The
Karluks (obs.
Qarluqs,
Qarluks,
Karluqs, Arab/Persian
Halluh, , customary phonetic
Gelolu,
Gelu,
Khololo,
Khorlo,
Harluut) were a prominent nomadic
TurkicThe Turkic peoples are Eurasian peoples residing in northern, central and western Eurasia. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists hold that...
residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh (Black
IrtyshThe Irtysh River is a river in Siberia and is the chief tributary of the river Ob. Its name means White River. It is actually longer than the Ob to their confluence. Irtysh's main affluent is Tobol River...
) and
TarbagataiTarbagatai or Tarbagatay can refer to:* Mountain ranges:**The Tarbagatai Mountains between Xinjiang, China and Kazakhstan...
west of the
Altay MountainsThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples' birthplace...
in
Central AsiaAsia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.Various definitions of its...
. They were closely related to the
UygursThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
. Karluks gave their name to the distinct Karluk group of the
Turkic languagesThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
, which also includes the
UygurUyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turki, is a Turkic language spoken in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a Central Asian region administered by China, mainly by the Uyghur ethnic group. It is spoken by 10 million in China, mostly in Xinjiang...
,
UzbekUzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 23.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
and
Ili TurkiIli Turki is a language spoken primarily in China. It belongs to the Turkic family of languages. There were approximately 120 speakers of this language as of 1982.-Classification:...
languages. Karluk is widely known as
Chagatai languageThe Chagatai language is an extinct Turkic language which was once widely spoken in Central Asia, and remained the shared literary language there until the early twentieth century...
. Karluks were known as a coherent ethnic group with autonomous status within the Turkic Kaganates, and the independent states of the Karluk
YabguYabgu was a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to viceroy. The title carried autonomy in different degrees, and its links with the central authority of Kagan varied from economical and political subordination to superficial political deference.The position of Yabgu was...
and Karakhanids, before being absorbed in the
Chagatai UlusThe Chagatai Khanate was a Mongol, and later linguistically Turkicized, khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
of the
Mongol empireThe Mongol Empire was an empire from the 13th and 14th century spanning from Eastern Europe across Asia. It is the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world...
.
Historical background
The first Chinese reference to the Karluks (644 AD) labels them with a
ManichaeanMani was the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient gnostic religion that was once widespread but is now extinct. Mani was born of Iranian parentage in Assuristan, located in modern-day Iraq, which was a part of the Persian Empire during Mani's life. Mani may have been of Persian parentage...
attribute: Lion Karluks (
Shi-Gelolu,
shi stands for Sogd. "lion"). The "lion" (Tr. "arslan") Karluks persisted up to the time of the Mongols . In the Early Middle Age, organized as the Uch-Karluks (Three Karluks) union, composed of Karluks,
ChigilsThe Chigil were a Turkic tribe known from the 7th century CE as living around Issyk Kul lake area. They were considered to be descended from two of the "Six Chuy tribes" of the Chuban, the Chuyue and Chumi. They are known to have been speakers of the Oghuz group of the Turkic...
, and
YagmaThe Yagma were a medieval tribe of Turks whose members are among the ancestors of modern Uigurs and Uzbeks. Yagma is one of the Turkic tribes that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a three-member confederation known...
tribes, they were members of the Turkic Kaganate. After the split of the Kaganate around 600 into the Western and Eastern Kaganates, the Uch-Karluks remained in the Western Turkic Kaganate under a non-autonomous home rule, as the members of the five
TeleThe Dingling were an ancient Siberian people. They originally lived on the bank of the Lena River in the area west of Lake Baikal, gradually moving southward to Mongolia and northern China...
(Dingling) tribes that did not receive autonomy: the Karluks; the
YagmaThe Yagma were a medieval tribe of Turks whose members are among the ancestors of modern Uigurs and Uzbeks. Yagma is one of the Turkic tribes that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a three-member confederation known...
(Yan Nyan); the Kipchaks; the Basmyls; and the Hun (Dulu) tribes Chue, Chumi, and
ShatoThe Shatuo were a Turkic tribe that heavily influenced northern Chinese politics from the late ninth century through the tenth century. They are noted for founding three of the Five Dynasties in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.-Ethnic Origins and Geography:In Chinese, the Shatuo means...
. After the breakup of the Western Turkic Kaganate around 630, the Karluk union became independent, and by the year 665 it was led by a former Uch-Karluk bey with the title Kül-Erkin, now titled "
YabguYabgu was a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to viceroy. The title carried autonomy in different degrees, and its links with the central authority of Kagan varied from economical and political subordination to superficial political deference.The position of Yabgu was...
" (prince), who had a powerful army. The Karluk vanguard left the
Altai regionThe Altai Mountains are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples' birthplace...
, and at the beginning of the 8th century reached the banks of the
Amu DaryaThe Amu Darya , in antiquity known as Oxus to Greeks and Romans or Vaksu to Indo-Aryans, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
.
The Karluks were a branch of the Turkic
TürgeshThe Turgesh Kaganate were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Khaganate...
, or aboriginal Altaians. In 650 AD, at the time of their submission to the
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, the Karluks had 3 tribes: Meulo, Chjisy (Popou), and Tashili. On paper, the Karluk divisions received Chinese names as Chinese provinces, and their leaders received Chinese state titles. Later, the Karluks spread from the valley of the river Kerlyk along the Irtysh River in the western part of the Altay to beyond the Black Irtysh,
TarbagataiTarbagatai or Tarbagatay can refer to:* Mountain ranges:**The Tarbagatai Mountains between Xinjiang, China and Kazakhstan...
, and towards the Tien Shan. .
In 630 AD the Aru-Kagan (Chinese,
Helu) of the Eastern Turkic Kaganate was captured by the Chinese, and his heir apparent, the "lesser Khan" Khubo, with a major part of the people and 30,000 members of the army, escaped to Altai, conquered the Karluks in the west, the Kyrgyz in the north, and took the title Ichju Chebi Khan. The Karluks allied with the
DinglingThe Dingling were an ancient Siberian people. They originally lived on the bank of the Lena River in the area west of Lake Baikal, gradually moving southward to Mongolia and northern China...
and their leaders the Uygurs against the Turkic Kaganate, and participated in enthroning the victorious head of the
UygursThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
(
Tokuz OguzesTokuz-Oguzes is a political alliance of nine Oguz tribes . Tokuz-Oguzes consolidated within the Great Turkic Kaganate , and after its fragmentation preserved their union...
). After that, a smaller part of the Karluks joined the Uygurs, and settled in the Bogdo-Ola mountains in
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
, and the larger part settled in the area between Altai and the eastern Tien Shan.
The Karluk rose in rebellion in against the Türküt, then the dominant tribal confederation in the region, in about 745, and established a new tribal confederation with the Turkic
UygurThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
and
BasmylBasmyls were a Türkic nomadic tribe mostly known in Dzungaria in the 7-8th centuries. In the literature, the terms Basmyls and Basmals are readily interchangeable...
tribes.
In 766, after they overran the
TurgeshThe Turgesh Kaganate were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Khaganate...
in Jeti-su, the Karluk tribes formed a
KhanateKhanate or Chanat is a Turco-Mongolian-originated word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. In modern Turkish the word used is hanlık, and in modern Azeri of the republic of Azerbaijan, xanlıq. In Mongolian the word khanlig is used, as in "Khereidiin Khanlig" meaning the Khanate of...
under the rule of a Yabgu (prince). Famed for their woven carpets in the pre-Muslim era, they were considered a vassal state by the
Tang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
after the final conquest of the Transoxania regions by the Chinese around 744. They remained in the Chinese sphere of influence and an active participant in fighting the Muslim expansion into the area, up until their split from the
TangThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
at the
Battle of TalasThe Battle of Talas in 751 AD was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control of the Syr Darya. On July 751, The Abbasides started a massive attack against the Chinese on the banks of the Talas river; 200,000 Muslim troops met the combined army of 10,000...
in 751.
Chinese intervention in the affairs of Western Turkestan ceased after their defeat in 751 by the
ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
general Ziyad ibn Salih. The Arabs dislodged the Karluks from
FerganaFergana or Farghana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
. In 766, the Karluks occupied
SuyabSuyab was an ancient Silk Road city located some 60 km north east from Bishkek, and 6 km southeast from Tokmok, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan.- History :...
, and transferred their capital there. By that time the bulk of the tribe had left the Altai, and the supremacy in the Jeti-su passed to the Karluks. Their ruler bore the title Yabgu, and is often mentioned in the
OrkhonOrkhon can refer to:* Orkhon River, Mongolia** Orkhon Valley, the landscape around that river* Orkhon Province, an Aimag in Mongolia* several Sums in different Mongolian Aimags:** Orkhon, Bulgan** Orkhon, Selenge...
inscriptions. In
PehleviPahlavi or Pahlevi denotes a particular and exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are*the use of an Aramaic-derived script Pahlavi or Pahlevi denotes a particular and exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The...
texts one of the Karluk rulers of Tocharistan was called Yabbu-Hakan (
YabguYabgu was a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to viceroy. The title carried autonomy in different degrees, and its links with the central authority of Kagan varied from economical and political subordination to superficial political deference.The position of Yabgu was...
-
KaganKagan is a surname found mainly among East European Jews and their descendants elsewhere , and may refer to:* Daryn Kagan* Donald Kagan , Yale historian specializing in ancient Greece...
) . The fall of the Western Turkic Kaganate left the Jeti-su in the possession of the Turkic peoples, unconquered by either the Arabs or Chinese.
The Karluks were hunters, nomadic herdsmen, and agriculturists. They settled in the countryside and in the cities, which were centered around trading posts along the caravan roads. The Karluks inherited a vast multi-ethnic region, whose diverse population was not much different from its rulers. The Jeti-su was populated by the Turkic
TürgeshThe Turgesh Kaganate were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Khaganate...
, who were divided into two tribes, the
TukhshiThe Tocharians were the Tocharian-speaking inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, making them the easternmost speakers of Indo-European languages in antiquity.-Name:...
and the
AzesAsii, also written Asioi, and probably also Asiani, were one of the nomadic tribes, mentioned in Roman and Greek accounts who are said to have been responsible for the downfall of the state of Bactria circa 140 BCE. These tribes are usually identified as Scythian or Saka peoples.The texts relating...
(
AsesAsii, also written Asioi, and probably also Asiani, were one of the nomadic tribes, mentioned in Roman and Greek accounts who are said to have been responsible for the downfall of the state of Bactria circa 140 BCE. These tribes are usually identified as Scythian or Saka peoples.The texts relating...
) mentioned in the Orkhon inscriptions, the remnants of the Turkic
OguzesThe Oghuz were a group of Turkic peoples. In the ninth century the Oghuz Turks from the Aral steppes drove the Pecheneg Turks of the Emba region and the River Ural toward the west...
whose main body had moved to the west, becoming the
Shato TurksThe Shatuo were a Turkic tribe that heavily influenced northern Chinese politics from the late ninth century through the tenth century. They are noted for founding three of the Five Dynasties in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.-Ethnic Origins and Geography:In Chinese, the Shatuo means...
(i.e. "Steppe Turks"), and interspersed with the
SogdianSogdian may refer to* anything pertaining to Sogdiana, an ancient civilization of Iranian peoplesand in particular to* the Sogdian language* or the Sogdian people...
colonies. The southern part of the Jeti-su was occupied by the
YagmaThe Yagma were a medieval tribe of Turks whose members are among the ancestors of modern Uigurs and Uzbeks. Yagma is one of the Turkic tribes that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a three-member confederation known...
people, a branch of the
Tokuz-OguzesTokuz-Oguzes is a political alliance of nine Oguz tribes . Tokuz-Oguzes consolidated within the Great Turkic Kaganate , and after its fragmentation preserved their union...
, the later
UygursThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
, who also held
KashgarKashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China...
. In the north and west lived Kangars (Kangly, Kangüy, Kangju). A separate significant division of the Karluks were the
ChigilsThe Chigil were a Turkic tribe known from the 7th century CE as living around Issyk Kul lake area. They were considered to be descended from two of the "Six Chuy tribes" of the Chuban, the Chuyue and Chumi. They are known to have been speakers of the Oghuz group of the Turkic...
, a tribe that had detached from the Karluk. They resided around
Issyk KulIssyk Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means...
.
The diverse population adhered to a spectrum of religious beliefs. The Karluks and the majority of the Turkic population professed Tengrianism, called by the proselytizing religions shamanism and heathen. Chigils were Christians of the Nestorian denomination. The majority of the Tokuz-Oguz, with their khan, were Manicheans, but there were also Christians, Buddhists and Muslims among them. The peaceful penetration of Muslim culture through commercial relations played a far more important role in the conversion of the Türks than the Muslim arms. The merchants were followed by missionaries of various creeds, including Nestorian Christians. Many Turkestan towns had Christian churches. The Türks held sacred the Qastek pass mountains, believing to be an abode of the deity. Each creed carried its script, resulting in a variety of used scripts, including Türkic runiform,
SogdianSogdian may refer to* anything pertaining to Sogdiana, an ancient civilization of Iranian peoplesand in particular to* the Sogdian language* or the Sogdian people...
, Syriac, and later
UygurUyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turki, is a Turkic language spoken in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a Central Asian region administered by China, mainly by the Uyghur ethnic group. It is spoken by 10 million in China, mostly in Xinjiang...
. Karluks had adopted and developed the Turkic literary language of Khoresm, established in the Bukhara and Samarkand, which after Mongol conquest became known as
Chagatai TurkiThe Chagatai language is an extinct Turkic language which was once widely spoken in Central Asia, and remained the shared literary language there until the early twentieth century...
.
Of all Turkic peoples, Karluk were the most open to the influence of the Muslim culture.
YaqubiTa'rikh ibn Wadih or popularly Tarikh Yaqubi is a well known classical Islamic history book, written by Ya'qubi .-Overview:Like his contemporary Al-Dinawari, Ya'qubi's histories, unlike those of their predecessors, aimed to entertain as well as instruct; they are "literary" productions...
reported the conversion of the Karluk-yabgu to Islam under Caliph Mahdi (775-785), and by the tenth century several towns to the east of Talas had cathedral mosques. Muslim culture had affected the general way of life of the Karluks .
In the following three centuries the Karluk Yabgu state occupied a key position on the choice international trade route, fighting off mostly Türkic competing encroachers to retain their prime position. Their biggest adversaries were Kangars in the north-west and Tokuz-Oguzes in the south-east, with a period of Samanid raids to Jeti-su in the 840-894. But even in the heyday of the Karluk Yabgu state, parts of its domains was in the hands of the Tokuz-Oguzes, and later under
KyrgyzThe Kyrgyz are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan.-Etymology:There are several etymological theories on the ethnonym "Kyrgyz."...
and
Khitanthumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kidan, were a nomadic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
control, increasing the ethnical, religious, and political diversity.
Kyrgyz period
Also see KyrgyzThe Kyrgyz are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan.-Etymology:There are several etymological theories on the ethnonym "Kyrgyz."...
for details.
Prior to the Kyrgyz-Uygur war of 829-840, the
KyrgyzThe Kyrgyz are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan.-Etymology:There are several etymological theories on the ethnonym "Kyrgyz."...
lived in the upper basin of the Yenisey River. Linguistically their language, together with the Altai language, belongs to a separate Kyrgyz group of the Türkic linguistic family. At that time they had an estimated population of 250,000 and an army of 50,000. Kyrgyz victory in the war brought them to the Karluk door. They captured
TuvaTyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:...
,
AltaiAltai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . The direct romanization of the republic's Russian name is Respublika Altay, and the romanization of the Altay name is Altay Respublika...
, a part of
DzungariaDzungaria , also called Jungaria, Sungaria, Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately , lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan...
, and reached
KashgarKashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China...
. Allied with the Karluks against the Tokuz-Oguz Uygurs, in the 840s the Kyrgyz started the occupation of that part of the Jeti-su which is their present home. Karluk independence ended around 840. They fell from dominating the tribal association to a subordinate position. The Kyrgyz remained a power in the Jeti-su until their destruction by the Kidanes in 924, when most of them evacuated from their center in Tuva back to the Minusinsk depression, leaving the Karluks to predominate again in the Jeti-su.
The position of the Karluk state, based on rich Jeti-su cities, remained strong, despite the failures in wars in the beginning of the 9th century. Yabgu was enriched by profitable trade in Turkic slaves on Syr-Darya slave markets, selling guards for the Abbasid Caliphs, and control over the transit road to China in the sector from
TarazTaraz , formerly Talas, Jambyl and Aulie-Ata is a city and a center of the Jambyl Province in Kazakhstan. It is located in the south of Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, on the Talas River...
to
Issyk KulIssyk Kul is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes; hence its name, which means...
. The Karluk position in
FerganaThe Fergana Valley or Farghana Valley is a region in Central Asia spreading across eastern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.-Geography and geology:...
, despite Arab attempts to expel them, became stronger .
The fall of the last
KaganKhagan or Great Khan Khagan or Great Khan Khagan or Great Khan ((Old Turkic ; ; ; alternatively spelled Chagan, Khaghan, Kagan, Kağan, Qagan, Qaghan), is a title of imperial rank in the Turkic and Mongolian languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a Khaganate (empire, greater...
s of the Turkic Kaganate with its capital in
ÖtükenÖtüken is one of the names given to Mother Earth in Tengriism. According to this ancient belief, the mood of the Yer-sub and Ötüken could be seen in the trees’ condition. If the trees are healthy and strong and are bearing a lot of fruit, it is believed that Ötüken is satisfied with humans...
, which dominated for three centuries, created a completely new geopolitical situation in all Turkic Central Asia. For the first time in three hundred years, the powerful center of authority that created opportunities for expansion or even existence of any state in
TurkestanTurkestan, spelled also as Turkistan and Turkharistan is a region in Central Asia, which today is largely inhabited by Turkic peoples. It has been referenced in many Turkic and Persian sagas and is an integral part of Turan...
had finally disappeared. Henceforth, the Turkic tribes recognized only the high status of the clan that inherited the Kagan title, but never again his unifying authority. Several Muslim historians state that after the loss by Uygurs of their power (840), the supreme authority among the Turkic tribes passed to the Karluk leaders. Connection with the clan
AshinaAshina was a tribe and the ruling dynasty of the ancient Turks who rose to prominence in the mid-6th century when their leader, Bumin Khan, revolted against the Rouran...
, the ruling clan of the Turkic Kaganate, allowed the Karluk dynasty to dress their authority with legitimate attire, and, abandoning the old title Yabgu, to take on the new title of Kagan.
Karakhanid period
Also see Karakhanids for details.
Towards 940 the "heathen”
YagmaThe Yagma were a medieval tribe of Turks whose members are among the ancestors of modern Uigurs and Uzbeks. Yagma is one of the Turkic tribes that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a three-member confederation known...
from the southern border seized the
ChuChu or CHU may refer to:Surname:* Chu , a common Chinese surname for 朱 , but it can also refer to any Chinese surname whose pinyin is "chu", such as 楚, 储, 褚, 初, 除 and other possible surnames....
valley and the Karluk capital
BalasagunBalasagun was an ancient Soghdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chui River valley between Bishkek and Lake Issyk-Kul....
. The Yagma ruler bore the title Bogra-khan (Camel Khan), very common among Karakhanids. The Yagma quickly proceeded to take control of all Karluk lands. In the tenth and twelfth centuries, the lands on both sides of the principal chain of the
Tian ShanThe Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia...
were united under the rule of the Karakhanid Ilek-khans (Khans of the Land) or simply
KarakhanidsKara-Khanid Khanate was a Turkic Khanate founded by the Karakhanids or Qarakhānids, also called the Ilek Khanids , who were a Turkic dynasty. The Khanate ruled Transoxania in Central Asia from 840-1211. Their capitals included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and then again Kashgar. The name of the state...
(Great Khans). The Karakhanid state was divided into fiefs which soon became independent. .
The
Kara-Khanid KhanateKara-Khanid Khanate was a Turkic Khanate founded by the Karakhanids or Qarakhānids, also called the Ilek Khanids , who were a Turkic dynasty. The Khanate ruled Transoxania in Central Asia from 840-1211. Their capitals included Kashgar, Balasagun, Uzgen and then again Kashgar. The name of the state...
was founded in the 10th century by Satuk, a Turkic convert to Islam. His son Musa made Islam a state religion in 960. The empire occupied modern northern
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
and parts of Central Asia. This region remained under Karakhanid (and for varying periods
SeljukSeljuk was the eponymous hero of the Seljuks. He was the son of a certain Duqaq surnamed Timuryaligh -of the iron bow- and either the chief or an eminent member from the Kınık tribe of the Oghuz Turks...
and
Kara-KhitanThe Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Chinese Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast China...
) control until 1206, when it became a Mongol vassal state. It remained an independent vassal until the Mongol invasion of 1221.
Khitan period
Also see Khitanthumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kidan, were a nomadic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
for details.
In the beginning of the tenth century AD a Mongolic tribe
Khitaythumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kidan, were a nomadic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...
, also spelled variously Kidan], Kitan, Qidan, etc., with admixture of
MongolsThe name Mongol specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia.-Definition:...
, founded a vast empire, stretching from the Pacific to
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. It is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m and contains a total of roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water...
and the
Tian ShanThe Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia...
, displacing the Türkic population and replacing it with Mongol population. The language of Khitay is taken nowadays to be a strongly palatalized Mongolian dialect. Reportedly, the first Gurkhan professed the Manichaean religion. Owing to its long sway over
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, the ruling dynasty, which
Chinese dynastic historiesThe Twenty-Four Histories is a collection of Chinese historical books covering a period of protohistory and history from 3000 BC to the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century. The whole set contains 3213 volumes and about 40 million words...
call
LiaoLiao can mean:* Liao Dynasty, a former dynasty in northern China founded by the Khitan people* Liaoning Province, Chinese abbreviation* Liao , a Chinese family name* Liao River, river in northeast China...
(916-1125), was strongly influenced by the Chinese culture. In the 1125 another Tunguz people, the Jurchen, allied with Southern Chinese dynasty
SungSung may refer to several things:*The Song Dynasty, a dynasty of Ancient China.*An alternate transliteration of the Korean family name Song....
, ended the domination of the Khitay. The Khitay exiles, headed by Ye-lü Ta-shih, a member of the Khitay royal family, migrated to the West . Khitay settled in Tarbagatai area east of the Jeti-su, their number grew to 40,000 tents. Around 1130es the local Karakhanid ruler of Balasagun asked for their aid against the hostile Turkic tribes Kangly and Karluks. The Khitay occupied Balasaghun, expelled the weak Karakhanid ruler, and founded their own state which stretched from the Enisey to
TalasTalas may refer to:*Talas River;*Talas Valley, where the Battle of Talas was fought;*Talas, an ancient Silk Road city in Kazakhstan;*Talas, a modern town in Kyrgyzstan;...
. Then they conquered Kangly, subdued Eastern Turkestan, in the 1137 near Khojand defeated the Transoxanian Turkestan ruler Mahmud-khan, and in the 1141 defeated the army of the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar. The western Khitay state became known under its Türkic name Kara-Khitay (Black, Western, or Great Khitay), and their ruler bore the Türkic title of Gurkhan (Khan’s son-in law) . The original Uch- Karluk confederation became split between the Karakhanid state in the west and the Karakhitay state in the east, which lasted until the Mongolian time. Both in the west and east, Karluk principalities retained their autonomous status and indigenous rulers, though in the Karakhitay the Karluk khan, like the ruler of Samarqand, was forced to follow the Karakhitay Chinese denigrative protocol to acquiesce in the presence of a permanent representative of the Gurkhan .
Directly, the Gurkhans administered limited territories, populated in the 1170es by 84,500 families under direct rule, the Gurkhan's headquarters was called Khosun-ordu (lit. "Strong Ordu"), or Khoto ("House"). The Karluk capital was Kayalik. The Karakhanids continued to rule over Transoxania and Eastern Turkestan.
JuvayniAla'iddin Ata-Malik Juvayni was a Persian historian who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled Ta' rīkh-i jahān-gushā ....
stresses the oppression of the Karakhitay in comparison with the Karluk times. Islam was forced out of its dominant position to equal the other cults, which took advantage of the new freedom to increase the number of their adherents. The
NestorianNestorianism is the doctrine that the two individual natures of Christ, the human and the divine, are joined in conjunction rather than in hypostatic union. The doctrine is identified with Nestorius , Archbishop of Constantinople...
PatriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy...
Elias III (1176-1190) founded a metropoly in Kashghar. The Karakhitay metropolitan bore the title of "Metropolitan of Kashghar and Navakat", showing that the see of Kashghar also controlled the southern part of the Jeti-su. The oldest Nestorian tombs in the Tokmak and Pishpek cemeteries go back to the epoch of Karakhitay domination. The Karakhitay Muslim vassals raised in rebellion, initially successfully quashed by the government. The situation changed when the most powerful Western-Mongolian
Nayman- External links :* – Fallingrain.com...
tribe, headed by Küchlük (lit. “Little”), a son of the last Nayman khan east of the Karakhitay empire, were ousted (towards 1209) from
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
by
Chingiz-khanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
. The Nayman Nestorian Christian Küchlük seized the power in the name of Gurkhan, but soon, in the 1211, a Mongol detachment under the command of Khubilai noyon, one of
Chingiz-khanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
's generals, appeared in the northern part of the Jeti-su. Arslan-khan Karluk killed the Karakhitay governor of Kayalik and proclaimed his loyalty to Chingiz-khan. The Jeti-su, together with Eastern Turkestan, voluntarily surrendered to the Mongols..
Mongol era
In the 1211 a Mongol detachment under command of Khubilay noyan, one of
Chingiz-khanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
's generals, appeared in the northern part of the Jeti-su. Arslan (Tr. "lion") Khan Karluk (probably the son of Arslan-khan and brother of Mamdu-khan) killed the Khitan governor of Kayalik and proclaimed his loyalty to Chingiz-khan . The "Collection of Annals" records that Chingiz Khan removed from the Karluk Arslan Khan his title, "Let your name be Sartaktai", i.e. Sart, said the sovereign . After the absorption of the Karakhanid state by the
Chagatai KhanateThe Chagatai Khanate was a Mongol, and later linguistically Turkicized, khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
, the ethnonym
KarlukKarluk can refer to many different things:* Karluk , a 1913 shipwreck* Karluk, Alaska, a town in the USA* Karluk River, a river on Kodiak Island in Alaska* Karluks, a Turkic pastoral and agricultural tribe in Central Asia...
became rarely used, although a certain Muslim group during the
Yuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he had his grandfather Genghis Khan placed on the...
in Turpan was labeled Kara-
Hui-China:* Hui people , a Chinese ethnic group* Huizhou Chinese , a subdivision of spoken Chinese* Hui , a Chinese term referring to a secret brotherhood* Hui County, county in Gansu, China...
. The
KarlukKarluk can refer to many different things:* Karluk , a 1913 shipwreck* Karluk, Alaska, a town in the USA* Karluk River, a river on Kodiak Island in Alaska* Karluks, a Turkic pastoral and agricultural tribe in Central Asia...
TurkicThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
language was the primary basis for the later lingua-franca of the
Chagatai KhanateThe Chagatai Khanate was a Mongol, and later linguistically Turkicized, khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
and Central Asia under the Timurid Khanate. It is therefore designated by linguists and historians as the Chagatai Turkic language. But its contemporaries such as Timur-Lenk or
BaburZahir ud-din Muhammad Jalal ud-din Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his...
, simply called it
TurkiTurki, strictly speaking, is an Arabic or Persian adjective formed from the noun "Turk", used by European writers in two rather different senses. Firstly, it is applied to tribes or languages which are Turkic as opposed to being Iranian or Semitic...
.
See also:
Karlugh TurksThe Karlugh Turks are a prominent Karluk Turkic tribe that resides mainly in the Hazara region of current Pakistan. These Karlugh Turks formed a Turki Shahi dynasty and ruled the state of Pakhli Sarkar for over 200 years from 1472 to 1703.- Etymology :...
of Pakistan.
Modern
In the 20th century, the geopolitical Great Game among great powers demanded the creation of modern nationalities among Central Asian Türks. The ethnonym
KarlukKarluk can refer to many different things:* Karluk , a 1913 shipwreck* Karluk, Alaska, a town in the USA* Karluk River, a river on Kodiak Island in Alaska* Karluks, a Turkic pastoral and agricultural tribe in Central Asia...
was not revived. Instead,
UzbekUzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 23.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
and
UygurUyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turki, is a Turkic language spoken in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a Central Asian region administered by China, mainly by the Uyghur ethnic group. It is spoken by 10 million in China, mostly in Xinjiang...
became the two major divisions among speakers of modern variants of the Chagatai Turkic language. Of course, under these two modern nationalities are subgroups like the Uygur
DolanDolan is a surname, and may refer to:* Charles Dolan, founder of HBO and chairman of Cablevision Systems Corporation* Daniel Dolan, Catholic bishop* Daria Dolan, financial journalist and wife of Ken Dolan* Ellen Dolan, American actress...
, Aynur and several regional populations of the
UzbeksThe Uzbeks are a Turkic-speaking people in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
, some of which share more similarities with Kipchak groups like the Karakalpaks and
KazakhsThe Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
or with Iranic Tajiks than with fellow Uzbeks who speak a descendant of the
KarlukKarluk can refer to many different things:* Karluk , a 1913 shipwreck* Karluk, Alaska, a town in the USA* Karluk River, a river on Kodiak Island in Alaska* Karluks, a Turkic pastoral and agricultural tribe in Central Asia...
TurkicThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken by some...
language.
Social organization
The state of Karluk Yabgu was an association of semi-independent districts and cities, each equipped with its own militia. The biggest was the capital
SuyabSuyab was an ancient Silk Road city located some 60 km north east from Bishkek, and 6 km southeast from Tokmok, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan.- History :...
which could turn out 20,000 warriors, among other districts the town of Begliligh had 10,000 warriors, Panjikat could turn out 8,000 warriors, town of Barskhan 6,000 warriors, town of Yar 3,000 warriors. The titles of the petty rulers were Qutegin of the Karluk Laban clan in the Karminkat city, Taksin in the city Jil, Tabin-Barskhan in the city Barskhan, Turkic Yindl-Tegin and Sogdian Badan-Sangu in the Beglilig town. The prince of the capital Suyab, situated north of the Chu river in the Türgesh land, was a brother of one of the (Gok)Turkic khans, but bore a Persian title Yalan-shah, i.e. "King of Heroes".
Muslim authors describe in detail the trade route from Western Asia to China across the Jeti-su, and mention many cities, a few of them bore double names, Turkic and Sogdian. In addition to the capital cities of Balasagun, Suyab, and Kayalik, in which Rubruquis for the first time saw in the Muslim town the Buddhists who had three temples, the geographers mention towns Taraz (Talas, Auliya-ata), Navakat (now Kara-bulak), Atbash (now Koshoy-Kurgan ruins), Issyk-kul, Barskhan, Panjikat, Akhsikat, Beglilig, Almalik, Jul, Yar, Ton, Panchul, and others .
Etymology
The most ancient reference to the etymology of the Karluk name is recorded in the Chinese dynastic history
Tang-shuThe Book of Tang Jiu Tangshu or the Old Book of Tang is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty. The book began when Gaozu of Later Jin ordered its commencement in 941...
, which names Karluks as
Ko-lo-lu and traces the name to the word
Karlik (Turkic "snow piles").
Kar is "snow", as in the name of the
Kar Sea.
N. AristovTurkology is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative context...
noted the river Kerlyk, a tributary of the river Charysh, proposing the tribal name originating from the toponym with a Turkic meaning "wild millet" . A reverse is equally possible, the toponyms named after an ethnonym of the native people. Another version cites the homonym of the
Karluk valley in Altai. The derivation of Karluk from
Kara (Turkic "Great", "Western", "black") is considered to be philologically impossible, and incompatible with the well documented Arabic form of the ethnonym
"Halluh".