Alat (tribe)
Encyclopedia
Alat are one of the Turkic
Block quote
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
tribes known from Chinese annals, Bactrian inscriptions, and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and Persian medieval geographers as a prominent tribe that played a distinguished role in the history of Eurasia. In "Tang huiyao" the Alat tamga is depicted as The modern Alats live in Russia in the Altai, Kazakhstan, eastern section of the Iranian plateau, India, and Afghanistan, they are known as Alats, Alachins, Khalaj, and Khalaches.
Literature on Alats is very rich, Alats were a subject of study by Tangshu, Jiu Tangshu, Tang Huiyao
Tang Huiyao
The Tang Huiyao is an institutional history of Tang Dynasty compiled by Wang Pu and presented it to Emperor Taizu of Song in 961. The book contains 100 volumes and 514 sections, it has an abundant content for the period before 846, and scarce material unobtainable from the Tongdian, Book of Tang,...
, N.Ya. Bichurin, S.E.Malov, N.A.Aristov, G.E.Grumm-Grjimailo, Yu.Nemeth, G.Hоworth, P. Pelliot, L Hambis, and others.
Name
In ancient Türkic lexicon the meaning of "skewbald" (horse) is expressed with the terms ala, alagchin, still active now in composite expressions. The Chinese transcription for Alachins E-lo-chji is the earliest transmission for the Alat tribe within the Kazakh Junior JuzJunior Jüz
Little jüz or Alshyns are the Western subgroup of the Kazakhs. They originate from the Nogais of the Nogai Horde, which once was placed in Western Kazakhstan, but in the 16th century it was defeated by the Kazakhs and the Russians and Nogais retreated to the Western part of their khanate, to the...
and parts of Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
. During the Tang time, the Chinese chroniclers used a Chinese version for "skewbald horses", Boma.
Southern Huns in China
TongdianTongdian
The Tongdian is a Chinese institutional history and encyclopedia text. It covers a panoply of topics from high antiquity through the year 756, whereas a quarter of the book focuses on the Tang Dynasty. The book was written by Du You from 766 to 801...
states that around 349-370 CE a leader of Sothern Huns Heloγ Tou (i.e. Alat Tou), with a title Shanyu, brought his tribe of 35 thousand people to the Former Yan
Former Yan
The Former Yan was a state of Xianbei ethnicity during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin Dynasty -created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, after seizing most of the former Later Zhao territory, Murong Juan would...
Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
state and submitted to its dynasty. The Shanyu Helai Toy was bestowed a title of General Pacifying the West, and settled in the Daizong district. It adds that apparently, the tribe Yanto are their descendants. Yanto lived intermixed with tribe Se
Sé
Sé may refer to:*sé, the word 'he', or the number six in the Irish language.*Sé , a district of São Paulo, Brazil*Sé, Hungary, a village in Hungary*One of several parishes in Portugal:...
, therefore they are called Se-yanto (Pin. Xueyantuo
Xueyantuo
The Xueyantuo ' or Syr-Tardush were an ancient Tiele people and khanate in central/northern Asia who were at one point vassals of the Gokturks, later aligning with China's Tang Dynasty against the Eastern Gokturks....
), that surname of Kagan clan was Ili-tu, that from generation to generation Se-yanto were a strong tribe, and that Se-yanto was a Tele (Pin. Tiele
Tiele
Tiele may refer to:*Tiele people, an ancient people of Central Asia*Tiele, Mali, commune and town*Cornelis Petrus Tiele...
) tribe. Fang Xuanling
Fang Xuanling
Fang Xuanling , formal name Fang Qiao but went by the courtesy name of Xuanling, formally Duke Wenzhao of Liang , was the lead editor of the Book of Jin and one of the most celebrated chancellors of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, and he and his colleague Du Ruhui, both serving during the reign...
in Jin Shu stated that Helai (Alats) were one of 19 tribes of the Southern Hun Shanyu.
Hephthalites
According to the Chinese annals, the home of the Eastern Hun tribe Alat was in the basin of the Narym RiverNarym River
The Narym River is a river in the Eastern Kazakhstan, a tributary of the Irtysh River, originating at the junction of the ridges Narym and Sarymsakty of wetland formed by the mountain runoff streams...
. From the Alat tribe originated one of the Eastern Hun Shanuys called Helog Tou, i.e. Alat Tou, most likely named after his maternal tribe. Under Arabicized name Khalajes, Alats are known to constitute one of the major tribes of the 5th-6th c. CE Hephthalites. Tangshu tells about Alats: "They are north from the Türks, 14,000 li from the Chinese capital. They follow grass and water, but mostly live in the mountains. Their standing army is 30,000 men. There is always snow, and foliage does not fall down. They plough fields with horses. All horses are skewbald colors, therefore the state is also given the same name. They live in the north near a sea. Though they have horses, they do not ride them, but use their milk for food. They are frequently at war with Kirgizes". Jiu Tangshu mentions a tribe of skewbald horses among Basmyl
Basmyl
The Basmyls were a 7–8th century Türkic nomadic tribe who mostly inhabited the Dzungaria region in the northwest of the modern day People's Republic of China. According to literary sources, the terms Basmyls and Basmals are readily interchangeable...
s, Kirguts, Tuhsi, etc., who in 638 submitted to the Western Türkic Torok-kagan Du-lu ke-han. Tundyan cites as a comment a fragment from an unknown composition that "Tu-jüe (Türks) call the skewbald horses e-la (а-la), and the state is also called "e-la".
Middle Ages
From the story of AbulgaziAbu al-Ghazi Bahadur
Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur was a khan of Khiva and a historian who wrote in the Khiva dialect of the Chagatai language....
and description of two Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n embassies (in 1233 and 1254) to Alachins, they lived along Yenisei, the sources of Angara, and the east coast of lake Baikal, called by the Chinese chroniclers "Northern sea". Based on annalistic traditions, the author of the "Family tree of Türks" Abulgazi described the country of skewbald horses: "A multitude of Tatar tribes coached along the banks of the Angara-muren, which runs east of the Kirgiz country and runs into the sea. On the seacoast at the estuary of this river is a large city surrounded by settlements where live nomadic tribes in large numbers. Their horses are large... All of them are skewbald in hue, there are no others. Near that city called Alakchin was a silver spring, therefore all caldrons, dishes, and vases were from silver. It is that country that the Uzbeks mean when say: "there is a country where all horses are skewbald, and the stoves are from gold".
The Khaljī tribe had long been settled in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. A Khilji
Khilji
Khilji may refer to:*Khilji dynasty*Khilji, Nepalas added to the page to prevent it being listed on Special:Shortpages. It and the accompanying monitoring template were generated via Template:Longcomment. Please do not remove the monitor template without removing the comment as well....
dynasty of Turko-Afghan Khalaj origin ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 to 1320, they were the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, they are noted in history for repeatedly defeating the warring Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
and thereby saving India from plundering raids and attacks.
Modern time
After the Russian revolution in 1917, Alats (Kazakh: Alaş), named after a legendary founder of the Kazakh people, headed a movement of the Turkestan peoples for independence, and created a functioning state of the Kazakh people known as Alash AutonomyAlash Autonomy
Alash Autonomy was a state that existed between December 13, 1917 and August 26, 1920, located roughly on the territory of present day Republic of Kazakhstan. The capital city was Semey ....
that operated between December 13, 1917 and August 26, 1920, controlling roughly the territory of the present day Republic of Kazakhstan, with a capital in Alash-qala (modern Semey
Semey
Semey , formerly known as Semipalatinsk and Alash-kala , is a city in Kazakhstan, in the northeastern province of East Kazakhstan, near the border with Siberia, around north of Almaty, and southeast of the Russian city of Omsk, along the Irtysh River.-History:The first settlement was in 1718,...
). The Alash leaders in December 1917 proclaimed establishment of Alash Orda, a Kazakh government, aligned with the Russian White Army and fought against the Bolsheviks.
In 1919, when the White forces were losing, Alash Autonomous government began negotiations with the Bolsheviks. In 1919–20 Bolsheviks defeated the White Russian forces in the region and occupied Kazakhstan. On August 26, 1920, the new Soviet government disbanded the Alash Autonomy, and established the "Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic", later the name was changed in 1925 to "Kazak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic" and changed again in 1936 to "Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic". However, the movement for independence continued, and it continued until 1925, when the war for independence was finally extinguished
Modern demographics
As of 2000, approximately 42,000 speakers of the Khalaj languageKhalaj language
Khalaj is a Turkic language spoken in Iran.It is a member of the Azerbaijani subgroup of the Oghuz languages.There were approximately 42,000 speakers of this language as of 2000...
lived in Iran, per ISO 639-3 their language ia called Turkic Khalaj, to distinguish it from the Indo-Iranian "Khalaj" language. In the Causacus, in Armenia and Azerbajan are a number of settlemennts with the name ascending to the Alats, they also are in Uzbekistan and Tatarstan, and in the form Kalat in Khorasan. In Afagnistan, Alats are known as one of the largest Pashtun tribes, the Ghilzai
Ghilzai
Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...
s, they were pasturing at the Gazni plateau. In India, Alats are called Ghalzae. In Khorasan, Alats are called Kalat, they are Alats and Alaş in Kazakhstan, and Alats and Alachins in Altai in Russia.
Linguistic distinction
Principal linguistic work on Alat langiage (KhalajKhalaj language
Khalaj is a Turkic language spoken in Iran.It is a member of the Azerbaijani subgroup of the Oghuz languages.There were approximately 42,000 speakers of this language as of 2000...
in modern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
) was done by Gerhard Doerfer
Gerhard Doerfer
Gerhard Doerfer was a German Turkologist, Altaist, and philologist best known for his studies of the Turkish language.Doerfer spent his childhood in Konigsberg and Berlin. After release from captivity following the World War II, from 1949 to 1954 he took in Berlin courses in Turkic and Altaic...
, who posited a non-Oguz
Oghuz languages
The Oghuz languages, a major branch of the Turkic language family, are spoken by more than 110 million people in an area spanning from the Balkans to China.-Linguistic features:...
classification based on specific features such as preservation of three vowel lengths, preservation of word-initial *h, and lack of the sound change *d > y. An example of these features is the word hadaq ("foot"), which has preserved the initial *h and medial *d, versus the Oguz form ayaq. Therefore Alat is an independent language that became distinct very early from the Oguz Turkic languages. Because of these distinct features, scholars speculated that the Alat (Khalaj) is a descendant of the Ogur
Oghur languages
The Oghur or Bulgar , are a separate branch of the Turkic language family. It was historically spoken in Volga Bulgaria...
branch of the Turkic family, but there is no firm scholarly consensus on its affinities.
See also
- History of AfghanistanHistory of AfghanistanThe written history of Afghanistan can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire ca. 500 BCE, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived to Afghanistan in 330 BCE...
- History of ChinaHistory of ChinaChinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
- History of KazakhstanHistory of KazakhstanThe history of Kazakhstan describes the human past in the Eurasia's largest segment of the steppe belt that was the home and crossroads for numerous human groups starting with extinct Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus 1 mln - 800,000 in the Karatau Mountains, Caspian and Balkhash areas; Neanderthals...
- Alash OrdaAlash OrdaAlash Orda was the name of the provisional Kazakh government between 13 December 1917 and 26 August 1920.The Alash Party proclaimed the autonomy of the Kazakh people in December 1917. Membership consists from 25 members and 15 member candidates...
- History of KyrgyzstanHistory of Kyrgyzstan-Early history:Stone implements found in the Tian Shan mountains indicate the presence of human society in what is now Kyrgyzstan as many as 200,000 to 300,000 years ago...
- History of MongoliaHistory of MongoliaThe area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Nirun, the Gökturks, and others. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the Mongols returned to their earlier patterns...
- Mountainous Republic of the Northern CaucasusMountainous Republic of the Northern CaucasusThe Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus was a short-lived state situated in the Northern Caucasus...
- Oghur languagesOghur languagesThe Oghur or Bulgar , are a separate branch of the Turkic language family. It was historically spoken in Volga Bulgaria...
- Khalaj languageKhalaj languageKhalaj is a Turkic language spoken in Iran.It is a member of the Azerbaijani subgroup of the Oghuz languages.There were approximately 42,000 speakers of this language as of 2000...
- KhiljiKhiljiKhilji may refer to:*Khilji dynasty*Khilji, Nepalas added to the page to prevent it being listed on Special:Shortpages. It and the accompanying monitoring template were generated via Template:Longcomment. Please do not remove the monitor template without removing the comment as well....