has long been believed that the Polovtsian - is the enemy of the Russian land, as representatives of the tribe were seen in repeated raids on the lands of our country.However, historians are known episodes neighbor existence Polovtsian tribes and Slavs, as well as their joint campaign against, for example, the Hungarians, the Volga Bulgars, Mongols and others. Material evidence that reveal the secrets of this nomadic tribe, remains quite small, but they can be used to track the originalPolovtsian history of the people.
Ancestors Polovtsian were Chinese?
meaning of the word "Polovtsian" in the ancient language indicates that the so-called Slavic people or come from the steppes (from the word "field"), or had a yellowish tinge of the skin (from the word "polov" - "yellow").
Indeed, Polovtsian ancestors were nomads living in the steppes between the Eastern Tien Shan and Mongolian Altai, which the Chinese called Seyanto nationality.In that area there was an ancient state, established in 630, which, however, was quickly destroyed by the same Uighurs and Chinese.After that, the residents of these places changed the family name "Sira" to "Kipchaks", which means "unfortunate, wretched," and went to the Irtysh and the eastern steppes of Kazakhstan.
Interpretations of the nineteenth century and the opinion Sakharov
meaning and interpretation of the word "Polovtsian" as interpreted by some experts as derived from the word "fishing", which means the hunt (in the sense of property and persons), as well as the word "full"- captive lead away where the representative of the Slavs.
In the nineteenth century (in particular, E. and A. Skrizhinskaya Kunik) identified the name of these tribes with the root "pol" means half.As suggested above, researchers, residents of ancient Kiev, located on the right bank of the Dnieper, called the nomads who came from the other side of the river, "with the floor thereof."Academician Dmitry Likhachev generally considered all the proposed version inconclusive.He thought that the mystery of the origin of the name of the tribe never be solved because the Kipchak-Cumans left the minimum amount of own written documents.
Polovtsi - this is not a separate tribe
today believe that the Polovtsian - a representative of the conglomeration of nomadic tribes, and these data are based on the fact that in the eleventh century AD, the people of Kipchak was conquered by Mongol tribes kumosi-Kimaks and then migratedto the west, along with representatives of the Mongoloid tribes - Kidane.By the end of the thirties of the eleventh century, this collection of peoples invaded the steppes between the Volga and Irtysh and came to the borders of the Old Russian state.
«Yellow" people came to the borders of Russia
about who the Cumans from the standpoint of the history of Russian documentary for the first time gave an explanation Hypation Chronicle in 1055.According to this manuscript, to the borders of the kingdom came Pereslavsky people "bright yellow", making it possible to assign the Kipchaks and Mongoloid tribes generic name "Cumans".
Newcomers peoples settled in the Azov Sea, during the Lower Don and the North, where they found the stone "woman" who, as scientists believe, nomadic tribes established in memory of the ancestors.
Who are the Cumans of the time from the point of view of religious teachings?It is believed that in the midst of this nomadic tribe originally practiced ancestor worship, which was implemented through the installation of stone sculptures on the high steppe sites on watersheds in special shrines.This direct burial were not always close.In the Polovtsian burials often it has been extended burial of the deceased with household objects and carcass (stuffed) his warhorse.
Two thousand stone idols and a minimum writing
top of the graves of prominent people by the standards of Polovtsian Barrow.In more recent times, when the Muslims conquered the Kipchaks, part pagan monuments were destroyed.To date, the territory of modern Russia remained about 2000 stone "women" (from "balbal" - "ancestor"), which are still considered to have the power to increase the fertility of the land, restoration of nature.These monuments have survived centuries, including the period of Christianization Polovtsian.Pagans, Muslims, Christians - who are here Polovtsy in different periods of the development of this set of people.
They arrow knocked birds fly
After the appearance on the territory of the steppes of eastern Europe in the XI century BCCumans did not stop in the area and continued to settle on, the benefit of this was due to the presence of such a powerful vehicle of the time, like a horse, and good weapons in the form of a bow.
Polovtsian - is first and foremost a warrior.The children of these tribes from childhood taught horsemanship and combat techniques, so that later they arrived in the koshuna - the militia of one kind.In koshun could include dozens of people, or three or four hundred, that avalanche attacked the enemy surrounded him and the ring filled with arrows.In addition slozhnosostavnyh technically advanced for its time bows Cumans had sabers, swords, spears.They wore armor in the form of rectangular plates of iron.Their military prowess was so high that at full tilt from bow rider could shoot down any flying bird.
field kitchen ... under saddle
Who are the Cumans in terms of their way of life?These were typical of nomadic peoples, very unpretentious, even by the standards of the time.Initially they lived in covered wagons or felt tents, eat milk, cheese and raw meat, which softens under the saddle of a horse.Because of the raids they brought the loot and captives, gradually taking over from the knowledge of other cultures, habits and customs.Although the origin of the word is not found a precise definition of what it means to Polovtsian, to experience for yourself, many people of that time.
adopt the cultural traditions of Polovtsy was from someone as nomadic tribes Kipchaks in the twelfth century came to Ciscaucasian steppes (at p. Sunzha rate was Polovtsian khans), visited Pomerania, Surozh and Korsun, Pomerania, Tmutarakan committed a total of about46 raids on Russia, which often won, but there were losers.In particular, around 1100 BCabout 45 thousand Kipchak were driven Rusichi in the Georgian land, which mingled with the local peoples.
Polovtsian habits miss everything and everyone who was caught by the hand, led to the fact that to a certain time of the nomadic peoples have learned to build houses for the winter, which were even equipped in the image of Russian furnace heating elements.Primitive of leather clothes decorated with ribbons on their sleeves, like the Byzantine nobles, among the tribes there were signs of organization.
Polovtsian kingdoms were not less than the European
By the time of his conquest of the Mongol armies in the XIII century, hordes of Polovtsian is an association, the strongest of which were Don and the Dniester.In those days Polovtsian - a representative of the people living in the territory, comparable in size with European kingdoms.These quasi-state formation prevented the passage of the caravan on the way "from the Vikings to the Greeks", to carry out independent forays into Russia and were active until the 90s of the twelfth century, after which Kipchaks fought mainly in the Russian armed forces during mezhknyazheskih strife that time.
So how can we answer the question of who the Cumans?From ancient history, we can conclude that these people, in spite of some primitive, played an important role in shaping the political map of the world at the time and in the formation of various nationalities, including today.
