor's son, prince Vladimir III Igorevich of Putivl; was involved in wars and raids with the Russians (Prince Igor), along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov)
  • Khan Kobiak/Kobek, participated with Khan Konchak in an assault on Kyivan Rus’. Kobiak, Khan Konchak and other notable were routed and captured on the Khorol River in 1183/1184 [10]
  • Konchakovna (also known as Svoboda), daughter of Khan Konchek, married prince Vladimir III Igorevich of Putivl (son of Igor Svyatoslavich) in 1188[75]
  • IIziaslav Vladimirovich, son of prince Vladimir III Igorevich and Konchakovna (Svoboda). He was prince of Terebovl in 1210[75]
  • Isac and Daniel, sons of Kobiak[48]
  • Chilbuk: chieftain, took Igor of Novgorod-Seversk
  • Roman, son of Kza, chieftain, took Vsevolod of Kursk
  • Gzak/Gza/Kza/Koza, chieftain, father of Roman. Kza was a rival of Khan Konchek[10]
  • Kopti, chieftain, took Vladimir
  • Eldechyuk: chieftain, took Svyatoslav of Rilsk.
  • Kobyaka, chieftain, Igor once held an alliance with him
  • Toksobich, Kolobich, Etebich, Tetrobich - Russian versions of Cuman-Kipchak chieftains captured in battle, may be any of the above forementioned or other individuals entirely. The Cuman-Kipchak base name would most likely be the equivalent of - Toks(o), Kolo, Ete, Tetr(o)
  • Lavor/Ovlur/Vlur, possibly a kinsman, aided Igor in his escape
  • Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan, (Cuman-Kipchak base name Sharu/Sharo), chieftain, Konchak's grandfather who had been defeated by the Russians in a great battle on the Sula River in 1107. Called "the Old" by Russians
  • Khan Ayepa, son of Osen, father in law of Yuri Dolgorukiy (a Russian Rurikid prince and founder of Moscow). His daughter married Yuri Dolgorukiy. Khan Ayepa attacked Volga Bulgaria, perhaps due to an instigation of his son in law. The Bulgars in turn poisened Ayepa and the other princes, all of which died [76]
  • Prince Andrei I of Vladimir (Andrey Bogolyubsky). His mother was a Polovtsian/Cuman princess, khan Aepa's/Ayepa's daughter. He was known in the West as Scythian Caesar.
  • Toglyy: Cuman chieftain, time of Igor's imprisonment
  • Etrek/Otrok/Atraka, son of Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan. Otrok withdrew to the north Caucasian steppes due to the aggressive policies of Vladimir II Monomakh, grand prince of Kievan Rus'. Thereafter, in 1118, 40,000 Cuman troops under Otrok entered the service of the Georgian king David IV of Georgia, where they helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.[77]
  • Princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan Otrok of the Cumans. She married king David IV of Georgia in 1107. The marriege occurred years before the recruitment of around 40,000 Cuman-Kipchaks in the Georgian service. Gurandukht is a Persianate name; her original Turkic name is unknown as are the details of her life. The chronicler of king David IV praises Gurandukht's virtues and points out that the marriage helped David to secure the transfer of the Cuman-Kipchak families as allies of the Georgian crown, which in turn helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.
  • Vakhtang, born in 1118, son of King David IV of Georgia and the Cuman princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan Otrok. He was involved in an attempted coup against Demetrius I of Georgia, his brother and heir apparent. Vakhtang was captured, blinded and cast in prison where he apparently died shortly afterwards.
  • Sirchan, son of Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan
  • Eltut, brother to Konchak/Konchek, died when the Chernigovian-Cuman army was defeated in 1180
  • Sevinch, son of Khan Boniak/Maniak. Sevinch helped Yuri Dolgorukiy, grand prince of Kiev, in 1151, in his struggles against other princes in the south. According to the Rus sources, Sevinch expressed his desire to "plant his sword in the golden gate of Kiev as his illustrious father had done"[77]
  • Yurgi/Yuri, occidental name of Konchak/Konchek's son, died against the Mongols at the Battle of Kalka River. He and his father Khan Konchek tried to create a more cohesive force out of the many Cuman tribes. His Russian name may indicate his conversion to Christianity[10]
  • Sevench, son of Khan Bonyak/Bonyek/Bongek/Maniak
  • Asalup, his daughter married Igor's grandfather, Oleg
  • Girgen, his granddaughter was Igor's stepmother
  • Alpra/Al-bura, meaning "tawny-colored camel", supreme Cuman commander 1260s and 70s, Cuman leader who in 1273 King Charles of Sicily admonishes to stay loyal to the Hungarian crown after the death of King Stephen
  • Zeyhan/Zehanus, possible murderer of Ladislas IV
  • Arbuz, meaning "watermelon", possible murderer of Ladislas IV
  • Turtel/Tort-oyul, meaning "five sons" possible murderer of Ladislas IV
  • Menk/Manj, meaning "birthmark", led Bela IV's troops in 1264 against Bela's own son, Duke Stephen
  • Uzur: a member of the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement
  • Tolon/Tolun, meaning "full moon", a member of the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement
  • Kemenche, Hungary, meaning "little bow" possible murderer of Ladislas IV - assassination attempt on the king of Hungary; he was caught and executed
  • Kutlu Aslan (happy lion in Turkish) - involved in Kubasar's coup
  • Khan Kobyak/Kopyak/Köpek (dog in Turkish), one of the leaders of Crimea, involved in wars and raids with the Russians (Prince Igor), along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov)
  • Bartz, Hungary, leader of the Cumans
  • Membrok, Hungary, leader of the Cumans
  • Baytursun, Dagestan (uncertainty whether he was a Cuman or Kipchak or mixed)
  • Sevinc, Dagestan - went with 40,000 people, and the family of Artvin Trabzon, to the Byzantine Empire
  • Dobriç, Balkans, involved with establishment of Dubrovnik state in the Balkans
  • Tapar (worship in Turkish), southern modern day Russia "Direct translation from Turkish: the organization established the first Kipchak Kipchak lady. Longitudinal Elbörili belongs.
  • Şaraga (yellow hammer), Crimea - organized slave trade
  • Atraga, Dagestan, he led a tribe of 40000 to Georgia (could have been either a Kipchak or Cuman,or mixed, its uncertain)
  • Khan Bachman – Khan Bachman rallied the Cuman-Kipchak clans after a Mongol surprise attack in 1237 – they hid in the forests along the Dnieper River. Khan Bachman and his ally, the Alan leader Catchar and were eventually surrounded and captured by Budjek and Mangku/Mongke/Mangku Khan. Möngke Khan demanded he kneel before him. Khan Bachman refused and said “Do you think I am a camel?” Instead of asking for mercy, Bachman asked to die by Mongke’s o by Mongke/Mangku Khan own hand. Instead, Mongke had Budjek kill him - by cutting him in two, possibly as insult to injury. Khan Bachman’s death was a major blow to the Cuman-Kipchaks’ fate[78]
  • Sultan Baibars ("white bigcat-Siberian Tiger"/"leopard" in Turkic), fourth Sultan of Egypt from the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260,[2] which marked the second substantial defeat of the Mongol army, and is considered a turning point in history. He, along with Khan Koten, is the most famous Cuman.
  • Qutuz, Sultan of Egypt (Mamluke Empire); uncertainty whether he was a Cuman or Kipchak, or mixed
  • Elizabeth the Cuman
  • Ladislaus IV of Hungary
  • Mary of Hungary, Queen of Naples
  • Anna of Hungary (1260–1281), daughter of Elizabeth the Cuman
  • Elizabeth of Sicily, Queen of Hungary (Trouble with Cumans)
  • Elizabeth of Hungary, Queen of Serbia was one of the older children of King Stephen V of Hungary and his wife Elizabeth the Cuman
  • John Hunyadi had supposedly Tatar-Cuman origin, because his ancestors had Tartar-Cuman names
  • Michael IX Palaiologos (17 April 1277 – 12 October 1320), son of Anna of Hungary
  • Tsar Ivan Asen I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, established the Second Bulgarian Empire, with the help of his Cuman allies. First emperor of the new empire. The Asen dynasty is of Cuman origin,[citation needed] as well as the Terter dynasty/clan(which Kuthen was part of) and the Shishman dynasty
  • Boril of Bulgaria (Boril Kaliman), 1207–1218, Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from Cumans through the Asen dynasty of Bulgaria - of Cuman origin [35][45]
  • Tsar Teodor I Peter IV, 1186–1197, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Ivan Asen II of the Second Bulgarian Empire, 1218–1241 [35][45]
  • Tsar Ivan Stephen Shishman, of the Second Bulgarian Empire, son of Michael III Shishman (confusion whether the name Shishman is Cuman or Bulgarian in origin) [35][45]
  • Tsar Kaloyan, Second Bulgarian Empire, defeated the crusaders with the help of his Cumans, captured Baldwin[35][45]
  • Tsar Kaliman I of Bulgaria (Kaliman Asen) of the Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria, 1257–1277 [35][45]
  • Tsar Michael Asen I of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Michael Asen II of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Michael Asen III of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Michael Asen IV of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Kaliman Asen II of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Mitso Asen of the Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Ivan Asen III of the Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar George Terter I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman Terteroba clan [35][45]
  • Tsar George Terter II of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman Terteroba clan [35][45]
  • TsarMichael III Shishman of the Second Bulgarian Empire [35][45]
  • Tsar Theodore Svetoslav of the Second Bulgarian Empire, son of George Terter I
  • Tsar Ivan Alexander of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended of the Asen, Terter and Shishman dynasties. Was Tsar during the second golden age of Bulgaria (naphew of Michael Shishman)
  • Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria (b. 1350/1351, ruled 1371–1395 in Tarnovo)
  • Tsar Ivan Shishman of the Second Bulgarian Empire. fourth son of Ivan Alexander
  • Tsar Ivan Stratsimir of Bulgaria, Second Bulgarian Empire
  • Constantine II, 1396–1422, spent most of his life in exile. Most historians do not include him in the list of the Bulgarian monarchs
  • Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria (b. 1324/1325, ruled 1356–1397 in Vidin)
  • Belaur of Vidin, 1336 (Shishman dynasty)
  • Constantine II of Bulgaria (b. early 1370s, ruled 1397–1422 in Vidin and in exile)
  • Darman and Kudelin - Bulgarians of Cuman origin
  • Queen Dorothea of Bosnia
  • Shishman of Vidin
  • Lady Calinica
  • Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia
  • Thocomerius/Tihomir of Wallachia, father of Basarab. The Hungarian László Rásonyi derives the name from a well-known Cuman and Tatar name, Toq-tämir (‘hardened steel’)
  • Every ruler from the Wallachian House of Dănești, which was one of the two main lineages of the Wallachian noble family House of Basarab. They were descended from Dan I of Wallachia. The other lineage of the Basarabs is the House of Drăculești
  • The House of Drăculeşti were one of two major rival lines of Wallachian voivodes of the House of Basarab, the other being the Dăneşti. The following rulers of the House of Drăculeşti are of Cuman descent:
  • Vlad II Dracul 1436–1442, 1443–1447; son of Mircea cel Bătrân
  • Mircea II 1442; son of Vlad II
  • Vlad III Drăculea, "Vlad the Impaler", "Dracula" 1448, 1456–1462, 1476; son of Vlad II
  • Radu cel Frumos 1462–1473, 1474; son of Vlad II
  • Vlad Călugărul 1481, 1482–1495; son of Vlad II
  • Radu cel Mare 1495–1508; son of Vlad Călugărul
  • Mihnea cel Rău 1508–1509; son of Vlad III
  • Mircea III Dracul 1510; son of Mihnea cel Rău
  • Vlad cel Tânăr 1510–1512; son of Vlad Călugărul
  • Radu de la Afumaţi 1522–1523, 1524, 1524–1525, 1525–1529; son of Radu cel Mare
  • Radu Bădica 1523–1524; son of Radu cel Mare
  • Vlad Înecatul 1530–1532; son of Vlad cel Tânăr
  • Vlad Vintilă de la Slatina 1532–1534, 1534–1535; son of Radu cel Mare
  • Radu Paisie 1534, 1535–1545; son of Radu cel Mare
  • Mircea the Shepherd 1545–1552, 1553–1554, 1558–1559; son of Radu cel Mare
  • Pătraşcu cel Bun 1554–1558; son of Radu Paisie
  • Petru cel Tânăr 1559–1568; son of Mircea the Shepherd
  • Alexandru II Mircea 1568–1574, 1574–1577; son of Mircea III Dracul
  • Vintilă 1574; son of Pătraşcu cel Bun
  • Mihnea Turcitul 1577–1583, 1585–1591; son of Alexandru II Mircea
  • Petru Cercel 1583–1585; son of Pătraşcu cel Bun
  • Mihai Viteazul 1593–1600; possibly a son of Pătraşcu cel Bun

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ Loewenthal, Rudolf (1957). The Turkic Languages and Literatureeafvefefs of Central Asia: A Bibliography. Mouton. Retrieved 2008-03-23. 
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Cuman
  3. Jump up ^ Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, p. 563
  4. Jump up ^ Robert Lee Wolff: "The 'Second Bulgarian Empire.' Its Origin and History to 1204" Speculum, Volume 24, Issue 2 (April 1949), 179; "Thereafter, the influx of Pechenegs and Cumans turned Bulgaria into a battleground between Byzantium and these Turkish tribes..."
  5. Jump up ^ Bartusis, Mark C., The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204-1453, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), 26; "Around 1239 a large group of Cumans--a Turkic people of the steppes...."
  6. Jump up ^ Spinei, Victor (2009). The Romanians and the Turkic nomads north of the Danube Delta from the tenth to the mid-thirteenth century. Leiden: Brill. p. 116. 
  7. Jump up ^ "Cuman (people)". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2011-04-13. 
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5359391/Mitochondrial-DNA-of-ancient-Cumanians.html
  9. Jump up ^ István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press, pg 2
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 283
  11. Jump up ^ "Cumans". Encyclopediaofukraine.com. Retrieved 2011-04-13. 
  12. Jump up ^ Cumans and Tatars, pg 7
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press.
  14. Jump up ^ Spinei, The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads, p. 186.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press, p. 2
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Laurențiu Rădvan, At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities, BRILL, 2010, p. 129
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 279
  18. Jump up ^ For example: "Bazarab infidelis Olahus noster", "Basarab Olacus et filii eiusdem", "Bazarab filium Thocomerius scismaticum olachis nostris". http://www.arcanum.hu/mol/lpext.dll/fejer/152e/153a/1654?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0
  19. Jump up ^ Stephenson, Paul. Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204, Cambridge University Press, 2000
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l http://www.kipchak.com/Resources/AnIllustratedIntroductiontotheKipchakTurks.pdfhttp://www.kipchak.com/Resources/AnIllustratedIntroductiontotheKipchakTurks.pdf
  21. Jump up ^ . István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press, p. 6
  22. Jump up ^ The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 280, 511
  23. Jump up ^ David Nicolle, Angus McBride, Hungary and the fall of Eastern Europe 1000-1568, Osprey Publishing, 1988, p. 43
  24. Jump up ^ Ignjatić, Zdravko (2005). ESSE English-Serbian Serbian-English Dictionary and Grammar. Belgrade, Serbia: Institute for Foreign Languages. p. 1033. ISBN 867147122-5. 
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press, p. 6
  26. Jump up ^ Columbia Encyclopedia
  27. Jump up ^ The state at war in South Asia By Pradeep Barua, pg. 29
  28. Jump up ^ Bruce R. Gordon. "Nomads of the Steppe". My.raex.com. Retrieved 2012-01-20. 
  29. Jump up ^ “The” Other Europe in the Middle Ages: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans, edited by Florin Curta, Roman Kovalev, pg 9
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e http://encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkPath=pages\C\U\Cumans.htm
  31. Jump up ^ Matila Costiescu Ghyka, A documented chronology of Roumanian history from pre-historic times to the present day, B. H. Blackwell, ltd., 1941, p. 57
  32. Jump up ^ The meaning of "Vlach" in this case was the subject of fierce dispute in the late 19th and 20th centuries (see also Kaloyan of Bulgaria).
  33. Jump up ^ As mention in the Robert de Clari Chronicle
  34. Jump up ^ In his History of the Byzantine Empire (ISBN 978-0-299-80925-6, 1935), Russian historian A. A. Vasiliev concluded in this matter "The liberating movement of the second half of the 12th century in the Balkans was originated and vigorously prosecuted by the Wallachians, ancestors of the Romanians of today; it was joined by the Bulgarians, and to some extent by the Cumans from beyond the Danube "
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Bulgarian Folk Customs, Mercia MacDermott, pg 27
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b Horvath 2001
  37. Jump up ^ Szakaly 2000.
  38. Jump up ^ Meszaros 2000.
  39. Jump up ^ Lango 2000a.
  40. Jump up ^ Nóra Berend, At the gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims, and "pagans" in medieval Hungary, c. 1000 - c. 1300, Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 72
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b Linehan, Peter; Nelson, Janet Laughland, eds. (2003). The medieval world. Routledge Worlds Series 10. Routledge. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-415-30234-0. 
  42. Jump up ^ István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pg 81.
  43. Jump up ^ Byzantine Armies AD 1118-1461, p.23, Ian Heath, 1995, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85532-347-6
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b Martyn C. Rady, Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary, Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 90
  45. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005
  46. Jump up ^ Yule and Cordier 1916
  47. Jump up ^ http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5359391/Mitochondrial-DNA-of-ancient-Cumanians.html.
  48. ^ Jump up to: a b The Jews of Khazaria, Kevin Alan Brook, pg 181
  49. Jump up ^ Paloczi Horvath 1998, 2001.
  50. Jump up ^ http://doktori.bibl.u-szeged.hu/430/2/tz_en3387.pdf
  51. Jump up ^ István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  52. Jump up ^ David Nicholle, Attila and the Nomad Hordes. London: Osprey Publishing, 1990, 32, 52
  53. Jump up ^ Vladimir Nabokov, Song of Igor’s Campaign. New York: Vintage Books, 1960, 111
  54. ^ Jump up to: a b Peter Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1992, 277
  55. Jump up ^ As mentioned in Robert de Clari's chronicle.
  56. Jump up ^ Ovidiu Pecican Troia Venetia Roma
  57. Jump up ^ István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005, 55-56.
  58. ^ Jump up to: a b http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CU%5CCumans.htm
  59. Jump up ^ Peter B.Golden, “Cumanica IV: The Qipchaq Tribes, “ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi, v. IX (1997), 107
  60. Jump up ^ István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press, p. 28
  61. Jump up ^ The Devil’s Horsemen, James Chambers, New York: Atheneum, 1979
  62. Jump up ^ David Nicholle, Attila and the Nomad Hordes. London: Osprey Publishing, 1990, 52
  63. Jump up ^ Horváth (1989), p. 48.
  64. Jump up ^ Bonyak at the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
  65. Jump up ^ The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 281
  66. Jump up ^ Spinei, Victor. The Cuman Bishopric - Genesis and Evolution. in The Other Europe: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans. Edited by Florin Curta and Roman Kovalev. Brill Publishing. 2008. p. 64
  67. ^ Jump up to: a b c Language Shift among the Moldavian Csángós, Vilmos Tánczos, pg 156|http://books.google.co.za/books?id=o_m4R6DM87kC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=cuman+culture&source=bl&ots=lwFy6ZZfUf&sig=reHDhTSOjTpNAPHx6kjan5WGodo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=a5DWUq_ZLMmf7ga854CYCA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=cuman%20culture&f=false
  68. Jump up ^ Andrew Bell-Fialkoff, The Role of Migration in the History of the Eurasian Steppe: Sedentary Civilization vs. 'Barbarian' and Nomad, Palgrave Macmillan, 2000, p. 247
  69. Jump up ^ Horvath 1978; Kovacs 1971; Sandor 1959.
  70. Jump up ^ "Mitochondrial DNA of ancient Cumanians: culturally Asian steppe nomadic immigrants with substantially more western Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages". Hum. Biol. 77 (5): 639–62. October 2005. PMID 16596944. 
  71. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mitochondrial DNA of Ancient Cumanians: Culturally Asian Steppe Nomadic Immigrants with Substantially More Western Eurasian Mitochondrial DNA Lineages". Human Biology: pp. 639–662. 2005. http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/human_biology/v077/77.5szabo.html.
  72. Jump up ^ [doktori.bibl.u-szeged.hu/430/2/tz_en3387.pdf]
  73. Jump up ^ http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages/C/U/Cumans.htm
  74. Jump up ^ http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CO%5CKotian.htm
  75. ^ Jump up to: a b http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/RUSSIA,%20Rurik.htm#RostislavMikhailovichdied1263B
  76. Jump up ^ The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 240
  77. ^ Jump up to: a b The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1, Denis Sinor, pg 282
  78. Jump up ^ Warriors Of The Steppe: Military History Of Central Asia, 500 Bc To 1700 Ad, Erik Hildinger, pg 134

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]


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