What nationalities belong to the Turkic peoples. From Kolyma to the Mediterranean

Inner Asia and Southern Siberia are the small homeland of the Turks, this is the territorial “patch”, which eventually grew into a thousand-kilometer territory on a global scale. The geographical composition of the area of ​​the Turkic peoples took place, in fact, over two millennia. The Proto-Turks lived in the trap of the Volga as early as the III-II millennium BC, they constantly migrated. Ancient Turkic "Scythians" and Huns" were also an integral part of the Ancient Turkic Khaganate. Thanks to their ritual structures, today we can get acquainted with the works of ancient early Slavic culture and art - this is precisely the Turkic heritage.

The Turks traditionally practiced nomadic pastoralism in addition, they mined and processed iron. Leading a sedentary and semi-nomadic way of life, the Turks in the Central Asian interfluve in the VI century formed Turkestan. Existing in Central Asia from 552 to 745, the Turkic Khaganate in 603 was divided into two independent Khaganates, one of which included modern Kazakhstan and the lands of East Turkestan, and the other was the territory that included present-day Mongolia, Northern China and Southern Siberia.

The first, Western, Khaganate ceased to exist half a century later, conquered by the Eastern Turks. The leader of the Turgeshes, Uchelik, founded a new state of the Türks - the Turgesh Khaganate.

Subsequently, the Bulgars, Kyiv princes Svyatoslav and Yaroslav were engaged in the combat "formatting" of the Turkic ethnos. The Pechenegs, who devastated the southern Russian steppes with fire and sword, were replaced by the Polovtsy, they were defeated by the Mongols-Tatars ... Partly Golden Horde(Mongol Empire) was a Turkic state, which later broke up into autonomous khanates.

In the history of the Turks, there were numerous other significant events, among which the most significant is the formation of the Ottoman Empire, which was facilitated by the conquests of the Ottoman Turks, who seized the lands of Europe, Asia and Africa in the 13th-16th centuries. After the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which began in the 17th century, Peter's Russia swallowed up most of the former Golden Horde lands with Turkic states. Already in the 19th century, East Transcaucasian khanates joined Russia. After Central Asia, the Kazakh and Kokand khanates, together with the Emirate of Bukhara, became part of Russia, the Mikin and Khiva khanates, together with Ottoman Empire represented the only conglomerate of Turkic states.

Dear friends! In our opinion, our brother from Karachaystan Khasan Khalkech raises important question. We ask you to join the discussion of the problem so that we can all have a reasonable figure on the number of Turks in the world.

Amansyz ba Ermentai keke!

I found your material on the Internet regarding the preparation of our Kurultai.

In this regard, I present the data collected by me during for long years, which I have reworked these days in relation to the size of our ethnic group.

The question is very important, especially since the data are very divergent. Turkophobes have only 80 million Turks, Turkophiles have up to 400 million people. Plus, there are scientifically substantiated data that three hundred million of the current Chinese population recognize themselves as Turks, once forcibly assimilated by China. Moreover, they put forward demands to the Chinese leadership that they create conditions for the restoration of the former native Turkic language. The question deserves attention, but let's move on to a closer question: how many of us are Turks in the world today? Is it acceptable for each of us to name a different number?

I propose that these preliminary data be sent out for general discussion. I tried to be more realistic than Turkophiles. I hope that after discussion we can settle on a more accurate figure for each nation, and our total number.

Kurmetpen Hasan Halkoch.
Karachaystan.

"KARACHAY" ATLY
PUBLIC FUND FOUNDATION "KARACHAY"

369222 Karachaevsky district.
8 903 422 44 95 369222
a. Kumysh per. Skalny d. No. 7
[email protected]

1 Turkish Turks —————————————— 100 million;

2 Azerbaijani Turks—————————- 60 million;

3 Uzbek Turks——————————————- 50 million;

4​ Uighur Turks——————————————- 30 million;

5​ Kazakh Turks—————————————————20 million;

6​ Turkic, autochthonous peoples of America—————20 million;

7​ Turkmen Turks———————————————20 million;

8​ Kazan Tatar Turks————————————- 10 million;

9​ Kyrgyz Turks——————————————— 8 million;

10 Chuvash Turks——————————————- 2 ml

11​ Bashkort Turks——————————————2 million;

12​ Qashqai Turks——————————————2 million;

13 Mazandaran Turks (Iran)———————— 2 million;

14​ Karakalpak Turks————————————— 1 million;

15​ Crimean Turks——————————————— 1 million;

16 Siberian Tatar Turks——————————500 thousand;

17​ Kumyk Turks—————————————— 500 thousand;

18 Sakaa - Yakut Turks———————————500 thousand;

19​ Meskhetian Turks —————————————500 thousand;

20 Tuva Turki—————————————————300 thousand;

21​ Tyva - Todzhintsy——————————————- 50 thousand;

22​ Gagauz Turks———————————————300 thousand;

23​ Karachay Turks—————————————- 300 thousand;

24 Balkar Turks—————————————— 150 thousand;

25 Altai Turks———————————————80 thousand;

26​ Khakass Turks——————————————-80 thousand;

27​ Nogai Turks———————————————90 thousand;

28​ Qajar Turks—————————————— 40 thousand;

29​ Shor Turks————————————————-16 thousand;

30​ Teleut Turks——————————————- 3 thousand;

31​ Kumandin Turks——————————————3 thousand;

32 Tofalar Turks————————————————-1 thousand;

33​ Karaim Turks—————————————— 3 thousand;

34​ Krymchak Turks—————————————- 1 thousand;

35​ Salar Turks——————————————- 200 thousand;

36 Sary Uighur Turks (China)———————— 500 thousand;

37 Afshar Turks (northern Iran)——————— 400 thousand;

38​ Nagaybak Turks——————————————— 10 thousand;

39​ Chulym Turks———————————————— 1 thousand;

Notes:

1 Note that this data is preliminary, collected and compiled for general discussion. We ask representatives from each people to make additions and clarifications for all peoples, especially for their own people.

2 For individual peoples.

- Turkish Turks - 100 million people.

Turkey has a specific clear law: All citizens of Turkey are Turks. This is not an infringement of their rights, but we are talking primarily about real equality. While respecting Turkey and the Turkish people, we must also respect the laws of Turkey. So, about 80 million Turkish citizens. There are 2 million Turks in Bulgaria, 1.5 million in Greece, and out of more than 5 million Turks in Germany, the overwhelming majority are Turks. In all the Balkan states, later in Holland and almost in all European countries, from a hundred or more thousand Turks. There are about one million Turks in the USA.

- Azerbaijanis - 60 million people.

The population of Northern Azerbaijan is about 10 million people. About South Azerbaijan, which is part of Iran, we can draw the following conclusion: the population of the country is about 80 million people, of which, according to some statistics, 51% of the population are Turks: Azerbaijanis, Qashqais, Mazandarans, Turkmens, Afshars, Qajars.

- Uzbeks 50 million people.

The population of Uzbekistan is more than 30 million people, of which, in addition to 5 million, Uzbeks. Among the more than thirty million people of Afghanistan, more than 10 Turkic population: Uzbeks, Turkmens, Kirghiz. In East Turkestan, along with the Uighurs, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kirghiz also live. The Russian diaspora of Uzbeks began to amount to two or more million people.

- Uighurs - 30 million people.

- Kazakhs - 20 million.

We remember well such data: before developing the "virgin lands", the territories inhabited by the Kazakhs for a long time, at first they really turned into a real virgin lands. In the 30s, the republic was ruled by the protege of the Kremlin, Goloshchekin. Under him, out of six million Kazakhs, after creating an artificial famine, two million Kazakhs remained. But, as Olzhas Suleymanov recalled the ancient Kazakh wise proverb: "There were six brothers, they died, they died, seven remained."

Even before the collapse of the USSR, official statistics stated that the number of Kazakhs in the world has reached 10 million. This is an indicator of the high vitality of the people, their high natural increase. Over a period of about thirty years, the number has doubled. In the aforementioned East Turkestan, geographically adjacent to Kazakhstan, there is the Ile Kazakh Autonomous Region. 2 million Kazakhs live there. Approximately the same number in Uzbekistan. There are one million people in Russia. There are also Kazakh diasporas in Afghanistan, Turkey, Germany, the USA.

- Indigenous (autochthonous) peoples of the American continent of Turkic nationality - 20 million. The issue is very delicate, studied so far in narrow scientific circles, but one hundred percent real.

In the map of the languages ​​of this continent, the absolute majority of the Indians of Canada, the USA, and Mexico are Turkic peoples. In South American countries, they are a minority.

In order not to clutter up the main topic, we will not dwell on the American Turks, because this is a separate and very capacious topic. Let us confirm that the figure of 20 million is real. It is possible that there are more of them. Another thing is important: the Eurasian Turks and the American Turks should be in close contact and as part of the VATN.

- Turkmens - 20 million people.

Here we refer, firstly, to the testimony of delegates of Turkmen nationality at pan-Turkic forums, each in his country of residence. Secondly for clarification by a knowledgeable Turkmen, which is quite consistent with individual indicators.

1 In Turkmenistan, about 7 million;

2​ Iraq——————- 3 million;

3 Iran——————— 3 million;

4 Syria———————- 3 million;

5 Turkey ———————- 1 million;

6 Afghanistan————— 1 million;

7 Stavropol ——-500 thousand;

8​ In other countries——— 500 thousand.

- Kazan Tatars - 10 million people.

It is quite possible that there are twice as many Kazan Tatars. Petersburg and Moscow alone have a diaspora of one million people each. Throughout Russia, from Kaliningrad (Könisberg) to Sakhalin, there is not only no region, but it is impossible to find an area where the Tatars do not live, and compactly. This is one of our peoples, whose numbers are stubbornly and diligently underestimated. Meanwhile, there was the Golden Horde, its population, although often subjected to extermination, is reborn again, survives and lives in the same place where they have lived for thousands of years.

- Kyrgyz Turks - 8 million people.

In addition to Kyrgyzstan, from time immemorial they live in the present territories of East Turkestan, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan.

- Chuvash - 2 million people.

According to the testimony of the Chuvash historian, academician Mishsha Yukhma Aleksandrovich, when determining the boundaries autonomous republics, Chuvashia got only a third of their original territory. Two-thirds of the territories are called neighboring provinces. The number of Chuvash Turks is just as underestimated.

Representative of the VATN from the Karachay Turks: Hasan Halkoch

They are settled on the vast territory of our planet, ranging from the cold Kolyma basin to the southwestern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Turks do not belong to any particular racial type, even among the same people there are both Caucasoids and Mongoloids. They are mostly Muslims, but there are peoples who profess Christianity, traditional beliefs, and shamanism. The only thing that connects almost 170 million people is the common origin of the group of languages ​​that the Turks now speak. Yakut and Turk - they all speak related dialects.

Strong branch of the Altai tree

Among some scientists, disputes still do not subside over which language family belongs to the Turkic language group. Some linguists singled it out as a separate large group. However, the most generally accepted hypothesis today is the version about the entry of these related languages ​​into the large Altaic family.

A great contribution to these studies was made by the development of genetics, thanks to which it became possible to trace the history of entire peoples in the wake of individual fragments of the human genome.

Once a group of tribes in Central Asia spoke the same language - the ancestor of modern Turkic dialects, but in the 3rd century. BC e. a separate Bulgar branch separated from the large trunk. The only people who speaks today the languages ​​​​of the Bulgar group are Chuvash. Their dialect is noticeably different from other related ones and stands out as a special subgroup.

Some researchers even propose to place the Chuvash language in a separate genus of the large Altai macrofamily.

Southeast direction classification

Other representatives Turkic group languages ​​are usually divided into 4 large subgroups. There are disagreements in the details, but for simplicity, we can take the most common way.

Oguz, or southwestern, languages, which include Azerbaijani, Turkish, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz. Representatives of these peoples speak very similarly and can easily understand each other without an interpreter. Hence the huge influence of strong Turkey in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, whose inhabitants perceive Turkish as their native language.

The Turkic group of the Altai family of languages ​​also includes the Kypchak, or northwestern, languages, which are spoken mainly on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of the peoples of Central Asia with nomadic ancestors. Tatars, Bashkirs, Karachays, Balkars, such peoples of Dagestan as Nogais and Kumyks, as well as Kazakhs and Kirghiz - they all speak related dialects of the Kypchak subgroup.

The southeastern, or Karluk, languages ​​are solidly represented by the languages ​​of two large peoples - the Uzbeks and the Uighurs. However, for almost a thousand years they developed separately from each other. If the Uzbek language has experienced a colossal influence of Farsi, the Arabic language, then the Uighurs, the inhabitants of East Turkestan, have brought for many years great amount Chinese loanwords into their own dialect.

Northern Turkic languages

The geography of the Turkic group of languages ​​is wide and varied. Yakuts, Altaians, in general, some indigenous peoples of northeastern Eurasia, are also combined into a separate branch of a large Turkic tree. Northeastern languages ​​are quite heterogeneous and are subdivided into several separate genera.

The Yakut and Dolgan languages ​​separated from the single Turkic dialect, and this happened in the 3rd century BC. n. e.

To the Sayan group of languages Turkic family include Tuvan and Tofalar languages. Khakasses and residents of Gornaya Shoria speak the languages ​​of the Khakass group.

Altai is the cradle of the Turkic civilization, the indigenous inhabitants of these places still speak the Oirot, Teleut, Lebedin, Kumandin languages ​​of the Altai subgroup.

Incidents in a slender classification

However, not everything is so simple in this conditional division. The process of national-territorial delimitation, which took place on the territory of the Central Asian republics of the USSR in the twenties of the last century, also affected such subtle matter as language.

All residents of the Uzbek SSR were called Uzbeks, a single version of the literary Uzbek language was adopted, based on the dialects of the Kokand Khanate. However, even today the Uzbek language is characterized by pronounced dialectism. Some dialects of Khorezm, the westernmost part of Uzbekistan, are closer to the languages ​​of the Oguz group and closer to Turkmen than to literary Uzbek.

Some areas speak dialects that belong to the Nogai subgroup of the Kipchak languages, hence the situations when a Ferghana native hardly understands a native of Kashkadarya, who, in his opinion, godlessly distorts his native language, is not uncommon.

The situation is approximately the same with other representatives of the peoples of the Turkic group of languages ​​- Crimean Tatars. The language of the inhabitants of the coastal strip is almost identical to Turkish, but the natural steppe people speak an dialect closer to the Kypchak ones.

Ancient history

For the first time, the Turks entered the world historical arena in the era of the Great Migration of Nations. In the genetic memory of Europeans, there is still a shudder before the invasion of Attila's Huns in the 4th century. n. e. The steppe empire was a motley formation of numerous tribes and peoples, however, the Turkic element was still predominant.

There are many versions of the origin of these peoples, however, most researchers place the ancestral home of today's Uzbeks and Turks in the northwestern part of the Central Asian plateau, in the area between Altai and the Khingar Range. This version is also followed by the Kyrgyz, who consider themselves the direct heirs of great empire and still nostalgic about it.

The neighbors of the Turks were the Mongols, the ancestors of today's Indo-European peoples, the Ural and Yenisei tribes, the Manchus. The Turkic group of the Altaic family of languages ​​began to take shape in close cooperation with close peoples.

Confusion with Tatars and Bulgarians

In the first century A.D. e. individual tribes begin to migrate towards southern Kazakhstan. In the 4th century, the famous Hun invasion of Europe took place. It was then that the Bulgar branch separated from the Turkic tree and an extensive confederation was formed, which was divided into the Danubian and Volga. Today's Bulgarians in the Balkans now speak Slavic and have lost their Turkic roots.

The reverse situation occurred with the Volga Bulgars. They still speak Turkic languages, but after the invasion of the Mongols they call themselves Tatars. conquered Turkic tribes, who lived in the steppes of the Volga, took the name of the Tatars - a legendary tribe that had long disappeared in the wars, with whom Genghis Khan began his campaigns. They also called their language Tatar, which they used to call Bulgar.

Chuvash is considered the only living dialect of the Bulgar branch of the Turkic group of languages. The Tatars, another descendant of the Bulgars, actually speak a variant of the later Kipchak dialects.

From Kolyma to the Mediterranean

The peoples of the Turkic language group include residents of the harsh regions of the basin of the famous Kolyma, resort beaches The Mediterranean, the Altai mountains and the steppes of Kazakhstan, as flat as a table. The ancestors of today's Turks were nomads, along and across the Eurasian continent. For two thousand years they interacted with their neighbors, who were Iranians, Arabs, Russians, Chinese. During this time, an unimaginable mixture of cultures and bloodlines occurred.

Today it is even impossible to determine the race to which the Turks belong. Residents of Turkey, Azerbaijanis, Gagauz belong to the Mediterranean group of the Caucasian race, there are practically no guys with slanted eyes and yellowish skin. However, the Yakuts, Altaians, Kazakhs, Kirghiz - they all carry a pronounced Mongoloid element in their appearance.

Racial diversity is observed even among peoples who speak the same language. Among the Tatars of Kazan you can meet blue-eyed blondes and black-haired people with slanted eyes. The same is observed in Uzbekistan, where it is impossible to deduce the appearance of a typical Uzbek.

Faith

The majority of Turks are Muslims who practice the Sunni branch of this religion. Only in Azerbaijan adhere to Shiism. However, individual peoples either retained ancient beliefs or became adherents of other major religions. Most of the Chuvash and Gagauz profess Christianity in its Orthodox form.

In the northeast of Eurasia, individual peoples continue to adhere to the faith of their ancestors; among the Yakuts, Altaians, Tuvans, traditional beliefs and shamanism continue to be popular.

During the time of the Khazar Khaganate, the inhabitants of this empire professed Judaism, which continues to be perceived as the only true religion by today's Karaites, fragments of that mighty Turkic state.

Vocabulary

Along with world civilization, the Turkic languages ​​also developed, absorbing the vocabulary of neighboring peoples and generously endowing them with their own words. It is difficult to count the number of borrowed Turkic words in the East Slavic languages. It all started with the Bulgars, from whom the words “kap” were borrowed, from which arose “temple”, “suvart”, transformed into “serum”. Later, instead of "serum" they began to use the common Turkic "yogurt".

The exchange of vocabulary became especially lively during the Golden Horde and the late Middle Ages, during active trade with the Turkic countries. A huge number of new words came into use: donkey, cap, sash, raisins, shoe, chest and others. Later, only the names of specific terms began to be borrowed, for example, snow leopard, elm, dung, kishlak.

Ethno-speaking group speaking Turkic languages. This population group is considered one of the oldest, and its classification is the most complex and still causes controversy among historians. 164 million people today speak the Turkic language. The most ancient people of the Turkic group are the Kirghiz, their language has been preserved almost unchanged. And the first information about the appearance of Turkic-speaking tribes dates back to the first millennium BC.

Modern population

The largest number of modern Turks is. According to statistics, this is 43% of all Turkic-speaking peoples, or 70 million people. Next come - 15% or 25 million people. Slightly fewer Uzbeks - 23.5 million (14%), after - - 12 million (7%), Uighurs - 10 million (6%), Turkmens - 6 million (4%), - 5.5 million (3%) , — 3.5 million (2%). The following nationalities make up 1%: Qashqais and - an average of 1.5 million. Others less than 1%: Karakalpaks (700 thousand), Afshars (600 thousand), Yakuts (480 thousand), Kumyks (400 thousand), Karachays (350 thousand ), (300 thousand), Gagauz (180 thousand), Balkars (115 thousand), Nogais (110 thousand), Khakasses (75 thousand), Altaians (70 thousand). Most Turks are Muslims.


Ratio of Turkic peoples

Origin of peoples

The first settlement of the Turks was in Northern China, in the steppe zones. They were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Over time, the tribes settled, so they reached Eurasia. The ancient Turkic peoples were:

  • Huns;
  • turkuts;
  • Karluks;
  • Khazars;
  • Pechenegs;
  • Bulgars;
  • Cumans;
  • Oghuz Turks.

Very often in the historical annals the Turks are called Scythians. There are many legends about the origin of the first tribes, which also exist in several versions.

language group

There are 2 main groups: eastern and western. Each of them has a branch:

  • Eastern:
    • Kirghiz-Kypchak (Kyrgyz, Altaians);
    • Uighur (Saryg-Uighurs, Todzhans, Altaians, Khakases, Dolgans, Tofalars, Shors, Tuvans, Yakuts).
  • Western:
    • Bulgar (Chuvash);
    • Kypchak (Kypchak-Bulgarian: Tatars, Bashkirs; Kypchak-Polovtsian: Crimeans, Krymchaks, Balkars, Kumyks, Karaites, Karachays; Kypchak-Nogai: Kazakhs, Nogais, Karakalpaks);
    • Karluk (Ili Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Uyghurs);
    • Oguz (Oguz-Bulgarian: Balkan Turks, Gagauz; Oghuz-Seljuk: Turks, Azerbaijanis, Capriot Turks, Turkomans, Qashqais, Urums, Syrian Turks, Crimeans; Oguz-Turkmen peoples: Trukhmens, Qajars, Gudars, Teymurtashis, Turkmens, Afshars , Salars, Karapapahi).

The Chuvash speak the Chuvash language. Dialectic of the Yakuts in Yakut and Dolgan. The Kypchak peoples are located in Russia, Siberia, so Russian becomes native here, although some peoples retain their culture and language. Representatives of the Karluk group speak Uzbek and Uighur. Tatars, Kirghiz and Kazakhs achieved independence of their territory and also preserved their traditions. But the Oguzes tend to speak Turkmen, Turkish, Salar.

Characteristics of peoples

Many nationalities, although they live on the territory of Russia, retain their language, culture and customs. Vivid examples of the Turkic people who are partially or completely dependent on other countries:

  • Yakuts. Often, the indigenous people call themselves Sakhas, and their Republic was called Sakha. This is the easternmost Turkic population. The language was acquired a little from the Asians.
  • Tuvans. This nationality is found in the east, closer to the border with China. Native Republic - Tuva.
  • Altaians. They preserve their history and culture the most. They inhabit the Republic of Altai.
  • Khakasses. Live in the Republic of Khakassia, approximately 52 thousand people. Partially, someone moved to the Krasnoyarsk Territory or Tula.
  • Tofalars. According to statistics, this nationality is on the verge of extinction. Found only in the Irkutsk region.
  • Shors. Today it is 10 thousand people who have taken refuge in the southern part of the Kemerovo region.
  • Siberian Tatars. They speak Tatar, but live in Russia: Omsk, Tyumen and Novosibirsk regions.
  • Dolgans. These are bright representatives living in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Today, the nationality consists of 7.5 thousand people.

Other peoples, and there are six such countries, have achieved their own nationality and now these are prosperous countries with a history of Turkic settlement:

  • Kirghiz. This is the most ancient settlement of Turkic origin. Let the territory for a long time was vulnerable, but they managed to preserve their way of life and culture. They lived mainly in the steppe zone, where few people settled. But they are very hospitable and generously meet and see off guests who come to their house.
  • Kazakhs. This is the most common group of Turkic representatives. They are very proud, but at the same time strong-willed people. Children are brought up strictly, but they are ready to protect their neighbor from bad things.
  • Turks. A peculiar people, they are patient and unpretentious, but very insidious and vindictive. Non-Muslims do not exist for them.

All representatives of Turkic origin are united by a common - history and common origin. Many managed to carry through the years and even in spite of other problems, their traditions. Other representatives are on the verge of extinction. But even this does not prevent getting acquainted with their culture.

The ancient Turks are the ancestors of many modern Turkic peoples, including the Tatars. The Turks roamed the Great Steppe (Dashti-Kypchak) in the expanses of Eurasia. Here they led their economic activity, on these lands they created their own states. 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 also migrated here from Central Asia, known in history as the Huns. In the 4th century, the Huns occupied the Black Sea region, then invaded Central Europe. But, over time, the Hun union of tribes broke up 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 the Tatars living on the banks of the Irtysh River. In frequent military clashes, the opponents of the Tatars usually turned out to be the Chinese and Mongols. There is no doubt that the Tatars were Turks, and in this sense they are close relatives (and to a certain extent can also be attributed to the ancestors) of the modern Turkic peoples.
After the collapse of the Turkic Khaganate, the Khazar Khaganate came into power. The possession of the kaganate extended to the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and the Crimea. The Khazars were an association 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 not far from the mouth of the Volga, there were Muslim mosques, prayer houses of Christians and Jews. Seven equal judges worked: two Muslims, a Jew, a Christian and one pagan. Each of them resolved the lawsuits of people of the same religion as him. The Khazars were engaged in nomadic cattle breeding, agriculture and gardening, and in the cities - crafts. The capital of the kaganate was not only the center of handicrafts, but also international trade.
In the years of 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. Especially tangible were the attacks of the troops of the Arab Caliphate, Kyiv principality and the hostile policy of Byzantium. All this led to the fact that at the end of the tenth 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 the 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, 6ulgars are river people or people associated with fishing. According to other versions, “Bulgars” can mean: “mixed, consisting of many elements”, “rebels, rebels”, “wise men, thinkers”, etc. The Bulgars had their own public education- Great Bulgaria in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, with the capital - r. Phanagoria, on the Taman Peninsula. This state included lands from the Dnieper to the Kuban, part of the North Caucasus and the steppe expanses between the Caspian and Azov seas. Once and Caucasian mountains called the chain of Bulgar mountains. The Azov Bulgaria was a peaceful state, and often fell into dependence on the Turkic Khaganate and Khazaria. The state reached its greatest prosperity under the rule of Kubrat Khan, who managed to unite the Bulgars and other Turkic tribes. This khan was a wise ruler who achieved remarkable success in ensuring a peaceful life for his fellow citizens. During his reign, Bulgar cities grew, crafts developed. The state received international recognition, relations with geographic 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 intensified. Under these conditions, there were several cases of resettlement of significant masses of Bulgars to other regions. One group of Bulgars headed by Prince Asparukh moved west and settled on the banks of the Danube. large group Bulgar, led by the son of Kubrat Kodrak, went to the middle Volga region.
The Bulgars who remained in the Sea of ​​Azov ended up as part of Khazaria along with the Lower Volga Bulgars-Saksins and with 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 Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov 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, captured 20 thousand Barsils (the travelers of the century as part of the Bulgar people singled out Barsils, Esegels and, in fact, Buggars). 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 Bulgar migration to the middle and upper reaches of the Itil (the Itil River, in the understanding of that time, began with the Belaya River, included part of the Kama and then the Volga).
Thus, mass and small migrations of the Bulgars to the Volga-Ural region took place. The choice of the resettlement area is quite understandable. Here several centuries ago the Huns lived and their descendants continued to live, as well as other Turkic tribes. From this point of view, these places were the historical homeland of ancestors for certain Turkic tribes. In addition, the Turkic peoples of the middle and lower Volga region maintained constant close ties with the kindred peoples of the Caucasus and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov; 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 noted, however, that no more or less big people cannot trace its genealogy from only one single tribe. And the Tatar people in this sense is not an exception, among its ancestors one could name more than one tribe, and also indicate more than one influence (including Finno-Ugric). However, it is the Bulgars that should be recognized as the main element in the composition of the Tatar people.
Over time, the Turkic-Bulgarian tribes began to make up a fairly large population in this region. If, moreover, we take into account their historical experience in state building, then there is nothing surprising in the fact that the state of Great Bulgaria (Volga Bulgaria) soon arose here. In the initial period of its existence, Bulgaria in the Volga region was, as it were, 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 specific rulers. Has developed general system, paying taxes to 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. In the future, the zone of political and economic influence of Bulgaria extended from the Oka to the Yaik (Urals). The lands of Bulgaria included areas from the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama to the Yaik and the lower reaches of the Volga. The Khazar Sea became known as the Bular 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 population and had a highly developed economy. In agriculture, the Bulgars used iron plowshares to plows already in the 10th century, the Bulgar Saban plow provided plowing with a layer turnover. 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. Handicraft reached a high level for that time. The Bulgars were engaged in jewelry, leather, bone carving, metallurgical, 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 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, Velikaya Bulgaria has been the leading trading center in Eastern Europe. Trade relations developed with the closest neighbors - with the northern peoples, with the Russian principalities and with Scandinavia. Trade with Central Asia, with the Caucasus, with Persia, with the Baltics unfolded. The Bulgar merchant fleet ensured the export and import of goods by waterways, and trade caravans to Kazakhstan and to Central Asia. The Bulgars exported fish, bread, timber, walrus teeth, furs, specially processed leather “Bulgari”, swords, chain mail, etc. From the Yellow Sea to Scandinavia, jewelry, leather and fur products of Bulgar craftsmen were known. The minting of own coins, begun 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.
Bulgars, in their bulk, adopted Islam as early as 825, i.e. almost 1200 years ago. The canons of Islam, with their call for spiritual and physical purity, for mercy, etc., found a special response among the Bulgars. The official adoption of Islam in the state has become a powerful factor in the consolidation of the people into a single organism. In 922 Almas Shilki, the ruler of the Great Bulgaria, received a delegation from the Baghdad Caliphate. A solemn prayer service was held in the central mosque of the capital of the state - 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 Mukhammetov more firmly than anyone else." Within the framework of a single state, the formation of the nationality itself has also been basically completed. In any case, the Russian chronicles of the 11th century note here a single, Bulgar people.
Thus, the direct ancestors of modern Tatars were formed as a nationality 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. The incessant attacks of the seekers of easy money forced the Bulgars even to move the capital; in the 12th century, the city of Bilyar, located at some distance from the main water artery - the Volga River, became the capital of the state. But, the most serious military trials fell on the lot of the Bulgar people in the XII century, which brought the Mongol invasion to the world.
Within three decades of the XIII century, the Mongols conquered a significant part of Asia and began their campaigns on 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 deadly threat fell on deaf ears. Eastern Europe met the Mongols not united, but disunited, divided into warring states (the same mistake was made by Central Europe). In 1223, the Mongols utterly defeated the combined forces of the Russian principalities and the Kipchak warriors on the Kalka River and sent part of their troops to Bulgaria. However, the Bulgars met the enemy on the distant approaches, near the Zhiguli. Using a skillful ambush system, the Bulgars, led by 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 Kypchaks was freed from them; whoever escaped from them returned to his own 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 poured in the area of ​​the Yaik, Belaya rivers, etc. At the then level of technology, in such a short period of time, such work could be carried out only with a very high level of organization of the population. This serves as an additional confirmation of the fact that by this time the Bulgars were a single, close-knit people, united by a common idea, the desire to preserve their independence. Six years later, the Mongols attacked again, 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, Cumans-Kipchaks began to move to the lands of Bulgaria, thereby contributing their share to the composition of the ancestors of modern Tatars.
In 1236 the Mongols made their third campaign against Bulgaria. The subjects of the country fought fiercely, defending their state. For a month and a half, the Bulgars selflessly defended the besieged capital - the city of Bilyar. However, the 50,000th army of the Bulgar Khan Gabdulla Ibn-Ilgam could not resist the onslaught of the 250,000th Mongol army for a long time. The capital has fallen. The following year, the western lands of Bulgaria were conquered, all fortifications and fortresses were destroyed. The Bulgars did not reconcile themselves to the defeat, the uprisings followed one after another. Bulgars almost 50 years of hostilities 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.

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