The Turkic world - What the ancient Turks looked like. Turkic group of languages: peoples, classification, distribution and interesting facts. What does Turkic origin mean?

Myths are created to keep people in line. When they can be quietly introduced into the consciousness of the masses, as the cultural-information apparatus does, myths acquire enormous power, because most people are unaware of the manipulation taking place.<...>Content and form of the media<...>rely entirely on manipulation. When used successfully, and this is undoubtedly the case, they inevitably lead to the passivity of the individual, to a state of inertia that prevents action. It is precisely this state of the individual that the media and the entire system as a whole strive to achieve, since passivity guarantees the preservation of the status quo. (G. Schiller. Manipulators of consciousness.)

When I was little and the trees were big, I really liked magicians, especially the elder Hakobyan. He took the top hat off his head, showed it to the public - it was empty, then made several passes with his hands and pulled out a huge rabbit by the ears. This action brought me into indescribable delight. My father tried to explain the mechanism of the trick, to which I quite logically stated - oh, try it yourself... Now I have been a “grandfather” for five years, two grandchildren, but to this day I never cease to be amazed at the “tricks” of the adherents of the “true” story - the rabbit no - there is a rabbit...

Let’s try to understand the terms “Turks”, “Slavs”, “Russ”.

About the Russians.

If you stick to the “official” version, it’s more or less clear only with the Russians. Rus - Wends (Venet), habitats - the Black Sea region, Pomerania, the Baltic and, most likely, part of the Russian north, which, in general, correlates well with Snorri Sturluson’s statement that the clan of Odin migrated to Scandinavia from the shores of the Black Sea, where , in turn, came from Altai. Well, I have written more than once in my articles who the indigenous people of this region were. Back in 2009, a group of French geneticists (Keyser and others), using DNA material extracted from the bone remains of Andronovo, Karasuk, Tagar and Tashtyk people, studied the genes responsible for eye and hair pigmentation. It turned out that the majority, 65%, had blue (green) eyes, and 67% had blond (brown) hair. Add here the inhabitants of Tarim - only one conclusion suggests itself - it is the Caucasoid population of Southern Siberia, Kazakhstan and the northern part of China that is indigenous to those places.

In 2003, a joint Russian-German expedition carried out excavations on the territory of the Turano-Uyuk Basin, located at the spurs of the Western Sayans (Arzhaan-2 mound). The result was the discovery of Scythian burials of the 8th-6th centuries BC. e. From an interview with the scientific leader of the expedition, Konstantin Chugunov: “Current excavations in Tuva, where monuments from the turn of the 8th-7th centuries BC were discovered, unexpectedly confirm the correctness of Herodotus’ assumptions, since they date back to a time when there were no Scythians in the Black Sea region, again according to archaeological data. The finds in the Arzhaan-2 mound have no analogues in archeology. All examples of the Scythian triad are so highly developed that initially we could not even imagine that they were created earlier than in the 6th century BC. This overturns the idea of ​​Asian nomadic culture: the origin and development of Scythian art, which surpasses in level of development even the contemporary art of archaic Greece... The antiquity of the finds suggests that the Scythian tribes came to the Black Sea region from Central Asia.”

We can say with confidence: the Rus are the same Turks or Scythians (R1a) - call it what you want, only already “diluted” N1c1. From their homeland in Siberia and Altai, the Turks settled throughout Asia; some migrate to the Black Sea region, and from there disperse throughout Europe.

There they mix with local tribes*, primarily with N1c1. Traditionally, these people are called Finns (Finno-Ugrians). Without a doubt, the Finns are their descendants, but there are still a bunch of ethnic groups, the ancestor of which is also this people.

*Note. “The migrations were not organized and massive, but consisted of individual clans or, most likely, groups of warriors. At first they came to their neighbors as mercenaries and only later seized power. The Indo-Europeans spoke practically the same language, but in new places they took wives from local ones, and, over several generations, as a result of mixing, new daughter languages ​​appeared, the basis of which was Indo-European. By the beginning of the first millennium BC. most of Eurasia was already Indo-European..." (Christopher Beckwith, "Empieres Of The Silk Road")

Let's say the Rurikovichs (or those who call themselves them) have haplogroup N1c1. It was not by chance that I added the phrase “those who call themselves them”; there is no data confirming that Rurik had N1c1, accordingly we can either believe it or not believe it. But that’s not even the point, let’s see how this haplogroup is distributed: Yakuts and Eastern Buryats have 80-90%, Chukchi about 50%, Khanty, Mansi, Nenets up to 40%, Udmurts up to 50%, Mari 30% , among the Finns up to 70%, among the Sami from 40 to 60%, among the Baltic peoples (Estonians, Lithuanians, Latvians) from 30 to 40%, among the Russians: Arkhangelsk region - from 35 to 45%; Vologda region - from 30 to 35%.

The ancestral home of N1c1 is presumably China, the territory of modern Yunnan province. You have to understand that the Chinese themselves are not the indigenous population there; they came from somewhere in the west in a very small group. The legends that have reached us speak of “a thousand families.” China was once inhabited by completely different peoples.

For what reason N1c1 left their homeland, it is impossible to say today; only one thing is clear, unlike R1a, they explored the north of Eurasia. From this we can assume - their heyday occurred in the pre-glacial period * - no one in their right mind and sober memory would climb into the ice. Apparently the legends about Arctida, Hyperborea, the island of Thule, which Pytheas describes in his essay “On the Ocean,” have a very real basis. The malicious reader probably has a question in mind: where are the remnants of the same Hyperborea? Why weren't they found?

Only the late Quaternary Lake Mansi in the south of Western Siberia had a size of more than 600 thousand km². The area of ​​all the glacial-dammed lakes of the plains and plateaus of Northern Asia was at least 3 million km². Now close your eyes for a second and imagine how one thing or another, periodically, broke through the dam and, at the speed of a Formula 1 sports car, cubic kilometers of water rushed into the Arctic Ocean. What could be left there?

*Note. Previously, it was believed that man appeared in the Arctic a maximum of 10,000 years ago; a significant part of scientists did not even agree with this figure. Today, discoveries are known that allow us to push back the date to 45,000 years: “At the Bunge-Toll/1885 site, a wolf’s humerus was found with a hole left by a sharp object, after which the animal lived for several more months (the wound healed). Direct dating of the wolf's shoulder with a hole showed an age of about 45-47 thousand years ago, and this figure can be accepted, since the animal continued to live after the wound. This is not postmortem, but intravital damage, and its mechanics exclude bites, gnawing and other events that do not require human participation. The one who crippled the wolf from B-T/1885 hit him with a spear, and this was 45,000 BP. The same age is given by dating the remains of a mammoth killed by man from Sopochnaya Karga, while the age of the mammoth’s remains is controlled by the age of the overlying sediments (according to the section of the coastal cliff where it was found), that is, the datings lying higher are naturally younger than the remains of the killed mammoth.” (Pitulko, Tikhonov, Pavlova, Nikolskiy, Kuper, Polozov, “Early human presence in the Arctic: evidence from 45,000-year-old mammoth remains,” Science, 2016). Even 8500-9000 years ago in the Eastern Siberian Arctic (New Siberian Islands and the north of the Yana-Indigirka Lowland) it was significantly warmer than now - the remains of birches are found up to the latitude of the modern ocean coast.

Let's turn to Masudi: “In the upper reaches of the Khazar river there is a mouth connecting with the Naitas Sea (Black Sea), which is the Russian Sea; no one except them (Rusov) swims on it, and they live on one of its banks. They form a great people, not subject to either the king or the law...”

“Before the year 300 (912 AD) it happened that ships carrying thousands of people came to Andalusia by sea and attacked the coastal countries. The inhabitants of Andalus thought that these were pagan peoples who showed themselves to them in this sea every 200 years, and that they came to their country through the arm flowing from the Ukiyanus Sea, but not through the arm on which the copper lighthouses (Gibraltar) were located. I think, and God knows better, that the arm is connected to the sea of ​​Maiotas and Naitas and that these people are the Rus, whom we spoke about above in this book; for no one but them sails on this sea, which is connected with the sea of ​​Ukiyanus.”

Strabo: “Up to the isthmus of the Tauride and Kartsinite Gulfs, the space is occupied by the Tauro-Scythians, and this entire country beyond the isthmus and to Borysthenes is called Lesser Scythia (parva Scythia).” Later, this part will be renamed Little Tartaria and under this name it will be found on maps of the 18th century.

I’ll also add on my own behalf - the Russes, in all likelihood, are also related tribes to the Etruscans (or the same tribes, simply called Etruscans by their neighbors). There is no direct evidence of this, but Lamansky came to exactly this conclusion. By the way, the English scientist Robert Brown noted the striking similarity of the Yenisei writing with the Etruscan one.

And yet, the Rus are openly hostile to the Slavs, or rather to those who were understood by them in the 9th-10th centuries.

I suggest using your own brain - Russian = Slav - why? The country in which we all live is called Russia (Rus). Note, not Slaveniya, not Slavia, or anything else similar, and we ourselves are Russians.

In fact, the answer is very simple, I don’t give it for only one reason - I don’t want to upset jingoists, “thinkers” and other less than adequate individuals. Some of them, like “stasiks” and “vadiks”, simply cannot be worried for medical reasons...

Now about the Slavs.

Although Niederle and a number of other researchers argued that the etymology of the word “Slav” is unknown, I beg to differ with him. Almost everywhere - in ancient Greek, Latin, modern Western languages ​​and even Arabic, the word Slav means only one thing - slave.

Anything can happen... Since childhood, the imperative “all nations are equal” has been hammered into our heads, only, now, our empirical experience confirms the opposite.

However, what about this: “Says the Jew Ibrahim ibn Yaqub: the lands of the Slavs extend from the Syrian (i.e., Mediterranean) Sea to the Ocean in the north. Peoples from the internal (northern) regions, however, took possession of part of them and live between them to this day. They form many different tribes. In the old days they were united by a king whom they called Maha. He was from a tribe called Velinbaba, and they treat this tribe with respect. Then discord began among them, their association disintegrated; their tribes formed parties, and each tribe had its own king come to power. Currently they have 4 kings - the king of the Bulgarians; Buislav, king of Prague, Bohemia and Krakow; Meshekko, King of the North; and Nakun (prince of the Obodrites) in the far west. The country of Nakuna borders on the west with Saxony and partly with the Mermans (Danes). As for the country of Buislava, it extends in length from the city of Prague all the way to the city of Krakow, a journey of 3 weeks and borders along this length with the country of the Turks. The city of Prague is built of stones and lime. It is the largest trading place in those lands. Russes and Slavs arrive there from the city of Krakow with goods. In the same way, Muslims, Jews and Turks come to them from the lands of the Turks with goods and current coin. They export slaves, tin and various furs. Their country is the best of the lands of the north and the richest in terms of food.

As for the country of Meshekko, it is the most extensive of their (Slavs) countries, rich in grain, meat, honey and fish. He levies taxes in minted coin that provide for the maintenance of his people. Every month everyone receives a certain amount from them (taxes). He has 3,000 men-at-arms, and these are such fighters that a hundred of them are worth 10 thousand others. He gives people clothes, horses, weapons and everything they need. If one of them has a child, then regardless of whether it is male or female, the king orders the contents to be allocated immediately. When the child reaches puberty, if he is male, the king finds him a wife and pays the girl's father a marriage gift. If it is a girl, the king gives her in marriage and gives a marriage gift to her father.<...>To the west of this city lives a Slavic tribe called the Ubaba people. This tribe lives in a swampy area northwest of the country of Meshekko. They have a large city near the Ocean, which has 12 gates and a port, and for it they use lifting blocks arranged in a row.” (Are we talking about Vineta?)

Or this, already Masudi: “The Slavs make up many tribes and numerous clans; this book of ours is not included in the description of their tribes and the distribution of their clans. We have already talked above about the king, to whom, in former times, the rest of their kings obeyed, that is, Majak, the king of Valinana, which tribe is one of the indigenous Slavic tribes, it is revered among their tribes and had superiority among them. Subsequently, discord arose between their tribes, their order was disrupted, they were divided into separate tribes and each tribe chose a king for itself; as we have already said of their kings, for reasons which are too long to describe. We have already outlined the totality of all this and many details in our two works Akhbar al-Zaman (chronicle of the times) and Ausat (middle book).”

Procopius of Caesarea writes about the Sklavins: “Their way of life is like that of the Massagetae... They retain Hunnic morals” (Procopius of Caesarea, “War with the Goths”)

According to al-Khwarizmi, the lands between the Rhine and the Vistula are also inhabited by the al-Sakaliba (Slavs). And similar quotes can be collected for more than one article.

Not quite on topic, but interesting: “Most of their tribes are pagans who burn their dead and worship them. They have many cities, also churches, where they hang bells, which they hit with a hammer, just as our Christians hit a board with a wooden mallet.” (Masudi) So where does bell ringing come from? Today, even small children know that there are bells in the church, or rather on the church. And the church is a Christian temple, and suddenly it turns out that Christians were knocking on a board with a wooden mallet. And it’s not at all kosher - pagans and bells on temples... How do you want to understand this?

All of the above somehow doesn’t really fit with the image of a slave people, don’t you think? So which Slavs have they dragged into the heap for us? And, in general, remember from Gorky: “Yes - was there a boy, maybe there wasn’t a boy?” Some modern researchers (Plamen Paskov and his group) even deny the very existence of the Slavs. In my opinion this is not true.

“A bunch of little” is a favorite technique of our “friends”. Do you think that if we mix a kilogram of honey with a spoonful of crap, we will get a little more than a kilogram of not very high-quality honey? Nope... We'll get a kilo of selected, first-class shit. This “poetic” image is our history today.

First, let's look at the word “Slavs” itself and the translation from the Arabic word صقالبة.

The chronicles mention certain “Slovenians”, “Slovenians”, but today no one can say for sure whether they are synonymous with the word “Slavs”, well, unless they are “thinking”. P.A. Safarik noted that the word “Slavs” first appeared in the grammar of Miletius of Smotris in 1619. And it can hardly be attributed to the self-name of the people.

It is even more confusing in the texts of Arab chroniclers. There they call anyone Slavs. Eg. Al-Kufi, in his “Book of Conquests” (“Kitab al-futuh”), speaking about the campaign of 737 against Khazaria, calls the Khazars Slavs, Masudi - Bulgars.

The translator of Ibn Fadlan, A.P. Kovalevsky, although he believed that the term “saklabi” in Arabic means Slavs, nevertheless wrote: “...since the authors did not have a very good understanding of ethnic characteristics, much less the languages ​​of the northern peoples, this term often denoted all sorts of northern peoples, the Germans on the Rhine, the Finns, and the Bulgars. Thus, in each individual case it is necessary to decide the question of what content the given author put into this word.”

A.N. Sherbak emphasized that among eastern historians and geographers, the specified ethnonym could designate a person not only of Slavic origin, but could be applied in general to light-skinned people, i.e. to the Turks, Finns, Germans. (A.M. Shcherbak, “Oguz-name. Muhabbat-name”)

I undertake to assert that there were no “great” Slavs. Let me clarify, not the Slavs as such, but the “great” Slavs.

Can the “Slavs” be considered one of the ancestors of the Russian people? Of course, it’s possible, slaves also gave birth. If someone believes that there was never slavery in Rus', gentlemen, read “Russian Truth” - there were slaves, and there was also a division of society into castes.

So who are the Slavs really, let’s try to figure it out:

1. They were very similar to both the Rus and the Turks.

2. They lived among these two peoples, side by side with them.

3. It is likely that they spoke similar languages.

4. And despite all this, the Slavs were not recognized as equal by either one or the other.

So who? Most likely R1b ​​are the ancestors of modern Europeans.

Have you ever wondered where the eternal confrontation between Russia and the West began? Berdyaev in his book “The Fate of Russia” wrote: “The problem of East and West has essentially always been the main theme of world history, its axis.”

And this is Danilevsky: "The cause of the phenomenon lies<…>in the unexplored depths of those tribal sympathies and antipathies that constitute, as it were, the historical instinct of peoples, leading them (in addition to, although not against their will and consciousness) to a goal unknown to them... It is this unconscious feeling, this historical instinct that makes Europe does not like Russia... In a word, a satisfactory explanation<…>This public hostility can only be found in the fact that Europe recognizes Russia<…>something alien to oneself<…>and hostile. To the impartial observer this is an irrefutable fact.” (N.Ya. Danilevsky, “Russia and Europe”) He came almost close to realizing the fact why the West hates Russia so much. There was only one small step left, what stopped him is unclear.

The Rus and Turks literally filled the entire world of that time with slaves, including the Slavs; sometimes, after successful campaigns, the prices for slaves fell so low that some had to simply be killed. So why does Europe love us?

Now remember the spoonful of crap I mentioned above. Our “friends” - this is their job, did not fail to take advantage of the confusion, mixed everything into a pile - Russians, Turks, Slavs. For what? Why does Russia need to recognize itself as a Great Country? Moreover, why should the Russians, the same Tatars, be considered their brothers, and vice versa?

A.M. Akhunov in his work “Islamization of the Volga-Kama Region” in the chapter on al-Sakaliba writes: “There is still no final decision on how to translate this term into Russian, as “Slavs”, or in some other way? The fact is that Russian orientalists want to see only Slavs in the person of Sakaliba and do not accept other options. Tatar scholars assert no less confidently that the correct translation is “Kypchaks” or “Turks.”

Why do “Russian orientalists” need this? This is perhaps worth dwelling on in more detail.

“Russian” history is no longer Russian. Starting from the times of Peter the Great, foreigners in Rus' felt much at ease. Bülfinger, on November 10, 1725, in his letter to Bayer, reports: “Our regulations and privileges have already been settled.<…>According to the regulations, we have a permanent and quite rich fund of Livland customs duties. He is at our complete disposal, so we can calculate our salary in advance.<…>We have an excellent library, a rich chamber of naturalists, a mintskabinet, our own printing house with an engraving and everything that is necessary for the development of science.<…>Correspondence on scientific matters is completely free.<…>I am convinced that no academy or university has such privileges and such support.”

And Bayer himself: “When I arrived in St. Petersburg, I almost believed that I had entered another world.<…>I didn't have to take care of household utensils, tables, beds, chairs, etc. – The Academy provides all this to everyone. I was given provisions for four weeks - everything I wanted. My kitchen has never been so richly stocked, and I would need a fair amount of company to drink so much wine in four weeks.<…>To give you an idea of ​​the Library, I will only say the following: Mr. Duvernoy assured me that there was not a book, even a rare one, on mathematics, medicine and physics that he would have wanted to see and did not find here. The same thing happened to me regarding books on antiquities. I was getting everything I could possibly need."

We Russians are a hospitable people, but not to the same extent... And where are those “books on antiquities” today? Please note that the vast majority of Germans came to St. Petersburg as young, aspiring scientists, with virtually no merit or experience. I no longer believe in fairy tales about enlightened Europe and unwashed Russia. And suddenly such a sinecure for the ordinary “finches”: “Generally speaking, Russia is a big world, and St. Petersburg is a small world. Happy is the young man who, as a learned traveler, begins his learned years in this great and small world. I came, I saw, and I was surprised, and yet I did not come from the village.” (Schlözer)

But our own Russian scientists were in much worse conditions. Your deeds are wonderful, Lord... Or we don’t know something, and something so important that the history of the 17th-18th centuries seems to today’s researcher to be a continuous tangle of illogical actions, incomprehensible actions, strange desires...

If in Soviet historical literature of the 1940−1950s. While the historiographical significance of the works of foreign members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was generally denied, then with the death of Stalin, the assessments changed to the opposite, and by the 70s they were writing about their significant contribution to the formation of Russian historical science. There is nothing surprising here; the collapse of the USSR began to be prepared already under Khrushchev.

The “virus” of the eternal struggle between Rus' and the Steppe and the Tatar-Mongol yoke acts unnoticed, slowly destroying the consciousness of people.”Today it is destroying...

« Russia cannot be understood apart from the history of the tribes and peoples who have lived for thousands of years on the territory of the Great Steppe and the adjacent forest and mountain ranges from the Pacific Ocean to the Carpathians.”

At different times, different people came to the same conclusion. Read the same Prince Trubetskoy, and many others: “Some readers of my books are outraged by the description of the Caucasoid appearance of my heroes - the Huns, Huns and ancient Turks of the center of Asia one and a half to two thousand years ago. And I understand them. After all, they had not been to the archaeological excavations of the Sayans and Altai, they had not seen mummies from the Pazyrk, Ukok, Arzhaan burial mounds, clothing and artifacts that testify to the highest culture of their owners. In addition, they live in a world of false historical ideas about ancient Eurasia instilled by Eurocentric ideology. And in them, everything that lies east of the Volga must be Mongolian... They don’t even think about the fact that even today there are so many poor Mongols that it is completely understandable why they could not leave traces of their presence in Europe.” (Sabit Akhmatnurov)

About the Turks.

About modern Turks, the same Wikipedia says something very vague: “Turks are an ethno-linguistic community of peoples speaking Turkic languages.” But she is much eloquent about the “ancient” Turks: “The ancient Turks are the hegemonic tribe of the Turkic Kaganate, led by the Ashina clan. In Russian-language historiography, the term Turkyuts (from Turkic - Turk and Mongolian -Yut - Mongolian plural suffix), proposed by L.N. Gumilyov, is often used to designate them. By physical type, the ancient Türks (Türkuts) were Mongoloids.”

Well, okay, let them be Mongoloids, but what about the Azerbaijanis and Turks - a typical “Mediterranean” subrace. What about the Uyghurs? Even today, a considerable part of them can be attributed to the Central European subrace. If anyone doesn’t understand, all three nations according to today’s terminology are Turks.

The picture below shows Chinese Uyghurs. If the girl on the left already clearly has Asian features in her appearance, then you can judge the appearance of the second one for yourself. (photo from uyghurtoday.com) Look at the correct facial features. Today, even among Russians, you don’t often see something like this.

Especially for skeptics! There is no one who has not heard anything about the Tarim mummies. So, the place where the mummies were found is the Xinjiang Uyghur National District of China - and in the photo are their direct descendants.

Distribution of haplogroups among Uyghurs.

Please note that R1a predominates, having the Asian marker Z93 (14%). Compare with the percentage of haplogroup C, also shown in the diagram. As you can see, C3, typical of the Mongols, is completely absent.

Small addition!

You must understand that haplogroup C is not purely Mongolian - it is one of the oldest and most widespread haplogroups, it is even found among the Amazon Indians. C today reaches high concentrations not only in Mongolia, but also among the Buryats, Kalmyks, Hazaras, Kazakh-Argyns, Australian aborigines, Polynesians, and Micronesians. The Mongols are just a special case.

If we talk about paleogenetics, the range is even wider - Russia (Kostenki, Sungir, Andronovo culture), Austria, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, China.

Let me explain for those who believe that haplogroup and nationality are one and the same. Y-DNA does not carry any genetic information. Hence the sometimes perplexed questions - I, a Russian, what do I have in common with a Tajik? Nothing but common ancestors. All genetic information (eye color, hair, etc.) is located in autosomes - the first 22 pairs of chromosomes. Haplogroups are just markers by which one can judge a person’s ancestors.

In the 6th century, intensive negotiations began between Byzantium and the state today known as the Turkic Khaganate. History has not even preserved the name of this country for us. The question is, why? After all, the names of more ancient state formations have reached us.

Kaganate just meant a form of government (the state was ruled by a khaan elected by the people, kaan in another transcription), and not the name of the country. Today, instead of the word “America,” we do not use the word “Democracy.” Although such a name suits no one but her (just kidding). The term “state” in relation to the Turks is more appropriate “Il” or “El”, but not the Kaganate.

The reason for the negotiations was silk, or rather its trade. Residents of Sogdiana (between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers) decided to sell their silk in Persia. I didn’t make a mistake when I wrote “my own”. There is evidence that in the Zarafshan Valley (the territory of present-day Uzbekistan), at that time, they already knew how to both raise silkworms and produce fabric from it no worse than Chinese, but this is a topic for another article.

And it is not at all a fact that the birthplace of silk is China and not Sogdiana. Chinese history, as we know it, was 70% written by the Jesuits in the 17th-18th centuries*, the remaining thirty were “added” by the Chinese themselves. “Editing” was especially intense during the time of Mao Zedong, he was still an entertainer. He even has monkeys, from which the Chinese descended. were their own, special.

*Note. Just a small part of what the Jesuits did: Adam Schall von Belle took part in the creation of the Chongzhen calendar. Later he served as director of the Imperial Observatory and the Tribunal of Mathematics, and was actually involved in Chinese chronology. Martino Martini is known as the author of works on Chinese history and the compiler of the New Atlas of China. An indispensable participant in all Chinese-Russian negotiations during the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 was the Jesuit Parreni. The result of Gerbillon's activities was the so-called imperial edict of toleration of 1692, which allowed the Chinese to accept Christianity. Emperor Qianlong's scientific mentor was Jean-Joseph-Marie Amiot. Jesuits led by Regis in the 18th century participated in the compilation of a large map of the Chinese Empire, published in 1719. In the 17th and 18th centuries, missionaries translated 67 European books into Chinese and published them in Beijing. They introduced the Chinese to European musical notation, European military science, the construction of mechanical watches and the technology of manufacturing modern firearms.

The Great Silk Road was controlled by the Venetians and Genoese, the same “black aristocracy” (Italian aristocrazìa nera *) - Aldobrandini, Borgia, Boncompagni, Borghese, Barberini, Della Rovere (Lante), Crescentia, Colonna, Caetani, Chigi, Ludovisi, Massimo, Ruspoli, Rospigliosi, Orsini, Odescalchi, Pallavicino, Piccolomini, Pamphili, Pignatelli, Pacelli, Pignatelli, Pacelli, Torlonia, Theophylacti. And don't let the Italian surnames fool you. Taking the names of the people among whom you live is a long-standing tradition of initiates**. This aristocrazìa nera actually rules the Vatican and, accordingly, the entire Western world, and it was on their orders that later Jewish merchants took all the gold out of Byzantium, as a result of which the country's economy collapsed and the empire fell, conquered by the Turks***.

Notes

*It is the members of the aristocrazìa nera who are the true “masters of the world”, and not some Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Kuhns. From Egypt, foreseeing its imminent fall, they move to England. There, quickly realizing what “good things” the teachings of the crucified man bring with them, most of them move to the Vatican. My dears, read the Masonic literature of the 18th-19th centuries, everything is very frank there - today they are “encrypted”.

** The Jews simply adopted this, and much more, from the arsenal of their masters.

*** If anyone doesn’t know, almost the entire gold reserve was also taken out of the USSR before its end.

It is worth adding here that the Hephthalite tribes, also called the White Huns, Chionite Huns, and to whom Central Asia (Sogdiana, Bactria), Afghanistan and northern India (Gandhara) belonged, were completely conquered by the Ashina Turks by that time (Bactria passed to the Persians). The question arose - Persia does not want to buy Turkic silk - we will trade with Byzantium, there is no less demand for it there.

Silk meant the same thing to the world economy at that time as oil does today. One can imagine what kind of pressure was put on Persia in order to force it to abandon trade with the Turks. In general, a separate article is worth writing about the secret diplomacy of that time, but today we are interested in the negotiations, or rather the journey of Zimarch, sent by Emperor Justin as an ambassador to the Turks in Altai.

Information about the embassy has reached us in the works of several authors; I will use the description of Menander the Protector. This will allow us to get closer to the answer - who the Turks really were - Mongoloids or Caucasians: “From the Turks, who in ancient times were called Saks, an embassy arrived to Justin for peace. Basileus also decided at the council to send an embassy to the Turks, and a certain Zemarkh from Cilicia, who at that time was the strategist of the eastern cities, ordered to equip himself for this embassy.”

How confident do you have to be that “people are grabbing everything” presented to them on a platter called “official history” in order to lie about the Mongoloid nature of the Turks? Let's look at the same Wikipedia: “Saki (ancient Persian Sakā, ancient Greek Σάκαι, lat. Sacae) is the collective name of a group of Iranian-speaking nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of the 1st millennium BC. e. - first centuries AD e. in ancient sources. The name goes back to the Scythian word saka - deer (cf. Ossetian sag "deer). Both ancient authors and modern researchers consider the Sakas, along with the Massagetae, to be the eastern branches of the Scythian peoples. Initially, the Sakas are apparently identical to the Avestan Turs; in Pahlavi sources under "Turkic tribes are already understood as Turs. In Achaemenid inscriptions, all Scythians are called "Sakas."

Few people know about this: the totem animal of the Don and Kuban Cossacks is the white deer. Remember Strabo's parva Scythia, later called Little Tartaria by cartographers.

I return again to the theme of bell ringing. This passage describes the purification ritual performed by the Turks for Zemarkh: “They dried them (the embassy’s belongings) on a fire made from young sprouts of incense wood, whispering some barbaric words in the Scythian language, ringing bells and beating tambourines...” You still continue to believe that the use of bell ringing is the prerogative of the Christian religion - then we are coming to you... (Pardon! I apologize for the tomfoolery... I couldn’t resist...)

Now about the technological level of the Turks: “The next day they were invited to another room where there were wooden columns covered with gold, as well as a golden bed held by four golden peacocks. In the middle of the room were placed many carts, in which there were many silver things, disks and something made of reeds. Also numerous images of quadrupeds made of silver, none of them is inferior, in our opinion, to those we have." (emphasis mine)

Especially for those who consider Tartaria to be fake.

A little about the territory of the Turkic state. Professor Christopher Beckwith in his book “Empieres Of The Silk Road” notes that Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Urartu, from the 7th to the beginning of the 6th century BC. submitted to the Turks. In the ruins of the walls of the cities of these countries, bronze arrowheads of the Scythian type are still found today - the result of invasions and sieges. From about 553, it occupied the territory from the Caucasus and the Sea of ​​Azov to the Pacific Ocean, in the area of ​​​​modern Vladivostok, and from the Great Wall of China * to the Vitim River in the north. Klapro argued that all of Central Asia was subject to the Turks. (Klaproth, “Tableaux historiques de L'Asie”, 1826)

One should not assume that this was something unshakable, the Turks, just like other peoples, quarreled among themselves, fought, dispersed in different directions, were conquered, but again and again, like the legendary Phoenix bird, they rose from the ashes - Russia for that a good example.

*Note. Do not confuse the real wall with the “remake” shown to tourists today: “... the magnificent and almost perfect structure that modern travelers see at a distance of almost fifty kilometers from the capital has little in common with the ancient Great Wall, built two thousand years ago. Most of the ancient wall is now in a dilapidated state" (Edward Parker, "Tatars. History")

Istarkhi called all fair-haired Turks Sakaliba. Constantine Porphyrogenitus and a number of eastern authors called the Hungarians Turks. In all early Arabic geographical works, the description of the peoples of Eastern Europe was located in the chapter “Turks”. The geographical school of al-Jahain, starting from Ibn Ruste and up to al-Marwazi, classified the Guz (Uighurs), Kirghiz, Karluks, Kimaks, Pechenegs, Khazars, Burtas, Bulgars, Magyars, Slavs, Russ as Turks.

By the way, the Turks of Ashina are considered by the Chinese to be “a branch of the house of the Huns.” Well, the Xiongnu (Huns) are 100% Mongols. Don't you know? Ay-yay-yay... If not, contact your comrades from Sanity, they will show you pictures of Mongols, I answer...

And one more addition.

You know, I was always surprised by the fact that people who don’t have something, attribute to themselves the possession this. A typical example is “Sanity”. What kind of, not even “sensible”, but simply “thought” can we talk about among “people”, whose brain apparatus is completely devoid of the mental functions themselves - only basic instincts and other people’s “attitudes”. There, I mean the upper part of their body, there is nothing else. Not to mention the presence of mentally ill people in their ranks... But, come on, they are “sane”, period. The Jews among them are a separate story, they are on their own minds, in their articles Russophobia is literally everywhere... (Whoever is in the subject, I think, guessed - we are talking about a “free artist” and some other “comrades”).

It was not by chance that I spoke about “other people’s attitudes” - all the reservations and omissions in my articles are not accidental. The private information that we have today allows us to classify a significant part of the members of “Sanity” into the so-called fourth group with a predominance of right-brain instinctive-animal states.

The question of the Turks would remain incomplete without evidence of who the Huns (Xiongnu) are: “In addition, the question of the origin of the Xiongnu is closely related to the question of what race and tribe the Huns, famous in the history of Europe, belonged to. This is evident from the fact that representatives of all theories consider it necessary to talk about this connection between the two peoples. The question of the origin of the Huns belongs to an area not only completely alien to Sinology, but even, to a certain extent, belonging to the history of Europe. So, if the history of the Xiongnu relates to a large extent to the history of China, and the Huns - to the history of Europe, then the question of the relationship of one people to another belongs to the history of Central Asia, as the country through which the Huns moved to the West (if these two peoples are identical) or where the Xiongnu and the Huns collided (if they are different)." (K.A. Foreigners)

I refer everyone who wants to get acquainted with this issue in more detail to the work of the Russian historian-orientalist, doctor of oriental studies K.A. Inostrantsev "The Xiongnu and the Huns, an analysis of theories about the origin of the Xiongnu people of the Chinese chronicles, the origin of the European Huns and the mutual relations of these two peoples." (L., 1926, Second updated edition.) I will only give his conclusions.

“The results of our research boil down to the following three conclusions:

I) The Xiongnu people, who wandered north of China and founded a powerful state, were formed from the strengthened Turkish family. A significant part of the subordinate tribes consisted, in all likelihood, also of Turks, although, both from the founding of the state and especially during its prosperity, it included various other tribes, such as Mongolian, Tungusian, Korean and Tibetan.

II) After the disintegration of the state into two parts (a disintegration caused more by political and cultural reasons than by ethnic differences - the southern Xiongnu were more subject to the influence of Chinese civilization, while the northern ones better preserved their tribal features), the northern Xiongnu could not maintain independence, and some of them moved to West. According to the historical news that has reached us, these evicted Xiongnu followed the usual path of nomads through Dzungaria and the Kyrgyz steppes and entered Eastern Europe in the second half of the 4th century AD.

III) In North-West Asia and Eastern Europe, the Xiongnu or Hunnu Turks encountered other tribes. First of all, the Finnish tribes stood in their way (it is now difficult to decide whether the Turks completely dissolved in the Finnish mass or, on the contrary, contributed to the conversion of the Finns into a nomadic, equestrian people). The further the Huns moved, the more the Turkish element among them thinned out, and other peoples, such as Slavic and Germanic, were mixed in. It is very likely that the subjects of Mo-de and Attila had very little in common. However, it seems to us beyond doubt that the invasion of the formidable conquerors of the 4th–5th centuries is connected and caused by the upheavals on the extreme eastern reaches of Asia.”

What did these same Xiongnu look like?

Below in the photo are fragments of a carpet (bedspread, mantle) found in one of the Xiongnu burials in Noin-Ula (31 mounds). The ceremony of (presumably) preparing the Soma drink is embroidered on the canvas. Pay attention to the faces. If the first two, most likely, can be attributed to the Mediterranean subrace, then the man on horseback... If you met a similar type today, you would say - a pure “hare.”

Of course, the carpet was declared imported. Well... It’s quite possible... Professor N.V. Polosmak believes: “The dilapidated fabric, found on the blue clay-covered floor of a Xiongnu burial chamber and brought back to life by the hands of restorers, has a long and complicated history. It was made in one place (in Syria or Palestine), embroidered in another (possibly in North-West India), and found in a third (in Mongolia).”

I can assume that the fabric of the carpet could well have been imported, but why was it embroidered in India? Didn’t you have your own embroiderers? Then what about this?

In the picture, anthropological material from the burial of the 20th Noin-Ula mound represents well-preserved enamel covers from seven lower permanent teeth: right and left canines, right and left first premolars, left first and second molars. On the first left premolar, facets of artificial wear were found - linear marks and shallow cavities. This type of deformation could have appeared during handicrafts - embroidery or carpet making, when threads (most likely woolen) were bitten by teeth.

The teeth belong to a 25-30 year old woman of Caucasian appearance, most likely from the coast of the Caspian Sea or the area between the Indus and Ganges rivers. The assumption that this is a slave does not stand up to criticism - the burial mounds of Noin-Ula, according to the archaeologists themselves, belong to the Xiongnu nobility. The main thing here is that the woman embroidered, and a lot, as evidenced by the marks on her teeth. So why was the found carpet rushed to be declared imported? Because those depicted on it do not fit into the official version, which says that the Xiongnu were Mongoloids?

For me, facts are of paramount importance - new ones appear and my opinion changes. In the official version of history, the opposite is true - there the facts are adjusted to the prevailing versions, and those that do not fit into the framework are simply discarded.

Let's turn again to Wikipedia: “The Indo-Scythian kingdom is an amorphous state in terms of borders, created in the Hellenistic era on the territory of Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat by the eastern branch of the nomadic Scythian tribe - the Sakas.” Our woman is from there, and this is not my opinion, but that of scientists (Doctor of Historical Sciences T.A. Chikisheva, IAET SB RAS). Now re-read the place above where I talk about the territory of the Turkic state. Having a huge country always means moving not only material resources, but also people. Is it surprising if a woman born in one place ends up married thousands of kilometers from her father’s home?

All the carpets from the Noin-Ula burial mounds were made in one place and at approximately the same time. Their similarity was also pointed out by S.I. Rudenko: “The technique of embroidering drapery rugs is characterized by applying multi-colored threads of weak twist to the fabric and securing them to its surface with very thin threads.” A similar technique of embroidery “in the attachment” has been found in burials since the 1st century. BC e. throughout the territory inhabited by the Turks (Central Russia, Western Siberia, Pamir, Afghanistan). So why was it necessary to declare them imported?

What about the Mongols, you ask?

In fact, the Mongols were conquered by the Turks back in the 6th century, and since then they have been part of the Turkic state? Could Genghis Khan, whom modern historians attribute to the Mongols*, become the head of the Turkic tribes? I do not exclude this possibility, remember Stalin. However, it never occurred to anyone to call Georgia the ruler of Russia. Can we talk about the Mongols as conquerors of the universe? Well... This doesn't even sound like a bad joke...

*Note. Arab sources, the same Rashid ad-Din (Rashid al-Tabib), call Genghis Khan a native of one of the Turkic tribes.

In modern history, the Turks have had the worst luck. Under Soviet rule, almost all references to this people were destroyed (Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee of 1944, which actually prohibited the study of the Golden Horde and the Tatar khanates), and Turkic scholars went together to “logging.” The authorities simply preferred to replace the Turks with Mongols. For what? This is the topic of another article, and it is closely related to the question of whether Stalin was in fact the sole ruler, or, albeit the main one, but still a member of the Politburo where issues were decided collegiately, by a simple majority.

A completely reasonable question: the conquest of Rus' by the Mongols to this day remains the only officially recognized version of history, so all scientists are wrong, am I the only one so smart?

The answer is no less reasonable: scientists simply serve the current government. And the authorities also played tricks that weren’t quite the same—Russia lived through most of the 20th century with the firm belief that communism, invented by a Jew, a descendant of famous rabbis, was our Russian bright future. I'm not even talking about Christianity. See with what zeal people, having betrayed their own gods, praise strangers. Continue further?

Above I talked about the mystery of the Turks, in fact there is no mystery - the Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns (Xiongnu), Turks, Tatars (Tartars) and about two hundred different names given by others - these are all the same people. As K.A. very wittily noted. Foreigners: “The Xiongnu clan defeated - everyone becomes the Xiongnu; the Xian-Bi clan defeated - everyone becomes Xian-Bi, etc. This results in frequent changes in names in the history of nomadic peoples.”

Unfortunately, there remains one more question that has not received any explanation today: why did the Caucasian population of Altai, Siberia, and Kazakhstan so quickly, within just one and a half thousand years, mutate into Mongoloids? What caused this? The proverbial fly in the ointment (Mongols)? Or some more serious and massive changes in the genetic apparatus caused by external factors?

Let's sum it up.

We can say with confidence that the Turkic state (states) was not mononational; in addition to the Turks themselves, there were a lot of other nationalities, and the national composition varied depending on geography. And the Turks themselves preferred to become related to the local nobility.

Neo-pagans today are talking - there were “ours” everywhere; The “thinking” ones, in turn, stomp their feet and squeal - there are only Mongols everywhere. Neither one nor the other is wrong, Russia is a perfect example of this - are there many Russians, say, in the north of Yakutia? But it's the same country.

Anthropologists V.P. Alekseev and I.I. Hoffman cites the results of studies of two Xiongnu burial grounds (Tebsh-Uul and Naima-Tolgoi): “The paleoanthropological material of the first, located in the south of Central Mongolia, is distinguished by clearly expressed Mongoloid features, the second – by Caucasoid ones. If, for clarity, we resort to a comparison of the modern population, then we can say that the people who left these monuments differed from each other, just as, say, modern Yakuts and Evenks differed from Georgians and Armenians.” You can compare modern Russians and Chukchi - the situation is similar. And what is the conclusion? Are these residents of different countries? Or are there no “national” cemeteries today?

The Turks themselves were Caucasians, in fact they were Turanian tribes, descendants of the legendary Aryans.

The Turks became the ancestors of not only the Russian people, but almost three dozen others.

Why were the Turks erased from our history? There are many reasons, but the main one is hatred. The confrontation between Russia and the West has much deeper roots than is commonly thought today...

P.S. An inquisitive reader will definitely ask the question:

- For what you it is necessary? For what at all rewrite history? What difference does it make how it actually happened? There is no need to change anything - let it be as it was, as we are all accustomed to it.

Without a doubt, the “ostrich pose” is very comfortable for the majority - I see nothing, hear nothing, know nothing... It is easier for a person who has cut himself off from reality to endure stress - but reality does not change from this. Psychologists even have the term “hostage effect” (“Stockholm syndrome”), which describes the defensive-unconscious traumatic connection that arises between the victim and the aggressor in the process of capture, abduction and/or use (or threat of use) of violence.

Mr. Khalezov, in one of his articles, noted: “Russia rose from its knees only to rise to the ground.” And while we will all be “Ivans who do not remember kinship,” we will again and again be put in the pose known to everyone from the Kama Sutra.

We are the heirs of the Great Steppe, and not some wanker Byzantium! Awareness of this fact is our only chance to return to its former greatness.

It was the Steppe that helped Muscovy survive the unequal struggle with Lithuania, Poland, Germans, Swedes, Estonians... Read Karamzin and Solovyov - they are much more frank, you just need to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. “... the Novgorodians drove the Muscovites beyond Shelon, but the western Tatar army suddenly attacked them and decided the matter in favor of the grand ducal troops.”- this is Solovyov about the battle of June 14, 1470, and this is Karamzin, speaking about the war of 1533 - 1586, describing the composition of the troops of the Principality of Moscow: “besides the Russians, the Circassian, Shevkal, Mordovian, Nogai princes, princes and Murzas of the ancient Golden Horde, Kazan, Astrakhan went day and night to Ilmen and Peypus.”

And it was the Steppe, call it Tartary or something else, that we betrayed, flattered by the promises of the lofty Western emissaries. So why cry now that we live poorly? Remember: “...And, throwing away the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out, went and hanged himself. The high priests, taking the pieces of silver, said: it is not permissible to put them in the church treasury, because this is the price of blood. Having held a meeting, they bought a potter's land with them for the burial of strangers; Therefore, that land is called the “land of blood” to this day.” (Matt., ch. 27)

I would like to end today’s article with the words of Prince Ukhtomsky: “... there is no other outcome for the All-Russian Power: either to become what it was called from time to time to be (a world power combining the West with the East), or ingloriously go down the path of fall, because Europe itself will ultimately suppress us externally Because of their superiority, and not ours, the awakened Asian peoples will be even more dangerous than Western foreigners.”

Actually, I considered the article finished, but a friend just re-read it and asked me to add it - literally one or two more minutes of your attention.

People often, both in comments and in private messages, draw attention to the discrepancy between my views and the official version of history, provide links to “leftist” sites like “Anthropogenesis”, and sometimes to the opinions of fairly well-known scientists. My dears, I am familiar with the academic version no worse, and perhaps better than many KONT visitors, so don’t bother yourself.

Once upon a time, not very long ago, people believed that the flat earth rests on three huge whales, which, in turn, swim in the endless ocean, and in general, we are the center of the Universe. I'm not kidding, I'm absolutely serious. I have just very briefly voiced a version of the world order, which quite recently, by historical standards, of course, was taught in the best European universities.

The key word here is “believed.” They didn’t check it, but they believed it. The small group that decided to “check” faced an unenviable fate. Do you think anything has changed since then? No, today they no longer make fires in squares, today they act much smarter, those who think differently are simply declared fools. If the name Giordano Bruno is still known to many, then how many of those “ridiculed” have simply sunk into oblivion. Do you think there were no great ones among them?

S.A. Zelinsky, speaking about methods of manipulating consciousness, cites a technique (one of many) called “ridicule”: “When using this technique, both specific individuals and views, ideas, programs, organizations and their activities, various associations of people against whom the struggle is being carried out can be ridiculed. The choice of the object of ridicule is carried out depending on the goals and the specific information and communication situation. The effect of this technique is based on the fact that when individual statements and elements of a person’s behavior are ridiculed, a playful and frivolous attitude is initiated towards him, which automatically extends to his other statements and views. With the skillful use of this technique, it is possible to form behind a specific person the image of a “frivolous” person whose statements are not trustworthy.” (Psychotechnologies of hypnotic manipulation of consciousness)

The essence has not changed one iota - you must be like everyone else, do like everyone else, think like everyone else, otherwise you are an enemy... Today's society has never needed thinking individuals, it needs “sensible” sheep. A simple question. Why do you think the theme of lost sheep and shepherds, that is, shepherds, is so popular in the Bible?

Turks (also Turkic peoples, Turkic-speaking peoples, peoples of the Turkic language group) - ethnolinguistic community. They speak languages ​​of the Turkic group. Globalization and increased integration with other peoples have led to the widespread spread of the Turks beyond their historical area. Modern Turks live on different continents - in Eurasia, North America, Australia and in the territories of various states - from Central Asia, the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, the Mediterranean, Southern and Eastern Europe and further east - all the way to the Russian Far East. There are also Turkic minorities in China, America, the Middle East and Western Europe. The largest settlement area is in Russia, and the largest population is in Turkey.

Turkic-speaking peoples have been known since the 3rd century. BC, but the first mentions of the ethnonym Turk appeared at the beginning of the 6th century. in the Mongolian Altai and belonged to a small people who later became dominant in Central Asia. Word Turk means strong, strong. One of the traditional occupations of the Turks was nomadic cattle breeding, as well as iron mining and processing.

The ethnic history of the proto-Turkic substrate is marked by the synthesis of two population groups:

• · formed to the west of the Volga, in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC, during centuries-long migrations in eastern and southern directions, it became the predominant population of the Volga region and Kazakhstan, Altai and the Upper Yenisei valley.
• · appeared in the steppes east of the Yenisei later and was of intra-Asian origin.

The history of the interaction and fusion of both groups of the ancient population over the course of two to two and a half thousand years is the process during which ethnic consolidation was carried out and Turkic-speaking ethnic communities were formed. It was from among these closely related tribes that in the 2nd millennium AD. modern Turkic peoples of Russia and adjacent territories emerged

D.G. writes about the “Scythian” and “Hunnic” layers in the formation of the ancient Turkic cultural complex. Savinov, according to which they “gradually modernized and mutually penetrated each other, became the common property of the culture of numerous population groups that became part of the Ancient Turkic Khaganate. The ideas of continuity of the ancient and early medieval culture of nomads are also reflected in works of art and ritual structures."

Since the 6th century AD, the region in the middle reaches of the Syr Darya and the Chu River began to be called Turkestan. The toponym is based on the ethnonym “Tur”, which was the common tribal name of the ancient nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Central Asia. The nomadic type of state was for many centuries the predominant form of organization of power in the Asian steppes. Nomadic states, replacing each other, existed in Eurasia from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. until the 17th century.

In 552-745, the Turkic Khaganate existed in Central Asia, which in 603 split into two parts: the Eastern and Western Khaganates. The Western Kaganate (603-658) included the territory of Central Asia, the steppes of modern Kazakhstan and East Turkestan. The Eastern Kaganate included the modern territories of Mongolia, northern China and southern Siberia. In 658, the Western Khaganate fell to the combined forces of the Chinese and Eastern Turks. In 698, the leader of the Turgesh tribal union, Uchelik, founded a new Turkic state - the Turgesh Kaganate (698-766).

In the V-VIII centuries, the Turkic nomadic tribes of the Bulgars who came to Europe founded a number of states, of which the most durable were Danube Bulgaria in the Balkans and Volga Bulgaria in the Volga and Kama basin. In 650-969. in the territory of the North Caucasus, the Volga region and the north-eastern Black Sea region there was the Khazar Khaganate. In the 960s it was defeated by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. The Pechenegs, driven out by the Khazars in the second half of the 9th century, settled in the northern Black Sea region and posed a threat to Byzantium and the Old Russian state. In 1019, the Pechenegs were defeated by Grand Duke Yaroslav. In the 11th century, the Pechenegs in the southern Russian steppes were replaced by the Cumans, who were defeated and conquered by the Mongol-Tatars in the 13th century. The western part of the Mongol Empire - the Golden Horde - became a predominantly Turkic state in population. In the XV-XVI centuries. it broke up into several independent khanates, on the basis of which a number of modern Turkic-speaking peoples were formed. At the end of the 14th century, Tamerlane created his own empire in Central Asia, which, however, quickly disintegrated with his death (1405).

In the early Middle Ages, a settled and semi-nomadic Turkic-speaking population formed in the territory of the Central Asian interfluve, which was in close contact with the Iranian-speaking Sogdian, Khorezmian and Bactrian populations. Active processes of interaction and mutual influence led to the Turkic-Sogdian symbiosis.

Back at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. individual Turkic groups began to penetrate into Transcaucasia. The penetration of the Turks into the territory of Western Asia (Transcaucasia, Azerbaijan, Anatolia) began in the middle of the 11th AD. (Seljuks). The Seljuk invasion was accompanied by devastation and destruction of many Transcaucasian cities. In the 11th-14th centuries, the population of eastern Transcaucasia was subjected to Turkization due to the invasions of the Oghuz Turks and Mongol-Tatars. As a result of the conquests by the Ottoman Turks in the XIII-XVI centuries. territories in Europe, Asia and Africa, a huge Ottoman Empire was formed, but from the 17th century it began to decline. Having assimilated the majority of the local population, the Ottomans became the ethnic majority in Asia Minor. In the 16th-18th centuries, first the Moscow State, and then, after the reforms of Peter I, the Russian Empire, included most of the lands of the former Golden Horde, on which the Turkic states existed (Kazan Khanate, Astrakhan Khanate, Siberian Khanate, Crimean Khanate, Nogai Horde At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia annexed a number of Azerbaijani khanates of Eastern Transcaucasia. At the same time, China annexed Central Asia (Dzhungar Khanate). After the annexation of the territories of Central Asia and the Kazakh Khanate and Kokand Khanate to Russia, the Ottoman Empire, along with the Khiva Khanate and the Bukhara Emirate, remained the only purely Turkic states.

The ethnonym (the name “Turk”) was first mentioned in Chinese written sources in 542. According to some researchers, translated from Mongolian “Turk” means a helmet shaped like a tukoetau. Initially, the term “Turk” also meant a representative of the nobility or military aristocracy, i.e. had purely social significance. Subsequently, it became a symbol of the dominant “royal” tribe and the tribes subject to it, which their neighbors also began to call Turks. In the second half of the 6th century. this term became widespread among the Byzantines, Arabs, Syrians, and found its way into Sanskrit, various Iranian languages, and Tibetan. Before the creation of the Khaganate, the word “Turk” meant only an alliance of ten (later twelve) tribes that formed shortly after 460 in Altai. This meaning was preserved by the term in the era of the Khaganates. It is reflected in the ancient Turkic texts in the expression “Turk hangover” (hangover union of tribes). Back in the middle of the 8th century. sources mention "twelve-tribal Turkic people". The same word also denoted the state created by the Turkic tribes-unions themselves - Turkel (Turkic country, state). Both of these meanings are reflected in ancient Turkic epigraphic monuments and Chinese sources. In a broader sense, the term began to denote the belonging of various nomadic tribes to the power created by the Turks. This is how the Byzantines and Iranians, and sometimes the Turks themselves, used it. The latter meaning of the term was further developed by Arab historians and geographers in the 9th-11th centuries, where the word “Turk” appears as the name of a group of peoples and languages, and not as the name of any one people and state. It was in Arabic scientific literature that a general concept arose about the genetic relatedness of the languages ​​spoken by the Turkic tribes, and the geneological relatedness of these tribes themselves. Outside the sphere of Muslim education, such a broad interpretation did not appear. For example, Abulgazy Bahadur Khan in his “Turkic Chronicle” notes that there are five most famous clans in the Turkic state. These are: Uyghurs, Kanglys, Kipchaks, Kalashes, dwarfs. And in the Russian chronicles of 985 the tribe of Torks is mentioned - i.e. Turks, but this is only one of many nomadic associations of the Great Steppe, called together with the Berendeys, Pechenegs, Black Cloabuks, Polovtsians. This is approximately the situation with the meaning of the term “Turk”. After clarifying the basic concepts associated with the name "Turk", it will be possible to move on to the process of formation of the steppe empire.

The beginning of the ethnogenesis of the Ashina Turks is associated with the Turs. According to the genealogical legend, the first ancestor of the Turks was a ten-year-old boy, the only survivor of the extermination of the people. He was nursed by a she-wolf, who later became his wife. The descendants of the ten sons of the she-wolf, having received the name Ashina, subsequently united all the local tribes and gave them the name Turk.

Bumyn Kagan, who ruled in the country of the Ashina Turks in the middle of the 6th century, was a descendant of Nadulushe (according to legend, the man who brought fire to people). In the 4th-5th centuries, when the Turkic ethnos was being revived in the historical arena of Central Asia, they were surrounded by the Chinese from the east, the Tungus-Manchus from the north, the Iranians from the west, and the Tocharian population from the south. Until the middle of the 6th century, the Turks were dependent on the Juan-Juans (Zhuan, Avars). The beginning of hegemony is associated with the subjugation of the Tele tribes living in Dzungaria (possibly the Oguzes). During the period of self-assertion, the Turks sent an embassy to the Avar Kagan, demanding a princess. To which the Juran ruler responded with the following indignant challenge: “You are my smelter - a vassal. How dare you do such a thing?

As a result of the war that began (551-555), the Rourans were completely defeated and, for the most part, physically exterminated. A new Central Asian empire arose on the lands in Northern Mongolia - the Turkic Khaganate (551-744). The founder of the Turkic state is considered BuMyn (Tumyn), who in 551 took the title of kagan. His successor Kara Kagan (552-553) and Mukan Kagan (553-572) completed the defeat of the Jurans.

In connection with activity in the west, a new stage in the ethnogenesis of the Turks moves to the territory of the Great Steppe and covers the oases of Turkestan. This stage determined a new level of ethnic contacts and economic symbiosis with the Eastern Iranian world. Within the framework of a single power, a literary language and writing appeared, and then general imperial standards in culture, especially expressed in material culture (dwellings, clothing, a saddle with stirrups, harnesses, jewelry). These processes reflected the beginning of a new ethnic order. All this culminated in the formation of a pan-Turkic ethnic identity and pan-Turkic ideology. The Turkic Kaganate included such peoples as the Kyrgyz, Kipchaks, Oguzes, tribes of Avars, Kais, Khitans, etc.

In the ancient Turkic kaganates, the solution to many economic problems depended on trade. Neither raids, nor wars, nor booty from them, but constant barter trade served as a source of well-being for the nomads. During the period of the empire, the Turks became masters of most of the Great Silk Road. Sogdian merchants became the trusted representatives of the Turkic khans in this matter, concentrating in their hands a huge amount of silk fabrics of their own and Chinese production. Through Sogdian merchants, the nomads sold their livestock products, as well as military spoils. Merchants delivered them through Iran to Byzantium. The fate of the Silk Road depended on the relationship between the three great states. This partnership led to the conclusion of a military alliance between the Turks and the Byzantine Empire against Iran (in 567). Iran's refusal to improve relations forced the Turks to look for new territories for the export of silk. Thus, a road was built through the Volga region. Other routes connecting Siberia and the Volga region with Central Asia also passed through the steppes of Kazakhstan. One of the most ancient routes of communication was the meridian route between Turkestan and Siberia, through the steppes of Kazakhstan. Perhaps this route is much older than others (for example, the Great Silk Road), since the south and north of the Great Steppe were in the same economic and cultural system. Even in ancient times, some nomads went to the south for winter camps, and the main urban centers were located there. During the Bronze Age, copper and other metals were transported along the Great Meridian Route.

The urban culture of the Western Turkic Khaganate was created with the participation of the Sogdians. In the V-V1II centuries, with the support of the Turks, the Sogdians created a large number of trading settlements in Semirechye, Dzungaria, East Turkestan, and Southern Siberia. A significant part of the population was engaged in farming, trade and crafts.

In general, we can talk about a common Turkic complex, which included material culture, ideological ideas and spiritual thoughts widespread throughout the territory in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The culture of nomadic tribes and sedentary regions appears in organic integrity and constitutes a single cultural system. Various cults of sacred mountains, rivers, caves, snakes and ancestor wolves were widespread among the Turks. The Kimako-Kylchak tribes held the cult of the river in great veneration. They talked about the Irtysh - “the river is the god of man” (Gardizi). The banners of the ancient Turks were decorated with a wolf's head. Along with their own beliefs, the nomadic Turks were also interested in other religious systems: Buddhism, Manichaeism, Christianity, Judaism. The most remarkable thing in the culture of the ancient Turkic period is the appearance of runic writing and rich written literature. Runic texts in honor of Bilge Kagan, Kultegin and other outstanding figures of the Turkic ale are at the same time both outstanding literary works and historical evidence of the era.

In the ancient Turkic era, the population of the Great Steppe gradually switched from the runic alphabet to the Arabic alphabet. The largest monuments on this graphic are “Divan-lugat-at-Turk” (Dictionary of the Turkic Language) by M. Kash Gari, “Kutadgu-bi Lik” (Blessed Knowledge) by Y. Balasaguni and others. A book about kimakaz was also compiled in Arabic graphics Zhdanakh-Kimaki. It is interesting that the author of this book was the heir of the Kimak ruler. This book was subsequently used by Arab-Persian travelers, merchants and scientists traveling to the Great Steppe. Ancient Turkic time is the time of the appearance, as the Chinese say, of a “reasonable book”, i.e. philosophical literature, various treatises devoted to epistemological problems, theory of music, art, etc. The most prominent figure in the scientific world was al-Farabi.

Altai language family. As a result, linguistics. classification introduced in the 19th century into the category of T.n. many peoples were included that had not previously been included in their composition. T.N. settled in Russia, the CIS, Turkey, China, Iran and other countries. The Turks are Azerbaijanis, Altaians, Balkars, Bashkirs, Gagauz, Dolgans, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Karachais, Kyrgyz, Kumyks, Nogais, Tatars, Teleuts, Tuvans, Turks, Turkmen, Uzbeks, Uighurs, Khakass, Chuvash, Shors, Yakuts, etc. In 1990, the number of Turks was 132.8 million people. According to World. Assembly of the T.N., in the world there are approx. 200 million people belonging to the Turks (2007). Russia is home to approx. 30 T.n. numbering 12 million 750 thousand people. (2002).

They are considered proto-Turkic-speaking (Huns), whose movement to the west is noted in the end. 3 – beginning 2nd century BC. At the beginning of A.D. cucumber tribes (see ) - ancestors - migrated to the west. direction. Proto-Bulgarian groups as ethnic. community formed long before the formation of the Turkic peoples themselves. tribes (Turkuts). In the 2nd–4th centuries. in the Urals, a union of nomadic tribes of the Huns took shape, moving into the middle. 4th century to the west and laid the foundation , which marked the end of the centuries-long dominance of the Iranian language. nomadic tribes of the Scythians, and opened the way to the movement to the West Turkic language. nomads (in the 9th–10th centuries. Pechenegs and , in the 11th century. ). Turk. tribes, primarily the Onogur-Bulgarians and Savirs (see. ), were part of the Hunnic Federation. In the 5th century The Turks were the name given to the horde that rallied around Prince Amen (a Mongolian name meaning wolf). According to legend, the Altai Turks - Tukyu (Turkyut) - come from the West. Huns. In the 6th century. The Turks developed into a small people living to the east. slopes of Altai and Khangai. As a result of several successful wars (since 545), the Turks managed to subjugate all the steppes from Khingan (Northeast China) to Azov. seas. The state of the Turks was called Turk. Khaganate, which in 604 broke up to the West. and Vostoch. Turkic Khaganates. From ser. 6th century to the 30s 7th century Bulgarians and Suvars were part of the Turkic peoples, then the West. Turk. Khaganate Bulgarian. the component is present in a number of T.n. Caucasus: Azerbaijanis, Balkars, Karachais, Kumyks. On the ruins of the first Turks. and other associations, the Kimak and Uyghur Khaganates appeared. Noble Turk. the Ashina clan was led by the Khazars. unification of hordes (see ), living in the Caspian steppes. In the 11th century in Turkic dialects spoken by many peoples from Mramor. sea ​​and slopes of the Carpathians to the Great Wall of China. Ancient T.n. were nomads, they subjugated many farmers. peoples who became their farmers. base. The Orkhon-Yenisei runic inscriptions represent the most important historical. and cultures. monuments (see , ). Turk. communities had a common cult of Tengrikhan - the god of the sky, the sun, a common cult of ancestors, as well as similarities in everyday life, clothing, methods of warfare; a set of information about the ancient Turkic people. tribes compiled in the 11th century. .

Mongol-Tatars. invasion of Eastern Europe in the 1220s–40s. set in motion the masses of nomads. The Kipchaks were defeated in the Eurasian steppes (the Kipchak steppe of the pre-Mongol period is known as , it extended from Altai to the Carpathians); conquered in 1236 . In the beginning. 1240s founded , it included Khorezm and the North. Caucasus, Crimea, Volzh. Bulgaria, Urals, West. Siberia. The bulk of the population were Kypchaks, whose language was the state language. In the 1st half. 15th century formed by the late Golden Horde. ethnopolitical associations - Astrakhan, Kazan, Crimea, Siberia. khanates, Nogai Horde; in the end 15 – beginning 16th centuries Kazakh was formed. (the Kazakhs historically included the Senior, Middle, Junior Zhuzes) and Uzbeks. khanates. Their population consisted of various. Turkic speaking. tribes (Nogai, Kipchaks, Bashkirs, Kazakhs) and peoples (Kazan, Tatars, Chuvash), as well as Finno-Ugrians (Mordovians, Mari, Udmurts, Khanty, Mansi). During the existence of the khanates, the so-called movement took place. In particular, significant Chuvash masses. population migrated to the territory of Bashkiria and to the West. Siberia, where places were assimilated. Turks (Bashkirs, Siberian Tatars) and Kazan Tatars. migrants. All R. 16th century T.N. The Volga and Urals regions (Chuvash, Tatars, Bashkirs) became part of the Rus. states, so-called Siberia - in the 17th century, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Middle. Asia - in the 18th–19th centuries. After construction in the 17th–18th centuries. There was a resettlement of the Chuvash, Mishar Tatars, and Kazan. Tatars and other peoples in the so-called areas. .

Unlike language material. and spiritual culture of ancient times. Chuvash (religion, including pantheon, applied, musical, choreographic creativity, monumental and small forms of sculpture), with the exception of certain elements (for example, similarity. As a result, the long interaction with a number of T.N., with their ethnicity. groups (primarily of the Tatar ethnic group), the Chuvash formed similar features that can be traced both in material and spiritual culture.

Lit.: Bichurin N. Ya. Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times. T. 1–2. M.–L., 1950; T. 3. M.–L., 1953; Klyashtorny S.G. Ancient Turkic runic monuments as a source on the history of Central Asia. M., 1964; Pletneva S. A. Nomads of the Middle Ages. M., 1982; Gumilyov L.N. Ancient Turks. M., 1993; Kakhovsky V.F. Origin of the Chuvash people. Ch., 2003; Ivanov V.P. Ethnic geography of the Chuvash people. Ch., 2005.

The ancient Turks are the ancestors of many modern Turkic peoples, including the Tatars. The Turks roamed the Great Steppe (Deshti-Kipchak) in the vastness of Eurasia. Here they conducted their economic activities and created their own states on these lands. The Volga-Ural region, located on the periphery of the Great Steppe, has long been inhabited by Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes. In the second century AD, other Turkic tribes, known in history as the Huns, also migrated here from Central Asia. In the 4th century, the Huns occupied the Black Sea region, then invaded Central Europe. But, over time, the Hunnish tribal union collapsed and most of the Huns returned to the Black Sea region, joining other local Turks.
The Turkic Khaganate, created by the Turks of Central Asia, existed for about two hundred years. Among the peoples of this kaganate, written sources point to the Tatars. It is noted that this is a very numerous Turkic people. The tribal association of the Tatars, located on the territory of modern Mongolia, included 70 thousand families. The Arab historian pointed out that due to their exceptional greatness and authority, other tribes also united under this name. Other historians also reported about Tatars living on the banks of the Irtysh River. In frequent military clashes, the Tatars' opponents were usually the Chinese and the Mongols. There is no doubt that the Tatars were Turks, and in the indicated sense they are close relatives (and to a certain extent can also be attributed to the ancestors) of modern Turkic peoples.
After the collapse of the Turkic Khaganate, the Khazar Khaganate came into force. The possession of the Kaganate extended to the Lower Volga region, the Northern Caucasus, the Azov region and the Crimea. The Khazars were a union of Turkic tribes and peoples and “were one of the remarkable peoples of that era” (L.N. Gumilyov). Exceptional religious tolerance flourished in this state. For example, in the capital of the state, Itil, located near the mouth of the Volga, there were Muslim mosques and houses of worship for Christians and Jews. There were seven equal judges: two Muslims, a Jew, a Christian and one pagan. Each of them resolved disputes between people of the same religion. The Khazars were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, agriculture and gardening, and in the cities - crafts. The capital of the Kaganate was not only a center of handicrafts, but also of international trade.
In its heyday, Khazaria was a powerful state, and it was not for nothing that the Caspian Sea was called the Khazar Sea. However, the military actions of external enemies weakened the state. The attacks of the troops of the Arab Caliphate, the Principality of Kyiv and the hostile policy of Byzantium were especially noticeable. All this led to the fact that at the end of the 10th century Khazaria ceased to exist as an independent state. One of the main components of the Khazar people were the Bulgars. Some historians of the past pointed out that the Scythians, Bulgars and Khazars are one and the same people. Others believe that the Bulgars are Huns. They are also mentioned as Kipchaks, as Caucasian and North Caucasian tribes. In any case, the Bulgar Turks have been known from written sources for almost two thousand years. There are many interpretations of the word “Bulgar”. According to one of them, the Ulgars are river people or people associated with fishing. According to other versions, “Bulgars” can mean: “mixed, consisting of many elements”, “rebels, rebels”, “sages, thinkers”, etc. The Bulgars had their own state formation - Great Bulgaria in the Azov region, with its capital - r. Phanagoria, on the Taman Peninsula. This state included the lands from the Dnieper to the Kuban, part of the North Caucasus and the steppe expanses between the Caspian and Azov seas. Once upon a time, the Caucasus Mountains were also called the chain of Bulgarian mountains. Azov Bulgaria was a peaceful state, and often became dependent on the Turkic Kaganate and Khazaria. The state reached its greatest prosperity under the reign of Kubrat Khan, who managed to unite the Bulgars and other Turkic tribes. This khan was a wise ruler who achieved remarkable success in providing a quiet life for his fellow citizens. During his reign, Bulgarian cities grew and crafts developed. The state received international recognition, and relations with its geographical neighbors were relatively stable.
The position of the state deteriorated sharply after the death of Kubrat Khan in the middle of the 7th century, and the political and military pressure of Khazaria on Bulgaria increased. Under these conditions, several cases of resettlement of significant masses of Bulgars to other regions occurred. One group of Bulgars, led by Prince Asparukh, moved west and settled on the banks of the Danube. A large group of Bulgars, led by Kubrat's son Kodrak, headed to the middle Volga region.
The Bulgars who remained in the Azov region ended up as part of Khazaria along with the Lower Volga Bulgars-Saxons and other Turks of the state. However, this did not bring them eternal peace. In the 20s of the 7th century, Khazaria was attacked by the Arabs, during which the large Bulgarian cities of the Azov region were captured and burned. Ten years later, the Arabs repeated their campaign, this time they plundered the Bulgar lands in the vicinity of the Terek and Kuban rivers, capturing 20 thousand Barsils (travelers of the century identified Barsils, Esegels and, in fact, Buggars as part of the Bulgar people). All this caused another massive campaign of the Bulgar population to their fellow tribesmen in the Volga region. Subsequently, the defeat of Khazaria was accompanied by other cases of resettlement of the Bulgars to the middle and upper reaches of Itil (the Itil River, as understood at that time, began with the Belaya River, included part of the Kama and then the Volga).
Thus, there were massive and small migrations of the Bulgars to the Volga-Ural region. The choice of resettlement area is quite understandable. The Huns lived here several centuries ago and their descendants continued to live here, as well as other Turkic tribes. From this point of view, these places were the historical homeland of the ancestors of certain Turkic tribes. In addition, the Turkic peoples of the middle and lower Volga region maintained constant close ties with related peoples of the Caucasus and Azov region; the developed nomadic economy more than once led to the mixing of different Turkic tribes. That's why. the strengthening of the Bulgar element in the middle Volga region was quite an ordinary phenomenon.
The increase in the Bulgar population in these areas led to the fact that it was the Bulgars who became the main forming element of the Tatar people, formed in the Volga-Ural region. It should be taken into account that no more or less large nation can trace its genealogy only from one single tribe. And the Tatar people in this sense are no exception; among their ancestors one could name more than one tribe, and also indicate more than one influence (including the Finno-Ugric one). However, the main element in the Tatar people should be recognized as the Bulgars.
Over time, the Turkic-Bulgar tribes began to form a fairly large population in this region. If we also take into account their historical experience of state building, then it is not surprising that the state of Great Bulgaria (Volga Bulgaria) soon arose here. In the initial period of its existence, Bulgaria in the Volga region was like a union of relatively independent regions, vassal dependent on Khazaria. But, in the second half of the 10th century, the supremacy of a single prince was already recognized by all appanage rulers. A common system has emerged for paying taxes into the common treasury of a single state. By the time of the collapse of Khazaria, Great Bulgaria was a fully formed single state, its borders were recognized by neighboring states and peoples. Subsequently, the zone of political and economic influence of Bulgaria extended from the Oka to Yaik (Ural). The lands of Bulgaria included the areas from the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama to the Yaik and lower reaches of the Volga. The Khazar Sea began to be called the Bulgar Sea. “Atil is a river in the region of the Kipchaks, it flows into the Bulgar Sea,” wrote Mahmud Kashgari in the 11th century.
Great Bulgaria in the Volga region became a country of settled and semi-sedentary people and had a highly developed economy. In agriculture, the Bulgars used iron shares for plows already in the 10th century; the Bulgar plow-saban provided plowing with rotation of the layer. The Bulgars used iron tools for agricultural production, grew more than 20 types of cultivated plants, were engaged in gardening, beekeeping, as well as hunting and fishing. Craftsmanship reached a high level for that time. The Bulgars were engaged in jewelry, leather, bone carving, metallurgical, and pottery production. They were familiar with iron smelting and began to use it in production. The Bulgars also used gold, silver, copper and their various alloys in their products. “The Bulgarian kingdom was one of the few states of medieval Europe in which, in the shortest possible time, conditions were created for the high development of handicraft production in a number of industries” (A. P. Smirnov).
Since the 11th century, Great Bulgaria has occupied the position of the leading trade center in Eastern Europe. Trade relations developed with its closest neighbors - with the northern peoples, with the Russian principalities and with Scandinavia. Trade expanded with Central Asia, the Caucasus, Persia, and the Baltic states. The Bulgarian merchant fleet ensured the export and import of goods along waterways, and trade caravans traveled overland to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The Bulgars exported fish, bread, timber, walrus teeth, furs, specially processed “Bulgari” leather, swords, chain mail, etc. Jewelry, leather and fur products of Bulgar craftsmen were known from the Yellow Sea to Scandinavia. The minting of its own coins, which began in the 10th century, contributed to the further strengthening of the position of the Bulgarian state as a recognized center of trade between Europe and Asia.
The Bulgars, for the most part, converted to Islam back in 825, that is, almost 1200 years ago. The canons of Islam, with their call for mental and physical purity, mercy, etc., found a special response among the Bulgars. The official adoption of Islam in the state became a powerful factor in the consolidation of the people into a single organism. In 922, the ruler of Great Bulgaria, Almas Shilki, received a delegation from the Baghdad caliphate. A solemn prayer service was held in the central mosque of the state capital - in the city of Bulgape. Islam became the official state religion. This allowed Bulgaria to strengthen trade and economic relations with the developed Muslim states of that time. The position of Islam soon became very stable. Western European travelers of that time noted that the inhabitants of Bulgaria are a single people, “holding the law of Muhammetov more tightly than anyone else.” Within the framework of a single state, the formation of the nationality itself was basically completed. In any case, Russian chronicles of the 11th century note here a single, Bulgar people.
Thus, the direct ancestors of modern Tatars formed as a nation in the Volga-Ural region. At the same time, they absorbed not only related Turkic tribes, but also partially local Finno-Ugric ones. The Bulgars more than once had to defend their lands from the encroachments of greedy robbers. Continuous attacks by seekers of easy money forced the Bulgars to even move the capital; in the 12th century, the capital of the state became the city of Bilyar, located at some distance from the main waterway - the Volga River. But the most serious military trials befell the Bulgar people in the 12th century, which brought the Mongol invasion to the world.
During the three decades of the 13th century, the Mongols conquered a large part of Asia and began their campaigns in the lands of Eastern Europe. The Bulgars, conducting intensive trade with Asian partners, were well aware of the danger posed by the Mongol army. They tried to create a united front, but their call for neighbors to unite in the face of a mortal threat fell on deaf ears. Eastern Europe met the Mongols not united, but disunited, divided into warring states (Central Europe made the same mistake). In 1223, the Mongols completely defeated the combined forces of the Russian principalities and Kipchak warriors on the Kalka River and sent part of their troops to Bulgaria. However, the Bulgars met the enemy at the distant approaches, close to Zhiguli. Using a skillful system of ambushes, the Bulgars, under the leadership of Ilgam Khan, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mongols, destroying up to 90% of the enemy troops. The remnants of the Mongol army retreated to the south, and “the land of the Kipchaks was freed from them; whoever escaped returned to his land” (Ibn al-Athir).
This victory brought peace to Eastern Europe for a while, and trade that had been suspended was resumed. Apparently, the Bulgars were well aware that the victory won was not final. They began active preparations for defense: cities and fortresses were fortified, huge earthen ramparts were built in the area of ​​the Yaik, Belaya, etc. rivers. Given the current level of technology, such work could only be carried out in such a short period of time if the population was very well organized. This serves as additional confirmation that by this time the Bulgars were a single, united people, united by a common idea, the desire to preserve their independence. Six years later, the Mongol attack was repeated, and this time the enemy failed to penetrate the main territory of Bulgaria. The authority of Bulgaria, as a real force capable of resisting the Mongol invasion, became especially high. Many peoples, primarily the Lower Volga Bulgars-Saksins, Polovtsy-Kypchaks, began to move to the lands of Bulgaria, thereby contributing their share to the ancestors of modern Tatars.
In 1236, the Mongols made their third campaign against Bulgaria. The country's subjects fought fiercely to defend their state. For a month and a half, the Bulgars selflessly defended the besieged capital, the city of Bilyar. However, the 50 thousand army of the Bulgar khan Gabdulla Ibn Ilgam could not withstand the onslaught of the 250 thousand Mongol army for long. The capital has fallen. The following year, the western lands of Bulgaria were conquered, all fortifications and fortresses were destroyed. The Bulgars did not accept defeat; uprisings followed one after another. The Bulgars fought almost 50 years of military action against the conquerors, which forced the latter to keep almost half of their troops on the territory of Bulgaria. However, it was not possible to restore the full independence of the state; the Bulgars became subjects of the new state - the Golden Horde.

The history of the indigenous people of Southern Siberia - the Shors - goes back centuries. Its formation took place in the 1-2 millennia under the influence of the Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes of Central Asia (Mongolia and Northern China), who penetrated into the territory of Siberia and mixed with the ancient Ugric, Samoyed and Ket tribes who lived here.

One of the ancestors of the Shors are the ancient Turkic Turks, a people formed in the Altai mountains and who entered the arena of history in 545. They were a glorious and heroic people who managed to unite many tribes around themselves and create a great state of antiquity. They called themselves “Turks” (Turkuts), which means “strong, strong.”

The Turks were formed as a result of the mixing of “500 families” led by the leader Ashin (the name means noble wolf), who fled to Altai from Northern China in 439 from the Tobas tribes that had seized their territory. They were Mongol-speaking. In the foothills of the southern Altai they mixed with the descendants of the Huns who lived there and spoke Turkic languages, as a result of which the Turkic people (Turkuts) were born. According to legend, the Turks descended from a she-wolf and a Xiongnu prince. His enemies cut off his arms and legs and threw him into a swamp to die. But a she-wolf saved him and gave birth to 10 sons in a cave in the center of the Altai Mountains. Ashina's descendants became the core of the Turkic ethnic group and the ruling elite of the emerging state - the Great Turkic Khaganate. Therefore, the wolf is the main figure of the cult of ancestors among the Turks, a symbol of military valor, and a golden wolf head adorned the banners of the Turks.

The Turks obeyed the Rourans, mined iron for them and made military equipment and armor from it. Having grown stronger, the Turks decided to leave the subordination of the Rourans, and they succeeded in this with the help of the Tele tribes. In 555, the Rourans were defeated, after which the Turks conquered many nomadic and agricultural peoples of the Eurasian steppe from the Yellow to the Black Sea and within 20 years they created in these vast expanses the largest state in the world - the Great Turkic Khaganate, which existed from 552 to 744. The leading states of that time, China, Persia and Byzantium, trembled before the power of the Kaganate, despite the small number of Turkuts. The Shors have every right to be proud of the history of the Great Turkic Kaganate.

The Turks played a huge role in the history of mankind, becoming mediators between East and West, a bridge between the Far Eastern and Mediterranean cultures, which had previously developed in isolation from each other. The huge caravan route from China to Byzantium passed through the territory of the Turkic Khaganate and brought it huge income. But the Turks paid for all their power and glory with endless military campaigns and the death of their heroic warriors.

The ancient Turks were not only intermediaries, but also created their own unique culture, different from the Chinese, Persian and Byzantine cultures. The culture of the Turkic Kaganate reached a high level: metallurgy and blacksmithing were developed, the Turks were the first to introduce iron stirrups on both sides (before them, the “stirrup” was made of rope on one side), and invented a buckle (this is important for pack harnesses for transporting goods over long distances). distances), they had an invincible armored cavalry, cattle breeding and crafts developed, military equipment was improved (multi-layered bows that fired at 1.5 km, various arrows that made various sounds from an unbearable howl to the buzzing of a mosquito, arrowheads, sabers, broadswords, etc.) d.) fortresses and cities were built, there was its own runic writing and literature, rich folklore and heroic epic.

Magnificent examples of ancient Turkic literature, written in runic script, were imprinted on 4-meter stone steles in honor of Kül-tegin, Bilge Kagan and Tonyukuk. The first two were discovered by the Russian traveler N.M. Yadrintsev in 1889 in the north of Mongolia in the Orkhon River basin (therefore they were given the name Orkhon texts), the third - by E.N. Klements in 1897 in another place - 66 km from Ulan- Bator. In 1893, the inscriptions were deciphered by the Danish scientist V. Thomsen. The discovery of the inscriptions and their deciphering became a sensation in the scientific world, which for the first time was able to read what the ancient Turks themselves wrote about themselves. Before this, scientists could only read what the Chinese, Arabs and Byzantines wrote about the Turks in their historical chronicles, and this was not entirely reliable information.

It boggles the imagination, as Lev Gumilyov writes in the book “Ancient Turks”, “complex forms of social life and social institutions of the Turks: el, appanage-ladder system (system of succession to the throne - not from father to son, but from older brother to younger and from younger uncle to older nephew, ed.), hierarchy of ranks, military discipline, diplomacy , as well as the presence of a clearly developed worldview, contrasted with the ideological systems of neighboring countries".

The Turks had their own religion - shamanism. They revered Kӧk-Tengri, the Blue Sky, whose main attribute was light. This main deity controlled the destinies of the people, the kaganate and the rulers. Birth, life and death, victories and defeats, misfortunes and good fortune did not happen by chance, but by the will of Tengri. “Born of Heaven, myself like Heaven, I, Bilge Kagan, now sit above the Turks.”, - says at the beginning of the Small runic inscription in honor of Kul-tegin about the divine origin of the kagan (emperor) by the will of Heaven. Along with the cult of Heaven, the ancient Turks believed in the creation of heaven and earth by some supreme creator. The Great Inscription in honor of Kül-tegin says:

“When the blue vault of the sky appeared above,
and the brown earth spread out below,
among them the human race was established and lived.
That human race was first protected by Bumyn Kagan,
and Istemi Kagan continued his work.
They are the law and power - the entire Turkic Kaganate -
fastened, protected, held high.”

The Türks believed in a three-member structure of the Universe with heavenly, earthly and underground zones, the god of the underworld Erlik, the goddess Umay, who patronizes children, and the deity Yer-sub (earth and water). In honor of the main god Tengri, grandiose public prayers with sacrifices were held under the leadership of the kagans themselves, who were often shamans themselves.

The fall of the Turkic Kaganate and the death of the Turks as an ethnic group under the onslaught of the Chinese Tang Empire did not lead to the disappearance of the name “Turk”. The nomadic steppe tribes of Central and Middle Asia, who spoke the same language as the ancient Turks and wanted to be like the valiant Turkic heroes, began to call themselves this glorious name. Modern peoples who speak Turkic languages ​​and call themselves Turks (a linguistic term) are the rightful heirs of the spiritual culture of the ancient Turks.

Until now, the great role of the Turks in the history of Russia and the fact that long before the formation of Kievan Rus (in the 9th century) in the territory of today's Russia - its Eurasian expanses, there lived Turkic peoples who created their own great states, have been hushed up. The Turks were part of the empire of Genghis Khan and the Golden Horde. Making up the bulk of the population of these states, they actively participated in state building. Much was later adopted from them by the Russian state - the laws of Genghis Khan, the statutes and traditions of the Golden Horde in customs, financial, road, and postal affairs. The descendants of the Turks became outstanding people of Russia: Karamzin, Aksakov, Mendeleev, Timiryazev and many others.